Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | THE BASIS OF INTER-COMMUNAL RELATIONSWho May Tend God’s HousesIt is not for the idolaters to visit or tend God’s houses of worship; for they are selfconfessedunbelievers. Vain shall be their actions and they shall abide in the fire. God’shouses of worship may be tended only by those who believe in God and the Last Day,are constant in prayers, pay zakāt (i.e. the obligatory charity) and fear none other thanGod. It is those who are likely to be rightly guided. Do you, perchance, consider thatthe provision of drinking water to pilgrims and tending the Sacred Mosque are equalto believing in God and the Last Day and striving for God’s cause? These are notequal in God’s sight. God does not provide guidance for people who are wrongdoers.Those who believe, and leave their homes and strive hard for God’s cause with theirproperty and their lives stand higher in rank with God. It is they who shall triumph.Their Lord gives them the happy news of bestowing on them His grace, andacceptance, and of the gardens of eternal bliss where they shall reside for ever. God’sreward is great indeed. (Verses 17-22)With the declaration and disavowal made at the beginning of the sūrah concerningthe termination of the treaties with the unbelievers, there can be no excuse foranyone who refuses to fight the idolaters. Moreover, there might have been somehesitation to forbid them entry to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, which they used toenjoy in pre-Islamic days. The sūrah questions the claims of the idolaters to visit theSacred Mosque, for that is an exclusive right of the believers who attend to theirduties of worshipping God alone. That the idolaters used to visit the Mosque andprovide drinking water to the pilgrims did not alter the situation in any way. Theseverses address those troubled Muslims who might not as yet have fully understoodthis basic Islamic principle.“It is not for the idolaters to visit or tend God’s houses of worship, for they are selfconfessedunbelievers.” (Verse 17) It is totally wrong that this should ever happenbecause it is contrary to the nature of things. God’s houses of worship belong to Himalone, and only His name should be glorified in them. No other name should beinvoked beside His name. How could it be acceptable then that those who associatepartners with Him should ever tend these houses of worship when they are selfconfessedunbelievers. “Vain shall be their actions.” (Verse 17) Whatever they do iswithout value, including their tending of the Ka`bah, the Inviolable House ofWorship. That is because none of their actions is based on the fundamental principleof God’s oneness. As a result of their open and clear rejection of the truth of faith,“they shall abide in the fire.” (Verse 17)Worship is simply an expression of faith. If the faith is wrongly based, then theworship offered on its basis is wrong as well. Hence any act of worship, includingthe visiting and tending of the houses of worship, is of little benefit unless hearts are71