Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:103
Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah 's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word: خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (103) (Take from their wealth a charity (ṣadaqa) by which you purify them and cause them to grow, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. [9:103])
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says to His prophet Muḥammad, the Prophet ﷺ: O Muḥammad, take from the wealth of those who have acknowledged their sins and shown repentance for them =(a charity, by which you purify them), from the defilement of their sins =(and cause them to grow thereby), He says: and you make them grow and elevate them by means of it from the contemptible abodes of the people of hypocrisy (nifāq) to the abodes of the people of sincere devotion =(and pray for them), He says: and supplicate for them for forgiveness of their sins, and ask forgiveness for them for that =(indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), He says: indeed, your supplication and your asking forgiveness are a reassurance for them, in the certainty that Allah has already forgiven them and accepted their repentance =(and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing), He says: and Allah is All-Hearing of your supplication when you pray for them, and of all else of the words of His creatures =(All-Knowing), of what you ask of your Lord with your supplication for them, and of all else of the affairs of His servants.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
17152- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: They came with their wealth — that is, Abū Lubāba and his companions — when they had been released, and said: O Messenger of Allah, this is our wealth, give it as charity on our behalf, and ask forgiveness for us! He said: I have not been commanded to take anything of your wealth! Then Allah revealed: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow thereby), where by "growth" He means: obedience to Allah and sincere devotion =(and pray for them), He says: ask forgiveness for them.
17153- Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ released Abū Lubāba and his two companions, Abū Lubāba and his two companions set out with their wealth, and they brought it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: Take from our wealth and give it as charity on our behalf, and pray over us — by this they mean: ask forgiveness for us — and purify us. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I will take nothing of it until I am commanded. Then Allah revealed: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), He says: ask forgiveness for them for their sins which they had committed. When this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ took a portion of their wealth and gave it as charity on their behalf.
17154- Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, who said: When the Prophet ﷺ released Abū Lubāba and those who had bound themselves to the pillars, they said: O Messenger of Allah, take from our wealth a charity by which you purify us! Then Allah revealed: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them), the verse.
17155- Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Yaʿqūb, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: Those who had bound themselves to the pillars said, when He granted them forgiveness: O prophet of Allah, purify our wealth! Then Allah revealed: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow thereby). The three were such that when one of them fell ill, the other two would fall ill just like him. Two of them became blind, and the other kept supplicating until he became blind.
17156- Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: The four were: Jadd ibn Qays, Abū Lubāba, Ḥarām, and Aws. They are the ones about whom it was said: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), that is: a dignity for them. They had pledged of themselves that they would spend, wage jihād, and give charity.
17157- It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: When the prophet of Allah ﷺ released Abū Lubāba and his companions, they came to the prophet of Allah with their wealth and said: O prophet of Allah, take from our wealth and give it as charity on our behalf, and purify us, and pray over us! — by this they mean: ask forgiveness for us. Then the prophet of Allah said: I will take nothing of it until I am commanded concerning it. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, revealed: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them), from their sins which they had committed =(and pray for them), He says: ask forgiveness for them. And the prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, did what Allah had commanded him.
17158- Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His word: (Take from their wealth a charity), [namely] Abū Lubāba and his companions =(and pray for them), He says: ask forgiveness for them, for their sins which they had committed.
17159- Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow, and pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), he said: These were people of the hypocrites (munāfiqīn) who had stayed behind from the Prophet ﷺ during the expedition to Tabūk. They acknowledged the hypocrisy and said: O Messenger of Allah, we have doubted, played the hypocrite, and given in to doubt, but we bring a renewed repentance and a charity which we give from our wealth! Then Allah said to His prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: (Take from their wealth a charity, by which you purify them and cause them to grow), after He had said: وَلا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَدًا وَلا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ (And never pray over any of them who dies, and do not stand at his grave) [Sūrat al-Tawba: 84].
* * *
And the people of the Arabic language differed concerning the manner in which "tuzakkīhim" (and you cause them to grow) stands in the nominative.
Some of the grammarians of Basra said: "tuzakkīhim bihā" stands in the nominative as the beginning of a new sentence; and if you wish, you make it a qualification of "the charity" and cite it as a confirmation — and the same applies to "tuṭahhiruhum" (you purify them).
And some of the grammarians of Kufa said: If His word (tuṭahhiruhum) pertains to the Prophet, peace be upon him, then it is preferable that it stand in the jussive (jazm), because there is no pronoun referring back to "the charity," and (tuzakkīhim) is then a new beginning. But if the charity purifies them while you cause them to grow thereby, then it is permissible to put both verbs in the jussive or in the nominative.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct view in this is that His word (tuṭahhiruhum) is connected to "the charity," because the reciters are unanimously agreed that it stands in the nominative, and that is a proof that it is connected to "the charity." As for His word (and you cause them to grow thereby), that is a new initiating report, with the meaning: and you cause them to grow thereby, and for that reason it stands in the nominative.
* * *
And the people of interpretation differed concerning the interpretation of His word: (indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them).
Some of them said: a mercy for them.
* Mention of who said that:
17160- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), He says: a mercy for them.
* * *
And others said: no, its meaning is: indeed, your prayer is a dignity for them.
* Mention of who said that:
17161- Bishr related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (indeed, your prayer is a reassurance for them), that is: a dignity for them.
* * *
And the reciters differed concerning the recitation of this.
The reciters of Medina recited it: (إِنَّ صَلَوَاتِكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ) [with "ṣalawātika," plural], with the meaning: your supplications.
* * *
And the reciters of Iraq and some of the Meccans recited: (إِنَّ صَلاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ) [singular], with the meaning: indeed, your supplication.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And it is as though those who recited this in the singular held that reciting it in the singular is more correct, because in the singular there lies a meaning of multitude and great number that is not present in His word (إِنَّ صَلَوَاتِكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ), since "al-ṣalawāt" is a plural for what counts between three and ten, and not for what is more than that. And what they said about that is, in our view, as they said, and with us the recitation goes to the singular — not because of this reasoning, since that encompasses in number more than "al-ṣalawāt"; but because what is intended by it is the report concerning the supplication of the Prophet ﷺ and his prayers, namely that it is a reassurance for these people, not the report concerning a number. And since that is so, the singular in "al-ṣalāh" deserves preference.
