Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:111
Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.
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 explanation of His word: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُمْ بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (111) (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions in exchange for the Garden; they fight in the way of Allah, so they kill and are killed. It is a true promise binding upon Him, in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qurʾān. And who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in the bargain you have concluded with Him. And that is the great triumph.) (111)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions in exchange for the Garden = وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا (a true promise binding upon Him) = He says: He, exalted is His praise, has promised them the Garden, a true promise binding upon Him, that He will fulfill it for them, in the books He has sent down: the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qurʾān, when they fulfill what they have agreed upon with Allah, and so fight in His way and in support of His religion against His enemies, and thus kill and are killed = وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ (and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah). He, exalted is His praise, says: and who fulfills better what he has guaranteed and stipulated as a condition than Allah = فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا (so rejoice). He says this to the believers: so rejoice, O believers, who have shown Allah their truthfulness in what they have agreed upon, over your bargain, namely that you have sold your lives and your possessions in exchange for that for which you have sold them to your Lord, for that is indeed the great triumph, as in:-
17266 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Ḥafṣ ibn Ḥumayd, on the authority of Shamir ibn ʿAṭiyya, who said: There is no Muslim but that Allah has upon his neck a covenant of sale, which he fulfills or upon which he dies, in the word of Allah: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers), up to His word: وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ (and that is the great triumph). Then He described their virtues and said: التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ (The repentant, the worshippers), up to: وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (and give glad tidings to the believers).
17267 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions), that is to say: in exchange for the Garden.
17268 - ...... he said: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yasār, on the authority of Qatāda, that he recited this verse: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions in exchange for the Garden), whereupon he said: Allah negotiated with them over the price and offered them a high price.
17269 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Manṣūr ibn Hārūn related to me, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, that he recited this verse: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions), whereupon he said: He concluded a covenant of sale with them and offered them a high price.
17270 - Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Maʿshar related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī and others, who said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: Stipulate for your Lord and for yourself whatever you wish! He said: I stipulate for my Lord that you worship Him and associate nothing with Him as a partner, and I stipulate for myself that you protect me from that against which you protect your own lives and possessions. They said: And if we do that, what is there for us? He said: The Garden! They said: A profitable bargain! We will not annul it nor ask for its annulment! Thereupon it was revealed: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers), the verse.
17271 - ...... he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: ʿUbayd ibn Ṭufayl al-ʿAbsī related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, while a man was asking him about His word: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives), the verse. The man said: Shall I not charge upon the polytheists (mushrikīn) and fight until I am killed? He said: Woe to you! Where is the condition? التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ (The repentant, the worshippers).
