Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:116
Indeed, to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He gives life and causes death. And you have not besides Allah any protector or any helper.
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 لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا نَصِيرٍ (116) (Indeed, to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He gives life and He causes death, and beside Allah you have no protector and no helper) (116).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Indeed, to Allah, O people, belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and the ownership of them; and everyone below Him among the kings belongs to His slaves (ʿabīd) and His possessions. In His hand lies their life and their death: He gives life to whom He wills of them, and He causes to die whom He wills of them. So do not be afraid, O believers, of the armed struggle (qitāl) against whoever of the kings has become disbelieving in Me — whether they be the kings of the Romans or the kings of Persia and Abyssinia or others. Wage war against them and strive in jihād against them in obedience to Me, for indeed, I am the One who grants honor to whom I will of them and of you, and who humiliates whom I will.
And this is an exhortation from Allah — exalted be His praise — to the believers toward the armed struggle against everyone who has become disbelieving in Him among the possessions, and an incitement from Him to them toward fighting them.
And His word: وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا نَصِيرٍ (and beside Allah you have no protector and no helper) — He says: and you have, beside Allah, no one who is an ally for you who would aid you against Him, if you were to oppose the command of Allah and He were to punish you for your opposition to His command, so as to save you from His punishment — وَلا نَصِيرٍ (and no helper) who would help you against Him if He should will to inflict harm upon you. He says: so place your trust in Allah, and fear Him, and fight in His path against whoever has become disbelieving in Him, for indeed, He has purchased from you your lives and your possessions in exchange for the fact that Paradise (janna) shall be yours: you fight in His path, you kill and you are killed.
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Footnotes:
(67) See the explanation of the wording of this verse in the linguistic indexes given earlier.
