Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:123
O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous.
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: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ يَلُونَكُمْ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ وَلْيَجِدُوا فِيكُمْ غِلْظَةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ (123) ("O you who believe, fight against the disbelievers (kuffār) who are nearest to you, and let them find harshness in you. And know that Allah is with the God-fearing.") (123)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to those who believe in Him and His Messenger: "O you who hold Allah and His Messenger to be truthful, fight (qātilū) against those of the disbelievers (kuffār) who are nearest to you, not against those who are far away from them." He says to them: begin the armed struggle (qitāl) against the nearest, and then the next nearest in proximity of dwelling, not against the distant and then the more distant. Those who were nearest to the ones addressed by this āyah were, at that time, the Romans, for they were then the inhabitants of Syria (al-Shām), and Syria was nearer to Medina than Iraq. But after Allah had opened the territories for the believers, the obligation upon the inhabitants of every region is the armed struggle against the enemies who are their neighbors, not against those who are further away, so long as the inhabitants of another region of the Islamic territories do not have urgent need of them. But if they do have urgent need of them, then it is incumbent upon them to come to their aid and to support them, for the Muslims are one hand against all who are outside of them.
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And because of the correctness of this, everyone who has explained this āyah has explained it in such a way that its meaning is: the imposition of the obligation upon the inhabitants of every region to fight the enemies who are their neighbors.
* Mention of the narration concerning that:
17481 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Shabīb ibn Gharqada al-Bāriqī, on the authority of a man of the Banū Tamīm, he said: I asked Ibn ʿUmar about fighting the Daylam. He said: keep to the Romans!
17482 — Ibn Bashshār, Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq, and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you, he said: the Daylam.
17483 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that he, when asked about fighting the Romans and the Daylam, would recite this āyah: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you.
17484 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb related to us, he said: ʿImrān, my brother, related to us, he said: I asked Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn and said: what is your opinion about fighting the Daylam? He said: fight them and keep frontier-guard against them, for they are among those of whom Allah has said: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you.
17485 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that he was asked about Syria and the Daylam, and he said: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you, the Daylam.
17486 — ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to me, he said: al-Walīd related to us, he said: I heard Abū ʿAmr and Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz say: every people keeps frontier-guard against those who are their neighbors among their frontier-posts and fortresses, and they explain the word of Allah thus: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you.
17487 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: fight against the disbelievers who are nearest to you, he said: those who were nearest to them among the disbelievers were the Arabs, and he fought them until he was finished with them. When he was finished, Allah said: قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلا بِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ("Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day"), until He reached: وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ ("while they are subdued") [Sūrat al-Tawba: 29]. He said: when he was finished with fighting those of the Arabs who were his neighbors, He commanded him to wage jihād against the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb). He said: and jihād against them is the most excellent jihād in the sight of Allah.
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As for His word: and let them find harshness in you, its meaning is: and let these disbelievers whom you fight find in you, that is: with you, severity toward them. And know that Allah is with the God-fearing (al-muttaqīn). He says: and know with certainty, in your fighting against them, that Allah is with you, and that He is your helper against them. So if you fear Allah and show Him reverence by fulfilling His obligations and avoiding acts of disobedience to Him, then Allah is the helper and support of whoever fears Him.
