Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:28
O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.
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 إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَذَا وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ إِنْ شَاءَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (28) (O you who believe, the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs. And if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills. Truly, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says to those who believe in Him and in His Messenger and acknowledge His oneness: The polytheists (mushrikīn) are nothing but uncleanness (najas).
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The exegetes differed over the meaning of "the uncleanness" (al-najas), and over the reason why He named them with it.
Some of them said: He named them with it because they are in a state of major ritual impurity (janāba) and do not wash; therefore He said: they are unclean, and let them not approach the Sacred Mosque — because it does not befit one who is in a state of janāba to enter the mosque.
* Mention of who said that:
16591 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, concerning His word: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean): I think that Qatāda said nothing other than that "the uncleanness" (al-najas) is janāba.
16592 — And by the same chain, on the authority of Maʿmar, he said: And it was reported to me that the Prophet, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, met Ḥudhayfa, and the Prophet, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, took him by the hand, whereupon Ḥudhayfa said: O Messenger of Allah, I am in a state of janāba! Then he said: The believer does not become unclean.
16593 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: yā ayyuhā lladhīna āmanū innamā l-mushrikūna najas (O you who believe, the polytheists are truly unclean), that is to say: in a state of janāba.
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And others said: the meaning of it is: the polytheists are nothing but the filth (rijs) of a pig or a dog.
And this is a statement transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās by a route other than that of Ḥumayd, but we found it distasteful to mention it.
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And His word: fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), He says to the believers: do not allow them to approach the Sacred Mosque by entering the Sanctuary (al-Ḥaram). By that He intended only to prevent them from entering the Sanctuary, for when they enter the Sanctuary, they have approached the Sacred Mosque.
* * *
And the exegetes differed over the meaning of it.
Some of them said concerning it something like what we have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16594 — Bishr and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ said: The entire Sanctuary is prayer-direction (qibla) and mosque. He said: fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarām (so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque) — He did not mean the mosque alone, but He meant Mecca and the Sanctuary. He said that more than once.
And concerning ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz there is mentioned about it what follows:—
16595 — ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abī ʿUmayr related to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Muslim related to me, saying: Abū ʿAmr related to us: that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wrote: "Prevent the Jews and the Christians from entering the mosques of the Muslims," and he followed his prohibition with the word of Allah: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean).
16596 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean), he said: do not shake hands with them; and whoever shakes hands with them, let him perform the ablution (wuḍūʾ).
* * *
And as for His word: baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (after this year of theirs), by it He means: after the year in which ʿAlī, Allah's mercy be upon him, proclaimed [the sūra] Barāʾa, and that was the year in which Abū Bakr led the people in the pilgrimage (ḥajj), and that was the ninth year after the emigration (hijra), as follows:—
16597 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), and that was the year in which Abū Bakr led the pilgrimage, and ʿAlī, Allah's mercy be upon them both, made the announcement; and that was nine years after the emigration of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him. And the Prophet of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, performed the Farewell Pilgrimage (ḥijjat al-wadāʿ) the following year; he performed no pilgrimage before it nor after it.
* * *
And His word: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan (and if you fear poverty), He says to the believers: and if you fear want and poverty, on account of your preventing the polytheists from approaching the Sacred Mosque. Fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlihi in shāʾ (then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills).
* * *
One says of this: ʿāla yaʿīlu ʿaylatan and ʿuyūlan [he became poor]. And of that is the word of the poet:
And the poor man does not know when his wealth will come, and the rich man does not know when he will become poor.
And it is transmitted from some of them that there are among the Arabs those who say of want: "ʿāla yaʿūlu," with the wāw.
* * *
And concerning ʿAmr ibn Fāʾid it is mentioned that he explained His word wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan (and if you fear poverty) in the meaning of: and when (idh) you feared. He says: the people had already feared; and that is like the statement of a person to his father: "If (in) you are my father, then honor me," in the meaning of: since (idh) you are my father.
* * *
And that was said to them only because the believers feared that, by cutting off the polytheists from access to the Sanctuary, their commerce would be cut off and harm would befall them through that cutting off. But Allah secured them against poverty, and compensated them for that whose cutting off they found distasteful with something that was better for them, namely the poll-tax upon non-Muslims (jizyah). So He said to them: qātilū lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-llāhi wa-lā bi-l-yawmi l-ākhiri wa-lā yuḥarrimūna mā ḥarrama llāhu wa-rasūluh (Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and do not hold forbidden what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden), up to: ṣāghirūn (while they are humbled).
* * *
And some said: by causing rain to descend upon them.
* * *
And in the manner of what we have said concerning it, the exegetes spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
16598 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: yā ayyuhā lladhīna āmanū innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (O you who believe, the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), he said: When Allah removed the polytheists from the Sacred Mosque, Satan cast sorrow into the hearts of the believers; he said: From where will you eat, now that the polytheists have been driven away and the caravans from them have been cut off! Then Allah said: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlihi in shāʾ (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills), and He commanded them to fight the People of the Book, and enriched them out of His bounty.
16599 — Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Abū l-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word: yā ayyuhā lladhīna āmanū innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (O you who believe, the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), he said: The polytheists used to come to the House (al-Bayt) and bring food with them, and trade in it. When they were forbidden to come to the House, the Muslims said: From where shall we get food? Then Allah revealed: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlihi in shāʾ (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills), and He caused rain to descend upon them, and their prosperity increased, until the polytheists had departed from them.
16600 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean), the verse — then he mentioned something like the narration of Hannād, on the authority of Abū l-Aḥwaṣ.
16601 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Wāqid, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: When it was revealed: innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), that weighed heavily upon the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, and they said: Who will bring us our food, and who will bring us the merchandise? Then it was revealed: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlihi in shāʾ (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills).
16602 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Wāqid, the freedman of Zayd ibn Khulayda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: The polytheists used to come to them with trade, then this verse was revealed: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean), up to His word: ʿaylatan, he said: poverty. Fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty).
16603 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, he said: The Muslims said: We used to acquire something from their trade and their selling. Then it was revealed: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean), up to His word: min faḍlih (out of His bounty).
16604 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: I heard my father — I think he said: Abū Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, he said: When it was said: and after this year no polytheist shall perform the pilgrimage! they said: We used to acquire something from their selling during the pilgrimage season. He said: Then it was revealed: yā ayyuhā lladhīna āmanū innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (O you who believe, the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs, and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty), that is to say: for that which escaped them of selling.
16605 — Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, both saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty), he said: the poll-tax upon non-Muslims (jizyah).
16606 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: The polytheists were driven out of Mecca, and that weighed heavily upon the Muslims, and they said: We used to acquire trade and provisions from them. Then Allah revealed: qātilū lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-llāhi wa-lā bi-l-yawmi l-ākhir (Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day).
16607 — It was related to me concerning al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His word: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty): There were people among the Muslims who associated themselves with the caravans; and when [the sūra] Barāʾa was revealed with [the command to] fight the polytheists wherever they were found, and that they should lie in wait for them at every ambush, Satan cast into the hearts of the believers: From where will you live, now that you have been commanded to fight the people of the caravan? Then Allah knew of that what He knew, and He said: Obey Me, and carry out My command, and obey My Messenger, for I will enrich you out of My bounty. And Allah stood as guarantor of that toward them.
16608 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: innamā l-mushrikūna najas (the polytheists are truly unclean), up to His word: fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlihi in shāʾ (then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills), he said: The believers said: We used to acquire something from the merchandise of the polytheists! Then Allah promised them that He would enrich them out of His bounty, as compensation for their not letting them approach the Sacred Mosque. This verse therefore belongs, in recitation, to the beginning of [the sūra] Barāʾa, and, in interpretation, to the end of it: qātilū lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-llāhi wa-lā bi-l-yawmi l-ākhir (Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day), up to His word: ʿan yadin wa-hum ṣāghirūn (by hand, while they are humbled), when Muḥammad and his Companions were commanded to the expedition (ghazwa) of Tabūk.
16609 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
16609m — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: When Allah removed the polytheists from the Sacred Mosque, that weighed heavily upon the Muslims, for they [the polytheists] used to come with goods for sale from which the Muslims benefited. Then Allah, the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, revealed: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty), and He enriched them with this levy, the poll-tax (jizyah) that ran upon them, which they collect month after month, year after year. So no polytheist may approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs in any condition whatsoever, except the payer of the jizyah, or the slave of a man from among the Muslims.
16610 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: Abū l-Zubayr informed me: that he heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh saying concerning His word: innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs): except if it is a slave, or someone from the people under dhimma-status (ahl al-dhimma).
16611 — ...... he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), he said: except the payer of the jizyah, or the slave of a man from among the Muslims.
16612 — Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jurayj, he said: Abū l-Zubayr informed me: that he heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh saying concerning this verse: innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarām (the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque): except if it is a slave, or someone from the payers of the jizyah.
16613 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty), he said: Allah enriched them with the jizyah that ran month after month and year after year.
16614 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of Abū l-Zubayr, on the authority of Jābir: innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā (the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs), he said: after this year of his, no polytheist nor dhimmī approaches the Sacred Mosque.
16615 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: innamā l-mushrikūna najasun fa-lā yaqrabū l-masjida l-ḥarāma baʿda ʿāmihim hādhā wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan (the polytheists are truly unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs; and if you fear poverty), and that was because the people said: The markets will be cut off from us, and commerce will perish, and that which we used to acquire from it of benefits will vanish! Then Allah, mighty and exalted is He, said: wa-in khiftum ʿaylatan fa-sawfa yughnīkumu llāhu min faḍlih (and if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His bounty), from a direction other than that. In shāʾ (if He wills), up to His word: wa-hum ṣāghirūn (while they are humbled). In this, therefore, is a compensation for that which you feared of the cutting off of those markets; so Allah compensated them for what He cut off from them of the matter of polytheism (shirk), with that which He gave them from the necks of the People of the Book in jizyah.
* * *
And as for His word: inna llāha ʿalīmun ḥakīm (Truly, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise), the meaning of it is: inna llāha ʿalīm (Truly, Allah is All-Knowing) of that which your souls spoke to you, O believers, of fear of poverty through preventing the polytheists from approaching the Sacred Mosque, and of other matters that concern the welfare of His servants. Ḥakīm (All-Wise) in His governance of them, and the governance of His entire creation.
