Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:32
They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.
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 saying: "They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses anything except that He perfect His light, even though the disbelievers (kāfirūn) hate it" (9:32).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: These people, who have taken their scribes and their monks and the Messiah, the son of Mary, as lords, wish = "to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths". He means: they seek, through their denial of the religion of Allah with which He sent forth His Messenger, and through their turning the people away from it with their tongues, to nullify that [religion] — and that is the light which Allah has made a radiance for His creatures. = "but Allah refuses anything except that He perfect His light" — [namely] that His religion be made exalted, that His word be made manifest, and that the truth be perfected with which He sent forth His Messenger Muḥammad, the Prophet ﷺ. = "even though they hate" — its perfecting by Allah — = "the disbelievers" — He means: the deniers of it, who reject it.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16644 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths". He says: they wish to extinguish Islam with their words.
[The footnote refers, for the explanation of "al-iṭfāʾ" (the extinguishing), to what preceded, 10:458.]