Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:38
O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you adhere heavily to the earth? Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little.
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.
Explanation of His word: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ انْفِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ اثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى الأَرْضِ أَرَضِيتُمْ بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الآخِرَةِ فَمَا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فِي الآخِرَةِ إِلا قَلِيلٌ (9:38) (O you who believe, what is the matter with you that, when it is said to you: "March forth in the path of Allah," you incline heavily toward the earth? Have you become content with the worldly life over the Hereafter? But the enjoyment of the worldly life, compared with the Hereafter, is only little.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: This verse is an exhortation from Allah, exalted be His praise, addressed to the believers among the Companions of His Messenger, to fight the Byzantines (al-Rūm); that was the campaign of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to Tabūk.
He, exalted be His praise, says: O you who have held Allah and His Messenger to be true — what is the matter with you, that is to say: what is wrong with you — when it is said to you: march forth in the path of Allah, He says: when the Messenger of Allah, Muḥammad, says to you: march forth, that is to say: go out from your dwellings to the battlefield to which you set out for war.
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The root meaning of "al-nafr" is the leaving of one place for another, on account of some matter that has driven a person to it. From it is derived: "the bolting (nufūr) of the mount." Only, with regard to going out to war, it is said: "so-and-so marched out to such-and-such frontier post, he marches out, nafran and nafīran." And I suspect that this belongs to the distinctions by which they differentiate according to the difference of that which is reported, even though the meanings of the report agree.
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The meaning of the statement, then, is: what is the matter with you, O believers, that when it is said to you: "Go out as fighters" = "in the path of Allah," that is to say: in the jihād against the enemies of Allah = you incline heavily toward the earth, He says: you incline heavily toward clinging to your soil and your dwellings and remaining behind in them.
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It is said: "iththāqaltum" — because of the assimilation (idghām) of the "tāʾ" into the "thāʾ," an alif was added before the word, so that by means of it one could arrive at pronouncing it, for the "tāʾ" is assimilated into the "thāʾ." If the alif were omitted and one were to begin with the word, then it could only be moving (with a vowel); therefore the alif was added so that the vowel movement could fall upon it, as He, exalted be His praise, says: حَتَّى إِذَا ادَّارَكُوا فِيهَا جَمِيعًا [Surah Al-Aʿrāf: 38] (Until they have all caught up with one another therein), and as the poet has said:
"She offers the bedfellow, when he inhales her fragrance, a fresh mouth, sweet of taste, when the kisses follow one upon another."
[It is thus derived from "al-thaql" (heaviness), and its morphological form is that of "iftaʿaltum"], from "al-tathāqul" (inclining heavily, sluggishness).
And His word: have you become content with the worldly life over the Hereafter, He, exalted be His praise, says: have you become content with the portion of the worldly life and the ease therein, as a replacement for the bliss of the Hereafter and what is with Allah for the God-fearing in His gardens (jannāt) = but the enjoyment of the worldly life, compared with the Hereafter, He says: as for that which those who enjoy it in the worldly life enjoy — of its sustenance and its pleasures — compared with the bliss of the Hereafter and the honor that Allah has prepared for His friends and the people who obey Him = only little, little and insignificant. He says to them: strive, then, O believers, for the bliss of the Hereafter and the nobility of the honor that is with Allah for His friends, by obeying Him and hastening to answer His command to march forth for the jihād against His enemy.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16719 — 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: what is the matter with you that, when it is said to you: march forth in the path of Allah, you incline heavily toward the earth — they were commanded to the campaign of Tabūk, after the Conquest (of Mecca), and after al-Ṭāʾif, and after Ḥunayn. They were commanded to march forth in the summer, when the date palms had been harvested, and the fruits had become ripe and pleasant, and they longed for the shade, and going out was burdensome for them.
16720 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: O you who believe, what is the matter with you that, when it is said to you: march forth in the path of Allah, you incline heavily toward the earth — the verse, he said: this was when they were commanded to the campaign of Tabūk, after the Conquest and Ḥunayn and after al-Ṭāʾif. He commanded them to march forth in the summer, when the date palms had been harvested, and the fruits had become ripe and pleasant, and they longed for the shade, and going out was burdensome for them. He said: Then they said: "The heavy one (al-thaqīl)," that is the one with needs, and with property, and with occupations, and the one whose affairs keep him distracted and preoccupied in all of this. Then Allah revealed: انْفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالا [Surah Al-Tawba: 41] (March forth, light and heavy).
