Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:44
Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day would not ask permission of you to be excused from striving with their wealth and their lives. And Allah is Knowing of those who fear Him.
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 statement: لا يَسْتَأْذِنُكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ أَنْ يُجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ (9:44) (Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day do not ask you for leave to refrain from striving with their wealth and their lives, and Allah is All-Knowing of the God-fearing.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is an announcement from Allah to His Prophet ﷺ concerning the characteristics of the hypocrites (munāfiqūn): that one of the signs by which they are recognized is their staying behind from the jihād in the way of Allah, in that they ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for leave not to march out with him, when they are summoned, by means of mendacious excuses.
The Exalted, whose praise is great, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: O Muḥammad, do not give leave to stay behind you, when you march out to fight your enemy, to anyone who, without a valid excuse, asks you for leave to stay behind; for none asks you for that leave except a hypocrite who does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. As for the one who holds Allah to be true, acknowledges His oneness, as well as the resurrection, the hereafter, the reward and the punishment — that one does not ask you for leave to refrain from the campaign and the jihād against the enemies of Allah with his wealth and his life. "And Allah is All-Knowing of the God-fearing," that is to say: Allah possesses knowledge concerning who fears Him and guards himself before Him (al-taqwā) by fulfilling His obligations, avoiding His acts of disobedience, and hastening to His obedience in fighting His enemy and in the jihād against them with his wealth and his life, and in other matters of His commands and prohibitions.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
16768 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "Those who believe in Allah do not ask you for leave" — this is a reproach to the hypocrites when they asked for leave to refrain from the jihād without a valid excuse, while Allah excused the believers and said: لَمْ يَذْهَبُوا حَتَّى يَسْتَأْذِنُوهُ (they do not go away until they have asked him for leave) [Sūrat al-Nūr: 62].
