Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:81
Those who remained behind rejoiced in their staying [at home] after [the departure of] the Messenger of Allah and disliked to strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah and said, "Do not go forth in the heat." Say, "The fire of Hell is more intensive in heat" - if they would but understand.
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: فَرِحَ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ بِمَقْعَدِهِمْ خِلافَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَكَرِهُوا أَنْ يُجَاهِدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَالُوا لا تَنْفِرُوا فِي الْحَرِّ قُلْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ أَشَدُّ حَرًّا لَوْ كَانُوا يَفْقَهُونَ (9:81) (Those who were left behind rejoiced in their staying at home, contrary to the Messenger of Allah, and they disliked striving with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah, and they said: "Do not go forth in the heat." Say: "The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat," if only they would understand) (9:81).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: Those whom Allah left behind from the expedition with His Messenger and with the believers in him and the fighting against His enemies rejoiced = (in their staying at home, contrary to the Messenger of Allah), He says: in their sitting at home in their dwellings = (contrary to the Messenger of Allah), He says: in opposition to the Messenger of Allah in his going forth and his staying behind. That is because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded them to go forth to fight the enemies of Allah, but they went against his command and remained sitting at home in their dwellings.
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And His statement: (khilāf, in opposition) is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the statement of one who says: "so-and-so opposed so-and-so, so he opposes him, opposing (khilāfan)." For this reason its verbal noun came according to the pattern "fiʿāl," as one says: "he fought him, so he fights him, fighting (qitālan)." And if it were a verbal noun of "khalafahu" (he succeeded him / came after him), then the reading would be: "in their staying behind (khalfa) the Messenger of Allah," for the verbal noun of "khalafahu" is "khalf," not "khilāf." But it is as I have set forth, namely a verbal noun of "khālafa," and for this reason it is read: (khilāfa rasūli-llāh), and that is the reading upon which the reciters of the cities rely, and that, in our view, is the correct one.
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Some have explained that with the meaning of: "after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ," and they cited as evidence for that the statement of the poet:
The spring came after them, as though the palm-leaf weavers had spread out a mat among them.
And that is close to the meaning we have mentioned, for they sat behind after him in opposition to him.
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And His statement: (and they disliked striving with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah), the Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: and these left-behind people disliked going forth to fight against the disbelievers with their wealth and their lives = (in the way of Allah), that is to say: in the religion of Allah which He has prescribed for His servants that they should aid it — out of inclination toward ease and rest, and out of preference for rest over exertion and hardship, and out of stinginess with wealth, lest they should spend it in obedience to Allah.
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= (and they said: "Do not go forth in the heat"). That is because the Prophet ﷺ called them to go forth to this expedition, namely the expedition of Tabūk, in intense heat. So the hypocrites (munāfiqūn) said to one another: "Do not go forth in the heat." Then Allah said to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: (Say) to them, O Muḥammad = (the fire of Hell), which Allah has prepared for whoever resists His command and disobeys His Messenger = (is fiercer in heat) than this heat which you recommend to one another that you should not go forth in. He says: that which is fiercer in heat is more deserving to be feared and avoided than that which of the two inflicts the lesser harm = (if only they would understand), He says: if only these hypocrites would understand from Allah His admonition and ponder the signs of His Book. But they do not understand it from Allah, and for this reason they guard against the heat which is the least disliked and the lightest in harm, and they cast themselves into that which is the most disliked and the greatest in tribulation for whoever is exposed to it.
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And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
17033 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: (Those who were left behind rejoiced in their staying at home, contrary to the Messenger of Allah), up to His statement: (understand). That is because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded the people to go forth with him, and that was in the summer. Then some men said: O Messenger of Allah, the heat is intense and we are unable to go forth, so do not go forth in the heat! Then Allah said: (Say: "The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat," if only they would understand). Thus Allah commanded him to go forth.
17034 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: (in their staying at home, contrary to the Messenger of Allah), he said: it is the expedition of Tabūk.
17035 – Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Abū Maʿshar related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī and others, they said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went forth in intense heat to Tabūk. Then a man of the Banū Salima said: Do not go forth in the heat! Thereupon Allah sent down: (Say: "The fire of Hell..."), the verse.
17036 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, he said: [Then] he mentioned the statement of some of them to one another, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded to jihād and resolved to go forth to Tabūk, despite the intensity of the heat and the dryness of the land. Allah, exalted be His praise, says: (and they said: "Do not go forth in the heat." Say: "The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat").
