Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:97
The bedouins are stronger in disbelief and hypocrisy and more likely not to know the limits of what [laws] Allah has revealed to His Messenger. And 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: الأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلا يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (9:97)
(The bedouins are more severe in unbelief (kufr) and hypocrisy (nifāq), and most disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has sent down upon His Messenger. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: The bedouins are more severe in denial of the oneness of Allah, and more severe in hypocrisy (nifāq), than the city-dwellers in the villages and towns. And He, whose praise is great, described them thus only because of their coarseness, the hardness of their hearts, and their little dealing with people of goodness; therefore they are harder of heart and slighter in knowledge of the rights of Allah.
* * *
And His word: وَأَجْدَرُ أَلا يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ (and most disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has sent down upon His Messenger), He says: and most likely not to know the limits of what Allah has sent down upon His Messenger — and that is, according to what Qatāda said: the transmitted practices (al-sunan).
17092 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, [concerning] His word: وَأَجْدَرُ أَلا يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ (and most disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has sent down upon His Messenger), he said: they have the least knowledge of the transmitted practices (al-sunan).
17093 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mughrāʾ related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: A bedouin sat down beside Zayd ibn Ṣūḥān while the latter was relating traditions to his companions — and his hand had been struck off [lost] on the day of Nahāwand. The bedouin said: "By Allah, your words please me, but your hand raises doubt in me!" Zayd said: "And what raises doubt in you concerning my hand? It is [only] the left hand!" Then the bedouin said: "By Allah, I do not know whether they cut off the right hand or the left hand!" Then Zayd ibn Ṣūḥān said: Allah has spoken the truth: الأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلا يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ (The bedouins are more severe in unbelief and hypocrisy, and most disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has sent down upon His Messenger).
* * *
And His word: وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise), He says: وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ (And Allah is All-Knowing) concerning who knows the limits of what has been sent down upon His Messenger, and concerning the hypocrite among His creatures and the unbeliever (kāfir) among them; none of them remains hidden from Him. حَكِيمٌ (All-Wise) in His disposing of them, and in His forbearance in deferring their punishment, despite His knowledge of their hidden things and their deceiving of His protected ones.
