Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 117

Battle of Tabuk

Mujahid and several others said, "This Ayah was revealed concerning the battle of Tabuk. They left for that battle during a period of distress. It was a year with little rain, intense heat and scarcity of supplies and water." Qatadah said, "They went to Ash-Sham during the year of the battle of Tabuk at a time when the heat was intense. Allah knew how hard things were, and they suffered great hardship. We were told that two men used to divide a date between themselves. Some of them would take turns in sucking on a date and drinking water, then give it to another man to suck on. Allah forgave them and allowed them to come back from that battle." Ibn Jarir reported that `Abdullah bin `Abbas said that `Umar bin Al-Khattab was reminded of the battle of distress (Tabuk) and `Umar said, "We went with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the intense heat for Tabuk. We camped at a place in which we were stricken so hard by thirst that we thought that our necks would be severed. One of us used to go out in search of water and did not return until he feared that his neck would be severed. One would slaughter his camel, squeeze its intestines and drink its content, placing whatever was left on his kidney. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, `O Allah's Messenger! Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, has always accepted your invocation, so invoke Allah for us.' The Prophet said,

«تُحِبُّ ذَلِكَ؟»

(Would you like me to do that) Abu Bakr said, `Yes.' The Prophet raised his hands and did not put them down until rain fell from the sky in abundance. It rained and then stopped raining for a while, then rained again, so they filled their containers. We went out to see where the rain reached and found that it did not rain beyond our camp."' Ibn Jarir said about Allah's statement,

لَقَدْ تَابَ الله عَلَى النَّبِىِّ وَالْمُهَـجِرِينَ وَالاٌّنصَـرِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ فِى سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ

(Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajirin and the Ansar who followed him in the time of distress,) meaning "With regards to expenditures, transportation, supplies and water,

مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِيقٍ مِّنْهُمْ

(after the hearts of a party of them had nearly deviated,) away from the truth, thus falling prey to doubting the Messenger's religion because of the distress and hardships they suffered during their travel and battle,

ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ

(but He accepted their repentance.) He directed them to repent to their Lord and renew their firmness on His religion,

إِنَّهُ بِهِمْ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Certainly, He is unto them full of kindness, Most Merciful.)"

Commentary

In the comments on verse 102: وَآخَرُ‌ونَ اعْتَرَ‌فُوا (And there are those who admitted...), it was said that following the general call of Jihad at Tabuk which required all Muslims to join in, the people of Madinah had split into five groups. Two of them were of those who elected to stay behind without any valid excuse, a detailed description of which has appeared in previous verses. Here, in the present verses, three kinds of sincere believers have been mentioned. First were those who responded to the call of Jihad instantly. They have been identified in the initial sentence: اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَ‌ةِ (who followed him in the hour of hardship) of verse 117. The second group was of those who hesitated during the early stage but recovered soon and got ready for Jihad with other participants. They have been described in the sentence: كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِ‌يقٍ مِّنْهُمْ (after the hearts of a group of them were about to turn crooked) of the same verse (117).

The third group was that of the believers who did not, though, participate in the Jihad because of their laziness at that time, yet, later on, they regretted and sought forgiveness - and ultimately, the Taubah made by them was accepted. However, their group was further divided in two types. Originally, they were ten in number. Seven out of these men demonstrated their genuine remorse and repentance instantly soon after the return of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The manner in which they did so was unusual. They tied themselves up with the pillars of the Prophet's Mosque with the resolve that they would stay tied as long as their Taubah was not accepted. The verse known as the 'Ayah of Taubah granting forgiveness for them was revealed immediately then. Details can be seen under comments on verse 102. The remaining three out of the ten were those who did not act in that manner. The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked his Companions to boycott them whereby no one was to greet or talk to them. This thing was terrible. It really disturbed them. They have been mentioned in the second verse (118) through the words: وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا (And towards the three whose matter was deferred) where comes the acceptance of their Taubah soon after which the order to boycott them was withdrawn.

Before we move on to explain the first verse (117): لَّقَد تَّابَ اللَّـهُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهَاجِرِ‌ينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ‌ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَ‌ةِ (Surely, Allah has relented towards the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Supporters who followed him in the hour of hardship) in some details, let us answer a question first.

Is it not that Taubah is done because of having committed an act of sin and disobedience? The Holy Prophet ؓ is protected from that (ma` sum). What, then, would be the sense of accepting his Taubah ('relenting towards the Prophet' )? In addition to that, there were the Sahabah from among the Muhajirin and Ansar who had opted for Jihad since the very beginning. They too had not done anything wrong. For what crime had they made their Taubah that was accepted?

The answer is that Allah Ta` a1a made all of them safe from sin. This was expressed as Taubah, or that Allah Ta` ala made all of them tawwab, those who turn to Allah. This indicates that no one is free from the need to make Taubah, not even the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his closest Companions ؓ - as it appears in another verse: وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا (and turn towards Allah in repentance, all of you - 24:31). The reason is that the degrees and ranks of nearness to Allah are endless. Whoever has reached a certain station should realize that there is a higher station ahead and, as compared to that high station, the present one is a shortcoming. The quest must go on. Let one seek forgiveness for any shortcoming he may have at his present station so that he could move on to the next, the higher.

Coming to words: سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَ‌ةِ (translated as ` the hour of hardship' ) appearing in verse 117, the Holy Qur'an has employed this expression to portray the condition of the Muslims on the occasion of this very Jihad because they were poor and straitened on many counts. Hasan al-Basri (رح) says, ` they had one mount for every ten men. They had to take turns to ride. The wherewithal required for such a trip was very short and ordinary. On the other hand, the heat was intense and scorching. Water in en route was scarce and at distances.

As for the next sentence: مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِ‌يقٍ مِّنْهُمْ (after the hearts of a group of them were about to turn crooked), the زَیغ (zaigh: crookedness) of the hearts of some people referred to here does not mean some deviation from faith. In fact, it means to lose heart and wish to avoid action in Jihad because of the hardship of hot weather and the dearth of necessary supplies. Hadith narratives prove that. It was in view of these hardships they faced that their repentance was accepted.

On the occasion of the battle of Tabuk, there was a group which surrendered its best asset to Islam: their crops. It was harvest time, but they left everything behind and set out on a journey which involved a march of three hundred miles in intense heat in order to face the most powerful empire of the time. The shortage of mounts, equipment and goods was so acute that several men had to take turns on each camel, and for food they had often to rest content with one date per person. However, they were only being tested for their resolve and dedication to the cause of God. After God had seen their mettle, He caused the enemy to fall a prey to terror. They retreated from the battlefield without any confrontation and the Muslims returned victorious without having shed any blood. There was another group which consisted of the confessors ( 9:102 ). These people could not set out on this journey due to their engagement in worldly activities. However, they very soon realised that they had made a serious mistake, to which they unreservedly confessed. They were truly ashamed of their misdeed and sincerely repented of it. The flood of tears flowing from their eyes compensated for their shortcomings. God enveloped them in His mercy, because they had admitted their mistake in all sincerity.