Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 28

Idolators are no longer allowed into Al-Masjid Al-Haram

Allah commands His believing servants, who are pure in religion and person, to expel the idolators who are filthy in the religious sense, from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. After the revelation of this Ayah, idolators were no longer allowed to go near the Masjid. This Ayah was revealed in the ninth year of Hijrah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent `Ali in the company of Abu Bakr that year to publicize to the idolators that no Mushrik will be allowed to perform Hajj after that year, nor a naked person allowed to perform Tawaf around the House. Allah completed this decree, made it a legislative ruling, as well as, a fact of reality. `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah commented on the Ayah,

إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلاَ يَقْرَبُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَـذَا

(O you who believe! Verily, the Mushrikin are impure. So let them not come near Al-Masjid Al-Haram after this year) "Unless it was a servant or one of the people of Dhimmah." Imam Abu `Amr Al-Awza'i said, "Umar bin `Abdul-`Aziz wrote (to his governors) to prevent Jews and Christians from entering the Masjids of Muslims, and he followed his order with Allah's statement,

إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ

(Verily, the Mushrikin are impure.) `Ata' said, "All of the Sacred Area the Haram is considered a Masjid, for Allah said,

فَلاَ يَقْرَبُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَـذَا

(So let them not come near Al-Masjid Al-Haram (at Makkah) after this year.)" This Ayah indicates that idolators are impure and that the believers are pure. In the Sahih is the following,

«الْمُؤْمِنُ لَا يَنْجُس»

(The believer does not become impure.) Allah said,

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ

(and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you, out of His bounty.) Muhammad bin Ishaq commented, "The people said, `Our markets will be closed, our commerce disrupted, and what we earned will vanish.' So Allah revealed this verse,

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ

(and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you, out of His bounty), from other resources,

إِن شَآءَ

(if He wills), until,

وَهُمْ صَـغِرُونَ

(. ..and feel themselves subdued.) This Ayah means, `this will be your compensation for the closed markets that you feared would result.' Therefore, Allah compensated them for the losses they incurred because they severed ties with idolators, by the Jizyah they earned from the People of the Book." Similar statements were reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak and others. Allah said,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ

(Surely, Allah is All-Knowing), in what benefits you,

حَكِيمٌ

(All-Wise), in His orders and prohibitions, for He is All-Perfect in His actions and statements, All-Just in His creations and decisions, Blessed and Hallowed be He. This is why Allah compensated Muslims for their losses by the amount of Jizyah that they took from the people of Dhimmah.

The Order to fight People of the Scriptures until They give the Jizyah

Allah said,

قَـتِلُواْ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلاَ بِالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ وَلاَ يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلاَ يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ حَتَّى يُعْطُواْ الْجِزْيَةَ عَن يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَـغِرُونَ

(Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth among the People of the Scripture, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.) Therefore, when People of the Scriptures disbelieved in Muhammad , they had no beneficial faith in any Messenger or what the Messengers brought. Rather, they followed their religions because this conformed with their ideas, lusts and the ways of their forefathers, not because they are Allah's Law and religion. Had they been true believers in their religions, that faith would have directed them to believe in Muhammad , because all Prophets gave the good news of Muhammad's advent and commanded them to obey and follow him. Yet when he was sent, they disbelieved in him, even though he is the mightiest of all Messengers. Therefore, they do not follow the religion of earlier Prophets because these religions came from Allah, but because these suit their desires and lusts. Therefore, their claimed faith in an earlier Prophet will not benefit them because they disbelieved in the master, the mightiest, the last and most perfect of all Prophets . Hence Allah's statement,

قَـتِلُواْ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلاَ بِالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ وَلاَ يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلاَ يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ

(Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth among the People of the Scripture,) This honorable Ayah was revealed with the order to fight the People of the Book, after the pagans were defeated, the people entered Allah's religion in large numbers, and the Arabian Peninsula was secured under the Muslims' control. Allah commanded His Messenger to fight the People of the Scriptures, Jews and Christians, on the ninth year of Hijrah, and he prepared his army to fight the Romans and called the people to Jihad announcing his intent and destination. The Messenger ﷺ sent his intent to various Arab areas around Al-Madinah to gather forces, and he collected an army of thirty thousand. Some people from Al-Madinah and some hypocrites, in and around it, lagged behind, for that year was a year of drought and intense heat. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ marched, heading towards Ash-Sham to fight the Romans until he reached Tabuk, where he set camp for about twenty days next to its water resources. He then prayed to Allah for a decision and went back to Al-Madinah because it was a hard year and the people were weak, as we will mention, Allah willing.

Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr and Disgrace

Allah said,

حَتَّى يُعْطُواْ الْجِزْيَةَ

(until they pay the Jizyah), if they do not choose to embrace Islam,

عَن يَدٍ

(with willing submission), in defeat and subservience,

وَهُمْ صَـغِرُونَ

(and feel themselves subdued.), disgraced, humiliated and belittled. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced and humiliated. Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,

«لَا تَبْدَءُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى بِالسَّلَامِ، وَإِذَا لَقِيتُمْ أَحَدَهُمْ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَاضْطَرُّوهُ إِلَى أَضْيَقِه»

(Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, force them to its narrowest alley.) This is why the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace. The scholars of Hadith narrated from `Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ash`ari that he said, "I recorded for `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham: `In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. This is a document to the servant of Allah `Umar, the Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. When you (Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and followers of our religion. We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose of enmity against Muslims. We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors of our houses of worship for the wayfarer and passerby. Those Muslims who come as guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days. We will not allow a spy against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit or betrayal against Muslims. We will not teach our children the Qur'an, publicize practices of Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing Islam, if they choose to do so. We will respect Muslims, move from the places we sit in if they choose to sit in them. We will not imitate their clothing, caps, turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names, or ride on saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry these weapons. We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic, or sell liquor. We will have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear belts around our waist, refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and markets. We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices with prayer at our funerals, or light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their markets. We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were captured by Muslims. We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching their privacy in their homes.' When I gave this document to `Umar, he added to it, `We will not beat any Muslim. These are the conditions that we set against ourselves and followers of our religion in return for safety and protection. If we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves, then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion."'

Commentary

A proclamation of withdrawal was made against Mushriks and disbelievers at the beginning of Surah At-Taubah. The verse appearing above describes injunctions related to this proclamation. In substance, it stipulated that treaties with disbelievers should be terminated or fulfilled within a year and after the passage of one year from this proc-lamation, no Mushrik should remain within the sacred precincts of the Haram.

This has been stated in the present verse in a particular manner that accomplishes two objectives simultaneously. It points out to the wisdom behind this injunction and it also alleviates the apprehensions of some Muslims about its implementation. Here, the word: نَجَس (najas) has been used with fathah on the letter jeem ج which carries the sense of filth and filth denotes every impurity which one averts naturally. Imam Raghib al-Isfahani has said: It also includes impurity that is perceived through the senses, such as the eye, the nose or the hand as well as that which one is able to know about through knowledge and reason. Therefore, the word: ` najas' is inclusive of filth or impurity of three types. The first one is real. Everyone perceives it as such. Then, there is the second type. This is known as legal because it makes wudu وُضُو (ablution) or ghusl غُسُل (bath) legally necessary. Examples are the state of Janabah (intercourse, ejaculation or wet-dream etc.), as well as, the post-menstruation and post-childbed states known as haidh حیض and nifas نفاس . And then, there is the spiritual impurity that relates to the human heart, for example, false beliefs and evil morals. The word ` najas' covers all of these.

The word, اِنَّمَا (innama) introduced in this verse has been used for hasr or restriction. Therefore, the sentence comes to mean that Mushriks (those who ascribe partners to Allah) are impure indeed (in the sense of ` are but filth' ). The truth of the matter is that all three types of impurities are found in Mushriks because they just do not take a lot of impure things as really impure. The outcome is that they do not make any effort to stay away from smearing themselves with obvious impurities - such as, liquor and things made with it. As for the modalities of purification against acquired impurities provided by religious codes - such as, the prescribed bath after having fallen into the state of Janabah - they simply do not believe in them! Similarly, spiritual impurities like false beliefs and evil morals do not make much sense to them.

Therefore, by declaring Mushriks to be impure in this verse, the injunction given was: فَلَا يَقْرَ‌بُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَ‌امَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَـٰذَا (so let them not come near Al-masjid-al-Haram after this year of theirs).

The word: اَلمَسجِد اَلحَرَام Al-masjid-al-Haram is generally used to denote the place that is surrounded by a walled structure around the Baytullah. But, in the Qur'an and Hadith, this word, at times, has been used for the sacred precincts of the entire Haram of Makkah as well - which is an area of several square miles and is hemmed in by limits originally ap-pointed by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) . It is in this very sense that words of the text of the Qur'an referring to the event of Mi` raj: مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَ‌امِ (from Al-masjid-al-haram - 17:1) have been taken. This interpretation has the backing of a consensus because the event of Mi` raj did not originate from inside what is commonly known as Al-masjid-al-Haram, instead of which, it started from the home of Sayyidah Umm Hani' ؓ .Similarly, in the noble verse: إِلَّا الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتُّمْ عِندَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَ‌امِ (Except those with whom you made a treaty near Al-masjid-al-Haram - 9:7), Al-masjid-al-Haram means the whole of Haram - because, the event of making a peace treaty mentioned there took place at Hudaibiyah, which is located outside the limits of the Haram close by. (A1-Jassas)

Therefore, the verse comes to mean that the entry of the Mushriks into the sacred precincts of the Haram shall be banned after ` this' year. Which year is ` this' year? Some commentators say that it means the Hijrah year 10. But, according to the majority of commentators, the preferred year is Hijrah 9 - because, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had made the ` proclamation of withdrawal' through Sayyidna Abu Bakr and Sayyidna Ali ؓ during the Hajj season of this very Hijrah year 9. Therefore, the period between Hijrah 9 and Hijrah 10 is the year of respite. It was only after Hijrah 10 that this law came into force.

Does the rule stop Mushriks from entering the Sacred Mosque only, or does it apply to all mosques?

About the injunction appearing in the cited verse: that no Mushrik should be allowed to come near Al-masjid-al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque) after Hijrah 10, three things need consideration. Firstly, we have to determine if this injunction is particular to the Sacred Mosque, or other mosques of the world also fall under its jurisdiction. Secondly, if this is particular to the Sacred Mosque, then, is the entry of a Mushrik in the Sacred Mosque banned in an absolute sense? Or the ban of such entry applies only in the case of Hajj and ` Umrah - not otherwise. Thirdly, this injunction appearing in the verse relates to Mushriks. In that case, are the disbelievers (kuffar) among the People of the Book included here, or are they not?

Since the words of the Qur'an are silent about these details, therefore, the Mujtahid Imams have, by turning to the hints of the Qur'an and the reports of Hadith, given a description of injunctions in accordance with their respective Ijtihad. The first investigation in this connection is about the terms of reference in which the Holy Qur'an has declared Mushriks as ` najas' (filth). If this means physical filth or some major legal impurity (janabah etc.), then, as evident, allowing the entry of filth in any masjid is not permissible. Similarly, allowing any person in the state of major impurity or a woman in the state of menstruation or childbed in any masjid is not permissible. And if ` najasah' in this verse means the spiritual filthiness of kufr and shirk, then, it is possible that the injunction which covers it may be different from the injunction which covers outward filth.

According to Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Imam Malik and other jurists of Madinah, may Allah have mercy on them, said: Mushriks are filthy on all counts. They generally do not abstain from obvious filth, are not very particular about taking a bath after having fallen into the state of major impurity and, as for the spiritual impurity of kufr and shirk, they already suffer from it. Therefore, this injunction is equally applicable to all Mushriks and mosques. To prove this, they have cited an executive order given by Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abd al-` Aziz (رح) in which he had instructed the administrators of cities that they should not allow disbelievers to enter mosques. He had quoted this very verse as part of his executive order. In addition to that, there is a Hadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in which he said: لَا اُحِلُّ المَسجِدَ لحَیٔضِ وَ لَا جُنُبِ (I do not make entry into the masjid lawful for any woman in menstruation or for any person in the state of major impurity) - and since the Mushriks and disbelievers do not generally take a bath when in a state of janabah, their entry into the masjid has been prohibited.

Imam Shafi` i (رح) has said that this injunction is applicable to all Mushriks and disbelievers among the People of the Book - but, is restricted to the Sacred Mosque. Their entry into other mosques is not prohibited. (Qurtubi) In proof, he has cited the event relating to Thumamah ibn Athal, according to which Thumamah was arrested. The Holy Prophet ﷺ had him tied to a pillar of his Mosque before he embraced Islam.

According to Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) ، not letting Mushriks come near the Sacred Mosque as commanded in the verse means that they will not be allowed to perform Hajj and ` Umrah in their peculiar polytheistic manner from the next year. Its proof lies in the proclamation of withdrawal which was made through Sayyidna ` Ali al-Murtada ؓ at the time of the Hajj season. This proclamation made was for nothing but: لَا یَحُجَّنَّ بعد العام مُشرِک which made it very clear that no Mushrik will be able to perform Hajj after that year. Therefore, the meaning of the statement: فَلَا يَقْرَ‌بُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَ‌امَ ( (so let them not come near Al-masjid-al-Haram) in this verse is - in accordance with this proclamation - nothing but that they have been prohibited to perform Hajj and ` Umrah, with the exception of entering there on the basis of a particular need which would be subject to the permission of the Muslim 'Amir. This is proved by what happened in the case of the deputation from the tribe of Thaqif. When, after the Conquest of Makkah, their deputation came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ he let them stay in the masjid, although they were kafirs at that time. Thereupon, the Companions ؓ submitted: ` Ya Rasulallah, these are filthy people!' He said: ` The floor of the masjid is not affected by their impurity.' (Jassas)

This report from Hadith also makes it very clear that the Holy Qur'an, when it calls Mushriks ` najas' (filth), it refers to the filth of their kufr and shirk - as interpreted by the great Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) . Similarly, according to a narration of the Companion, Sayyidna Jabir ibn ` Abdullah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that no Mushrik should go near the Masjid except that the person be a bondman or bondwoman of a Muslim - then, he could be admitted if needed. (Qurtubi)

This Hadith too confirms that the Mushriks were not prevented from entering into the Sacred Mosque on the basis of their outward impurity as the cause - otherwise, there was nothing particular about a bondman or bondwoman. In fact, the real basis is the danger of kufr and shirk lest these come to dominate. In the case of a bondman or bondwoman, this danger does not exist. So, they were allowed. In addition to that, as far as outward impurity is concerned, even Muslims stand included under this restriction for they too, if in a state of full impurity (janabah or haidh or nifas), are not allowed to enter the Sacred Mosque.

Besides, when according to the explanation given by the majority of commentators, Al-masjid-al-Haram at this place means the entire Haram, then, that too lends support to the view that this prohibition is not based on outward impurity, instead, it is based on the impurity of kufr and shirk. It is for this reason that their entry was banned not simply in the Sacred Mosque, in fact, it was banned in the entire area known as the Haram. This was done because the Haram is the sanctuary and fortress of Islam and having some non-Muslim inside it cannot be tolerated.

To sum up the investigative approach of the great Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) ، it can be said that the concern for maintaining masajid in a state of perfect purity, free from all sorts of outward and inward pollution, is an issue of major importance having its proof from the Qur'an and Hadith. But, this verse is not connected with this problem. It is, in fact, connected with the particular political order of Islam that was announced at the beginning of Surah Al-Bara'ah and wherein the purpose was to have the sacred Haram vacated by all Mushriks present in Makkah. But, such was the dictate of justice and mercy that all of them were not ordered to vacate immediately and en-block soon after the Conquest of Makkah. Instead of that, the plan was to be implemented within the time-span of one year by allowing people who had a treaty for a specified period to complete that period subject to its solemn fulfillment and by giving others available periods of respite. This is what was stated in the verse under study - that the entry of Mushriks will stand prohibited within the sacred precincts of the Haram after that year and they would no more be able to perform Hajj and ` Umrah in their polytheistic style.

After it was clearly stated in the 'ayat of Surah At-Taubah that no Mushrik would be able to enter the sacred precincts of the Haram after Hijrah 9, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had increased this injunction to cover the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. Hadith reports confirm it but its implementation could not take effect during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Then, Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ remained unable to attend to it because of other emergent problems on hand. It was Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ who, during his period, put this legal order in force.

As for the problem of the impurity of disbelievers and the problem of keeping masjid secured from impurities of all kinds, that has its own place. These problems and their solutions have been taken up in books of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). Details can be seen there. In brief, no Muslim can enter any masjid in the state of najasah or janabah. As for disbelievers and Mushriks or the People of the Book, they too are not generally free and duly purified from these impurities, therefore, their entry too is not permissible in any masjid, unless needed acutely.

When, according to this verse, the entry of Kafirs and Mushriks into the Haram was banned, Muslims had to face an economic problem. Makkah had no produce of its own. Visitors from far and near brought the needed supplies with them. Thus, during the Hajj season, the people of Makkah found what they needed available locally. Now that their entry was banned, the Makkans worried, how things would work for them. In response, they were told in the Qur'an: وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّـهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِن شَاءَ (And if you apprehend poverty, then, Allah shall, if He wills, make you self-sufficient with His grace). In other words, the sense is: if you foresee any economic hardships, then, you must realize that the economic support of the entire creation rests with Allah Almighty. If He wills, He shall make you self-sufficient, free from any dependence on all those kafirs. Incidentally, the restriction of ` if He wills' placed here does not mean that there is any doubt or hesitation in carrying out the Divine will. On the contrary, this is to point out that those who have their sights trained on nothing but material causes find it very difficult to understand and accept a situation like this. Here, the ground reality was that these non-Muslims were the apparent source of all economic support. Putting a ban on the entry of disbelievers amounted to nothing but a termination of the means of livelihood for believers. So, this restriction was placed to remove any such doubts and apprehensions. The strong message given to them was that Allah Ta` ala does not depend on material causes as such. When He intends to do something, all related causes start falling in line with His will. So, His will is what matters - the rest follows. Hence, اِن شآَء (in sha' ) at the end of the sentence serves as a wise indicator of this truth.

Initially, when the entry of polytheists into the Sacred Mosque of Makkah was banned, Muslims were worried because, Arabia being a non-agricultural country, its economy was based on trade and commerce, and trade is based on mutually harmonious relations. Muslims thought that when the entry of polytheists into the Sacred Mosque ended, trade relations with them would also come to an end. But they did not keep in view the possibility that these very polytheists might soon embrace Islam. And that is exactly what happened. Due to the general acceptance of Islam by Arabs, trade activities were restored in a new form. Moreover, the result of this initial sacrifice was that finally Islam became an international religion. The doors of their economy, which seemed to be closed at a local level, were opened at a universal level.