Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 46

Exposing Hypocrites

Allah said,

وَلَوْ أَرَادُواْ الْخُرُوجَ

(And if they had intended to march out,), with you to participate in Jihad

لأَعَدُّواْ لَهُ عُدَّةً

(certainly, they would have made some preparation for it) they would have prepared for such task,

وَلَـكِن كَرِهَ اللَّهُ انبِعَاثَهُمْ

(but Allah was averse to their being sent forth) Allah hated that they should go with you,

فَثَبَّطَهُمْ

(so He made them lag behind, and stay away from Jihad,

وَقِيلَ اقْعُدُواْ مَعَ الْقَـعِدِينَ

(and it was said (to them): "Sit you among those who sit (at home)") as a part of what was decreed for them not that He legislated that they stay behind. Allah then explained why He disliked that they march with the believers, saying,

لَوْ خَرَجُواْ فِيكُم مَّا زَادُوكُمْ إِلاَّ خَبَالاً

(Had they marched out with you, they would have added to you nothing except disorder), because they are cowards and failures,

ولاّوْضَعُواْ خِلَـلَكُمْ يَبْغُونَكُمُ الْفِتْنَةَ

(and they would have hurried about in your midst sowing sedition among you) They would have rushed to spread false stories, hatred and discord among you,

وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّـعُونَ لَهُمْ

(and there are some among you who would have listened to them.) who would have obeyed them, given preference to their speech and words and asked them for advice, unaware of the true reality of these hypocrites. This might have caused corruption and great evil between the believers. Muhammad bin Ishaq said, "Those who sought permission (from the Messenger to lag behind) included some of the chiefs, such as `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul and Al-Jadd bin Qays, who were masters of their people. Allah also made them lag behind because He knew that if they went along with the Messenger ﷺ they would sow sedition in his army." There were some in the Prophet's army who liked these chiefs and were ready to obey them, because they considered them honorable,

وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّـعُونَ لَهُمْ

(and there are some among you who would have listened to them) 9:47. Allah next reminds of His perfect knowledge, saying,

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّـلِمينَ

(And Allah is the All-Knower of the wrongdoers.) Allah says that He knows what occurred, what will occur and if anything would have occurred, how it would occur, such as,

لَوْ خَرَجُواْ فِيكُم مَّا زَادُوكُمْ إِلاَّ خَبَالاً

(Had they marched out with you, they would have added to you nothing except disorder,) indicating what they would have done had they marched, even though they did not. Allah said in similar Ayat,

وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَـدُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ

(But if they were returned (to the world), they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) 6:28,

وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لأَسْمَعَهُمْ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّواْ وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ

(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen; and even if He had made them listen, they would but have turned away with aversion (to the truth)) 8:23, and,

وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُواْ مِن دِيَـرِكُمْ مَّا فَعَلُوهُ إِلاَّ قَلِيلٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ فَعَلُواْ مَا يُوعَظُونَ بِهِ لَكَانَ خَيْراً لَّهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ تَثْبِيتاً - وَإِذاً لاّتَيْنَـهُمْ مِّن لَّدُنَّـآ أَجْراً عَظِيماً - وَلَهَدَيْنَـهُمْ صِرَطاً مُّسْتَقِيماً

(And if We had ordered them (saying), "Kill yourselves (the innocent ones kill the guilty ones) or leave your homes," very few of them would have done it; but if they had done what they were told, it would have been better for them, and would have strengthened their conviction. And indeed We would then have bestowed upon them a great reward from Ourselves. And indeed We would have guided them to the straight way) 4:66-68.

At least, one aspect of why their excuse was false has been given in the fourth (46) where it has been said: وَلَوْ أَرَ‌ادُوا الْخُرُ‌وجَ لَأَعَدُّوا لَهُ عُدَّةً (And had they [ really ] wished to set out [ for Jihad ], they would have [ of necessity ] made [ at least ] some preparation for it [ but they made none ] - 46). This shows that the plea of having an excuse was false. The truth of the matter was that they just did not have any intention to come out for Jihad.

How do we know if an excuse is reasonable or unreasonable?

An important principle comes out from this verse, a principle that can be used to distinguish between a reasonable and an unreasonable excuse. To wit, an excuse presented only by those who are ready to carry out orders - but, were rendered helpless by some accident - can be entertained and accepted. This rule applies to all matters pertaining to the excusable. As for a person who made no preparation to carry out orders, did not even make the intention to carry them out when called, thereafter, came some excuse - then, this excuse will be like the excuse of sin which is worse than the sin. This will not be taken as a genuine excuse. Take the example of a person who has made all preparations to present himself in the masjid for his Jumu'ah prayers and is intending to go there when, all of a sudden, came an impediment which prevented him from going there. Then, his excuse is reasonable - and Allah Ta` ala blesses such a person with the full reward of his ` Ibadah (worship). As for the person who just did not make any preparation but, later on, by chance, there came an excuse before him, then, this will be taken as nothing but a ruse and pretext.

Take an example from everyday life. One makes the necessary preparations to get up early in the morning and get ready for the Fajr Salah. An alarm was set in the family clock, or somebody was assigned to give a wakeup call. After that, by chance, whatever arrangements were made did not work - and because of this, the Salah was missed. This is similar to what happened to the Holy Prophet ﷺ when he camped on a journey late at night (lailatu 't-ta` ris). In order to get up on time for Fajr Salah, he arranged with Sayyidna Bilal ؓ that he would sit the night out and wake up everybody when morning comes. But, by chance, sleep overtook him too. Everyone got up only when the sun had risen. So, this excuse is correct and reasonable. Based on this, consoling his Companions ؓ ، the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: لَا تَفرِیطَ فی النَّومِ اِنَّمَا التَّفرِیط فی الیقظۃِ (There is no negligence in sleep. Negligence occurs only when awake) that is, one is excusable in sleep. The reason was that, as far as it was possible to do, arrangements had already been made to get up on time.

In short, a decision about an excuse being reasonable or unreasonable can be taken only by knowing whether or not preparation was made to carry out orders. Simply using a lot of words to make a point gets nothing done.

At a time when a son is ill or there is a daughter’s marriage, nobody spares himself or his money; he will sacrifice his life and his wealth for the sole purpose of being of use to his kinsfolk. This is not the time for sheltering behind excuses. Similarly, the truly religious individual will never put forward excuses, when some occasion arises which demands sacrifice for religion. The restless emotions of faith in his heart await such a crucial moment when he will have the chance to sacrifice himself and prove his loyalty before God. Then, such an occasion having arisen, how would such a person try to hide behind an excuse? The believer is God-fearing in nature, fear being the strongest feeling in man. The feeling of fear overcomes all other feelings. A man becomes extremely realistic and serious about anything to which he relates to. For this reason, one who has become a believer in God at the level of fear wastes no time in understanding what his reaction should be on particular occasions. The benefits of the Hereafter not being present before a human being, he entertains doubts about making any sacrifices for it. But to tear off this veil of doubt is the real test of man in this world.