Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 49

ائْذَن لِّي

(Grant me leave), to stay behind,

وَلاَ تَفْتِنِّى

(and put me not into trial.), if I go with you and see the women of the Romans. Allah, the Exalted, replied,

أَلا فِى الْفِتْنَةِ سَقَطُواْ

(Surely, they have fallen into trial) because of the statement they uttered. Muhammad bin Ishaq reported from Az-Zuhri, Yazid bin Ruwman, `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr, `Asim bin Qatadah and several others that they said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Al-Jadd bin Qays from Bani Salimah,

«هَلْ لَكَ يَا جَدُّ الْعَامَ فِي جَلَادِ بَنِي الْأَصْفَرِ؟»

(`Would you like to fight the yellow ones (Romans) this year) He said, `O Allah's Messenger! Give me permission (to remain behind) and do not cause Fitnah for me. By Allah! My people know that there is not a man who is more fond of women than I. I fear that if I see the women of the yellow ones, I would not be patient.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned away from him and said,

«قَدْ أَذِنْتُ لَك»

(I give you permission.) In Al-Jadd's case, this Ayah was revealed,

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَقُولُ ائْذَن لِّي وَلاَ تَفْتِنِّى

(And among them is he who says: "Grant me leave and put me not into trial.") Therefore, Allah says that the Fitnah that he fell into because of not joining the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (in Jihad) and preferring his safety to the safety of the Messenger ﷺ is worse than the Fitnah that he falsely claimed to fear." It was reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and several others that this Ayah was revealed in the case of Al-Jadd bin Qays, who was among the chiefs of Bani Salimah. It is also recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked,

«مَنْ سَيِّدُكُمْ يَا بَنِي سَلَمَةَ؟»

(Who is your chief, O Bani Salamah) They said, "Al-Jadd bin Qays, although we consider him a miser." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«وَأَيُّ دَاءٍ أَدْوَأُ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ وَلَكِنْ سَيِّدُكُمْ الْفَتَى الْجَعْدُ الْأَبْيَضُ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْبَرَاءِ بْنِ مَعْرُور»

(There is not a disease worse than stinginess! Therefore, your chief is the white young man with curly hair, Bishr bin Al-Bara' bin Ma'rur.) Allah said next,

وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَـفِرِينَ

(And verily, Hell is surrounding the disbelievers.) and they will never be able to avoid, avert, or escape from it.

In the seventh verse (49), after citing a particular excuse made by a noted hypocrite called Jadd ibn Qays, a comment has been made which shows how astray he had gone. The excuse for not going on Jihad he came up with was that he happened to be a young man. If he went out against the Roman Christians in their territory, there were chances that he might fall into the snare of their beautiful women! (` Do not expose me to an ordeal' ) The Qur'an responded by saying: أَلَا فِي الْفِتْنَةِ سَقَطُوا (Look! they have already fallen into an ordeal). It means that such people were not very smart. They were trying to hide behind the excuse of an imaginary ordeal, not realizing that they had already fallen into the sin of a certain ordeal, the ordeal of acting against the command of Allah and His Messenger, and of deserting the Jihad effort, right on the spot.

The last sentence of the verse: وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَافِرِ‌ينَ (and certainly the Jahannam has the disbelievers encircled) could have two meanings. It could either mean that the Hell would encircle them in the Hereafter. Or, it could mean that the very chain of causes, which are operating to take them to Hell, and which have them all encircled at that time, are what has been equated with Hell. Given this interpretation, it would suggest that they happen to be, even now, within the larger circle of nothing but Hell.

When there was a general call to set out for the campaign of Tabuk, one Jud ibn Qais of Madinah came to the Prophet Muhammad and said: ‘Please excuse me from taking part in this campaign. This is a Roman area. There after seeing the Roman women, I will be caught in trying circumstances (fitna).’ But, making excuses on such occasions in itself amounts to being affected in fitna, because in moments of adversity, far from seeking excuses to lag behind, the urge to sacrifice himself for the sake of religion should well up inside a man. To give such an excuse a religious and moral colour is a greater evil, since it amounts to adding fraud to inaction. This type of attitude develops in an individual because he is more attached to his worldly interests than to the Hereafter. In times of danger, such people hold themselves back from treading the path of religion. Then, when the real proponents of Truth suffer any loss due to their uncompromising, principled behaviour, these people are happy, feeling that it is good that they adopted the policy of keeping themselves safe. On the contrary, if it happens that the real supporters of truth face dangers and yet are successful, then they are unhappy, because this occurrence proves that the policy they had adopted was not correct.