At-Tawbah


At-Tawbah is the ninth chapter of the Quran. It contains 129 verses and is one of the last Medinan surahs. This Surah is also known as Al-Bara'ah. It is called At-Tawbah in light of the fact that it articulates tawbah and informs about the conditions of its acceptance. The name Bara'at is taken from the opening word of the Surah.
It is believed by Muslims to have been revealed at the time of the Expedition of Tabuk in Medina in the 9th year of the Hijrah. The Sanaa manuscript preserves some verses, on parchment radiocarbon dated to between 578 CE and 669 CE.
It is the only Surah of the Quran that does not begin with Bismillah, the usual opening formula, In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. It deals with almost the same topics as those dealt with in Surat al-Anfal. In contrast to all other surahs, the Islamic prophet Muhammad did not order that this formula should be put at the beginning of this surah. At-Tawba's verse 40 refers to Abu Bakr as .

Summary

  • 1 Allah makes a declaration of disassociation from the polytheists.
  • 2 they can travel freely for 4 months
  • 3 It would be better if they repent
  • 4 Polytheists who didn’t break any treaty are to be spared and treated with respect until time of treaty is over
  • 5 after the Sacred months have passed Polytheists are to be killed but if they repent they are accepted
  • 6 Any Polytheist who goes to Muslims and asks for protection is to be granted protection so they can hear the words of Allah
  • 7 Polytheists who upheld treaties not to be harmed
  • 8 Polytheists rebuked for not observing treaty believing they have the upper hand
  • 9 Polytheists rebuked for exchanging the signs of Allah and averting from his way
  • 10 Those who broke the treaties are the transgressors
  • 11 If those who broke the treaties become Muslims they are regarded as brothers to the believers
  • 12 Muslims are told to fight the leaders of disbelief
  • 13-16 Muslims exhorted to fight against the truce-breakers
  • 17-18 All but Muslims to be excluded from the sacred temples
  • 19 Abbás rebuked for his vainglory
  • 20-22 The Muhajirun assigned the first rank among Muslims—their reward
  • 23-24 True believers to refuse friendship with nearest kin if they be infidels
  • 25-27 The Battle of Hunayn victory due to God's help
  • 28 Idolators excluded from the Kaaba
  • 29 The Jews and Christians to be attacked
  • 30 Jews and Christians reproved for applying the epithet “Son of God” to Uzayr and Jesus
  • 31-32 They take their priests and monks and Jesus as Lords besides Allah.
  • 33 Islam superior to all other religions
  • 34-35 Stingy Muslims likened to covetous monks—their punishment
  • 36 Infidels may be attacked in sacred months
  • 37 The sacred months not to be transferred
  • 38–41 Muslims exhorted to go on expedition to Tabuk by reference to God's help to Muhammad and Abu Bakr in the cave; Abu Bakr is referenced as
  • 42 The lukewarm Muslims rebuked for wishing to stay at home
  • 43 Muhammad rebuked for excusing some of these from going
  • 44-46 Willingness to fight for Muhammad, a test of faith
  • 47-50 Seditious Muslims rebuked
  • 51-52 The sure reward of the faithful
  • 53-55 God refuses the offerings of infidels and hypocrites
  • 55 The wealth and prosperity of infidels a sign of their reprobation
  • 56-57 Half-hearted Muslims reproved
  • 58-59 Those who had spread libellous reports regarding Muhammad's use of alms rebuked
  • 60 How alms should be expended
  • 61-69 Grumblers and hypocrites threatened
  • 70 They are warned by the example of the wicked in former ages
  • 71-72 The faithful described—their rewards
  • 73-74 Hypocrites denounced and threatened
  • 76-78 Prosperity of infidels a prelude to their destruction
  • 79 God shall scoff at the scoffers
  • 80 The defamers of the faithful shall never be forgiven
  • 81-83 Punishment of the “stayers at home”
  • 84 Muhammad forbidden to pray at the grave of unbelievers and hypocrites
  • 85-87 The Prophet not to wonder at the prosperity of the wicked
  • 88-89 Reward of those who assist the Apostle in his wars
  • 90 Hypocritical Arabs of the desert reproved
  • 91-92 Who may lawfully remain at home in time of war
  • 93-96 Other hypocrites reproved
  • 97-98 The Bedouin, the worst of hypocrites
  • 99 Some of them true believers
  • 100 The reward of the Ansars and Muhájjirín
  • 101 The desert Arabs and some of the people of Madína reproved
  • 102-105 The penitent confessors in Madína are pardoned
  • 106 Others await God's decision in their case
  • 107-110 Denunciation against those who built a Masjid in opposition to Muhammad and his faithful ones
  • 111-112 True believers are sold to God
  • 113 Muslims not to pray for idolatrous relatives
  • 114 Why Abraham prayed for his idolatrous parents
  • 115-117 God merciful to the faithful
  • 118 The three recreant Ansars pardoned
  • 119-121 The people of Madína rebuked for want of loyalty to Muhammad
  • 122 Some believers excused from going to war
  • 123 True believers to war against neighbouring infidels and hypocrisy
  • 124-127 Reproof of those who doubt the revelations of God and Muhammad
  • 128-129 The Apostle trusts in the help of God

    Omission of Bismillah

Out of all 114 Surahs of the Quran this is the only one to which Bismillah is not prefixed. Among the explanations put forward for his not doing so, the most commonly accepted according to Unal is that, like the Islamic salutation, Peace be upon you, the expression, In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate conveys security and giving of quarter to those addressed. However, Surat at-Tawbah begins with an ultimatum to certain polytheists in Arabia. It deals, for the most part, with a re-evaluation of the relations with the polytheists who were frequently violating their agreements, the campaign to Tabuk, a disclosure of the intrigues of the hypocrites in Madinah, the importance of jihad in God's cause, and relationships with the People of the Book.

Sanaa manuscript folio 22, Q9:122-129

Verses 122-129 are preserved in Folio 22 of the Sanaa manuscript. The sequence of Sanaa 1 chapters do not follow any other known quranic order and folio 22 is shared with Chapter 19. Saudi-based experts in Quranic history emphasize that while Muhammad was alive, Quranic texts did not follow any standard sequence of surahs.
Folio 22, rectoVisible TracesReconstructionStandard Text
Quran 9, Verse 122
Line 3, p. 62		ما ﺎ ﮞمَا كَانَمَا كَانَ
Quran 9:122
Line 4		مں كل ا ﻣﻪمِن كُلِّ مِن كُلِّ
Quran 9:124
Line 9		و ا د ا ا ٮر لٮوَإِذَا أُنزِلَتْوَإِذَا أُنزِلَتْ
Quran 9:125
Line 12		ڡی ٯلو ٮهم ر حسفِى قُلُوبِهِم فِى قُلُوبِهِم
Quran 9:125
Line 13		ر حر ا ا لی ر ﺣﺴـﻢ إِلَىٰ رِجْسِهِمْ إِلَىٰ رِجْسِهِمْ
Quran 9:125
Line 13		و ما ٮو ا و هم ڡـ ﮞوَمَاتُوا۟ وَهُمْ وَمَاتُوا۟ وَهُمْ
Quran 9:126
Line 13		ا / / ٮر وأَوَلَا أَوَلَا
Quran 9:126
Line 15		و لا ٮــﺪ كر و ﮞوَلَا يَتَذَكَّرُونَوَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
Quran 9:127
Line 15		و ا د ا ا ـﺮ ـٮوَإِذَا أُنزِلَتْوَإِذَا أُنزِلَتْ
Quran 9:127
Line 16		هل ٮر ٮٮاهَلْ هَلْ
Quran 9:127
Line 17		ڡا ٮـ ڡـ اﭑنصَرَفُوا انصَرَفُوا
Quran 9:127
Line 17		ڡصر ڡ ا ﻟـﻠـﻪـصَرَفَ اللهُصَرَفَ ٱللَّـهُ
Quran 9:127
Line 17		د لک ٮـ// ـﻮ م لا ٮڡٯهو ﮞ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَبِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ
Quran 9:128
Line 18		و لٯد حا کملَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْلَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ
Quran 9:128
Line 18		ر سو ل ﻣٮــﻢرَسولٌ رَسُولٌ
Quran 9:128
Line 19		عر ٮر ﻠ ما عٮٮکمعَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا
Quran 9:129
Line 20		ڡا / / ـﻮ لو ا ـﮏفَإن تَوَلَّوْا فَإن تَوَلَّوْا
Quran 9:129
Line 21		ا لد ی لا ا ﻟ ا لا ﻫﻮ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَلَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ

Three Discourses

From opening up to the 37th ayat, the initial talk, was uncovered in Zil-Qa'adah A.H. 9. As the significance of the subject of the talk required its affirmation on the event of Hajj Muhammad dispatched Ali to follow Abu Bakr, who had just left for Makkah to lead the Pilgrims to the Ka'abah. He trained Ali to convey the talk before the representatives of the various clans of Arabia in order to advise them regarding the new policy guidelines pertinent to the mushriks.
Starting from ayat 38 up to 72nd ayat the subsequent talk was revealed during Rajab A.H. 9 or a little before this, when Muhammad was occupied with getting ready for the Campaign of Tabuk. The Believers were encouraged to take a dynamic part in Jihad, and the shirkers were seriously reproached for keeping down their riches and for wavering to forfeit their lives in the path for Allah due to their hypocrisy, powerless belief or carelessness.
The final section of ayaat 73rd to last, was uncovered on his return from the Campaign of Tabuk. There are a few pieces revealed in different events during the same time frame and were incorporated by Muhammad into the Surah as per instructions from Allah. This talk cautions the hypocrites of their malevolent deeds and censures those Believers who had remained behind in the Campaign of Tabuk. At that point in the wake of berating them, Allah exculpates those genuine Believers who had not partaken in the Jihad in the Way of Allah for one explanation or the other.
In the middle of the ayat 97 In other words, apart from hypocrisy, one of their defects is that they did not even keep in touch with the Muslims of Madinah through which they would have known the rules of Sharia.
That is, these people want the Muslims to fall into such a cycle of trouble that these people get freedom from the kind of commands that they find very difficult to follow.  Especially on the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk, these people had the hope that this time the Muslims were facing the great power of Rome, so maybe this time they would lose all their power after being defeated by the Romans.  Further, Allah Ta'ala said that in reality these people are lying in the cycle of self-hypocrisy, which will cause them to be disgraced both in this world and in the hereafter.