1. An announcement to those idolaters you have a general treaty with for four months, more or less, that Allah and His Messenger are free of them: the treaty is cancelled by this statement.

2. ‘You may travel about safely in the land for four months, idolaters– the first month was Shawwal, as will be shown later – after that you will have no security, and know that you cannot thwart Allah – escape His punishment – and that Allah will humiliate the unbelievers in this world by killing and in the Next by the Fire.’

3. A proclamation and announcement from Allah and His Messenger to mankind on the day of the greater pilgrimage (the Day of Sacrifice): ‘Allah is free of the idolaters and their treaties, as is His Messenger also free. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent ‘Alı that year, which was 9 AH, and he proclaimed these ayats at Mina on the Day of Sacrifice, adding that no unbeliever should make hajj after that year or do tawaf around the House naked. Al-Bukhari related that. If you repent of unbelief, it will be better for you. But if you turn your backs on belief, know that you cannot thwart Allah.’ Give the unbelievers the news of a painful punishment – referring to killing and capture in this world and the Fire in the Next World –

4. …except those among the idolaters you have treaties with, who have not then broken any of the terms of their treaties with you in anyway, or granted assistance to anyone among the unbelievers against you. Honor their treaties until their time runs out. Allah loves those who are god-fearing by completing their agreements.

5. Then, when the sacred months are over – in other words, at the end of the period of delay granted – kill the idolaters wherever you find them – whether they be in the haram or outside it –and seize them by capture and besiege them in citadels and fortresses until they either fight or become Muslim and lie in wait for them on every road on which they travel. If they repent of their unbelief and establish the prayer and pay zakat, let them go on their way and do not interfere with them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful to those who repent.

6. If any of the idolaters ask you for protection from being killed, give them protection and security until they have heard the words of Allah (the Qur’an). Then convey them to a place where they are safe (the land of their people) if they do not believe. Then grant them a delay while they consider their circumstances. That is because they are a people who do not know the dın of Allah. They must listen to the Qur’an so that they know.

7. How could any of the idolaters possibly have a treaty with Allah and with His Messenger – when they are those who reject Allah and His Messenger treacherously – except for those you made a treaty with at al-Masjid al-Haram (at al-Hudaybiyya)? So it is the Quraysh who are excepted. As long as they are straight with you – as long as they do not break their treaty – be straight with them and keep the treaty. Allah loves those who are godfearing. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kept the treaty he had made with them (the Quraysh) until they broke it by helping the Banu Bakr against Khuza‘a.

8. How indeed can they have a treaty? For if they get the upper hand over you by defeating you, they will respect neither kinship nor treaty. Instead they will harm you as much as they can. They please you with their mouths by fair words but their hearts belie their words and they do not abide by what they say. Most of them are deviators and break their word.

9. They have sold Allah’s Signs (the Qur’an) for a paltry price (this world) – they did not follow the Qur’an but instead followed their appetites and desires – and they have barred access to His Way (His din). What they have done in this regard is truly evil.

10. They respect neither kinship nor treaty where a believer is concerned. They are the people who overstep the limits.

11. But if they repent and establish the prayer and pay zakat, they are your brothers in the din. We make the Signs clear for people who have knowledge and reflect.

12. If they break their oaths and agreements after making their treaty and defame and criticize your din, then fight the leaders of unbelief – their oaths and treaties mean nothing – so that hopefully they will stop their unbelief.

13. The following is for encouragement. Will you not fight a people who have broken their oaths (their treaties) and resolved to expel the Messenger from Makka when they plotted against him in the Dar an-Nadwa, and who initiated hostilities against you in the first place? They initiated the fighting when they fought Khuza‘a, your allies, with the Banu Bakr. Why, then, should you not fight them? Is it them you fear? Allah has more right to your fear if you do not fight them if you are believers.

14. Fight them! Allah will punish them by killing them at your hands, and disgrace them by capture and defeat and help you against them, and heal the hearts of those who believe for what the Banu Khuza‘a did to them.

15. He will remove the rage and grief from their hearts. Allah turns to anyone He wills by making them turn to Islam – like Abu Sufyan. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

16. Or did you suppose that you would be left without Allah knowing by outward knowledge those of you who performed jihad with sincerity and who have not taken anyone as their intimate friends besides Allah and His Messenger and the believers? This refers to those who are sincere, who can be described by what Allah mentions here. Allah is aware of what you do.

17. It is not for the idolaters to frequent the mosques (read as masajid – plural – and masjid – singular) of Allah by entering and sitting in them, bearing witness against themselves of their unbelief. They are the ones whose actions will come to nothing. They will be in the Fire timelessly, for ever.

18. The mosques of Allah should only be frequented by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish the prayer and pay zakat, and fear no one but Allah. They are the ones most likely to be guided.

19. Do you make the giving of water to the pilgrims and looking after the people of the Masjid al-haram the same as believing in Allah and the Last Day and doing jihad in the Way of Allah? They are not equal in the sight of Allah in respect of their excellence? Allah does not guide wrongdoing people (unbelievers). This was revealed to refute those who said they were equal, namely al-‘Abbas and others.

20. Those who believe and emigrate and do jihad in the Way of Allah with their wealth and themselves have a higher rank with Allah than those who do not. They are the ones who are victorious and who win good.

21. Their Lord gives them the good news of His mercy and good pleasure and Gardens where they will enjoy everlasting delight…

22. …remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. Truly there is an immense reward with Allah.

23. This was revealed about those who did not emigrate because of their families and businesses. You who believe! Do not befriend your fathers and brothers if they prefer unbelief to belief. Those among you who do befriend them are wrongdoers.

24. Say: ‘If your fathers or your sons or your brothers or your wives or your tribe (your clan, read as ‘ashiratukum and ‘ashiratukum), or any wealth you have acquired, or any business you fear may slump and not be carried out, or any house which pleases you, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and doing jihad in His Way – and so you remain behind instead of emigrating and performing jihad – then wait until Allah brings about His command. This is a threat to them. Allah does not guide people who are deviators.’

25. Allah has helped you on many occasions in war – such as at Badr and the fight against Quraza and an-Nadir – including the Day of Hunayn – a valley between Makka and Ta’if, referring to the day when the Muslims fought Hawazin in Shawwal, 8 AH – when your great numbers delighted you – you said, “We will not be defeated today due to lack of manpower.” The Muslims numbered 12,000 and the unbelievers 4000 – but did not help you in any way, and the earth seemed narrow to you for all its great breadth – the ma in bima is adverbial, meaning that in spite of its extent you could not find a place in which you felt safe due to the intensity of fear which you experienced – and you turned your backs in defeat while the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained firm on his white mule and no one remained with him except al-‘Abbas and Abu Sufyan, who was holding his stirrup.

26. Then Allah sent down His serenity (peace of mind) on His Messenger and on the believers – the believers returned to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when, at his command, al-‘Abbas called them back and they fought – and sent down troops you could not see (the angels) and punished those who were unbelievers by killing and capture. That is how the unbelievers are repaid.

27. Then after that Allah will turn to anyone He wills with Islam. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

28. You who believe! The idolaters are unclean through the foulness of their inward, so after this year (9 AH) they should not come near al-Masjid al-Haram. If you fear impoverishment (poverty) through you by trade with them being cut off, Allah will enrich you through conquest and jizya from His bounty if He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

29. Fight those of the people who were given the Book who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day – shown by the fact that they did not accept the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – and who do not make unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful – such as things like wine – and do not take as their din the din of Truth, which confirms and abrogates other dins, until they pay the jizya with their own hands – meaning the Jews and the Christians who must pay it in submission or directly with their actual hands – in a state of complete abasement – humble and subject to the judgements of Islam. The jizya is a poll tax that they are required to pay every year.

30. The Jews say, ‘‘Uzayr is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah (‘Isa) is the son of Allah.’ That is what they say with their mouths, having nothing on which to base it, copying the words of those who disbelieved before, thereby imitating their forefathers. Allah fight them! This is a type of curse. How perverted they are! How they have turned aside from the truth when the proof has been established!

31. They have taken their rabbis (Jewish scholars) and monks (Christian worshippers) as lords besides Allah — since they follow them rather than Allah in making lawful what Allah has made unlawful and making unlawful what Allah has made lawful — and also the Messiah, son of Maryam. Yet they were commanded in the Torah and Gospel to worship only one God. There is no god but Him! Glory be to Him who is far above anything they associate with Him!

32. They desire to extinguish Allah’s Light (His Shari‘a and His proofs) with the words of their mouths. But Allah refuses to do other than perfect and manifest His Light, even though the unbelievers detest it.

33. It is He who sent His Messenger Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with guidance and the Din of Truth to exalt it over every other dın – any dın opposed to His – even though the idolaters detest it.

34. You who believe! Many of the rabbis and monks devour people’s property under false pretenses – such as by taking bribes for making favourable judgements – and bar people from access to the Way of Allah (His dın). As for those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it (what has been hoarded) in the Way of Allah, not, for instance, paying what is due on it in the form of zakat and charity – give them the news of a painful punishment…

35. …on the Day it is heated up in the fire of Hell and their foreheads, sides and backs are branded and burned with it. Their skin will become large enough to take all of it. They will be told: ‘This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste the repayment for what you were hoarding!’

36. There have been twelve months in the calculation of the year with Allah in the Book of Allah (the Preserved Tablet) from the day He first created the heavens and earth. Four of them (the months) are sacred – namely, Dhu’l-Qa‘da, Dhu’l-Hijja, Muharram and Rajab. That making sacred is the True (Upright) Dın, so do not wrong one another during them (the Sacred Months) by acts of disobedience, because in those months they constitute a greater sin than at other times. It is said that this means in all months. But fight the idolaters totally (at all times) just as they fight you totally, and know that Allah is with those who are godfearing by His help and victory.

37. Deferring a sacred month – deferring the inviolability of one month to another month, as they used to do in the Jahiliyya when they were engaged in fighting – is an increase in disbelief – because they deny the judgement of Allah in it – by which the unbelievers lead many people astray (read as yudillu and yudallu). One year they make it profane and another sacred to tally with the number Allah has made sacred. They make this exchange to keep the right number of sacred months. So the number remains exactly the same but the specific months concerned are varied. In that way they profane what Allah has made sacred and think that what they do is good. Their bad actions are made to seem good to them. Allah does not guide disbelieving people.

38. The following was revealed when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called people to go on the Tabuk expedition. They were in difficulty and it was a time of great heat and so it was hard for them. You who believe! What is the matter with you that when you are told, ‘Go out and fight in the way of Allah,’ you sink down heavily to the earth – you incline away from jihad and sit on the ground? The question is meant to be a rebuke. Are you happier with this world than the Next World and its pleasures? Yet the enjoyment of this world is very small and insignificant compared to that of the Next World.

39. If you do not go out to fight with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for jihad, He (Allah) will punish you with a painful punishment and substitute another people in your place. You will not harm Him in any way by not helping Him. This can refer to either Allah or to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah has power over all things. Allah is the One who helps His dın. He has the power to help His dın and His Prophet.

40. If you do not help him (the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace) Allah did help him when the unbelievers drove him out of Makka – and he was forced to seek refuge outside when they intended to kill him or imprison him or to exile him after their meeting in the Dar an-Nadwa – and there were two of them in the Cave in Mount Thaw r. The two of them in the Cave were the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Abu Bakr. The implication is that just as Allah helped him in that situation He will not disappoint him in other similar situations. He said to his companion, Abü Bakr, who, upon seeing the feet of the idolaters at the mouth of the cave said, “If one of them looks under his feet, they will see us,” ‘Do not be despondent, Allah is with us with His help.’ Then Allah sent down His serenity (peace of mind) upon him– this may refer either to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or to Abü Bakr – and reinforced him (the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with troops you could not see – a reference to the angels in the Cave and in other places where they fought. He made the word of the unbelievers (the call to shirk) undermost (defeated). It is the word of Allah (the shahada) that is uppermost (victorious), Allah is Almighty in His kingdom, All-Wise in what He does.

41. Go out to fight, whatever your circumstances or desires – literally “light and heavy” meaning both active and not active, or both strong and weak, or both rich and poor. It is abrogated by the ayat, “Nothing is held against the weak…” (9:91) – and do jihad with your wealth and yourselves in the Way of Allah. That is better for you if you only knew, so do not sit down heavily. This was revealed about the hypocrites who stayed behind.

42. If it (what you have called them to) had been a case of easy gains of the goods of this world and a short journey to somewhere close- at- hand, they would have followed you for the sake of the booty, but the distance was too great for them and so they stayed behind. They will swear by Allah when you return to them: ‘Had we been able to go out, we would have gone out with you.’ They are destroying their own selves by swearing false oaths. Allah knows that they are lying in what they say to you.

43. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave permission to a group to stay behind on his own initiative and the following was revealed to censure him. The pardon came before the censure, to calm his heart. Allah pardon you! Why did you excuse them for staying behind, rather than just leaving them until it was clear to you which of them were telling the truth in their excuse and until you knew the liars in that respect?

44. Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day do not ask you to excuse them from doing jihad with their wealth and themselves by requesting you to allow them to stay behind. Allah knows the people who are godfearing.

45. Only those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day ask you to excuse them for staying behind. Their hearts are full of doubt about the dın and in their doubt they waver to and fro in confusion.

46. If they had really desired to go out with you, they would have made proper preparations in terms of equipment and provision for it, but Allah was averse to their setting out and did not will that they should do so, so He held them back and made them lazy and they were told: ‘Stay behind with those who stay behind,’ meaning with the sick, women and children. This means that Allah decreed that.

47. If they had gone out among you, they would have added nothing to you but confusion – “confusion” (khabal) means corruption and consequent weakening of the Muslims. They would have scurried about amongst you – hurried back and forth among you spreading slander and rumour – seeking to cause conflict (enmity) between you; and among you there are some who would have listened to them and accepted what they said. Allah knows the wrongdoers.

48. They have already tried to cause conflict among you before, when you first came to Madina, and turned things completely upside down for you – in an attempt to trick you and to invalidate your din – until the truth (victory) came and Allah’s command (His din) prevailed even though they detested it and they reluctantly entered the dın outwardly.

49. Among them are there some who say, ‘Give me permission to stay behind. Do not put temptation in my way.’ The man who said this was al-Jadd ibn Qays. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked him, “Can you fight the strong men of the Greeks?” He replied, “I am desirous of women and I fear that if I see the Greek women, I will not be able to refrain from them and so I will be tempted.” Allah said: Have they not fallen into that very temptation by staying behind? Hell hems in the unbelievers and they cannot escape.

50. If good (victory and booty) happens to you, it galls them. If a mishap (hardship) occurs to you they say, ‘We made our preparations in advance by resolving to stay behind,’ and they turn away rejoicing at your misfortune.

51. Say to them: ‘Nothing can happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is Our Master – Our Helper and the One who has charge of our affairs. It is in Allah that the believers should put their trust.’

52. Say: ‘What do you await for us except for one of the two best things (victory or martyrdom)? But what we await for you is for Allah to inflict a punishment on you either directly from Himself by a bolt from heaven or at our hands by giving us permission to fight you. So wait; we are waiting with you for the outcomes which have been described!’

53. Say: ‘Whether you give in obedience to Allah readily or reluctantly, it (what you spend) will not be accepted from you. You are people who are deviators.’ The imperative here has the meaning of a report.

54. Nothing prevents what they give from being accepted (read as tuqbala and yuqbala) from them but the fact that they have rejected Allah and His Messenger, and that they only come to the prayer lethargically – reluctantly, as if it were a burden – and that they only give reluctantly because they consider what they spend to be tantamount to a tax and imposition.

55. Do not let their wealth and children impress you. Do not think that their blessings are good for them, letting that lead you into thinking they are all right. Allah merely wants to punish them by them through the difficulties involved in amassing their wealth and the misfortunes which occur to their children during their life in this world and for them to expire while they are unbelievers so that they will be punished in the worst way in the Next World.

56. They swear by Allah that they are of your number – that they are believers – but they are not of your number. Rather, they are people who are scared – afraid that you will deal with them like idolaters; and therefore they swear that out of dissimulation.

57. If they could find a bolt-hole, cave or burrow in which to take refuge, they would turn and scurry away into it – they would hurry into it and leave you without turning to anything, like a bolting horse.

58. Among them there are some who find fault with you concerning the distribution of the zakat. If they are given some of it, they are pleased; but if they are not given any, they are angry.

59. If only they had been pleased with what Allah and His Messenger had given them in terms of booty and other things and had said, ‘Allah is enough for us. Allah will give us of His bounty, booty which will be enough for us, as will His Messenger. It is to Allah that we make our plea to enrich us.’ That would be better for them.

60. The word used here, sadaqt, means zakat so: Zakat is for and must be distributed to: the poor, – those who do not have enough to cover their normal needs, the destitute – those without anything at all; those who collect it – those who collect the zakat and distribute it, and the scribes who record it; reconciling people’s hearts – to encourage them become Muslim or to make their Islam firm or so that those like them become Muslim or to turn groups from the Muslims, although the first and last categories are not given today, according to ash-Shafi‘i, because of the strength of Islam, as opposed to the others which can be given in the soundest view; freeing slaves – those with a kitaba contract to fulfil in order to become free; those in debt – people who ask for help to pay debts which have not been incurred in disobedience to Allah, or only after they have repented, and who do not have enough to settle them, or to repair disputes, even if the people concerned are rich; spending in the Way of Allah – to enable those who do not have booty to undertake jihad, even if they are rich; and travellers – those who are prevented from finishing their journey. It is a legal obligation from Allah. Allah is All-Knowing of His creation, All-Wise in what He does. It is not permitted to give zakat to people outside these categories or to deny it to any of them if the need exists. So the ruler should divide it among them equally. He can give more to some categories. it is not an obligation to give zakat to someone with wealth when it is distributed if there is not very much of it. It is enough to give zakat to three people in each category, but not less than that as the plural is used. The sunna makes it clear that the recipient must be a Muslim who is not a descendant of Hashim or ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib.

61. Among them (the hypocrites) are some who insult the Prophet by criticising him and reporting what he says, saying – when they were forbidden to do that so that it would not reach him – he is only an ear who listens to everything said and accepts it. If we were to swear that we had not said anything, he would believe us.” Say, ‘He is an ear of good for you – hearing what is good about you but not what is evil – believing in Allah and believing in the believers – believing what the believers tell him and not others. The laam attached to ‘believers’ is to make a distinction between the faith of submission and other belief – and a mercy for those among you who believe.’ As for those who insult the Messenger of Allah, they will have a painful punishment.

62. They swear to you by Allah, believers, about what has reached you about their insulting of the Messenger, that they did not do it, in order to please you, but it would be more fitting for them to please Allah and His Messenger by obedience, if they really are believers.

63. Do they not know that whoever opposes and splits from Allah and His Messenger, will have the repayment of the Fire of Hell, remaining in it timelessly, for ever? That is the great disgrace.

64. The hypocrites are afraid that a sura may be sent down to the believers about them, informing them of what is in their hearts – meaning hypocrisy. But in spite of this, they continued their mockery. Say as a threat to them: ‘Go on mocking! Allah will expose everything you are afraid of regarding your hypocrisy being brought to light.’

65. If you ask them about their mockery of you and the Qur’an while they are travelling with you to Tabuk, they will say to excuse themselves, ‘We were only joking and playing around in conversation to pass the time on the way and did not mean anything.’ Say to them: ‘Would you make a mockery of Allah, and of His Signs and of His Messenger?

66. Do not try to excuse yourselves for that. You have disbelieved after having believed – your unbelief has become clear after you made a display of faith. If We pardon (read as na‘fu and also ya‘fu, in which case the meaning is: “If one group of you is pardoned”) one group of you due to their sincerity and repentance – those like Jahsh ibn Himyar – We will punish another group (read as nu‘adhdhib and also yu‘adhdhibu: “another group will be punished”) for being evildoers.’ They will be punished for persisting in hypocrisy and mockery.

67. The men and women of the hypocrites are as bad as one another. They resemble one another in respect of the din like parts of a single thing. They command what is wrong (unbelief and acts of disobedience) and forbid what is right (faith and obedience) and keep their fists tightly closed – not spending in obedience to Allah. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them and excluded them from His kindness. The hypocrites are deviators.

68. Allah has promised the men and women of the hypocrites and unbelievers the Fire of Hell, remaining in it timelessly for ever. It will suffice them as a repayment and penalty. Allah has cursed them and put them far from His mercy! They shall have everlasting punishment…

69. … Like those hypocrites before you who had greater strength than you and more wealth and children. They enjoyed their portion of this world; so enjoy your portion, hypocrites, as those before you enjoyed theirs. You have plunged into defamation – into falsehood and attacking the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – as they plunged into it. The actions of such people come to nothing in this world or the Next World. They are the lost.

70. Has the news of those who came before them not reached them: the people of Nüh and ‘Ad (the people of Hud) and Thamud (the people of Salih) and the people of Ibrahim and the inhabitants of Madyan (the people of Shu‘ayb) and the overturned cities ( the people of Lu†)? Their Messengers brought them the Clear Signs, (miracles) but they denied them and so they were destroyed. Allah did not wrong them by punishing them for no reason: rather they wronged themselves by committing sins.

71. The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish the prayer and pay zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. They are the people on whom Allah will have mercy. Allah is Almighty, having the power to do anything and carrying out His promise and His threat, All-Wise — only putting a thing in its proper place.

72. Allah has promised the men and women of the believers Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for eve r, and fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And Allah’s good pleasure is even greater than all these things which have been mentioned. That is the great victory.

73. O Prophet, do jihad against the unbelievers with the sword and against the hypocrites with the tongue and evidence and be harsh with them through rebuke and hatred. Their shelter will be Hell. What an evil destination!

74. They (the hypocrites) swear by Allah that they said nothing of what was reported to you regarding their cursing, but they definitely spoke the word of unbelief and returned to unbelief after their Islam – demonstrating their disbelief after making a display of Islam. They planned something which they did not achieve when they wanted to assassinate the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the night of his return from Tabuk. They were about ten men. ‘Ammar ibn Yasir struck the faces of the camels when they approached him and they went back – and they were vindictive for no other reason than that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them from His bounty – through booty after the poverty they had suffered. It means that this is all that happened to them and is the only reason for what they felt. It is certainly not something which should elicit bad feeling. If they were to repent from their hypocrisy and believe in you, it would be better for them. But if they turn away from belief, Allah will punish them with a painful punishment in this world by killing and by the Fire in the Next World, and they will not find any protector or helper to defend them and protect them on the earth.

75. Among them there were some who made an agreement with Allah: ‘If He gives us of His bounty we will definitely give sadaqa and be among the righteous.’ This refers to Tha‘laba ibn Hatib. He asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to pray to Allah to provide him with wealth so that he could pay every creditor what was owed to them. So he made supplication for him and his wealth expanded. Then Tha‘laba cut himself off from the Jumu‘a and the Community and refused to pay zakat, as Allah recounts:

76. But when He does give them of His bounty they are tight-fisted with it and turn away from obeying Allah…

77. … so He has punished them by putting hypocrisy in their hearts and fixing it there until the day they meet Him (Allah) on the Day of Rising, because they failed Allah in what they promised Him and because they lied about it. After that, he came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his zakat but he said, “Allah has forbidden me to accept it from you.” Tha‘laba began to throw dust on his head. Then he brought it to Abu Bakr who would not accept it, and then to ‘Umar who would not accept it. Then he brought it to ‘Uthman who did not accept it. He died during ‘Uthman’s caliphate.

78. Do they (the hypocrites) not know that Allah knows their secrets which they conceal in themselves and their private (secret) talk between themselves, and that Allah is the Knower of all unseen things? He knows what cannot be seen. When the ayat concerning sadaqa was revealed, a man came and gave a lot and the hypocrites said, “He is showing off.” A man came and gave as measure and they said, “Allah has no need of this one’s sadaqa.” Then the next ayat was revealed:

79. As for the people who find fault with those believers who give voluntary sadaqa spontaneously, and with those who can find nothing to give but their own effort, and deride them, Allah derides them. They will have a painful punishment for their derision of the believers.

80. You, Muhammad, may ask forgiveness for them, or not ask forgiveness for them. He was given a choice of asking forgiveness or not asking it. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “I was given a choice and I chose,” meaning he chose to ask for forgiveness. Al-Bukhari related this hadith. Even if you asked forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah still would not forgive them. What is meant by “seventy” is a lot of asking forgiveness. In al-Bukhari, “If I knew that by my doing it more than seventy times, someone would be forgiven, I would have done more.” It is also said that what is meant is a specific number which is also based on the hadith, “I would do more than seventy.” It is clear to him that forgiveness is cut off by the ayat. That is because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger. Allah does not guide deviant people.

81. Those who were left behind from Tabuk were glad to stay behind the Messenger of Allah. They did not want to do jihad with their wealth and themselves in the Way of Allah. They said to one another, ‘Do not go out to fight jihad in the heat.’ Say: ‘The Fire of Hell is much hotter than that of Tabuk – and so it is more appropriate to fear it and not stay behind – if they only understood.’ If they had grasped the truth of that, they would not have stayed behind.

82. Let them laugh little in this world and weep much in the Next World, in repayment for what they have earned. This is a description of their state expressed in the verbal form of the imperative.

83. If Allah returns you from Tabuk to a group of them – a group of the hypocrites who stayed behind in Madina – and they ask you for permission to go out with you on another expedition, say to them, ‘You will never go out with me, nor will you ever fight an enemy with me. You were happy to stay behind the first time, so stay behind with those who are left behind the expedition, such as women, children, and others.’

84. The following was revealed when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed over the grave of Ibn Ubayy. Never pray over any of them who die or stand at their graves for burial or to visit them. They rejected Allah and His Messenger and died as deviators. They are unbelievers.

85. Do not let their wealth and their children impress you. Allah merely wants to punish them by them in this world, and for them to expire and leave this world while they are unbelievers.

86. When a sura is sent down – a part of the Qur’an is revealed – saying: ‘Believe in Allah and do jihad together with His Messenger,’ those among them with wealth will ask you to excuse them, saying, ‘Let us remain with those who stay behind.’

87. They are pleased to be with those who stay behind – the women who stay behind in their houses. Their hearts have been stamped so they do not understand where the good lies.

88. But the Messenger and those who believe along with him have done jihad with their wealth and with themselves. They are the people who shall have the good things both in this world and the Next World. They are the ones who are successful.

89. Allah has prepared Gardens for them with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly for ever. That is the great victory.

90. The desert Arabs came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with their excuses (read as mu‘adhdhiruna and mu‘dhiruna), asking for permission to stay to stay behind; he excused them and those among the hypocritical desert Arabs who lied to Allah and His Messenger about their claim to believe stayed behind. A painful punishment will afflict those among them who disbelieve.

91. Nothing is held against the weak, such as old men, and the sick, such as those who are blind and chronically ill – or against those who find nothing to spend in jihad – they incur no wrong action in staying behind – provided they are true to Allah and His Messenger when they stay behind, and do not agitate or provoke, and they obey Allah: there is no way open against good-doers to punish them. Allah is Ever Forgiving to them, Most Merciful to them in being expansive to them.

92. Nor is anything held against those who, when they came to you for you to provide them with mounts to go with you on the expedition they were seven of the Ansar or the Banu Muqarrin – and you said, ‘I cannot find anything on which to mount you,’ turned away with their eyes overflowing with tears, overcome by grief at having nothing to give in jihad.

93. There are only grounds against those who ask you for permission to stay behind when they are rich. They were pleased to be among those who were left behind. Allah has sealed up their hearts so they do not know.

94. They will make excuses to you for having stayed behind when you return to them from the expedition. Say to them: ‘Do not make excuses; we will not believe you. Allah has already informed us about you – about the truth of your circumstances. Allah will see your actions, as will His Messenger. Then you will be returned by the Resurrection to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible (Allah) and He will inform you regarding what you did; and then He will repay you for it.’

95. They will swear to you by Allah when you return to them from Tabuk, and they will make their excuses about staying behind so that you leave them alone by not rebuking them. Leave them alone, then! They are filth because of their inward foulness. Their shelter will be Hell as repayment for what they did.

96. They will swear to you to make you pleased with them, but even if you are pleased with them, Allah is certainly not pleased with deviant people. If Allah is angry with them, your being pleased with them will be of no benefit to them at all.

97. The desert Arabs are more obdurate in disbelief and hypocrisy than the people of cities, since they are coarse and have a rough nature and they are far from listening to the Qur’an and more likely not to know the limits which Allah has sent down to His Messenger. The limits referred to are the rulings and laws Allah has revealed. Allah is All-Knowing of His creation, All-Wise in what He does to them.

98. Among the desert Arabs there are some who regard what they give in the Way of Allah as an imposition – a fine and loss because they do not hope for any reward from it, but give it out of fear. This is a reference to the tribes of Banu Asad and Ghatafan – and are waiting for your fortunes to change. They are waiting for time to turn against you so that they are delivered from you. The evil (read as saw’ and su’) turn of fortune will be theirs! It will be their punishment and destruction, not yours. Allah is All-Hearing of what His slaves say, All-Knowing of what they do.

99. And among the desert Arabs there are some who believe in Allah and the Last Day – such as Juhayna and Muzayna – and regard what they give in the Way of Allah as something (a means) which will bring them nearer to Allah and to the prayers (supplications) of the Messenger for them. It (their spending) does indeed bring them near (read as qurba and quruba). Allah will admit them into His mercy (His Garden): Allah is Ever - Forgiving to people who obey Him, Most Merciful to them.

100. The forerunners – the first of the Muhajirun and the Ansar – those who were present at Badr, or all of the Companions, and those who have followed them until the Day of Rising in doing good actions: Allah is pleased with them for obeying Him and they are pleased with Him (with His reward). He has prepared Gardens for them with rivers flowing under them (read as tajri tahtah and tajri min tahtiha). remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. That is the great victory.

101. Some of the desert Arabs around you, people of Madina, are hypocrites – a reference to the tribes of Aslam, Ashja‘ and Ghifar – and some of the people of Madina are also hypocrites and are obdurate in their hypocrisy – persisting and continuing in it. You – addressing the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – do not know them but We know them. We will punish them twice over by disgrace or killing in this world and the punishment of the grave, and then they will be returned in the Next World to a terrible punishment (the Fire).

102. But others (other people) have acknowledged their wrong actions in staying behind and mixed a right action – their jihad before that, or their admission of their wrong actions, or something else – with another which is wrong – staying behind. It may well be that Allah will turn towards them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. This was revealed about Abu Lubaba and a group who tied themselves to the pillars of the mosque when they heard what had been revealed about those who stayed behind, and swore that they would not be released except by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who released them when it was revealed.

103. Take zakat from their wealth to purify and cleanse them of their wrong actions, and pray for them – make supplication for them. He took a third of their property and gave it as sadaqa. Your prayers bring relief – are a mercy – to them. This is also said to mean peace of mind, since their repentance has been accepted. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

104. Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His slaves and acknowledges and accepts their zakat, and that Allah is the Ever-Returning to His slaves in acceptance of their repentance, the Most Merciful to them? The question implies an affirmative answer and it is an encouragement to repentance and sadaqa.

105. Say to them or to people in general: ‘Act as you will, for Allah will see your actions, and so will His Messenger and the believers. You will be returned at the Resurrection to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible (Allah), and He will inform you regarding what you did and repay you.’

106. And others (those who stayed behind) – whose repentance is deferred – are left awaiting (read as murjawna and murja’una) Allah’s command to do what He wills with them, as to whether He will punish them by leaving them unrepentant or turn to them. Allah is All-Knowing of His creation, All-Wise in what He does to them. They were three men who will be mentioned shortly (see 9:118 below): Murara ibn ar-Rabi‘, Ka‘b ibn Malik and Hilal ibn Umayya. They stayed behind out of laziness and inclination to ease, not hypocrisy. They did not make their excuses to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as others did. Their case remained suspended for fifty days and people shunned them until the time when Allah’s acceptance of their repentance was revealed.

107. As for those among them who have set up a mosque – they were twelve of the hypocrites – causing harm to the people of the Mosque of Quba’ and out of unbelief – because they built it at the command of Abu ‘Amir ar-Rahib to be a fortress for him where people could come and go from him. He wanted to bring the armies of the Byzantine emperor to fight the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – to create division between the believers – to divide those who prayed in the Mosque of Quba’ by causing some of them to pray in their mosque – and in readiness for those (namely Abu ‘Amir) who previously – before it was built – made war on Allah and His Messenger they will swear, ‘We only desired the best by building it. We have done it out of kindness to the poor to give shelter from the rain and heat and to expand the Muslims.’ But Allah bears witness that they are truly liars about that. They asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to pray in it and then the following ayat was revealed:

108. Do not ever stand and pray in it. The Prophet sent a group to it and they destroyed and burned it and turned it into a rubbish heap where carrion was thrown. A mosque founded on fear of Allah from the first day – built when the Prophet first arrived in the Abode of Hijra: a reference to the Mosque of Quba’, as is stated in al-Bukhari – has a greater right than this one for you to stand and pray in it. In it there are men (the Ansar) who love to purify themselves. Allah loves those who purify themselves. This means He will reward them. Ibn Khuzayma related a hadıth in his sahih from ‘Uwaymir ibn Sa‘ida says that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to the people in the Mosque of Quba’ and said, “Allah Almighty has praised you well for purity in His reference to your mosque. What is this purification which you practise?” They said, “By Allah, Messenger of Allah, we do not know anything but that we have Jewish neighbours who used to wash their anuses after defecating, and so we wash as they wash.” In a hadith which al-Bazzar related: “They said, ‘We follow stones with water.’ The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘That is it. You must do it too.’”

109. Who is better: someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and hope of His good pleasure, or someone who founds his building on the brink (read as juruf and jurf) of a crumbling (about to fall) precipice, so that it collapses with him into the Fire of Hell? This is an excellent metaphor for someone who builds with an intention opposite to fear of Allah. The question implies affirmation, meaning that clearly the former (the Mosque of Quba’) is better than the latter (the Mosque of Harm). Allah does not love wrongdoers.

110. The buildings they have built will not cease to be a bone of contention and a source of doubt in their hearts, until their hearts are cut to shreds and they die. Allah is All-Knowing of His creation, All-Wise in what He does to them.

111. Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth which they expend in obedience to Allah on things like jihad in return for the Garden. They fight in the Way of Allah and they kill (read as yaqtuluna wa yuqtaluna or as yuqtaluna wa yaqtuluna “are killed and kill”) and are killed. It is a promise binding on Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an; and who is truer to his contract than Allah? There is no one truer than Allah when He promises. Rejoice then – changing to the second person from the third – in the bargain you have made. That transaction is the great victory which obtains the Goal.

112. Those who repent of shirk and hypocrisy, those who worship Allah sincerely, those who praise Him every state, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate in prayer, those who command what is right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits (the rulings) of Allah – by acting according to them: give good news of the Garden to the believers.

113. The following was revealed about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asking forgiveness for his uncle, Abu Talib, and some of the Companions asking forgiveness for their idolatrous parents. It is not right for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the idolaters – even if they are close relatives – after it has become clear to them that they are the Companions of the Blazing Fire by their dying as unbelievers.

114. Ibrahim would not have asked forgiveness for his father but for a promise he made to him when he promised him, “I will ask my Lord to forgive you”, since he hoped that he would become Muslim, and when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah – when he died an unbeliever – he renounced him and stopped asking forgiveness for him. Ibrhım was tenderhearted, making much supplication and entreaty, and forbearing in the face of harm.

115. Allah would never misguide a people after guiding them to Islam until He had made it clear to them how to fear Allah in action, which they fail to do, so they deserve to be misguided. Allah has knowledge of all things, including those who deserve guidance and misguidance.

116. Allah is He to whom the kingdom of the heavens and earthbelongs. He gives life and causes to die. You, mankind, have no protector or helper besides Allah against Him.

117. Allah has turned constantly towards the Prophet, and the Muhahirun and the Ansar, those who followed him at the ‘time of difficulty’ – the time of the Tabuk expedition when two men would share one date and ten would take turns on one camel. The heat was so intense that they drank the contents of the camel’s stomach – after the hearts of a group of them had almost deviated (read as yazighu and tazighu) – almost turned away from following him to staying behind because of the hardship. Then He (Allah) turned towards them by making them firm – He is All-Gentle, Most Merciful to them –

118. …and He also turned towards the three who were left behind from His turning to them, so that when the earth became narrow for them, for all its great breadth, and they could not find any place where they were at peace, and their own selves became constricted for them – their hearts were full of sorrow and alienation at the delay of their acceptance and they felt no joy or friendliness – and they realised and were certain that there was no refuge from Allah except in Him, He turned to them and gave them success in repenting so that they might turn to Him. Allah is the Ever- Returning, the Most Merciful.

119. You who believe. Be fearful of Allah by not disobeying Him and be with the truly sincere in respect of their faith and in respect of their contracts by their clinging to truthfulness.

120. It was not for people of Madina, and the desert Arabs around them, to remain behind the Messenger of Allah when he went on an expedition, or to prefer themselves to him by protecting themselves from the hardships he was happy to undergo himself. This is a prohibition in the form of a report. That prohibition against staying behind is because no thirst or weariness or hunger will afflict them in the Way of Allah, nor will they take a single step to infuriate the unbelievers, nor secure any gain (killing, capture or booty) from the enemy of Allah, without a right action being written down for them because of it for which they will be rewarded. Allah does not let the wage of the good-doers go to waste. They will definitely receive their wages and will be rewarded.

121. Nor will they give away any amount in pursuance of that aim, whether large or small – even as little as a date, nor will they cross any valley, without it being written down for them as a righteous actions so that Allah can recompense them for the best of what they did.

122. When they were rebu ked for not going out and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent an expedition, they all went out without exception and then this was revealed. It is not necessary for the believers to go out all together on an expedition. If a party from each group (tribe) of them were to go out while the others remained behind so they could increase their knowledge of the din, they would be able to notify their people when they returned to them from the expedition, when they could teach them the rulings they had learned so that perhaps they would take warning of the punishment of Allah and obey His commands and avoid what he has prohibited. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “This was specific to expeditions the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent out. The preceding passage concerned staying behind expeditions in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out.”

123. You who believe! Fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you – fight the nearest and then the next nearest – and let them find you implacable and severe towards them. Know that Allah is with those who are fearful of Him with help and victory.

124. Each time a sura of the Qur’an is sent down there are some among them (the hypocrites) who say to their companions in mockery, ‘Which of you has this increased in faith and confirmation?’ Allah says: As for those who believe, it increases them in faith and confirmation of it and they rejoice at it.

125. But as for those with sickness (weakness of belief) in their hearts, it adds defilement to their defilement – unbelief added to their existing unbelief – and they die unbelievers.

126. Do they not see (read as yarawna, referring to the hypocrites, and tarawna, “you see”, referring to the believers) that they are tried once or twice with drought and illnesses in every year? But still they do not turn back from their hypocrisy. They do not pay heed and are not warned.

127. Each time a süra is sent down in which they are mentioned and which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recites, they look at one another, wanting to run away, implying, ‘Can anyone see you when you get up?’ If no one saw them, they would get up. Otherwise they would remain where they were. Then they turn away to unbelief. Allah has turned their hearts away from guidance because they are people who do not understand the truth since they do not reflect.

128. A Messenger (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is very distressing to him when you encounter hardships and things you dislike; he is deeply concerned for you – for your guidance; he is gentle, with great compassion, and merciful to the believers, desiring good for them.

129. But if they turn away from believing in you, say, ‘Allah is enough for me. There is no god but Him. I have put my trust in Him. I only trust in Him and no one else. He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.’ The Throne is mighty because it is the largest of created things. Al-Hakim related in al- Mustadrak from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b that, “The last  yat to be revealed was “A Messenger has come…” to the end of the ayat.