Surah al-Tawbah: Introduction and Thematic Explanation

The following is an excerpt from The Endless Banquet: A Thematic Explanation of the Qur’an (Volume I) and The Endless Banquet (Volume II) by Shaykh Hamzah Abdul Malik.

Juz 10: “Hypocrisy”

Verses 1-15

In Surah al-Anfal, Allah clarified the lessons that believers needed to learn from the battles they had engaged in since their migration to Madinah. The rules concerning the spoils of war, allies and foes, treachery, preparations, and odds have all been explained. By the time we reach Surah al-Tawbah, we are in a good position to learn how Allah wants us to operate in the event that a treaty is breached in its entirety. Thus, this surah opens with the theme of war against those who have violated the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, and by extension, signals the beginning of the Conquest of Makkah.

Once again, Allah reminds us that repentance is always an option for those who wish to change their ways and embrace Islam. As for those who broke the treaty, they have made themselves open enemies of the believers. The only alternative option before them is to seek protection with the Muslims.

Such an option is fair as the Muslims and their allies were the party that maintained the treaty, while the disbelievers and Quraysh broke the treaty making them the aggressors. At this point, after over twenty years of slander, thievery, assassinations, lynching, and religious suppression from the idolatrous Quraysh, it was time to end their reign and permanently reinstate the religion of Ibrahim عليه السلام, Islam, to its rightful place; in Makkah. The Arabian Peninsula was finally ready for this event, and here Allah explains the strategic and political reasons why it was so imperative.

Ayat 16-37

Now that the political ties have been severed and the strategic reasoning for this conquest has been laid down, Allah shifts the focus to the moral and religious right of the Prophet to establish Islam in Makkah.

Makkah was founded and established on Islam and monotheistic belief. Moreover, it was managed by the direct descendants of Ibrahim عليه السلام, who was the historical champion of Islam and monotheism. Therefore, it makes no sense for Makkah to continue to be led by idol worshippers who undermined the religion of Ibrahim عليه السلام. Even if the people of Quraysh upheld the caretaking of the Kaaba and hosted the pilgrims for the Hajj, their entire religious culture was based on idolatry. Accordingly, they did not deserve the privilege of maintaining those roles so long as they were undertaking them for idolatrous reasons.

This is especially true now that a rightful Prophetic heir to Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, exists among them and has re-established the religion of Ibrahim عليه السلام.

Furthermore, Allah emphasizes that the moral authority of the Prophet overrides our relationships with our family, tribe, wealth, or business. His authority was given to him by Allah, which makes our relationship with Allah contingent on our relationship with him, and our success from Allah dependent on our allegiance to him.

Consequently, Allah tasks the believers with removing the idolaters from the Sacred Grounds – regardless of their ties of kinship or business – on the basis that they have broken the treaty and have defiled the Kaaba with idolatry. The Children of Israel and the Christians fall into the same category as they, too, have defiled their Prophetic religions with forms of idolatry.

Allah establishes the truth of the religions of the past by exposing the deviances that have become commonplace: worshiping saints, usurping and hoarding of wealth without giving charity, and tampering with time and the calendar resulting in the creation of leap days, months, and even years. All of this further emphasizes the authority of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ over us in establishing the correct religion of Allah.

Ayat 38-66

Now that the idolaters, Children of Israel, and Christians have been addressed, Allah directs our attention to the hypocrites. The hypocrites are outwardly Muslim, thereby, ensuring they cannot be banished from the Sacred Grounds. Additionally, they have not declared war and thus do not deserve to be fought. Therefore, Allah exposes their practices so that their influence can be minimized and the trials they subject the believers to are recognized.

Here Allah lists a number of their traits, including the following:

They always lag behind when ordered to fight in battles with the Prophet ﷺ. Yet, Allah reminds them that He does not need them to give victory to His Prophet ﷺ; just as they were not needed when he and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه were in the cave during the migration. Ultimately, fighting for the sake of Allah is for their benefit, not for the benefit of Allah or His Messenger ﷺ.
They make up excuses and lies for not upholding their obligation to fight in battle. Here Allah reminds us that they are a liability to the believers and that they would intentionally cause more harm than good.
They look forward to seeing the believers suffering and hate to see them succeed.
Their charitable efforts are not accepted because of their insincere intentions and because they do not ground themselves in prayer and worship.
They lie and swear by Allah to convince people they are telling the truth instead of relying on their actions to prove it.
They are greedy for wealth even when they do not need it.
They mock the Prophet and call him names.
They joke about sacred matters.

Ayat 67-74

At this point of the surah, Allah draws our focus to a particular practice of hypocrisy that is very distinct from the practice of the believers. He says that they encourage and accommodate sin while discouraging good deeds. In contrast, the believers protect each other by discouraging sin and encouraging good deeds.

It is this stark difference that stands out in each story in history. Those who were destroyed in the past displayed the same hypocritical trait, while the Prophets and the believers consistently upheld the Divine standard of guidance.

Allah reminds the Prophet ﷺ to continue to struggle with them and with the disbelievers, as this is part of the natural process that comes with the responsibility of upholding the religion.

Ayat 75-92

At the close of this Juz, Allah highlights the two major factors that contribute to hypocrisy. In both cases we are taught that, irrespective of the oaths that are made and assurances that are given, the hypocrites will find ways to avoid fulfilling these obligations.

The first of these factors is not giving wealth for the sake of Allah and ill treatment of the poor. The hypocrites value wealth to such an extent that they will do anything to gain it, and once they have it, they will be stingy with it. Moreover, they mock those who do not have it due to their assumption that it has an inherent value.

The hypocrites value wealth to such an extent that they will do anything to gain it, and once they have it, they will be stingy with it.

The second main factor causing hypocrisy is cowardice when it comes to fighting for the sake of Allah. They are not just so afraid of fighting that they remain behind; rather, they enjoy going against their obligations.

Such lack of action was often observed among the hypocrites, especially in battles that required great sacrifice and where the odds were, at face value, not in their favour. Yet, when the odds seemed to be in their favour or they believed that they would reap a great amount of spoils, they would try to participate just enough that they could gain the worldly benefits while still minimizing their individual risk.

Allah emphasizes that these are people who will not be forgiven for their betrayal. Moreover, their worldly possessions will prove to be a hardship for them instead of a blessing.

That said, Allah exempts those with legitimate reasons to stay behind by stating that, although they cannot go out to fight, their hearts are in the right place. It is clear that in staying behind, such individuals are full of remorse for not being able to contribute to the cause. These people will gain the reward of Allah because He knows what is in their hearts.

Juz 11: “The Futility of Disbelief”

Ayat 93-106

At the end of the tenth Juz, Allah presented us with two major factors that contribute to hypocrisy. One was avoiding battle, and the other concerned wealth and charity. Allah begins this Juz by continuing this theme, specifying the exact type of statements that the hypocrites use to justify their actions; statements which reveal the state of their hearts.

In terms of their speech, it includes overemphasizing their sincerity through excessive swearing upon Allah and their attempts to appease the Prophet and the public by appearing righteous. Allah responds to such statements by instructing the Prophet to ignore their words and to judge them by their deeds and spiritual reality. Thus, no amount of oaths or overtures will benefit them so long as their hearts are corrupted with ill-intentions.

Next, Allah exposes their relationship with wealth and charity. They view charity as a fine, not as an opportunity for gaining proximity to the mercy of Allah. Moreover, the more that they are required to give, the more animosity they develop in their hearts towards the believers, to the point that they look forward to afflictions that will destroy the believers and liberate the hypocrites from the pressure of giving. In the end, Allah will expose all of them to His Prophet, and their behaviours will be explicitly detailed in the Qur’an.

On the other hand, the believers are people who view charity as a form of purification of their souls from worldly attachments. Contrary to the hypocrites, they confess to their sins and seek the forgiveness of Allah because they are more concerned about their reputation with Allah than their worldly reputation.

Ayat 107-116

Following from the previous ayat where Allah detailed the words and feelings of the hypocrites, He now turns our attention to the types of institutions and organizations that the hypocrites create.

In this section, we are taught the difference between a masjid that is constructed by hypocrites and a masjid constructed by the believers. A masjid constructed by hypocrites has the following agendas:

It facilitates harm.
It divides the community.
It spreads heretical beliefs and ideas.
It is established on the shallow foundation of knowledge.
It accommodates those who harbour enmity towards the Prophet.
It sews seeds of doubt and anxiety in the congregations that attend them.

In contrast, the masjids that are established by the believers are places that are founded to promote taqwa of Allah, to seek His pleasure, to sacrifice for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.

The masjids that are established by the believers are places that are founded to promote taqwa of Allah, to seek His pleasure, to sacrifice for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.

Ayat 117-129

As usual, whenever Allah speaks about disbelief, sin, and hypocrisy, He follows it up with the subject of forgiveness and repentance.

First, Allah addresses the polytheists and teaches the Prophet ﷺ that those who die as polytheists cannot be forgiven; even if such an individual is a family member like the family member of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام. This is because they decided to become enemies of Allah. On the other hand, those who are repentant and seek refuge with Him can always be forgiven no matter how bad their sins are.

Then there is a mention of those who could not fulfill their obligations due to unmanageable circumstances. It is those who will be shown mercy from Allah. Their reward will be the same as those who fulfilled the commands because Allah judges them based on the convictions of their hearts. Allah knows that, given the opportunity, they would have fulfilled His commands. This exemption also includes those who preoccupy themselves with seeking religious knowledge that will benefit the society. They are also given their due reward for fulfilling their role in the community.

As for the unrepentant hypocrites, Allah states that they will continue to mock the Prophet, avoid the recitation of the Qur’an, question its guidance, and fail to uphold every test that they are given from Allah without seeking forgiveness. The irony here is that they consider the religion to be a waste of time and see no benefit in following the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. However, in reality, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is actually a mercy for them and is only delivering that which is good for them. In the end, it is we who are in need of him, not the other way around.

Connections Between Surah al-Tawbah and Other Surahs In the Qur’an

Imam al-Suyuti writes in Inner Dimensions from the Order of the Surahs in the Qur'an:

This passage is excerpted from Imam Ghazali Publishing’s translation of Imam al-Suyuti’s *Asrar Tartib al-Qur’an*, which will be published soon as *Inner Dimensions from the Order of the Surahs in the Qur’an*.

One reason that Surah al-Tawbah was put in its place because it corresponds to the long surahs. Indeed, after al-A’raf, there is no surah that is closer in length to al-Anfal than it. And that is sufficient to clarify its appropriateness.

The beginning of this surah provides detail of the abstract meaning of His words:

‘If you fear betrayal from a people, throw their treaty back to them on equal terms’

(al-Anfal 8:58)

And, the verses that command to fight are connected to His words [in Surah al-Anfal]:

‘And prepare for them what you can of force’

(al-Anfal 8:60)

For that reason, He says here [in Surah al-Tawbah], on the subject of the hypocrites:

‘If they had intended to set forth, they would have properly prepared’

(Surah al-Tawbah 9:46).

There is further correlation between these two surahs from a different point of view. It is that [in the previous surah], He (subhanahu wa ta ‘ala) assigned the shares of booty, assigning the fifth part to be divided between five parties. And, in Surah al-Tawbah, He assigned the shares of zakat and divided them into eight categories.