Surah Al Tawbah (Section 4)

9-25 Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields, and on the day of Hunain, when your great numbers made you proud, but they availed you nothing, and the earth with all its spaciousness was straitened for you, then you turned back retreating.^a

لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍۢ ۙ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْـًۭٔا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُم مُّدْبِرِينَ (۲۵)

9-25a: مَوَاطِنَ – It is the plural of مَوۡطِن. وَطَنۡ is the place where one resides and it is also called مَوۡطِن. An alternate meaning is battlefield (LA).

Battle of Hunain: Hunain is a valley between Makkah and Taif, just three miles from Makkah. After the conquest of Makkah, the Holy Prophet learnt that the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif were preparing to attack the Muslims. The Holy Prophet decided to attack them preemptively and stop this insurrection before it gathered strength. Accordingly, the Holy Prophet left Makkah with the ten thousand men with whom he had conquered Makkah and another two thousand recently converted men, making a force of twelve thousand. The Muslims were proud in the strength of their numbers as the enemy numbered only four thousand. Hawazin and Thaqif were well known for their archery and held the narrow mountain paths. In the very first encounter, a rain of arrows struck the Muslim vanguard which was mostly comprised of new converts who turned their backs and retreated. This had an impact on the troops coming up in the rear and in a short while, the army of twelve thousand began to flee. This was a manifestation of God’s power. However, the Holy Prophet mounted on his mule which was being led by Ibn Abbas who held its reins continued to advance towards the enemy and he kept announcing in a loud voice: انا النبی لا کذب انا ابن عبدالمطلب (I am a Prophet, this is not a lie, I am the son of Abdul Mutlab). This manifestation of bravery and courage had an instant effect. In a little while, the fleeing soldiers began to gather around him, and the entire force returned to attack the enemy and defeated it. The term the earth with all its spaciousness was straitened for you refers to the retreat in which the fleeing army could not find enough space in that narrow valley to run back. This previous incident is referred to here to caution the Muslims that their victory and triumph are the result of God’s assistance and not a result of their numbers. They should never be proud of their numbers. 

9-26 Then Allah sent down His calm upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent hosts which you saw not, and chastised those who disbelieved. And such is the reward of the disbelievers.

ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ وَعَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَنزَلَ جُنُودًۭا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَعَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ (۲۶)

9-26a: جُنُودًۭا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا – This refers to the assistance by the angels, and لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا means you did not see them. This proves that the coming of the angels during the wars was not seen by these eyes. It is possible that some Companion may have seen them with their spiritual eyes in a vision.

9-27 Then will Allah after this turn mercifully to whom He pleases. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ (۲۷)

9-28 O you who believe, the idolaters are surely unclean, so they shall not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs.^a And if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you out of His grace, if He please. Surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.^b

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌۭ فَلَا يَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلْمَسْجِدَ ٱلْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَـٰذَا ۚ وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةًۭ فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦٓ إِن شَآءَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ (۲۸)

9-28a: نَجَسٌۭ – نَجاسة is impurity or uncleanliness and includes the uncleanliness that the senses can detect, that is bodily impurities and also that which is detected by the spiritual eye, namely hidden moral impurity (R). The purport here is spiritual impurity and the noun has been used to emphasize, as if to say they are positively unclean. The meaning is not that they are bodily unclean, and the Sacred Mosque will get polluted, but that their polytheistic beliefs are impure and Allah has made the Sacred Mosque a sign of pure monotheism.

Polytheists prohibited from coming to the Sacred Mosque: Non-Muslims cannot enter the area demarcated as sacred or حرم and this prohibition is not specific to Hajj but is general. At no time can a non-Muslim come into the sacred precincts. All non-Muslims are included in the word idolaters because strict monotheism is not found in any religion except Islam. This command is not for all mosques but is specific to the Sacred Mosque. The wisdom in this command appears to be that this center of Islam should not come in the possession of non-Muslims. This matter is testimony to the perfect knowledge of God Who manifested to the Holy Prophet the condition that was going to take place thirteen centuries later, namely that non-Muslim powers would first start venturing into Islamic countries, then gain some influence in them and finally occupy them. So, the Knower of the Unseen and Wise God (as indicated by his attributes of إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ mentioned at the end of the verse) in His perfect knowledge and wisdom kept the precincts of the center of Islam free from the entry of non-Muslims. This command that is given to the Muslims also conveys that the governance of this country will stay in Muslim hands and that they will have the power to enforce this command.

9-28b: The good news that Makkah need not fear poverty: The meaning of عَيْلَةًۭ is poverty or indigence, and the meaning of عال is became indigent, as in: وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًۭا فَأَغْنَىٰ (And find thee in want, so He enriched thee) (93:8). The fear of poverty is mentioned because Makkah is in a valley that is devoid of any seed produce. Trade was the economic lifeline of the people. In particular, during the Hajj season people brought their goods for trading from far and wide, and the people of Makkah earned a profit without much effort. So, it is stated that the people of Makkah should not fear poverty because Allah will make some arrangement through His blessing. The blessing took the form of conversion of the whole of Arabia to Islam and to the spread of Islam throughout the world.

9-29 Fight those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor follow the Religion of Truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgement of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.^a

 قَـٰتِلُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَلَا بِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ ٱلْحَقِّ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ حَتَّىٰ يُعْطُوا۟ ٱلْجِزْيَةَ عَن يَدٍۢ وَهُمْ صَـٰغِرُونَ (۲۹)

9-29a: ٱلْجِزْيَةَ – This word is derived from جزا which means requit or compensate. Hence جِزْيَةَ is a compensation for something. و تَسۡمِتُھا بذٰلك لِلۡاِجۡتِزَاءِ بِھا فی حَقۡنِ دَمِھِم  (This has been named jizya because this is a compensation taken from them (non-Muslims) for the protection of their life) (R). Thus, jizya is a tax that is taken from non-Muslims for meeting the expenses of national defense. The Muslims paid for the national defense by volunteering in the army and often paying with their lives while non-Muslims in lieu had to pay a small monetary amount. When Muslims rule over another nation, they will be required to protect the life and property of non-Muslims because the duty of protection falls on the government. Similarly, the government will protect them from enemies. In return for providing this protection, an amount was collected from them which is called jizya. As proof that jizya is payment for protection, an incident from the time of Caliph Umar may be cited. When the Muslim forces had to withdraw from Hamas in Syria, Abu Ubaida, the commander of the Muslim forces, called the Jews and Christians living in the area and returned the collected jizya amounting to thousands back to them saying that since they could not provide protection to them, they cannot keep their money. It was written in the standing rules that if a Muslim force had to withdraw from an area, the collected jizya must be returned to the payers.

 عَن يَدٍۢ- ید means hand and metaphorically is used for strength or power. The meaning, therefore, is by their strength, that is because of the Muslims overpowering them. Raghib has interpreted this as: عَنۡ مقا بَلَةِ نِعۡمةٍ علیہم فی مُقارَّتِہِمۡ (In return for the blessing of ease they have obtained). Some have taken the meaning of عَن يَدٍۢ as عن غنی that is, they should pay jizya if they are well to do because jizya was not taken from people who were paupers or unable to pay (RM). This meaning is preferable because the sense of being subjugated is included in صَـٰغِرُونَ .

صَـٰغِرُونَ – Raghib has given the meaning of صاغر as one who is satisfied with a subordinate status. So, the purport is being subjugated.

Code of conduct in hostilities with Ahle Kitab: This verse is a supplement to the previous topic. All the instructions about war that have come in the Quran so far and particularly in this surah have been directed at wars with the idolaters. This could have given rise to the thinking that perhaps the need to wage war with anybody except the idolaters will not arise. This is the reason for bringing the Ahle Kitab into the picture now. The purport is that the conditions under which fighting is permissible with the idolaters are the same conditions under which fighting is permissible with the Ahle Kitab. In the description that is given of the Ahle Kitab, it is conveyed that they have strayed far from the religion of truth on which they were established. More details of this will be furnished in the next section.

It is worth reflecting here that the command given is قَـٰتِلُوا۟ (fight) and there are always two parties in a fight. The command is not اقتلوا which would give authority to kill them. It is obvious that the constraints that have already been levied on the permission to fight hold equally in the case of fighting with the Ahle Kitab and these are: وَقَـٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ (Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you but be not aggressive) (2:190). 

Was the conduct of the Holy Prophet in accordance with this command: The Roman Empire lay north of Arabia. The Holy Prophet got information that the Romans were preparing to launch an invasion of Arab lands. The Holy Prophet immediately gathered a force of thirty thousand and reached the farthest northern boundary of Arabia. This is known as the Tabuk expedition, details of which will be forthcoming in the future. On reaching the frontier, the Holy Prophet did not find an army of the enemy to oppose him. If the permission to fight the Ahle Kitab was not conditional, this was a very opportune time because the permission to fight Ahle Kitab had been given, the army was ready, and the absence of opposition made success very likely. But what did the Holy Prophet do? He came back without fighting. Why? It was because the condition of: ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمْ (those who fight against you) was not fulfilled. Thus, the wording of the Quran and the example of the Holy Prophet bear testimony that permission to fight the Ahle Kitab is governed by the same conditions as the permission to fight the idolaters.

It is stated here that the Ahle Kitab, that is other faiths, will always be present and will not disappear like the idol worship of the Arabs. Hence it is stated that if war becomes inevitable and the enemy offers to pay jizya then war should not be waged, and protection accorded as befits those who pay jizya. By the use of the word صاغر , it is conveyed that in the wars with the Ahle Kitab, Muslims will succeed and the Ahle Kitab will be subjugated.