9-38 O you who believe, what (excuse) have you that when it is said to you, Go forth in Allah’s way, you should incline heavily to earth? Are you contented with this world’s life instead of the Hereafter? The provision of this world’s life is but little as compared with the Hereafter.a
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ ٱنفِرُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ أَرَضِيتُم بِٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا مِنَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ فَمَا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ (۳۸)
9-38a: ٱنفِرُوا۟ – نَفۡر is the opposite of peace and tranquility (LA). It also means to be startled and shy away from a thing or to go out towards a thing, as in: مَّا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا نُفُورًا (it increased them in naught but aversion) (35:42). Going out to fight in a war is also called نفر. نَفَر and نفیر is a group of men from the whole body of men for whom it is possible to go out (R).
ٱثَّاقَلْتُمْ – ثقل – This is the opposite of خِفَّة (lightness; levity) and it means heavy or piled up. It is used both literally for bodies and solid substances, and also metaphorically. Metaphorically when used in the context of a person, it is most often used as a term of disparagement, scorn or criticism but is also used for praise and approbation. In solid substances, those that are ثقیل (heavy) are those that have a proclivity towards lowliness, as for example stones etcetera, and خفیف (light) are those that are inclined towards the top, hence the indication in ٱثَّاقَل is to bend towards abjection and lowness (R). It is derived from تثاقلتم.
The narration of the Tabuk expedition and associated events starts from here. This expedition was undertaken in Rajab 9 hijra. The reason for this expedition was that the Holy Prophet received information from several sources that the Romans were planning to launch an attack on Arabia. The Holy Prophet was very cautious in the matter of wars. Whenever the Holy Prophet received information about a nation that they were preparing to attack, he would dispatch an expedition to prevent the assault. After successively receiving reports of a Roman attack, the Holy Prophet gave orders to get ready to ward off such an action. The call to get ready came at a particularly challenging time for the Muslims who were confronted by several difficulties. First, these were days of famine; second the journey to the boundary of Syria entailed a very long march which was further compounded by the lack of available water and supplies on the way; third, the crops were ready to be harvested and it was difficult to leave the crops standing; fourth, the weather was very hot; fifth, the confrontation was not with an Arabian tribe but with the standing army of a well organized state that was equipped with the all the armament required for war. The Arabs were always cowed by the kingdoms of Rome and Persia because the Arabs just could not match the strength of these giant empires. Despite all these difficulties, the Muslims responded enthusiastically to the Prophet’s call and thirty thousand men gathered under his flag. Some men who were not well off and could not arrange mounts had tears in their eyes as the expedition departed because they could not be with them. However, for the hypocrites this expedition became the final test of their insincerity, and they stayed behind after making excuses. This fight was against the Christians and a mention of fighting the Ahle Kitab is made in the Quran just prior to the details of the Tabuk expedition. This is the last expedition in which the Holy Prophet participated in his lifetime. Perhaps there is an indication in this that the final confrontation of the Muslims will be with the Christians. The term ٱثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ (you should incline heavily to earth) does not imply that the believers were bent low to the earth but instead this is a remark addressed to those who acknowledged belief with their tongue but did not act as is manifest from verse 9:40 by the use of the word إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ (If you help him not). This could not be addressed to the believers because the believers were helpers.
9-39 If you go not forth, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement, and bring in your place a people other than you, and you can do Him no harm. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.a
إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا۟ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْـًۭٔا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ (۳۹)
9-39a: It was the hypocrites who were punished by this chastisement which shows that those addressed here are the hypocrites. وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْـًۭٔا (You can do Him no harm) means that Allah and His religion will not be harmed by their not joining the fight.
9-40 If you help him not, Allah certainly helped him when those who disbelieved expelled him — he being the second of the two; when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So Allah sent down His tranquility on him and strengthened him with hosts which you saw not, and made lowest the word of those who disbelieved. And the word of Allah, that is the uppermost. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.a
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودٍۢ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلْعُلْيَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (۴۰)
9-40a: غَارِ – It is a cave in the mountain and the word is derived from غَوۡر and غَوۡر means the depth of anything. مَغَار and مَغارۃ are also like غَارِ and مَغَـٰرَٰتٍ (9:57) is also spoken about going to a great depth in the water, as in أَصْبَحَ مَآؤُكُمْ غَوْرًۭا (your water should subside) (67:30). Derived from this is also غَوۡر which means to reflect on a thing (LA).
In this verse, attention of the Muslims is drawn to how Allah has been helping the Muslims in times of great difficulty, and mention is made of a time of extreme helplessness of the Holy Prophet. This is meant as a reminder that the opponents of Islam were not able to destroy and eliminate Islam even at that time. So, why should the believers be worried now when Islam has spread so much.
The event that is referred to here and which is indicated in إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ (when those who disbelieved expelled him) occurred during the migration of the Holy Prophet from Makkah to Madinah. The disbelievers had decided to kill the Holy Prophet and the assassins had laid siege to his house. In this situation the Holy Prophet slips through their siege and makes his way to the house of Abu Bakr and the two companions depart in the dark. The Holy Prophet had dispatched all his Companions one by one before this except for Abu Bakr and Ali. Ali took the Prophet’s place in his bed. The reason for his staying behind was to return the things that the people had deposited with the Holy Prophet as a trust. The Holy Prophet had selected Abu Bakr to be his Companion in the journey. Abu Bakr repeatedly asked the Holy Prophet when they would migrate but his reply was always that he had not been given permission to do so. Finally, the time came for migration and the Holy Prophet departed with Abu Bakr which is referenced in ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ (the second of the two) and is a testimony of the elevated status of Abu Bakr. The third event mentioned in هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ (they were both in the cave) pertains to the Saur cave which is at a distance of about three miles from Makkah. To seek refuge in a cave at night is fraught with great danger especially when the cave is in an uninhabited and desolate area which is not trafficked by humans. Abu Bakr entered the cave first and closed all the burrows in the cave and swept the cave with his hands. After making sure that there was no dangerous animal in the cave, he allowed the Holy Prophet to enter. It was in this dark and dangerous place that the two hid themselves. When the day dawned, the disbelievers learned that the Holy Prophet had escaped, they launched searches in all directions. A tracker was able to reach the mouth of the cave and when Abu Bakr heard footsteps over the cave, he became worried not for himself but for his dear Companion for whom he had sacrificed everything. He realized there was no way for them to escape. Two people are in the cave and a band of enemies are at its mouth. In this situation revelation from Allah consoles them that they are not just two because Allah is with them. A miraculous Divine intervention took place as a spider had weaved a web on the mouth of the cave and the search party led by a tracker saw the web on the mouth of the cave and turned back. The web of a spider which is أَوْهَنَ ٱلْبُيُوتِ (the frailest of the houses is the spider’s house) (29:41) sometimes works in a situation where the strongest forts would have failed. This is an example of the assistance of Allah.
9-41 Go forth, light and heavy, and strive hard in Allah’s way with your wealth and your lives. This is better for you, if you know.
ٱنفِرُوا۟ خِفَافًۭا وَثِقَالًۭا وَجَـٰهِدُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (۴۱)
9-41a: خِفَافًۭا وَثِقَالًۭا – It means light and heavy and can be interpreted in several ways. Ibn Jarir says that by خِفَافًۭا or light is meant all those matters that makes it easy for a person to go forth on an expedition such as bodily strength, good health, young age, abundance of wealth, free of responsibilities, availability of mount and if any of these is missing then it is included in ثقال , such as physical weakness, illness, advanced age, poverty, no means of livelihood, etcetera. The purport is that when necessity demands one should go forth regardless of the condition one is in.
9-42 Had it been a near gain and a short journey, they would certainly have followed thee, but the hard journey was too long for them. And they will swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would have gone forth with you. They cause their own souls to perish; and Allah knows that they are liars.a
لَوْ كَانَ عَرَضًۭا قَرِيبًۭا وَسَفَرًۭا قَاصِدًۭا لَّٱتَّبَعُوكَ وَلَـٰكِنۢ بَعُدَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلشُّقَّةُ ۚ وَسَيَحْلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ لَوِ ٱسْتَطَعْنَا لَخَرَجْنَا مَعَكُمْ يُهْلِكُونَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ (۴۲)
9-42a: عَرَض – It means wide, broad, expanse, and عَرَض is that which has no continuance and permanence. Accordingly it is stated in a hadith: الدنیا عَرَضٌ حاضر . So by عَرَضًۭ is meant a benefit that will last for a short time or worldly provisions, as in: تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ (You desire the frail goods of this world, while Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter) (8:67); يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْأَدْنَىٰ (taking the frail goods of this low life) (7:169).
ٱلشُّقَّةُ – It is a site that requires hard work and toil to reach. The meaning of شِق is hard work or toil, as in: إِلَّا بِشِقِّ ٱلْأَنفُسِ ۚ(but with distress to yourselves) (16:7) (R).
The reference here is to those people who stayed behind, that is the hypocrites. Accordingly, there is a clear indication of this in لَّٱتَّبَعُوكَ (they would have certainly followed you) and in their false swearing. Further, the subject of the next section clearly shows that the mention in this section is of the hyocrites.
Bayan-ul-Quran 