9-90 And the defaulters from among the dwellers of the desert came that permission might be given to them, and they sat (at home) who lied to Allah and His Messenger. A painful chastisement will afflict those of them who disbelieve.a
وَجَآءَ ٱلْمُعَذِّرُونَ مِنَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِ لِيُؤْذَنَ لَهُمْ وَقَعَدَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ ۚ سَيُصِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ (۹۰)
9-90a: مُعَذِّرُونَ – According to Lisan al Arab مُعَتَذِر is someone who makes an excuse regardless of whether the excuse is genuine or false and hence a مُعَتَذِر can be truthful or a liar. The meaning of عَذَّر is قَصَّر that is negligent or derelict, and مُعَذِّر is one who makes an excuse which is not genuine, that is one who makes a false pretext.
ٱلْأَعْرَابِ – It is the plural of عَرَب but it has acquired a specific application to people living in the desert (R). In the South Asia context, such people are called دیہاتی or villagers.
This section refers in particular to the dwellers of the desert. There were some among them who hypocritically claimed to be Muslims, but there were also others who were sincerely Muslims, as is obvious from verse 9:99. According to Mujahid, the ones referred to here were a section of the Bani Ghaffar and it is this group which is referred to in وَقَعَدَ ٱلَّذِينَ (and they sat (at home)) and their false excuses are referred in كَذَبُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ (lied to Allah and His Messenger). Thus, these people made false excuses and did not join the force going out to fight.
9-91 No blame lies on the weak, nor on the sick, nor on those who can find nothing to spend, if they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger. There is no way (to blame) against the doers of good. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful —
لَّيْسَ عَلَى ٱلضُّعَفَآءِ وَلَا عَلَى ٱلْمَرْضَىٰ وَلَا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ مَا يُنفِقُونَ حَرَجٌ إِذَا نَصَحُوا۟ لِلَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ۚ مَا عَلَى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ مِن سَبِيلٍۢ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ (۹۱)
9-91a: نَصَحُوا۟ – The meaning of نَصحَ الشئ is خَلَصَ or pure, and نُصۡح غِشّ is the opposite of impurity (L). There is a statement in the hadith الدّینُ النَصیحَة للّٰه و لرسوله و لکتابه و لائمة المسلمین و عامّتہم (Religion is an exhortation for Allah, and His Messenger, and for His Book, for the leaders of Muslims and for their common people). Ibn Athir has interpreted this in the following way: By نصیحة is meant a good intent for one who is منصوح , that is the one to whom that advise is rendered. So, the exhortation of Allah is the belief in His Oneness and sincerity in His worship, and the exhortation for His Messenger is testifying to his prophethood and messengership and obeying what he commands and refraining from what he forbids, and exhortation for the Book of Allah is living your life according to the Book, and the exhortation for the leaders of Muslims is obeying what is good, and the exhortation for the common people is guiding people to what is good and توبة نصوحا (sincere repentance)(66:8) which is repentance in which one does not return to the thing from which one has repented (LA).
In the last verse, reference is made to those people who made false excuses and obtained the Holy Prophet’s permission to stay behind and not to go forth for the fight. In this verse and the next, reference is made to those people who were really handicapped. The handicapped referred to here were of three types, those who were weak, such as children and old people, those who were sick, and those who were indigent. They were forgivable for not participating in jihad with the sword.
9-92 Nor on those to whom, when they came to thee that thou shouldst mount them, thou didst say: I cannot find that on which to mount you. They went back while their eyes overflowed with tears of grief that they could not find aught to spend.a
وَلَا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا مَآ أَتَوْكَ لِتَحْمِلَهُمْ قُلْتَ لَآ أَجِدُ مَآ أَحْمِلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ تَوَلَّوا۟ وَّأَعْيُنُهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ ٱلدَّمْعِ حَزَنًا أَلَّا يَجِدُوا۟ مَا يُنفِقُونَ (۹۲)
9-92a: لِتَحْمِلَهُمْ – The word حَمۡل meaning to carry or bear is used in many different senses both overtly and metaphorically. It has been used in the sense of bearing the burden of sin, but there is a special sense in which it is used here. This special sense is explained in Lisan al-Arab as: When a person is unable to continue his journey and goes to another person and says اِحۡمِلِنیۡ, he is asking for an animal he can ride to continue on his journey.
تَفِيضُ مِنَ ٱلدَّمْعِ – فاض is water that is streaming down. تَفِيضُ is spoken here in the same sense. In another place, it is stated: أَفِيضُوا۟ عَلَيْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ (Pour on us some water) (7:50). Derived from it is فَیّاض which means a generous person, and also derived from it is افاضوا فی الحدیث which metaphorically means to be engaged in talk, as in: لَمَسَّكُمْ فِى مَآ أَفَضْتُمْ فِيهِ (touched you on account of the talk you indulged in) (24:14).
This verse refers to a fourth group from among the people who were handicapped and could not go to the war. Some have said that this group was from Bannu Maqran who were a sub section of Mazina. Some have said that this refers to Arbaz bin Saria while still others maintain that this group consisted of seven men from different tribes (IJ). Some have identified this group with Abu Musa Ashari and some people from Yemen (RM). It is possible that this group consisted of all of the above but there is no need to identify them. What is conveyed here is that conditions can prevail that sometimes render a person helpless. Because this was a long journey, it could not have been undertaken without a ride, and not having a ride is a genuine excuse for not participating.
The description given here of the handicapped persons portrays the amazing sentiments of the Companions. There were some Companions who were wealthy, and they gave freely and willingly in the way of Allah. Then there were others who were not wealthy and could not afford to buy an animal to ride and the Prophet too was unable to procure a ride for them. Their inability to participate in the jihad caused tears to stream down from their eyes. This shows how much they loved to submit and obey the Holy Prophet. Today, the engrossment of the Muslims in earning wealth is so strong, that their hearts are not moved to give in the way of Allah despite the precarious condition of Islam and its encirclement by enemies. Their hearts have become so hardened that they either do not spend a single penny or if they do give something, then it is with a lot of disgust and unhappiness. They do not give willingly but are compelled to do so either for appearance or for some other reason. Islam requires its followers to be so dedicated that they give happily whatever they can give and feel satisfied with the service they have rendered. Those who cannot give should be in a state where their heart is full of sorrow and their eyes full of tears on account of not being able to do so.
9-93 The way (to blame) is only against those who ask permission of thee, though they are rich. They have chosen to be with those who remained behind; and Allah has sealed their hearts, so they know not.
إِنَّمَا ٱلسَّبِيلُ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَـْٔذِنُونَكَ وَهُمْ أَغْنِيَآءُ ۚ رَضُوا۟ بِأَن يَكُونُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلْخَوَالِفِ وَطَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (۹۳)
9-94 They will make excuses to you when you return to them. Say: Make no excuse, we shall not believe you; Allah has informed us of matters relating to you. And Allah and His Messenger will now see your actions, then you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you did.a
يَعْتَذِرُونَ إِلَيْكُمْ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ قُل لَّا تَعْتَذِرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكُمْ قَدْ نَبَّأَنَا ٱللَّهُ مِنْ أَخْبَارِكُمْ ۚ وَسَيَرَى ٱللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُۥ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَـٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (۹۴)
9-94a: These verses were revealed during the journey to Tabuk. First, those excuses were mentioned which the hypocrites had made to seek exemption from participation in the journey before it started and which are mentioned in جَآءَ ٱلْمُعَذِّرُونَ (the defaulters came) (9:90). In this verse, the excuses mentioned are those that the hypocrites were to make after the return of the expedition. Their excuses were accepted the first time, but now the Holy Prophet is commanded to tell them that Allah had enlightened their affair by revelation and had decided their matter, so their excuses now were useless.
9-95 They will swear by Allah to you, when you return to them, so that you may leave them alone. So leave them alone. Surely they are unclean and their refuge is hell — a recompense for what they earned.a
سَيَحْلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ إِذَا ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لِتُعْرِضُوا۟ عَنْهُمْ ۖ فَأَعْرِضُوا۟ عَنْهُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ رِجْسٌۭ ۖ وَمَأْوَىٰهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ (۹۵)
9-95a: Eschewing the hypocrites: The reason given for their swearing is their desire not to be eschewed by the Muslims and not to be rebuked by them for their weaknesses. However, Allah commanded that the hypocrites be eschewed and prohibited Muslims from having any social intercourse with them. The reason given for this is that they are impure, that is their thinking is impure and they put doubts in the minds of people.
9-96 They will swear to you that you may be pleased with them. But if you are pleased with them, yet surely Allah is not pleased with the transgressing people.
يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ لِتَرْضَوْا۟ عَنْهُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَرْضَوْا۟ عَنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَرْضَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ (۹۶)
9-97 The dwellers of the desert are hardest in disbelief and hypocrisy, and most disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has revealed to His Messenger. And Allah is Knowing, Wise.a
ٱلْأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًۭا وَنِفَاقًۭا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلَّا يَعْلَمُوا۟ حُدُودَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ (۹۷)
9-97a: أَجْدَرُ – جدیر is the extreme point of a thing, that is the extreme of an affair. A wall is called جدار because of its height and the fact that it reaches the highest point. It is also called حائط from the perspective of enclosing an area. For example: جِدَارًۭا يُرِيدُ (a wall which was on the point of falling) (18:77). Its plural is جدر as in ورَآءِ جُدُرٍۭ (behind walls) (59:14). Hence the meaning of جدیر is as if they were made for this thing.
It is a miracle of the Quran that it made the hardest hearted of men, who were not made for acquiring knowledge, to abide by the limits of Allah. The purpose of mentioning the dwellers of the desert is only to show that there is no nation of the world that cannot be reformed by the Quran.
9-98 And of the dwellers of the desert are those who take what they spend to be a fine, and they wait for an evil turn of fortune for you. On them is the evil turn. And Allah is Hearing, Knowing.a
وَمِنَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مَا يُنفِقُ مَغْرَمًۭا وَيَتَرَبَّصُ بِكُمُ ٱلدَّوَآئِرَ ۚ عَلَيْهِمْ دَآئِرَةُ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ (۹۸)
9-98a: مَغْرَمًۭا – غرم is a loss of wealth which is not of one’s own making or dishonesty. The meaning here of مَغْرَمًۭا and also in إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ (Surely we are burdened with debt) (56:66) is a fine or penalty. A person burdened by debt is called غارم or غریم as in وَٱلْغَـٰرِمِينَ (those in debt) (9:60). غرام is a severe calamity that befalls a person and it sticks to a person like غریم (a debt), that is for a long time, as in: إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (Surely the chastisement thereof is a lasting evil) (25:65).
This shows that the hypocrites had to donate some wealth for the sake of appearance, and they considered it as a fine. Many Muslims now who donate some money for a religious project also consider it as a fine. If they only read the Quran, they would know that they are not walking in the footsteps of the Companions. The hypocrites considered the wealth they donated for Muslim causes to be a fine because they thought that the Muslims would soon be annihilated. This surah was revealed in the ninth year of hijra which shows that as late as that time, the hypocrites hoped that the Muslims would be destroyed. Hence joining Islam could not have been for any avarice.
9-99 And of the desert Arabs are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and consider what they spend and the prayers of the Messenger, as bringing them nearer to Allah. Surely they bring them nearer (to Allah); Allah will bring them into His mercy. Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.a
وَمِنَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِ مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَيَتَّخِذُ مَا يُنفِقُ قُرُبَـٰتٍ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَصَلَوَٰتِ ٱلرَّسُولِ ۚ أَلَآ إِنَّهَا قُرْبَةٌۭ لَّهُمْ ۚ سَيُدْخِلُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى رَحْمَتِهِۦٓ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ (۹۹)
9-99a: قُرُبَـٰتٍ – It is the plural of قُرۡبة. Every step that brings a person closer to Allah is قُرۡبة and the nearness to Allah is through Allah’s favors and patronage and not in terms of distance. Actually, قُرۡب or nearness is to adopt the attributes of Allah even though they will not be in the same perfection as found in Allah. These attributes include wisdom, knowledge, forbearance, mercy and generosity but this can only occur after a person purifies himself from ignorance, rage, anger and other evil attributes (R).
صَلَوَٰتِ – It is the plural of صلاۃ whose literal meaning is supplication. See 2-3b and the same meaning is meant here.
The revolution brought about by the Quran: A truism clarified here is that along with the hard hearted people, there were also good people among the dwellers of the desert. Along with this, the verse reveals how a nation that was at the lowest level of humanity like the dwellers of the desert were raised by the Quran to the highest level where achieving nearness to Allah became the primary purpose of their life. They had no worldly purpose in spending their wealth such as getting a kingdom and power. Their sole purpose was achieving nearness to Allah. This is truly a grand objective. How many Muslims are there today who are willing to spend their wealth to obtain nearness to Allah. However, there are many ready to spend their wealth to gain power and a kingdom. One wishes that Muslim leaders would reflect on this and guide the masses on the right path. By bringing in the word صَلَوَٰتِ ٱلرَّسُولِ (prayers of the Messenger), it is revealed that the prayers of the Holy Prophet have played a major role in eliminating sin and it is not possible to achieve nearness to Allah without his prayer. This prayer, his power of piety, and kindness still work. There are those who pursue religious mendicants and pirs and make them أَرْبَابًۭا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ (Lords besides Allah) (9:31) and waste their wealth in giving them offerings. If they had spent the same wealth for the progress of the religion of Islam, the prayer of the Holy Prophet would have elevated them to a position nearer to Allah. It is a sad state of affair that these people are wasting their wealth and at the same time are getting more distant from Allah. Anyone who is engaged in the progress of the Messenger’s religion will certainly make progress in getting nearer to God. This is the path on which the Holy Prophet trained his Companions to walk and this is the manner in which they lived their lives. There is not a single example where any of the Companions became a Pir and gathered disciples on whose offerings he lived his life.
Bayan-ul-Quran 