9. At-Tawba

The people who will receive this great reward are those who turn to Allah in repentance from idolatry, hypocrisy and sins; are sincere in their worship of Allah; praise their Lord in every condition; go out and strive in Allah’s path; fast; pray; instruct that which Allah and His Messenger have instructed and prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited; and guard Allah’s instructions by following them and His prohibitions by avoiding them. O Messenger, tell the believers who have these qualities the good news of what will make them happy in this world and the Afterlife.

It is not right for the Prophet and the believers to seek forgiveness from Allah for the idolaters, even if they are their relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the people of the fire of Hell – because they died as idolaters.

Abraham’s seeking forgiveness for his polytheist father was only because of a promise he had made to him to do so, in the hope that he would submit. When it became clear to Abraham that his father was an enemy of Allah, due to the advice not being of benefit to him or due to his coming to know through revelation that he will die as a disbeliever, he renounced him. He had asked forgiveness for him on the basis of his own reasoning and not in contradiction of any law that Allah had revealed to him. Abraham (peace be with him) used to frequently turn to Allah in humility and he used to overlook and pardon his people who were wrongdoers.

Allah would never pass the judgement of misguidance against a people, after He had given them guidance, until He makes clear to them those forbidden things that they must avoid. If they do that which Allah had forbidden after it has been declared forbidden and made clear to them, then He will judge them as misguided. Allah knows everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. He has taught you what you did not know.

The control of the heavens and the control of the earth belongs to Allah. He has no partner in this, and nothing in them is hidden from Him. He gives life to whomever He wills and causes whomever He wills to die. You, O people, do not have, besides Allah, any friend to take care of your affairs nor any protector to guard you against evil and assist you against your enemy.

Allah has forgiven the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) since he gave permission to the hypocrites to stay behind from the battle of Tabūk. He has also forgiven the Emigrants and the Helpers who did not stay behind, but followed him in the battle of Tabūk despite the intense heat, the lack of means and the powerful strength of the enemy. This was after a group of them who intended to abandon the expedition, almost deviated from the truth and the path of correct guidance, because of the great difficulty they faced. Then Allah enabled them to be patient and to go out for that battle. He forgave them, for He, may He be glorified, is Kind and Merciful towards them. It was because of His mercy that He enabled them to repent to Him and that He accepted their repentance.

Allah turned in forgiveness to the three – Murārah ibn Al-Rabī‘, Ka‘b ibn Mālik and Hilāl ibn Umayyah – who stayed behind from going with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)to Tabūk. The Prophet (peace be upon him)instructed people to stay away from them, which made them feel sadness and grief. The earth seemed narrow to them despite its vastness, and their hearts felt constricted because of their loneliness, and they were certain there was no place of refuge or help they could go to except to Allah alone. Allah was Merciful to them, enabling them to turn to Him, asking for forgiveness, and accepting their repentance. Allah is the One who accepts the repentance from His slaves, and is full of mercy and compassion to them.

O you who believe and follow the Messenger, act according to His sacred law, and be mindful of Him, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited; and be with those who are true in their faith and in what they say and do, as there is no salvation except in truth.

It is not for the people of Medina, or those around them of the people who live in the desert, to stay behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)if he himself goes out to fight, or to be stingy with themselves and give preference to their own safety over the safety of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, they should sacrifice themselves for him. This is because they suffer no thirst, tiredness or hunger for the sake of Allah, and do not step anywhere in the land of those who deny the truth with their own feet or the hooves of their horses or camels, angering thereby those who oppose the truth, and do not make a gain over their enemy, killing or capturing them, making war gains or defeating them, except that Allah records for them the reward of a good action for them, which He accepts from them. Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost. Rather, He gives it to them in full, and increases the reward for them.