9. At-Tawba

They have taken their rabbis the scholars among the Jews and their monks the devout among the Christians as lords beside God — following them in making lawful what God has made unlawful and making unlawful what He has made lawful — and the Messiah son of Mary when they were not commanded in the Torah and the Gospel except to worship One God there is no god except Him; glory be to Him as an affirmation of His transcendence high above what they associate with Him.

He it is Who has sent His Messenger Muhammad (s) with the guidance and the religion of truth that He may manifest it make it prevail over every religion all the religions which oppose it even though the disbelievers be averse to this.

O you who believe many of the rabbis and monks indeed consume take people’s goods by false means as in the case of bribes paid for judgements and bar people from the way of God from His religion. And those who wa’lladhīna is the subject hoard up gold and silver and do not expend them these treasure-hoards in the way of God that is they do not pay from it what is due to Him by way of alms and charity — give them tidings inform them of a painful chastisement.

On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of Hell and therewith their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded burnt — their skins will be stretched until these hoards of gold and silver can be placed on them entirely and it will be said to them ‘This is what you hoarded up for yourselves so taste now what you used to hoard!’ that is taste its requital.

Verily the number of months used to reckon the year with God is twelve months in the Book of God the Preserved Tablet al-lawh al-mahfūz from the day that He created the heavens and the earth; four of them that is the months are sacred inviolable Dhū’l-Qa‘da Dhū’l-Hijja Muharram and Rajab. That making of them sacred is the right the upright religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them during these sacred months with acts of disobedience for their burden of sin is greater therein; but it is also said to mean do not wrong yourselves at any time during all the months of the year. And fight the idolaters altogether all of them throughout the months even as they fight you altogether; and know that God is with those who fear Him supporting and assisting them.

Postponement of the sacred month — that is the deferment of the sacredness of a given month to another as they used to do during paganism such as postponing the sacredness of Muharram if it arrives while they are at war to Safar — is only an excess of unbelief because of their rejection of God’s ruling thereof whereby those who disbelieve are led astray yudallu may also be read yadillu ‘they go astray’ one year they make it the month postponed profane and hallow it another that they may make up by profaning one month and hallowing another in its place the number of months which God has hallowed such that they do not hallow more or less than the four months but without observing the individual months themselves; and so they profane what God has hallowed. Their evil deeds have been adorned for them such that they deem them to be good deeds; and God does not guide the disbelieving folk.

When the Prophet s summoned men for the Tabūk campaign and they thought it too burdensome because of the hardship and the extreme heat from which they were suffering the following was revealed O you who believe what is wrong with you that when it is said to you ‘Go forth in the way of God’ you sink down heavily iththāqaltum the original tā’ of tathāqaltum has been assimilated with the thā’ and the conjunctive hamza has been supplied in other words you hesitate and are disinclined to participate in the struggle to the ground to stay sitting upon it? the interrogative is meant as a rebuke. Are you so content with the life of this world and its delights rather than with the Hereafter? that is in place of its bliss? Yet the enjoyment of the life of this world is in comparison with the enjoyment of the Hereafter but little trivial.

If illā lā has been assimilated with the nūn of the conditional particle in in both instances here and in the next verse you do not go forth if you do not set out with the Prophet s for the struggle He will chastise you with a painful chastisement and He will substitute you with another folk other than you that is He will bring them in your place and you will not hurt Him that is God or ‘him’ as being the Prophet s at all should you neglect to help him to victory for God Himself will indeed bring victory to His religion; for God has power over all things including bringing victory to His religion and His Prophet.

If you do not help him that is the Prophet s know that God has already helped him when the disbelievers drove him forth from Mecca that is they made him resort to leaving when they desired to kill him or imprison him or banish him at the council assembly — the second of two thāniya ithnayn this is a circumstantial qualifier that is one of two the other being Abū Bakr in other words just as God helped him in such a situation He will not forsake him in another; when idh substitutes for the previous idh the two were in the cave — a breach in the mountain called Thawr — when idh substituting again he said to his companion Abū Bakr — who upon perceiving the sound of the feet of the idolaters nearby had said to him ‘If one of them should merely look below his feet he will definitely see us!’ — ‘Do not despair; verily God is with us’ assisting us. Then God sent down His Spirit of Peace upon him His reassurance — some say this means upon the Prophet others that it means upon Abū Bakr — and supported him that is the Prophet s with legions of angels you did not see both in the cave and in the locations in which he fought battles; and He made the word of those who disbelieved that is the call to idolatry the nethermost the one vanquished and the Word of God that is the profession of His Oneness shahāda was the uppermost the one prevailing and triumphant. And God is Mighty in His Kingdom Wise in His actions.