66. At-Tahrim (Prohibition)
Medina Period [107]
Asad’s Version:
66:9 O PROPHET! Strive hard against the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites, and be adamant with them. 20 And [if they do not repent,] their goal shall be hell - and how vile a journey's end!
[[Asad’s note - 20 See note 101 on 9:73, which is identical with the above verse.]]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا أَيُّهَا
النَّبِيُّ
جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ
وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ
وَاغْلُظْ
عَلَيْهِمْ ...
66:9. O Prophet!
strive hard against the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them.
C5545. See 9:73, where the same words introduce the argument against the Hypocrites. Here they introduce the argument against wickedness, which, though given the privilege of association with goodness and piety, persisted in wicked deeds, and in favour of those noble souls, which, though tied to wickedness; retained their purity and integrity. Two examples of each kind are given,-of women, as this Surah is mainly concerned with women.
وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿٩﴾
Their abode is Hell -- an evil refuge (indeed).
===================================
9. [at-Tawbah, Medina 113, 9H after Tabuk]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ
جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ
وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ
وَاغْلُظْ
عَلَيْهِمْ...
9: 73. O Prophet!
strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites,
and be firm against them.
...وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿٧٣﴾
Their abode is hell,
an evil refuge indeed.
يَحْلِفُونَ
بِاللّهِ مَا
قَالُواْ وَلَقَدْ
قَالُواْ...
9: 74. They swear by Allah that they said nothing (evil),
...كَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ وَكَفَرُواْ بَعْدَ إِسْلاَمِهِمْ وَهَمُّواْ بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُواْ...
but indeed they uttered blasphemy, and they did it after accepting Islam;
and they meditated a plot which they were enable to carry out:
C1331. The reference is to a plot made by the Prophet's enemies to kill him when he was returning from Tabuk. The plot failed.
It was all the more dastardly in that some of the conspirators were among the men of Madinah who were enriched by the general prosperity that followed the peace and good government established through Islam in Madinah. Trade flourished: justice was firmly administered with an even hand. And the only return that these men could make was a return of evil for good. That was their revenge, because Islam aimed at suppressing selfishness, stood for the rights of the poorest and humblest, and judged worth by righteousness rather than by birth or position.
...وَمَا نَقَمُواْ إِلاَّ أَنْ أَغْنَاهُمُ اللّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ...
this revenge of theirs was (their) only return for the bounty with which Allah and His Messenger had enriched them!
...فَإِن يَتُوبُواْ يَكُ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ...
If they repent, it will be best for them;
...وَإِن يَتَوَلَّوْا يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللّهُ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ...
but if they turn back (to their evil ways), Allah will punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the hereafter:
...وَمَا لَهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ ﴿٧٤﴾
they shall have none on earth to protect or help them.
وَمِنْهُم
مَّنْ عَاهَدَ
اللّهَ لَئِنْ
آتَانَا مِن
فَضْلِهِ
لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ...
9: 75. Amongst them are men who made a Covenant with Allah that if He bestowed on them of His bounty, they would give (largely) in charity,
...وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿٧٥﴾
and be truly amongst those who are righteous.
فَلَمَّا
آتَاهُم مِّن
فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُواْ
بِهِ وَتَوَلَّواْ
وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴿٧٦﴾
9: 76. But when He did bestow of His bounty, they became covetous, and turned back (from their Covenant), averse (from its fulfillment).
فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ
نِفَاقًا فِي
قُلُوبِهِمْ
إِلَى يَوْمِ
يَلْقَوْنَهُ
بِمَا أَخْلَفُواْ
اللّهَ...
9: 77. So He hath put as a consequence hypocrisy into their hearts, (to last) till the day whereon they shall meet Him:
C1332. If men are false to their covenants and words, the natural consequence will be hypocrisy to cover their falsehood. Such consequences will last till the Day of Judgment, when they will have to account for their deeds.
They may think that they are deceiving men by their hypocrisy, but they cannot deceive Allah, to Whom all their most secret thoughts and plots and doings are known.
...مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْذِبُونَ ﴿٧٧﴾
because they broke their Covenant with Allah, and because they lied (again and again).
Asad’s Version:
[[9:73 O PROPHET! Strive hard against the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites, and be adamant with them. 101 And [if they do not repent,] their goal shall be hell - and how vile a journey's end!
9:74 [The hypocrites] swear by God that they have said nothing [wrong]; yet most certainly have they uttered a saying which amounts to a denial of the truth, 102 and have [thus] denied the truth after [having professed] their self-surrender to God: for they were aiming at something which was beyond their reach. 103 And they could find no fault [with the Faith] save that God had enriched them and [caused] His Apostle [to enrich them] out of His bounty! 104 Hence, if they repent, it will be for their own good, but if they turn away, God will cause them to suffer grievous suffering in this world and in the life to come, and they will find no helper on earth, and none to give [them] succour.
9:75 And among them are such as vow unto God, "If indeed He grant us [something] out of His bounty, we shall most certainly spend in charity, and shall most certainly be among the righteous!"
(9:76) But as soon as He has given them [aught] out of His bounty, they cling to it
niggardly, and turn away in their obstinacy [from all that they have vowed]:
(9:77) whereupon He causes hypocrisy to take root in their hearts, [therein to remain] until the Day on which they shall meet Him 105 - because they have failed to fulfil the vow which they had made unto God, and because they were wont to lie. 106
[[ Asad’s note - 101 I.e., "do not compromise with them in matters of principle". Regarding the meaning of the verb jahada ("he strove hard", i.e., in a righteous cause), see surah 4, note 122. The imperative jahid is obviously used here in its spiritual connotation, implying efforts at convincing both the outspoken unbelievers and the waverers, including the various types of hypocrites spoken of in the preceding passages. Although the imperative is addressed in the first instance to the Prophet, it is considered to be morally binding on all believers.]]