9:102 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

يقول تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏وَآخَرُونَ‏}‏ ممن بالمدينة ومن حولها، بل ومن سائر البلاد الإسلامية، ‏{‏اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ أقروا بها، وندموا عليها، وسعوا في التوبة منها، والتطهر من أدرانها‏.‏ ‏{‏خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا‏}‏ ولا يكون العمل صالحا إلا إذا كان مع العبد أصل التوحيد والإيمان، المخرج عن الكفر والشرك، الذي هو شرط لكل عمل صالح، فهؤلاء خلطوا الأعمال الصالحة، بالأعمال السيئة، من التجرؤ على بعض المحرمات، والتقصير في بعض الواجبات، مع الاعتراف بذلك والرجاء، بأن يغفر اللّه لهم، فهؤلاء ‏{‏عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ‏}‏ وتوبته على عبده نوعان‏:‏ الأول‏:‏ التوفيق للتوبة‏.‏ والثاني‏:‏ قبولها بعد وقوعها منهم‏.‏ ‏{‏إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ وصفه المغفرة والرحمة اللتان لا يخلو مخلوق منهما، بل لا بقاء للعالم العلوي والسفلي إلا بهما، فلو يؤاخذ اللّه الناس بظلمهم ما ترك على ظهرها من دابة‏.‏ ‏{‏إن اللّه يمسك السماوات والأرض أن تزولا ولئن زالتا إن أمسكهما من أحد من بعده إنه كان حليما غفورا‏}‏ ‏.‏ ومن مغفرته أن المسرفين على أنفسهم الذين قطعوا أعمارهم بالأعمال السيئة، إذا تابوا إليه وأنابوا ولو قبيل موتهم بأقل القليل، فإنه يعفو عنهم، ويتجاوز عن سيئاتهم، فهذه الآية، دلت على أن المخلط المعترف النادم، الذي لم يتب توبة نصوحا، أنه تحت الخوف والرجاء، وهو إلى السلامة أقرب‏.‏ وأما المخلط الذي لم يعترف ويندم على ما مضى منه، بل لا يزال مصرًا على الذنوب، فإنه يخاف عليه أشد الخوف‏.‏

لما بين تعالى حال المنافقين المتخلفين عن الغزاة رغبة عنها وتكذيبا وشكا شرع في بيان حال المذنبين الذين تأخروا عن الجهاد كسلا وميلا إلى الراحة مع إيمانهم وتصديقهم بالحق فقال " وآخرون اعترفوا بذنوبهم " أي أقروا بها واعترفوا فيما بينهم وبين ربهم ولهم أعمال أخر صالحة خلطوا هذه بتلك فهؤلاء تحت عفو الله وغفرانه وهذه الآية وإن كانت نزلت في أناس معينين إلا أنها عامة في كل المذنبين الخطائين المخلطين المتلوثين; وقد قال مجاهد إنها نزلت في أبي لبابة لما قال لبني قريظة إنه الذبح وأشار بيه إلى حلقه وقال ابن عباس " وآخرون " نزلت في أبي لبابة وجماعة من أصحابه تخلفوا عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى الله عليه وسلم في غزوة تبوك فقال بعضهم أبو لبابة وخمسة معه وقيل وسبعة معه وقيل وتسعة معه; فلما رجع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى الله عليه وسلم من غزوته ربطوا أنفسهم بسواري المسجد وحلفوا لا يحلهم إلا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فلما أنزل الله هذه الآية " وآخرون اعترفوا بذنوبهم " أطلقهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعفا عنهم وقال البخاري حدثنا مؤمل بن هشام حدثنا إسماعيل بن إبراهيم حدثنا عوف حدثنا أبو رجاء حدثنا سمرة بن جندب قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لنا " أتاني الليلة آتيان فابتعثاني فانتهيا بي إلى مدينة مبنية بلبن ذهب ولبن فضة فتلقانا رجال شطر من خلقهم كأحسن ما أنت راء وشطر كأقبح ما أنت راء قالا لهم اذهبوا فقعوا في ذلك النهر فوقعوا فيه ثم رجعوا إلينا قد ذهب ذلك السوء عنهم فصاروا في أحسن صورة قالا لي هذه جنة عدن وهذا منزلك قالا وأما القوم الذين كانوا شطر منهم حسن وشطر منهم قبيح فإنهم خلطوا عملا صالحا وآخر سيئا تجاوز الله عنهم ". هكذا رواه البخاري مختصرا في تفسير هذه الآية.

Some Believers stayed away from Battle because They were Lazy

After Allah explained the characteristics of the hypocrites who stayed away from battle because they sought to avoid it out of denial and doubt, He then mentioned the disobedient who stayed away from Jihad due to laziness and preferring comfort, even though they truely believed,

وَءَاخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُواْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ

(And others who have acknowledged their sins,) These people admitted their error to themselves and their Lord. They had performed good deeds before, as well as, this evil deed that they committed. For them there was forgiveness and pardon of Allah. This Ayah is general, covering all sinners who combine good and evil deeds, thus becoming partly impure, even though it was revealed about some people in specific. Ibn `Abbas said that,

وَءَاخَرُونَ

(And (there are) others), refers to Abu Lubabah and some of his friends who stayed away from the battle of Tabuk and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from that battle, this group, Abu Lubabah and five, seven or nine with him, tied themselves to the pillars of the Masjid and refused to let anyone untie them except the Messenger of Allah . When this Ayah was revealed,

وَءَاخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُواْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ

(And (there are) others who have acknowledged their sins,) the Messenger of Allah ﷺ untied them and pardoned them. " Al-Bukhari recorded that Samurah bin Jundub said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to us,

«أَتَانِي اللَّيْلَةَ آتِيَانِ فَابْتَعَثَانِي، فَانْتَهَيَا بِي إِلَى مَدِينَةٍ مَبْنِيَّةٍ بِلَبِنِ ذَهَبٍ وَلَبِنِ فِضَّةٍ فَتَلَقَّانَا رِجَالٌ شَطْرٌ مِنْ خَلْقِهِمْ كَأَحْسَنِ مَا أَنْتَ رَاءٍ، وَشَطْرٌ كَأَقْبَحِ مَا أَنْتَ رَاءٍ، قَالَا لَهُمْ: اذْهَبُوا فَقَعُوا فِي ذَلِكَ النَّهْرِ فَوَقَعُوا فِيهِ ثُمَّ رَجَعُوا إِلَيْنَا قَدْ ذَهَبَ ذَلِكَ السُّوءُ عَنْهُمْ فَصَارُوا فِي أَحْسَنِ صُورَةٍ، قَالَا لِي: هَذِهِ جَنَّةُ عَدْنٍ وَهَذَا مَنْزِلُكَ، قَالَا: وَأَمَّا الْقَوْمُ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا شَطْرٌ مِنْهُمْ حَسَنٌ وَشَطْرٌ مِنْهُمْ قَبِيحٌ، فَإِنَّهُمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا تَجَاوَزَ اللهُ عَنْهُم»

(Last Night, two (angels) came to me (in a vision) and took me to a city, built with bricks made of gold and silver. We met some men who, part of their bodies were as handsome as you ever saw and the part as ugly as you ever saw. The two (angels) ordered these men to go to a river and submerge themselves in it; they did that and came back to us, and the ugliness went away from them, thus becoming the most beautiful form. The two said to me, `This is the garden of Eden, and this is your residence in it.' The two said, `As for the men who had part of their body handsome and part ugly, they have mixed a deed that was righteous with another that was evil. Allah has pardoned them.') Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith in a short form upon the explanation of this Ayah.

And there are others ākharūn is the subject another folk who have confessed their sins for having stayed behind i‘tarafū bi-dhunūbihim is an adjectival qualification of it the subject and the predicate is the following khalatū ‘amalan sālihan they have mixed a righteous deed that is their former participation in the struggle or the their confession of their sins or otherwise with another that was bad which is their having stayed behind. It may be that God will relent to them. Truly God is Forgiving Merciful this was revealed regarding Abū Lubāba and a group of men who tied themselves to the walls of the mosque after they heard what had been revealed regarding those who stayed behind; they swore that only the Prophet s would untie them which he did when this verse was revealed.

Commentary

When Muslims were given a general call for Jihad at Tabuk, the weather was extremely hot. The journey was long and they were supposed to be up against the trained army of a big state, the first such episode in Islamic history. These were some of the causes why people split into different groups.

The first group was that of sincere Muslims who got ready for Jihad without any hesitation at the very first call. Another group first hesitated initially, then joined in. They are the ones mentioned in: اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَ‌ةِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِ‌يقٍ مِّنْهُمْ (who followed him in the hour of hardship after the hearts of a group of them were about to turn crooked - 9:117).

The third group was that of people who were genuinely handicapped because of which they could not go. They have been mentioned in: لَّيْسَ عَلَى الضُّعَفَاءِ (There is no blame on the weak - 9:91). The fourth group belonged to sincere Muslims who had no excuse yet they did not take part in the Jihad because of laziness. They have been mentioned in وَآخَرُ‌ونَ اعْتَرَ‌فُوا ' (And there are others who admitted - 9:102) and آخَرُ‌ونَ مُرْ‌جَوْنَ (And there are others whose matter is deferred - 9:106) under study now. The fifth group was that of hypocrites who did not participate in the Jihad because of hypocrisy. They have been mentioned at several places in the previous verses. In short, the fifth group of hypocrites featured mostly in previous verses while the present verse (102) mentions people in the fourth group, that is, those who, despite being true Muslims, did not participate in the Jihad because of laziness.

It was said in the first verse (102) that some had admitted their sins. Their deeds were mixed. Some of their deeds were good while some others were bad. For them, there was hope that Allah Ta` ala may accept their repentance. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ said, ` Ten persons did not go for the battle of Tabuk. They had no valid excuse for it. Later, they were sorry for what they had done. Seven of them tied themselves up to the pillars of the Mosque of the Holy Prophet ﷺ resolving that they would continue to remain tied as they were like prisoners until the Holy Prophet ﷺ were to accept their repentance and untie them. All narratives of the incident agree that Sayyidna Abu Lubabah ؓ was one of them. As for other names, narratives differ.

When the Holy Prophet ﷺ saw them so tied up and he was told that they had resolved to remain tied until the Holy Prophet ﷺ unties them, he said, ` By Allah, I too shall not untie them until Allah Ta` ala orders me to do that. The crime is serious.' Thereupon, this verse (102) was revealed and the Holy Prophet ﷺ ordered that they be untied. They were. (Qurtubi)

According to a narrative of Said ibn al-Musaiyyab, when people went to untie Sayyidna Abu Lubabah ؓ he refused and said, ` I shall remain tied until the Holy Prophet ﷺ does not, with his pleasure, untie me with his own blessed hands.' So, when he came for the Fajr Salah, he himself untied him.

What were these mixed deeds?

It has been said in the verse that they had mixed a good deed with another that was evil. Obvious among the good ones were 'Iman, Salah and Fasting. Then, they had participated in earlier battles with the Holy Prophet ﷺ . And then, following this battle of Tabuk in which they could not participate, they had admitted their misconduct, were ashamed of it and had repented. As for the evil ones, they had not participated in the battle of Tabuk and thus they had acted in a manner that resembled the approach of the hypocrites.

Mixed Deeds of all the Muslims are governed by the same rule

It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that this verse though revealed about a particular group, is universal in its application and the injunction it carries is valid until the day of Qiyamah. It covers Muslims whose deeds are a mixture of the good and the bad. If they were to repent from their sins, it can be hoped that they shall be pardoned and forgiven.

Abu ` Uthman ؓ has said, ` this verse of the Holy Qur'an brings great hope for this ummah.' A detailed Hadith relating to the Ascension of the Holy Prophet ﷺ appearing in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari on the authority of Sayyidna Samurah ibn Jundub ؓ says, ` On the seventh heaven, when the Holy Prophet ﷺ met with Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، he saw some people with him whose faces were bright. And some of them had some spots and stains on their faces. When these people went into a stream and came out all washed up, their faces had also turned bright. The Archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) told the Holy Prophet ﷺ that these people with bright faces you saw first were those who had professed faith and then kept clean from sins: الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوا إِيمَانَهُم بِظُلْمٍ (those who have believed and have not mixed their faith with injustice - 6:82). The others were people who did what was a mixture of good and evil, but repented later. Allah accepted their repentance and their sins were forgiven.' (Qurtubi)

And others who acknowledged their sins; they mixed a wholesome deed with another that is ugly. Perhaps God will turn toward them. Surely God is forgiving, ever-merciful.