9:90 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

يقول تعالى‏:‏ ‏{‏وَجَاءَ الْمُعَذِّرُونَ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ لِيُؤْذَنَ لَهُمْ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ جاء الذين تهاونوا، وقصروا منهم في الخروج لأجل أن يؤذن لهم في ترك الجهاد، غير مبالين في الاعتذار لجفائهم وعدم حيائهم، وإتيانهم بسبب ما معهم من الإيمان الضعيف‏.‏ وأما الذين كذبوا اللّه ورسوله منهم، فقعدوا وتركوا الاعتذار بالكلية، ويحتمل أن معنى قوله‏:‏ ‏{‏الْمُعَذِّرُونَ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ الذين لهم عذر، أتوا إلى رسول الله ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ليعذرهم، ومن عادته أن يعذر من له عذر‏.‏ ‏{‏وَقَعَدَ الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ‏}‏ في دعواهم الإيمان، المقتضي للخروج، وعدم عملهم بذلك، ثم توعدهم بقوله‏:‏ ‏{‏سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ‏}‏ في الدنيا والآخرة‏.‏

ثم بين تعالى حال ذوي الأعذار في ترك الجهاد الذين جاءوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يعتذرون إليه ويبينون له ما هم فيه من الضعف وعدم القدرة على الخروج وهم من أحياء العرب ممن حول المدينة. قال الضحاك عن ابن عباس إنه كان يقرأ " وجاء المعذرون " بالتخفيف ويقول هم أهل العذر وكذا روى ابن عيينة عن حميد عن مجاهد سواء قال ابن إسحاق وبلغني أنهم نفر من بني غفار خفاف بن إيماء بن رخصة وهذا القول هو الأظهر في معنى الآية لأنه قال بعد هذا " وقعد الذين كذبوا الله ورسوله " أي " لم يأتوا فيعتذروا وقال ابن جريج عن مجاهد " وجاء المعذرون من الأعراب " قال نفر من بني غفار جاءوا فاعتذروا فلم يعذرهم الله وكذا قال الحسن وقتادة ومحمد بن إسحاق والقول الأول أظهر والله أعلم لما قدمنا من قوله بعده " وقعد الذين كذبوا الله ورسوله " أي وقعد آخرون من الأعراب عن المجيء للاعتذار ثم أوعدهم بالعذاب الأليم فقال " سيصيب الذين كفروا منهم عذاب أليم ".

وَقَعَدَ الَّذِينَ كَذَبُواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ

(and those who had lied to Allah and His Messenger sat at home), and did not ask for permission for it; and Allah warned them of painful punishment,

سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(a painful torment will seize those of them who disbelieve.)

And those Bedouins who had an excuse al-mu‘adhdhirūn the original tā’ has been assimilated with the dāl in other words it would usually be read as al-mu‘tadhirūn which itself is a variant reading those of them who were excused came to the Prophet s asking for leave to stay behind on account of their excuses and so he gave them leave to do so. And those who lied to God and His Messenger by feigning belief those hypocrites among the Bedouin stayed behind refraining from coming to give their excuses — a painful chastisement shall befall those of them who disbelieve.

Commentary

The details given in the verse tell us that there were two kinds of people among the Bedouins of the desert. First, there were those who visited the Holy Prophet ﷺ and requested that they might be excused from Jihad and allowed to stay behind. Then, there were the arrogant and rebellious among them who did not even bother to take the trouble of excusing themselves out of it. They just stayed behind.

When the Holy Prophet ﷺ allowed Jadd ibn Qays that he may not go on Jihad,' says Sayyidna Jabir ibn ` Abdullah ؓ ، ` some hypocrites also came to him, offered their excuses and sought his permission to stay out of Jihad. As for the permission, he let them have it, but he did realize that they were making false excuses, therefore, he turned away from them. Thereupon, this verse was revealed.'

It made it clear that their excuse was unacceptable. Therefore, they were served with the warning of a painful punishment. However, by saying: اَلَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا مِنھُم (those of them who disbelieve), a hint was given that the excuse given by some of them was not because of their disbelief or hypocrisy, rather, it was because of their natural laziness. So, they were not to be affected by the punishment to fall upon those disbelievers.