9:111 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

إن الله اشترى من المؤمنين أنفسهم بأن لهم في مقابل ذلك الجنة، وما أعد الله فيها من النعيم لبذلهم نفوسهم وأموالهم في جهاد أعدائه لإعلاء كلمته وإظهار دينه، فيَقْتلون ويُقتَلون، وعدًا عليه حقًا في التوراة المنزلة على موسى عليه السلام، والإنجيل المنزل على عيسى عليه السلام، والقرآن المنزل على محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. ولا أحد أوفى بعهده من الله لمن وفَّى بما عاهد الله عليه، فأظهِروا السرور-أيها المؤمنون- ببيعكم الذي بايعتم الله به، وبما وعدكم به من الجنة والرضوان، وذلك البيع هو الفلاح العظيم.

يخبر تعالى خبرا صدقا، ويعد وعدا حقا بمبايعة عظيمة، ومعاوضة جسيمة، وهو أنه ‏{‏اشْتَرَى‏}‏ بنفسه الكريمة ‏{‏مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ‏}‏ فهي المثمن والسلعة المبيعة‏.‏ ‏{‏بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ‏}‏ التي فيها ما تشتهيه الأنفس، وتلذ الأعين من أنواع اللذات والأفراح، والمسرات، والحور الحسان، والمنازل الأنيقات‏.‏ وصفة العقد والمبايعة، بأن يبذلوا للّه نفوسهم وأموالهم في جهاد أعدائه، لإعلاء كلمته وإظهار دينه فـ ‏{‏يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ‏}‏ فهذا العقد والمبايعة، قد صدرت من اللّه مؤكدة بأنواع التأكيدات‏.‏ ‏{‏وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ‏}‏ التي هي أشرف الكتب التي طرقت العالم، وأعلاها، وأكملها، وجاء بها أكمل الرسل أولو العزم، وكلها اتفقت على هذا الوعد الصادق‏.‏ ‏{‏وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا‏}‏ أيها المؤمنون القائمون بما وعدكم اللّه، ‏{‏بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُمْ بِهِ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ لتفرحوا بذلك، وليبشر بعضكم بعضًا، ويحث بعضكم بعضًا‏.‏ ‏{‏وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ‏}‏ الذي لا فوز أكبر منه، ولا أجل، لأنه يتضمن السعادة الأبدية، والنعيم المقيم، والرضا من اللّه الذي هو أكبر من نعيم الجنات، وإذا أردت أن تعرف مقدار الصفقة، فانظر إلى المشتري من هو‏؟‏ وهو اللّه جل جلاله، وإلى العوض، وهو أكبر الأعواض وأجلها، جنات النعيم، وإلى الثمن المبذول فيها، وهو النفس، والمال، الذي هو أحب الأشياء للإنسان‏.‏ وإلى من جرى على يديه عقد هذا التبايع، وهو أشرف الرسل، وبأي كتاب رقم، وهي كتب اللّه الكبار المنزلة على أفضل الخلق‏.‏

يخبر تعالى أنه عاوض من عباده المؤمنين عن أنفسهم وأموالهم إذ بذلوها في سبيله بالجنة وهذا من فضله وكرمه وإحسانه فإنه قبل العوض عما يملكه بما تفضل به على عبيده المطيعين له. ولهذا قال الحسن البصري وقتادة: بايعهم والله فأغلى ثمنهم. وقال شمر بن عطية ما من مسلم إلا وللّه عز وجل في عنقه بيعة وفي بها أو مات عليها ثم تلا هذه الآية. ولهذا يقال من حمل في سبيل الله بايع الله أي قبل هذا العقد ووفى به. وقال محمد بن كعب القرظي وغيره قال عبدالله بن رواحة رضي الله عنه لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يعني ليلة العقبة اشترط لربك ولنفسك ما شئت فقال " أشترط لربي أن تعبدوه ولا تشركوا به شيئا وأشترط لنفسي أن تمنعوني مما تمنعون منه أنفسكم وأموالكم " قالوا: فما لنا إذا فعلنا ذلك؟ قال " الجنة " قالوا ربح البيع لا نقيل ولا نستقيل فنزلت " إن الله اشترى من المؤمنين أنفسهم " الآية وقوله " يقاتلون في سبيل الله فيقتلون ويقتلون " أي سواء قتلوا أو قتلوا أو اجتمع لهم هذا وهذا فقد وجبت لهم الجنة. ولهذا جاء في الصحيحين " وتكفل الله لمن خرج في سبيله لا يخرجه إلا جهاد في سبيلي وتصديق برسلي بأن توفاه أن يدخله الجنة أو يرجعه إلى منزله الذي خرج منه نائلا ما نال من أجر أو غنيمة " وقوله " وعدا عليه حقا في التوراة والإنجيل والقرآن " تأكيد لهذا الوعد وإخبار بأنه قد كتبه على نفسه الكريمة وأنزله على رسله في كتبه الكبار وهي التوراة المنزلة على موسى والإنجيل المنزل على عيسى والقرآن المنزل على محمد صلوات الله وسلامه عليهم أجمعين. وقوله " ومن أوفى بعده من الله " فإنه لا يخلف الميعاد. هذا كقوله " ومن أصدق من الله حديثا " ومن أصدق من الله قليلا " ولهذا قال " فاستبشروا ببيعكم الذي بايعتم به وذلك هو الفوز العظيم " أي فليستبشر من قام بمقتضى هذا العقد ووفى بهذا العهد بالفوز العظيم والنعيم المقيم.

Indeed God has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions that they expend it in obedience of Him — for example by striving in His way — so that theirs will be the reward of Paradise they shall fight in the way of God and they shall kill and be killed this sentence is independent and constitutes an explication of the above-mentioned ‘purchase’; a variant reading has the passive verb come first sc. fa-yuqtalūna wa-yaqtulūn ‘they shall be killed and shall kill’ meaning that some of them are killed while those who remain fight on; that is a promise which is binding both wa‘dan ‘promise’ and haqqan ‘binding’ are verbal nouns and are in the accusative on account of their omitted implicit verbs upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’ān; and who fulfils his covenant better than God? that is no one is better in fulfilling it. Rejoice then there is a shift from the third to second person here in this bargain of yours which you have made for that bargain is the supreme triumph the one that secures the ultimate goal.

Commentary

Sequence

Previous verses carried a condemnation of those staying behind without a valid excuse and missing the Jihad. The present verses take up the merit of mujahidin.

The background of revelation

As explained by the majority of commentators, these verses were revealed about the participants of Bai'atul-'Aqabah (the pledge of allegiance to the Holy Prophet ﷺ at al-'Aqabah) which was taken from the Ansar of Madinah before Hijrah in 'Makkah al-Mukarramah. Therefore, despite that the entire Surah is Madani, these verses have been termed as Makki.

'Al-'Aqabah' is part of a mountain. Here, it refers to the 'Aqabah that forms a part of the mountain along the Jamratu al-'Aqabah (the stone pillar of 'Aqabah) in Mina. (In our time, due to the increased number of Hujjaj [ Hajj pilgrims ], this part of the mountain has been leveled to form a smooth surface with the only exception of Jamarah [ the stone pillar ] which still stands there). It is on this 'Aqabah that a pledge of allegiance بیعۃ (bai'ah) was taken from the people of Madinah thrice. The first pledge came in the eleventh year of the Prophet's advent. Six persons embraced Islam, gave the pledge and returned to Madinah. When they arrived there, Islam and the Prophet of Islam became the talk of the town. Next year, it was during the Hajj season that twelve people assembled at the same place. Out of these, five had taken part in the first pledge while the other seven were new. All of them took the pledge. By that time, the number of Muslims in Madinah had increased to more than forty. They requested that someone should be sent to teach Qur'an to them. The Holy Prophet ﷺ sent Sayyidna Mus` ab ibn ` Umair ؓ . He taught Qur'an to Muslims present there as well as conveyed the message of Islam around, as a result of which major groups of people in Madinah entered the fold of Islam.

After that, in the thirteenth year of the Prophet's advent, seventy men and women assembled at the same place. This is the third Bai'atu al-'Aqabah - and the last. Generally, when reference is made to Bai'atu al-'Aqabah, it means this very Bai'ah (pledge of allegiance). This pledge made it binding on participants that they would uphold the basic beliefs (` aqa'id عقَایٔد ) and deeds (a` mal اَعمَال ) of Islam, and would particularly be ready to take part in Jihad against the disbelievers, and protect and support the Holy Prophet ﷺ when he migrates and reaches Madinah. In this connection, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Rawahah ؓ submitted, ` ya rasulallah, a compact is being made at this time. If there are any conditions regarding your Lord or regarding yourself, let these be mentioned there clearly.' He said, ` As for Allah Ta` ala, I lay down the condition that all of you shall worship Him - and worship none but Him. As for myself, the condition is that you shall protect me as you protect your own lives, wealth, property and children.' They asked, ` if we fulfill these two conditions, what shall we get in return?' He said, ` you will get Jannah جَنَّت .' All in delight, they said, ` we are pleased with this deal, so pleased that we shall never request on our own that it be cancelled nor shall we like it to be cancelled.

At this place, since the pledge took the apparent form of a transaction of give and take, this verse (111) was revealed in the terminology of a business deal: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ اشْتَرَ‌ىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ. (Surely, Allah has bought their lives and their wealth from the believers, against which Paradise shall be for them). After hearing this verse, Sayyidna Bara' ibn Ma` rur, Abu al-Haitham and As'ad ؓ عنہم were the first ones who placed their hands on the blessed hand of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . They were promising in effect that they were readily agreeable to this deal and they would protect the Holy Prophet ﷺ as they protected their family and would stand by him to face any challenge, even if it came from the combined forces of the blacks and whites on this Earth.

This is the very first verse of Jihad

Injunctions of Jihad did not exist during the early Makkah period. This is first verse about fighting and killing which was revealed in Makkah al-Mukarramah itself, though its implementation began after Hijrah. After that, came another verse: (Permission [ to fight ] has been given to those who are being fought against - al-Hajj 22:39). When this Bai'atu al-'Aqabah (pledge of 'Aqabah) was concluded in secret from the disbelievers of Makkah, the Holy Prophet ﷺ ordered his noble Companions to migrate from Makkah to Madi-nah. Groups of them started migrating gradually. The Holy Prophet ﷺ remained behind waiting for the permission from Allah Ta` ala. When Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ decided to migrate, he held him back so that he could accompany him. (This whole event has been described in Tafsir Mazharl with relevant references)

We can now move to the second sentence of the verse (111): يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ ۖ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَ‌اةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْ‌آنِ (They fight in the way of Allah, and kill and are killed ... a promise on His part which is true (as made) in the Torah and the Injil and the Qur'an). This verse tells us that fighting in the way of Allah was a commandment also revealed for past communities in their Scriptures. As for the popular assumption that there is no injunction of Jihad in the Injil, it is possible that, as part of the changes made by people who came later, the injunctions of Jihad were expunged. Allah knows best.

At the end of the verse (111), it was said: فَاسْتَبْشِرُ‌وا ِبَيْعِكُمُ (So, rejoice in the deal you have made). The agreement arrived at with the Holy Prophet ﷺ in this event of the Bai'atu al-'Aqabah had, on the surface, turned into a sort of buying and selling deal. Therefore, it was expressed through the word: شراء (Allah has bought) at the beginning of the verse. In the present sentence, Muslims were told that they had struck a good deal which will bring blessings for them. The reason was that they had tendered their life and wealth that were mortal while that which they received in return was eternal. If we come to think about it, we would realize that wealth was the only thing they spent out. As for life, that is, the essential spirit, that will remain even after death, and remain forever. And if we were to look deeper into the reality of wealth, that too happens to be nothing but the gift of Allah Almighty. When born, human beings visit the world empty-handed. It was He who made them own everything around them and it was He who made His own gift the price of eternal blessings and gave them Paradise. Therefore, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said, ` this is a strange deal where the commodity and the price have both been given to you!'

The sage, Hasan al-Basri (رح) said, ` Behold, what a profitable business is this that Allah has thrown open to every believer!' And he also said, ‘It is Allah who has blessed you with wealth and property. Spend a little out of it and buy Paradise.' (Mazhari)

Surely God has bought from the faithful their souls and their possessions so that they may have the Garden.... So rejoice in your sale you have made to Him. In the tasting of the recognizers and the path of the elect, this verse is a place for the joy of the friends and a playing field for the secret cores of the sincerely truthful. It is felicitation for the faithful, a fitting felicitation and an appropriate bestowal of eminence. It is a felicitation that is the heart's intimacy and the spirit's message, the ornament of the session and the capital of the indigent, the adornment of tongues and the life of hearts. It is a generous felicitation, from a gen- erous Lord-generous in Essence, generous in attributes, generous in love, generous in caressing, generous in bestowal. The servant himself is bestowed by His bounty, and then He buys back what He Himself be- stowed. He makes the transaction, but He bestows all the profit on the servant and accepts the loss for Himself. This is beautiful doing and generosity, loving kindness and gentleness. In the Torah of Moses God said, " The Garden is My Garden and the possessions My posses- sions. Buy My Garden with My possessions! If you profit, that is yours, and if you lose, that is Mine. O children of Adam, I did not create you to profit from you. I created you only so that you would profit from Me. " In the Beginningless, before the servant's existence, the Lord of the Worlds bought him. He was the seller and the buyer. He Himself sold and He Himself bought. In the Shariah of MuṣṬafā, it is not permitted for the buyer and seller to be the same, unless it be a father, for whom it is permitted on condition of tenderness, negation of suspicion, perfect loving kindness, and fatherly love. What then do you say about someone who is more clement and merciful toward the servant than a father, a God whose loving kindness has no bounds and whose love is greater? Given that it is permitted for a father, it is more appropriate and more complete in the case of the loving Creator. Moreover, the Exalted Lord knew that the servants are bad-tempered, breakers of the Cov- enant, and disloyal to it.