ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ
And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Tafsir
Verse range: 9:102
"And others"—this is an elucidation of the state of a group among the Muslims who were weak in their resolve regarding religious affairs, yet they were not hypocrites according to the most correct view. It is said: They were a group of the hypocrites who were granted success in repenting, and so Allah accepted their repentance. It is also said that it is an initial noun (mubtada’) whose predicate is the sentence "mixed" (khalatu), which functions as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) with the estimation of the particle "already" (qad), and the primary predicate is the sentence "Perhaps Allah..." etc. The profound scholars hold that it is a conjunction following "hypocrites," meaning: Among them—that is, from those around you or from the people of Medina—are other people "who have confessed"—that is, they acknowledged with awareness—"their sins," which were their lagging behind from the military expedition, preferring ease over it, and being content with the bad company of the hypocrites. They did not offer false excuses confirmed by wicked oaths.
According to what al-Bayhaqi recorded in al-Dala’il and others on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—they were ten men who lagged behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the Battle of Tabuk. When the return of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) approached, seven of them bound themselves to the pillars of the mosque. It was the custom of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) when he returned to pass through the mosque by them. When he saw them, he asked, "Who are these people who have bound themselves?" They replied, "This is Abu Lubabah and his companions who lagged behind you, O Messenger of Allah. They have sworn not to release themselves until you are the one who releases them." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "And I swear by Allah Almighty that I will not release them nor excuse them until Allah Almighty is the One who releases them." Then Allah Almighty revealed the verse, and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sent for them, released them, and excused them.
In another narration on his authority, they were three; Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Zayd that they were eight; and it is also reported they were five. The narrations agree that Abu Lubabah ibn ‘Abd al-Mundhir was among them.
"Mixed a righteous deed"—which was going out for Jihad with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)—"with another bad one"—which was lagging behind the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This is reported on the authority of al-Hasan and al-Suddi. According to al-Kalbi, the first refers to repentance and the second to sin. It is also said: The righteous deed encompasses all virtue and obedience, and the bad deed is its opposite.
Mixing (khalt) is a blending, and it necessitates a thing mixed and a thing mixed with. Some hold that the first is the first and the second is the second. Others say the 'wa' (and) is in the meaning of 'ba' (with), as reported from Sibawayh regarding the saying, "I sold the sheep, a sheep and a dirham," which is a form of metaphorical usage.
Regarding the expression of mixing, al-Zamakhshari mentioned that each of the two conjoined items is both mixed and mixed with, because the meaning is that each of them was mixed with the other, like saying, "I mixed the water and the milk," meaning I mixed each of them with its companion. This contains what is not in your saying, "I mixed the water with the milk," for there you have made the water the mixed element and the milk the element with which it is mixed. When you say it with 'and' (wa), you make the water and the milk both mixed and mixed-with, as if you said: "I mixed the water with the milk, and the milk with the water." The outcome is that the element mixed-with in each of the two mixtures is the mixed element in the other.
"Perhaps Allah will accept their repentance"—'Perhaps' ('asa) expresses hope, and from the Most Generous of the generous, it is an obligation, and what an obligation it is!
His saying, "Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (102), is a justification for what the previous statement implied regarding the necessity of acceptance. This is not the "necessity" that the Mu'tazilah speak of, as is not hidden. That is, He Almighty is abundant in forgiveness and mercy, pardoning the penitent and bestowing favor upon them.
