Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:24

"Say, if your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, and your kindred..."

(Say): A shift in address and a command to him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to strengthen the believers and fortify their resolve to desist from what they were forbidden regarding taking fathers and brothers as allies. He creates in them an aversion toward them and those who follow their path, and severs their attachments to the ornaments of the world by way of reprimand and intimidation.

(If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses): Sons and spouses were not mentioned in the preceding verse; they are mentioned here because the previous verse concerned "allies," who are people of opinion and counsel, whereas sons and spouses are subordinates and not of that category. What is addressed here pertains to love, and these are more beloved to everyone.

(And your kindred): Meaning your relatives. It is said: A man's ashira (kindred) are his closest kin. Regardless, its mention is for generalization and inclusion. It is derived from ashara (companionship) because that is the nature of kinship. It is also said to be derived from the number ten (‘ashara), and the kindred are so named because of their completeness, for ten is, as you know, a perfect number, or because there exists between them a contract of lineage akin to the contract of the number ten, though this is a far-fetched meaning. Abu Bakr reported from 'Asim "‘ashiratukum," and al-Hasan reported "‘asha’irukum." Abu al-Hasan denied that the first plural form occurs in their speech, asserting that only the second exists.

(And wealth you have acquired): Meaning, that which you have earned. The root of iqtiraf (acquisition) is cutting a thing from its place to another, from qarafa (to peel/scrape), as in peeling a sore; qarf is the peeling. Wealth is described as such to indicate its preciousness to them, as it was obtained through the fatigue of the hand and the sweat of the brow.

(And commerce whose stagnation you fear): Meaning, goods you bought for trade and profit, fearing its stagnation due to the passing of the time of high demand while you are absent from the Great Mecca during the pilgrimage seasons.

(And dwellings you are pleased with): Abodes in which you delight to reside. The exposition of the aforementioned qualities is to indicate that the blame upon loving these adornments of worldly life does not negate the inclinations and motives for desiring them inherent in nature. These things, despite their various beauties, are far from being as the Glorious One described: "More beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger," in terms of the elective love that necessitates its effect—namely, adherence and the prioritizing of obedience. It is not a matter of natural inclination, for that is an innate disposition that cannot be abandoned, and one is not held accountable for it, nor is a human tasked with refraining from it.

(And jihad in His path): Meaning, the path of His reward and His pleasure—the Sublime. Perhaps the intent here is also sincerity and the like, rather than jihad itself, though it is also called the "path of Allah." This love is organized into the same string as the love of Allah and the love of His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to elevate its status, to warn that it is something that must be loved (let alone disliked), and to signal that the love of it returns to the love of Allah and the love of His Beloved—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. For jihad is the fighting of their enemies because of their enmity; whoever loves them must love the fighting of those who do not love them.

(Then wait): Meaning, wait until Allah brings His command, that is, His punishment—the Sublime—upon you, sooner or later, as reported by al-Hasan, which al-Jubba’i preferred. It is also reported from Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, and Muqatil that it refers to the conquest of Mecca.

"And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."

Meaning, those who deviate from obedience by allying with the polytheists and prioritizing the love of those mentioned over the love of Allah—the Almighty—and His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—or the defiantly disobedient people in general. Those mentioned are included in the foremost manner; meaning, He does not guide them to what is best for them. This verse is the most severe verse censuring people for what they can hardly escape, except for those whom Allah—the Sublime—reaches with His grace. In the Hadith from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—it is said: "None of you tastes the sweetness of faith until he loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of Allah, until he loves for the sake of Allah—the Sublime—the most distant of people, and hates for the sake of Allah—the Almighty—the closest of people." And Allah—the Sublime—is the granter of success for the best of deeds.

It is indicated that the Sublime pointed to the establishment of His Messenger—peace be upon him—and the arrival of his companions—may Allah be pleased with them—at the station of Essential Unity, after they had been veiled, at times by actions and at others by attributes. By this, the opposition was realized in the most complete manner between them and the polytheists; thus, the immunity (Bara’ah) was revealed, and they were commanded to renounce the covenant so that alignment might occur between the inward and the outward. The polytheists were commanded to travel the earth for four months, corresponding to the number of their stations in this life and the next, alerting them that since they stood with the "other" in this life through polytheism, they were veiled from the Essence, actions, and attributes in the barrier of humanity (nasut). Thus, it is incumbent upon them to be made to stand in the afterlife before Allah—the Almighty—then before the Jabarut (the realm of Power), then the Malakut (the realm of Sovereignty), then the Fire, in the abyss of effects, to be punished with various kinds of torment.

Whoever applies these verses to the inner self mentions that this period is the duration of the perfection of the four characteristics: the vegetative, the animal, the satanic, and the human. Then the Sublime said to them: (And know that you cannot escape Allah), for there is no escaping your detention in those stations due to your standing with the "other" through polytheism. (And that Allah will disgrace the disbelievers) who are veiled from the Truth, by exposing them when the rank of what they worshipped besides Him appears, and by their standing with it over the Fire.

(And a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the Great Pilgrimage): That is, the time of the manifestation of the Essential gathering in the form of detailed description, (That Allah is free from the polytheists and His Messenger). The intent here is the perfection of opposition and contradiction, and the severance of spiritual support.

The intent behind His saying: (Except those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything), are those in whom a measure of readiness and a trace of the soundness of original nature (fitrah) and remainders of chivalry still exist. The believers were ordered to fulfill their covenant until its term, which is the duration of the accumulation of the religion and the realization of the veil, unless they return and repent.

Then the Sublime said, after mentioning what He mentioned: (Those who have believed), meaning with knowledge, (And migrated), meaning abandoned sensory desires and psychological homelands, (And struggled in the path of Allah with their wealth), which are the wealth of their knowledge, purposes, and capacities. Jihad with these is a sign of the erasure of their attributes, and jihad with the self is a sign of its annihilation in Allah—the Sublime. (Those are higher in degree) in monotheism (with Allah)—the Sublime. (Their Lord gives them glad tidings of mercy from Him), which is the reward of actions, (And approval), which is the reward of attributes, (And gardens wherein they have abiding pleasure), which is the witnessing of the Beloved who does not vanish. That is the recompense of the selves.

The order here is evident. Allah—the Sublime—undertook their glad tidings by His own Essence—the Almighty—so that their love for Him—the Blessed and Exalted—would increase, because hearts are molded to love whoever brings them glad tidings of good. Furthermore, the Sublime clarified that moral kinship, moral proportionality, and true connection are more worthy of consideration than physical connection and its primary manifestation. It is the strongest cause for reaching the Presence, and He threatened those who disregard it with what He threatened. We ask Allah—the Sublime—for success in what draws us near to Him; He is the Protector of that.