Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:41

His saying, the Almighty: (Khifafan wa thiqalan)—these are two states (hal) derived from the pronoun of the addressed, meaning: under every condition of ease or hardship, obtained through any cause, such as health or illness, wealth or poverty, few dependents or many, old age or youth, obesity or emaciation, or other than that which is ordered in terms of the assistance of causes or the lack thereof, subsequent to the possibility and ability in a general sense.

Ibn Abi Hatim and Abu al-Shaykh extracted from Abu Yazid al-Madini that he said: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad used to say: "We were commanded to march forth under every condition," and they would interpret the verse thus. They also extracted from Mujahid that he said: They said, "Among us are those who are burdened, those with needs, those with trades, those with occupations, and those whose affairs are scattered." So Allah the Almighty revealed: (Infiru khifafan wa thiqalan), and He refused to excuse them unless they marched forth, both the light and the heavy, and upon whatever state they were in.

As for what has been narrated in their interpretation—such as their saying "light of weaponry and heavy of weaponry," or "riders and pedestrians," or "youth and elders," or "the healthy and the sick," and other such things—this is not a specification of the two opposing matters in terms of intent, to the exclusion of the others.

It is narrated from Ibn Umm Maktum that he said to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "Must I march forth?" He replied: "Yes," until the [verse] was revealed: (There is no blame upon the blind...).

Ibn Abi Hatim and others extracted from al-Suddi that he said: "When this verse was revealed, its matter was difficult for the people, so Allah the Almighty abrogated it, saying: (There is no blame upon the weak nor upon the sick...)." It is also said that it is abrogated by His saying, the Almighty: (And it is not for the believers to go forth all together), but this is contrary to the apparent meaning.

Some narrations suggest there is no abrogation. Ibn Jarir, al-Tabarani, and al-Hakim (who authenticated it) extracted from Abu Rashid that he said: I saw al-Miqdad, the horseman of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in Homs wanting to go to battle, so I said: "Allah the Almighty has provided you an excuse (to stay back)." He said: "The Surah of 'al-Bu'uth' [The Sendings] has prevented us," meaning this verse, including the command: (And strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah)—meaning with whatever is possible for you of both, or one of them. Jihad with wealth is to spend it on weaponry, provisioning the warriors, and the like. (That is better for you)—meaning what was mentioned of marching forth and Jihad, and the meaning of distance within it, for reasons mentioned more than once—(for you) in this world, or in the Hereafter, or in both. It is also permissible that the meaning is: "better for you than what is sought by abandoning it, such as comfort, tranquility, ample living, and enjoyment of wealth and children."

(If you knew)—that is, if you possessed knowledge of what is good, you would know that it is good; or, if you know that it is good, since there is no possibility for other than truthfulness in the reports of Allah the Almighty, then hasten toward it. The answer to In (if) is implied. "Knowing" (ilm) is either transitive to one object, meaning "to recognize" (to reduce the requirement of an implied object), or it is transitive to two objects according to its conventional usage.

His saying, the Almighty: (Allah has already helped you in many battlefields, and on the day of Hunayn, when your great number amazed you), etc., is a sign that it does not behoove the servant to be veiled by anything from witnessing Allah the Almighty and relying upon Him. Whoever is veiled by something is entrusted to that thing. Hence, they said: "The acquisition of victory lies in humility, poverty, and helplessness."

When the Almighty saw the regret of the people for their arrogance regarding their numbers, He returned them to the arena of His generosity, clothed them in the lights of His proximity, and supported them with His troops. To this is the reference in His saying, the Almighty: (Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers). His tranquility (upon him, peace and blessings be upon him), as some of the Gnostics said, was from witnessing the Essence, while the tranquility of the believers was from observing the Attributes.

They have many expressions for the definition of Sakinah (tranquility), all close in meaning. It is said: It is the stabilization of the heart upon the execution of the Lord's decree with the attribute of serenity, through the total extinguishing of the traces of humanity, and contentment with what manifests from the Unseen without objection or choice. It is also said: It is the establishment upon the carpet of witnessing and the testimonies of sobriety, and the refinement of maintaining the purity of servitude without the onset of hardship or the movement of a vein in opposition to a decree. It is also said: It is the stationing with Allah the Almighty through the annihilation of [personal] shares and [worldly] troops; [it is] the remnants of the traces of the power of the manifestation of the Truth, the Almighty. It is also said: It is the arrival of certainty and the increase of insight.

The sign in His saying, the Almighty: (The polytheists are indeed unclean), etc., is that whoever is defiled by inclining to other-than-God and associates partners [with Him] by worshipping [his own] whims, is not fit for the Divine Presence. And who is fit for the Carpet of Sanctity except the sanctified? Abu Salih Hamdun mentioned that the "polytheist in his deed" is he who improves his outward appearance for the sake of meeting people and mingling with them, displaying to the creation the best of what he has, and looking at his own self with the eye of satisfaction, while defiling his inward state with hypocrisy, the seeking of fame, arrogance, hatred, and the like. The Divine Sanctuary is forbidden to such a person. Far be it, far be it that he should enter the Kingdom, or that the camel should enter the eye of the needle.

Some of the Gnostics said: "Whoever loses the purity of the inner secrets by the water of Unification and remains in the filth of [vain] thoughts and illusions, he is the polytheist, and he is forbidden from approaching the mosques which are the places of witnessing proximity."

In the verse is a sign prohibiting mingling with polytheists. The Sufis compared the people of this world to them. From here, al-Junayd said: "The Sufis are people of the Unseen; none other than them enter among them." Some of them said: "Whoever retains in his heart a regard for other than his Creator is not permitted to approach the gatherings of the saints, [at least not] without seeking healing from them, for his company disturbs their thoughts and he defiles their breaths with his own [impurity]. The company of one who denies the saints of Allah the Almighty produces a rupture that is difficult for a tailor to mend, and it leaves a tear that the preacher is unable to patch."

Among the strange things narrated is that al-Junayd (may his secret be sanctified) sat one day with his closest companions, having locked the door of the gathering out of caution against strangers, and they began to remember Allah the Almighty. Yet, they could not attain the presence, nor was the door of manifestation (tajalli) which they were accustomed to during dhikr opened for them. They were amazed by this. Al-Junayd said, "Is there anyone among you who is a denier, for whose sake we were forbidden?" They said, "No." Then they strove to identify the blocker and found nothing but the shoe of a denier. Al-Junayd said, "From here we were denied." So look, may Allah the Almighty have mercy on you, if this is the state of the shoe of a denier, what is your suspicion of him when he is present with his beard?

Then, the Almighty denounced the people of the two Books for being veiled from seeing the Truth, the Almighty, where He said, Glorious is His Majesty: (They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah). In this is a sign of the condemnation of blind imitation (taqlid). He also condemned the misers in His saying: (And those who hoard gold and silver), etc. By my life, they are worthy of condemnation. Some said, "Whoever is stingy with a small part of his wealth has closed against himself the door of his salvation and opened upon it the path of his destruction."

It is not hidden that the collection and hoarding of wealth and the failure to spend it occur only due to the entrenchment of the vice of avarice. Every vice is a brand with which its owner is tortured in the Hereafter and disgraced in this world. Since the substance of the rootedness and entrenchment of that vice is that wealth, it is what will be heated in the fire of the Hell of Nature and the abyss of [vain] desire, and its owner will be branded with it. These limbs were specifically mentioned because avarice is embedded in the soul, and the soul overcomes the heart from these directions—not from the direction of transcendence, which is the direction of the spirit's dominance and the extender of realities and lights; nor from the direction of the base, which is the direction of physical nature, due to nature's inability to do so. Thus, the other directions remain, and [the owner] is harmed and tortured from the four directions. This is just as you see him being shamed in this world and disgraced from these directions; he is confronted with condemnation openly and is scandalized, or it is whispered in his side, or he is backbitten behind his back—so said some of the Gnostics.

They have a far-fetched interpretation for His saying, the Almighty: (Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months), which is to be sought in its proper place.

His saying, the Almighty: (If you do not aid him), etc., is a reproach to the sluggish or to the people of the earth in their entirety, and a guidance that he (peace and blessings be upon him) is independent, through the help of Allah, of the help of the created. In this is a sign of the rank of the Siddiq (Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him); for he was singled out by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), just as he (peace and blessings be upon him) was singled out by his Lord, the Almighty, in the station of qaba qawsayn (two bows' length).

The meaning of (Allah is with us), according to what Ibn 'Ata said, is: "He is with us in pre-eternity, where He connected us with the bond of companionship." The effect of this companionship has appeared in this world and the Hereafter, so he never parted from him, alive or dead. It is also said: "He is with us by the manifestation of His care, His witnessing, and His proximity that cannot be assigned a modality." How excellent is the one who said: O seeker of Allah on the exalted Throne, do not seek Him on the Throne! For the glory is for the Cave.

It is not hidden what difference there is between the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): (Allah is with us), and the saying of Moses (peace be upon him): (Indeed, with me is my Lord), which is a clear difference for those of refined taste; for our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) placed the Name of the Almighty before himself, whereas Moses (peace be upon him) did the opposite. He (peace and blessings be upon him) brought the All-Encompassing Name, while the Interlocutor (Moses) brought the name of the Lord. He (peace and blessings be upon him) brought "us" in (with us), while Moses (peace be upon him) brought the possessive pronoun "my" (i.e., me), because our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was upon a character that Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) was not.

As for the pronoun in His saying: (Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon him), if it refers to the Companion, the matter is clear. If it refers to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then it is said: In that is a sign of the station of annihilation (fana) in the Shaykh at that moment.

Some of the elders said: The tranquility was sent down upon him (peace and blessings be upon him) to calm the heart of the Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and to remove his grief by way of reflection and radiance. Had it been sent down upon the Siddiq without an intermediary, he would have dissolved due to its magnitude. It is as if it were said: "He sent the tranquility of his companion upon him."

(March forth, light and heavy): That is, march forth toward the obedience of your Master, light in spirits, heavy in hearts; or light in hearts and heavy in bodies—by obeying Him with heart-felt and physical deeds; or light with the lights of affection and heavy with the trusts of Gnosis; or light with expansion (bast) and heavy with contraction (qabd). It is also said: Light in obedience, heavy against disobedience. And other things were said.

(And strive with your wealth)—by spending it upon the poor—(and your lives)—by being generous with them for Allah the Almighty—(That is better for you) in both abodes—(if you knew) that. And Allah the Almighty is the Granter of success to righteousness.