Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:43

"May Allah pardon you; why did you grant them permission?" (i.e., for what reason did you grant these people—the liars who lagged behind—permission when they sought it, offering the excuse of inability?). This is a gentle rebuke from the Subtle, the All-Aware—Glorified is He—to His beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for abandoning the more appropriate course of action, which was to withhold permission until the truth of the matter became manifest and the reality of the situation was revealed. This is indicated by His saying: "until it becomes clear to you who spoke the truth" (i.e., regarding their claim of inability), "and you know the liars."

The "until" (hattā) is either attached to what is implied by "why did you grant them permission," as if it were said: "Why did you hasten to grant them permission and not wait until the matter became clear, as is the requirement of the firmness befitting your lofty status, O Master of the Resolve?" It is not permissible for it to be attached to the aforementioned [verb] itself, because that would necessitate that his permission, peace be upon him, was caused or defined by the manifestation and the knowing, making the inquiry directed at that aspect—which is clearly corrupt. Both "lam" (in "lima") and "hattā" are connected to "granting permission," though they differ in meaning: the first is for causality and the second is for termination. The pronoun in "them" refers to all who were indicated. The redirection of the denial toward the "permission" is in consideration of its encompassing everyone, not in consideration of its attachment to each individual, because the inability of some—as indicated by what is within the scope of "until"—is verified.

He expresses the first group with a relative pronoun whose adjunct is a verb indicating occurrence, and the second group with a noun agent (participle) indicating constancy. This signals that what appeared from the first group—truthfulness—is a transient event regarding a specific matter, not sufficient to rank them among the permanently truthful. Conversely, what originated from the latter is—even if it were a transient lie regarding a specific matter—a continuation of their constant habit, stemming from their deep-rootedness in lying.

He expresses the appearance of truth with "manifestation" (tabayyun) and what relates to lying with "knowledge" (ilm), as it is well-known that the intended meaning of a report is truthfulness, while lying is a rational possibility. The attribution of knowledge to him, peace be upon him, rather than to the known parties—by using the passive voice—while attributing "manifestation" to the first group, is because the objective here is his, peace be upon him, knowing them and holding them accountable for it; unlike the first group, for whom there is no accountability. The attribution of "manifestation" to them and the suspension of "knowledge" on the others—even though the basis of the attribution and connection primarily and essentially is the description of truth and falsehood, as indicated—is because the intent is knowledge of both groups in consideration of their being characterized by those mentioned descriptions. The Sheikh of Islam said this, and its excellence is not hidden.

In beginning the address with what he started with, there is magnification of the stature of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, reverence for him, and preservation of his sanctity. It is common for an address to begin in this manner to magnify the addressee; thus, one says, "May Allah pardon you for what you did in my matter," or "May Allah be pleased with you for your response to my words," and the purpose is magnification. Among this is the saying of Ali ibn al-Jahm addressing al-Mutawakkil after being ordered into exile: "May Allah pardon you; is there no sanctity to bestow your grace, O son of the exalted? Have you not seen a servant who exceeded his bounds, and a master who pardoned and guided to righteousness? Forgive me, so that He who has not ceased to protect you and turn death away from you may forgive you."

Included in this category is the narration of his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "I marveled at Joseph, peace be upon him, his nobility, and his patience—may Allah forgive him—when he was asked about the lean and fat cows; had I been in his place, I would not have told them until I stipulated that they release me." Ibn al-Mundhir and others narrated from Awn ibn Abdullah that he said: "Have you heard of a rebuke better than this? He began with pardon before the rebuke." Al-Sajawandi said: "It contains an instruction to magnify the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and were it not for the precedence of pardon in the rebuke, it would not have sustained the force of the address." Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said: "Look at this gentleness; he began with pardon before mentioning the pardoned."

The author of al-Kashshaf erred and lacked proper etiquette—may Allah remove his veil, and may He not grant him permission to state his excuse—in assuming that the speech is a metonymy for a crime, and that its meaning is "you have erred." Even if that were the intended meaning, or if it were possible, Allah has honored His noble Prophet beyond being addressed with that, and He treated him gently in the metonymy regarding it. Should one not be disciplined by the discipline of Allah, especially concerning the Chosen One, may Allah bless him and grant him peace? In either case, he is heedless of what is required regarding his right, peace be upon him.

Glory be to Allah! From where did he—may Allah deal with him according to His justice—derive that which he expressed as "it is a miserable thing"? Pardon, even if it were to concede a preceding error, does not necessitate that it is of a repulsive nature or that it entails a blame that would justify this level of open confrontation with evil and justify the creation of disparagement with the word "miserable," which signals that the ugliness has reached a rank that is to be marveled at. The author of al-Kashf excused him, saying: "He meant that the original is that, but it was replaced with pardon to magnify his status, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and to alert one to the gentleness of his position; therefore, he preceded pardon over the mention of what necessitates the crime." This interpretation of his is not based on the idea that the shift to "May Allah pardon you" was not for magnification, such that he should be corrected.

As for what is used solely for magnification, it is when it is a supplication, not a statement of fact—although a supplication may sometimes be used to imply scrutiny, like his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "May Allah have mercy on my brother Lot; he used to seek refuge in a strong pillar." Its verification is that it is not devoid of a belittlement of the rank of the addressee or the absent, according to the variation of the form. As for magnification or implication, it has ended. What is in it is not hidden; it is an excuse that is unacceptable to those of intellect. How many such slips there are in al-Kashshaf! Because of this, some of the great scholars refused to teach it, such as Imam al-Subki, may mercy be upon him. Would that the scholar al-Baydawi had not followed him in any of that.

Furthermore, some have inferred from the verse that a sin occurred from him, peace be upon him, based on two points: First, that pardon requires a preceding sin; second, that the interrogative of denial in His saying, "Why did you grant permission," indicates that the permission was a sin. The scholars of investigation maintain that it is brought forth as a rebuke—as you have known—for leaving the more appropriate and perfect course. They said: "It is not hidden that there was no interest for the religion or benefit for the Muslims in their leaving; rather, there was corruption and confusion in it," as stated by His saying: "If they had gone out..." and so forth. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, disliked it, as His saying clarifies: "But Allah disliked their being sent forth." Yes, the more appropriate course was to delay the permission until their lying became apparent and they were disgraced before the eyes of the witnesses, and they would not have been able to enjoy life in security and ease, nor would it have been possible for them to rejoice among themselves that they had deceived him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and pleased him with lies—though they did not enjoy life nor was their eye cooled, for they were not in security and tranquility, but rather in fear of their matter being revealed.

Some people have weakened the inference from the verse based on what was mentioned, saying: "Even if we concede that 'May Allah pardon you' requires a preceding sin—and the basis is what we indicated previously—we do not concede that His saying 'Why did you grant them permission' is spoken by way of denial to him, peace be upon him. This is because it is either that a sin was committed by him, peace be upon him, in this incident, or it was not. In both cases, it is impossible for what was mentioned to be a denial. As for the first, because if no sin was committed by him, how could a denial be directed at him? And as for the second, because the beginning of the verse indicates the occurrence of pardon, and after its occurrence, it is impossible for a denial to be directed at him." So understand this.

A group inferred from it that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had the capacity for ijtihad (independent reasoning), and that he sometimes receives a single reward for it. The aspect of this is clear. What he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did in this incident is one of two things he did without being commanded to do them, as Ibn Jarir and others narrated from Amr ibn Maymun; the second is his, peace be upon him, taking ransom from the captives, which has already been mentioned. Some claimed exclusivity to these two matters, and it was objected that this is incorrect, for there is a third—that which is mentioned in Surah al-Tahrim, and others like that which is mentioned in Surah 'Abasa. It was answered that it is possible to restrict the two matters to what pertains to the matter of jihad. And Allah is the Guardian of guidance.