Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:46

"And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it some preparation" (meaning: provision, a mount, and all that a traveler needs for the journey they desire).

It has been recited as ‘uddah with a damma on the ‘ayn and a shaddah on the dal, with an attachment to the pronoun of "going forth." Ibn Jinni said: It was heard from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Malik that he recited it as such. It is explained as being originally ‘uddatahu (their preparation), but the ta was dropped as in iqam al-salah (the establishment of prayer), and this is considered "heard" (i.e., known through transmission). Al-Farra’ held this view, and the pronoun—as more than one has stated—is a compensation for the omitted ta. It has been said: It is not omitted without compensation, and they have done the same in ‘uda with the light [non-geminated] dal, meaning the promise, as in the statement of Zuhayr: "Indeed, the companions hastened the departure and set off, and they broke the promise of the matter they had promised." It has also been recited as ‘idda with a kasra on the ‘ayn, with and without attachment.

"But Allah disliked their being sent forth" (meaning: their going out, as reported from al-Dahhak, or their rising to go out, as more than one has said).

"So He kept them back" (meaning: He detained them and hindered them from that). Regarding the istidrak (the adversative "but"), it is said to be regarding what is understood from the antecedent of the conditional sentence; for the negation of the intention to go forth necessitates the negation of their going forth, and Allah’s dislike of their going forth necessitates His keeping them back. It is as if it were said: "They did not go out, but they were kept back from going out." This is an istidrak of the negation of a thing by affirming its opposite, just as the negation of doing good is corrected by affirming evil in your saying: "He did not do me a favor, but he did me harm." Agreement in meaning does not prevent [the usage] between the two sides of "but" (lākinna) after the difference is realized through negation and affirmation in the wording. Some have scrutinized this, arguing that "but" occurs between two opposites, two contradictories, or two different things according to one opinion, whereas here—on this explanation—it occurs between two agreeing things. Thus, the apparent meaning is that it is for emphasis, as they have established its arrival for that purpose, though there is consideration in that.

Some scholars have suggested that the istidrak stems from the antecedent itself, following the method used in syllogistic logic. The meaning is: "If they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it some preparation; but they did not intend it, because Allah disliked their going forth due to the corruption involved, so He detained them with cowardice and laziness, thus they were kept back from it and did not prepare for it."

"And it was said, 'Sit with those who sit'"

This is a representation (tamthil) of Allah the Almighty creating the motive for sitting within them and His—Exalted is He—placing the dislike of going forth into their hearts through the command to sit, or it is a representation of the devil’s whispering of that; there is no literal speech here. A parallel to this is the Almighty’s saying: "So Allah said to them, 'Die,' then He brought them to life," (meaning: He caused them to die). It is also permissible that it is a narration of them saying it to one another, or that the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—gave them permission to sit; thus the speech would be literal.

"Those who sit" refers to those whose habit is to sit and remain in their homes, such as women, children, and the infirm, or men who have an excuse preventing them from going forth. In some of these possibilities, there is an inherent blame that is not hidden, so contemplate it.