Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:49

"And among them is he who says: 'Permit me'—meaning, to remain behind from Jihad—'and do not put me to trial [la taftinni]'"—that is, do not cause me to fall into tribulation regarding the women of the Byzantines.

Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Tabarani, and Ibn Mardawayh narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to set out for the Battle of Tabuk, he said to Jadd ibn Qays, "O Jadd ibn Qays, what do you say about struggling against the Banu al-Asfar?" He replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I am a man who is fond of women, and whenever I see the women of the Banu al-Asfar, I am tempted. So permit me, and do not put me to trial." Thereupon, this verse was revealed. A similar account was reported from A’ishah and Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them).

Another interpretation is: "Do not cause me to fall into disobedience and sin by opposing your command to set out for Jihad." This has been reported from al-Hasan and Qatadah, and al-Juba’i favored it. In this statement, there is an indication that he would inevitably remain behind, whether the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) granted him permission or not.

Some interpreted al-fitnah (trial) as harm; meaning: do not cause me to fall into harm, for if I go out with you, my wealth and my family will perish due to the lack of someone to attend to their interests. Abu Muslim said: It means, do not torment me by burdening me with setting out in the intense heat. It has also been recited as wa la taftinni (with a fatha on the ya), derived from aftanahu in the sense of fatanahu (to put to trial).

"Surely, they have fallen into trial"—that is, into the trial itself, in its essence, and in its most complete manifestation—the one whose description as complete needs no elaboration, and which is worthy of the genus-name being exclusively applied to it. They have fallen into it, not into something else, let alone something that could serve as an escape or a refuge from it. This is due to their resolve to remain behind, their audacity in seeking this permission, and their choosing to stay back based on that permission and their false excuses. In the Mushaf of Ubayy, it is written as saqata (in the singular), observing the form of man (whoever). The verification involved in introducing the sentence with the particle of attention (ala) is clear. Expressing their being tempted as "falling into the trial" is to treat the trial as a devastating abyss, clarifying their descent into the depths of destruction, the lowest of the low. The reason for advancing the prepositional phrase (fi al-fitnati) is also evident.

"And indeed, Hell shall encompass the disbelievers"—this is a threat to them for what they have done. It is conjoined to the previous sentence and falls under the [particle of] attention. Meaning: It will encompass them from every side inevitably, and that will be on the Day of Resurrection. The metaphorical use of the active participle (muhitah) implies that it is used for the future, based on the fact that it is literally used for the present. It is also possible that the intended meaning is that it encompasses them now, by taking "Hell" to mean its causes, such as disbelief and the trial into which they have fallen, and so forth, metaphorically.

The statement may also be considered a representation (tamthil), where their state of being surrounded by the causes [of Hell] is likened to their state when surrounded by the Fire itself. The deeds in which they are engaged are the Fire itself, but they have appeared in the form of deeds in this realm, and will appear in their fiery form in the other realm. This is similar to what was said regarding His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, those who consume the wealth of orphans unjustly—they only consume into their bellies fire." This is a Sufi approach.

The intent by "the disbelievers" is either the hypocrites being discussed—where choosing the explicit noun over the pronoun is to register their disbelief against them and to indicate that it is the greatest of the causes of the aforementioned encompassing—or it refers to all disbelievers, and these [hypocrites] are included in that category primarily.