Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:51

"Say" — as a rebuke to them.

"Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us." That is, what He has singled out for us by way of rewarding and ordaining, whether it be worldly or otherworldly interest, such as victory or martyrdom leading to everlasting bliss. Thus, "decreed" (al-katb) is in the sense of predestination (al-taqdir), and the "lam" (in lana) denotes specification. It is also permitted that "decreed" refers to writing upon the Preserved Tablet, and the "lam" is for causality and purpose; meaning: "Nothing shall strike us except what Allah, the Exalted, has written for our sake upon the Tablet, which shall not change by your agreement or opposition." Thus, the verse indicates that all events are by the decree of Allah, the Exalted. This has been narrated from al-Hasan.

Some have argued that this is not appropriate for the context, and that the saying of the Exalted, "He is our Protector" — meaning our Helper and the One who manages our affairs — supports the first interpretation, as it clarifies that the meaning of the "lam" is specification. It restricts the relative pronoun to victory and martyrdom; meaning: "Nothing shall strike us except that, and not abandonment or wretchedness, as is your situation, because we are believers, and Allah is the Protector of those who believe, while the disbelievers have no protector." It may also be said: It is an explanation for what is inferred from the previous statement regarding contentment; meaning: "Nothing shall strike us except what has been decreed, whether it be good or evil, so what you are upon does not harm us, and we are content with what Allah, the Exalted, has done, because He, glory be to Him, is our Master and we are His servants."

Ibn Mas'ud read hal yusibuna, and Talha read hal yusibuna with a shaddah on the ya, from sayyib which follows the measure fay'il, not fa'al with doubling, because its standard form is sawb as it is from the wawi (waw-based) root; thus there is no justification for turning it into a ya, unlike the case if it were sayyub on the measure fay'il, for when a waw and a ya meet and the first of them is quiescent, the waw is changed into a ya, which is a consistent rule. Al-Zamakhshari permitted it to be from the taf'il form according to the dialect of those who say saba yusibu, from which is the saying of al-Kumayt: "And the beautiful, chaste woman was captivated when the striking (ones) and the rain (al-sayyib) aimed..."

"And upon Allah" — alone — "let the believers rely."

That is, let them delegate their affairs to Him, glory be to Him. This does not contradict holding onto worldly means, provided one does not rely upon them. The apparent meaning of the speech of a group is that this sentence is a continuation of the command given, and the fronting of the object is to indicate exclusivity, as we have pointed out. The manifestation of the Exalted Name (Allah) in the place of a pronoun is to show blessings and finding delight in it. Replacing the pronoun of the first person with "the believers" is to signify that the nature of the believers is the exclusivity of reliance upon Allah, the Exalted. The "fa" (in falyatawakkal) is the "fa" of consequence, to denote order; meaning: if it is the case that nothing shall strike us except what Allah has decreed — that is, what Allah, the Exalted, has singled us out with, whether victory or martyrdom — and that He is the One who manages our affairs, then let us do what is our right, which is to single Him out, the Majestic and Exalted, with reliance.

Al-Tayyibi said: It is as if the statement of the hypocrites, "We have taken our measures," was countered by this conclusion. The meaning is that it is the habit of the believers not to rely upon their own caution and alertness, just as it is the habit of the hypocrites to do so, but rather to rely upon Allah alone and delegate their affairs to Him. It is not far-fetched for this speech to be a derivation from His saying, "He is our Protector," as is not hidden. It is also permissible that this sentence was brought forth from Him, the Exalted, as a command to the believers to rely [upon Him], following His command to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding what was mentioned. The act of placing the noun in the place of the pronoun in both instances is then apparent, as is the repetition of the command in His saying...