Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:53

(Say: "Spend") your wealth for the benefit of the warriors, (willingly or unwillingly), meaning whether you are obedient or reluctant. Both are infinitives functioning as circumstantial qualifiers (hal). Although the form of (spend) is an imperative, the intended meaning is a declarative statement. An imperative is frequently used to denote a declarative statement, just as the inverse occurs. An example of this is the saying of Kathir Azzah: "Treat us badly or well, there is no reproach upon us, nor will you be loathed if you loathe."

It is, as Al-Farra and Al-Zajjaj stated, in the sense of a conditional: meaning, if you spend in any condition, (it shall not be accepted from you). The speech was framed in the imperative mood for the sake of hyperbole, to equate both states in their lack of acceptance; it is as if they were commanded to test the matter by spending in both situations, so that they might observe whether it would be accepted from them and thereby witness its non-acceptance.

In this, as some of the investigators have noted, is a representative metaphor (isti'arah tamthiliyyah). Their condition regarding spending and its non-acceptance under any circumstances is likened to the state of one who is commanded to perform an action to test it, only to have its futility revealed to him. Thus, one should not imagine that, since they were commanded to spend, how could it not be accepted?

The verse was revealed—as Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them)—as a response to what was said by Al-Jadd ibn Qays when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to him, "Do you have any interest in fighting the Byzantines (Banul-Asfar)?" He replied, "If I see the women, I will not be able to resist, and I will be tempted; but I will assist you with my wealth."

The negation of acceptance may mean that it will not be received from them, or it may mean that they will not be rewarded for it. Both aspects are present in usage: for people, acceptance means receiving it, while for Allah the Exalted, acceptance means rewarding for it. It is permissible to combine both meanings.

His saying, the Exalted: (Indeed, you were a defiantly disobedient people) is a justification for the rejection of their spending. The intended meaning of "fisq" (defiant disobedience) here is insolence and rebellion. Therefore, it cannot be asked: "How can the rejection be justified by 'fisq', which is of a lesser degree than 'kufr' (disbelief), and how is this valid when it is explicitly stated that it is justified by 'kufr' in the saying of the Exalted..."