Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:55

"Let not their wealth and their children amaze you..." (meaning: let not anything of that captivate you, for it is merely a way of leading them on gradually to their ruin and a bane upon them, as indicated by His, the Exalted, saying: "Allah only intends to punish them with them in the worldly life.")

The address may be directed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or it may be for anyone for whom it is appropriate, in the same manner as it is said in verses like: "Do not associate partners with Allah."

Regarding the object of the "intention" (irada): it is said that it is the "punishment," and the lam (in li-yu’adhibahum) is superfluous (za’idah). Others say it is elided, and the lam is causative—meaning: He intends to give them [these things] in order to punish them. Their punishment through wealth and children in this world occurs because they endure hardships and calamities in accumulating and preserving them. They lack the belief in the reward of Allah, the Exalted, which would alleviate what they experience.

It is also said: Their punishment in this world through wealth is the exaction of zakat and spending in the cause of Allah, the Exalted, while they do not believe in the reward for it. Their punishment through children is that they may be killed in battle, causing them extreme grief, as they do not believe in their martyrdom or that they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision, and that reunion with them is near—unlike the believers, as previously mentioned. Another view is that the punishment via wealth is for it to become booty for the Muslims, and via children, that they become a cause of [the parents'] destruction once the Muslims manifest their superiority and gain power over them.

Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Qatadah that there is a transposition (taqdim wa ta’khir) in the verse, meaning: "Let not their wealth and children in the worldly life amaze you; Allah only intends to punish them with them in the Hereafter."

"...and their souls depart..." (meaning: they die; the root of zuhuq is exiting with difficulty) "...while they are disbelievers."

This is a circumstantial qualifier (hal), meaning: in a state of disbelief. The verb is conjoined to what precedes it and is included within the scope of the "intention." It has been argued by those who link death in a state of disbelief to the intention of the Exalted that the disbelief of the disbeliever is by His, the Exalted, intention; in this is a refutation of the Mu'tazilah.

Al-Zamakhshari replied that the intended meaning is merely granting them respite and continuing His favors upon them until they die in disbelief, while they are preoccupied with what they are in, to the exclusion of reflecting on the end. This respite and continuation, as mentioned, are among the things that can be intended by Him, the Exalted. Al-Tayyibi objected to this, stating that it does not avail him anything, because the cause of a cause is a cause in reality. The essence of his argument is that what leads to something reprehensible and serves as its cause takes the same ruling as the reprehensible thing itself, and this is prohibited.

Al-Jubba'i responded that the meaning of the verse is that Allah, the Exalted, intended the departure of their souls while they are in a state of disbelief, and this does not necessitate that He, the Exalted, intended the disbelief itself. For the sick person intends the treatment during the time of illness but does not intend the illness, and the ruler says to his army: "Kill the rebels while they are attacking," but he does not intend for them to attack. The Imam (Al-Razi) refuted this by stating that there is no meaning to the example mentioned except the intention to remove the sickness and the desire to stop the rebels' attack. When the intent is to eliminate a thing, it is impossible for its existence to be intended. This is unlike the intention for the departure of the disbeliever's soul, for it is not an expression of an intention to remove disbelief. Therefore, when Allah, the Exalted, intended the departure of their souls while they were disbelievers, it necessarily follows that He must be the one who intended their disbelief. And how could it be otherwise? The departure [of the soul] in a state of disbelief cannot occur except during the occurrence of disbelief, and intending a thing necessitates intending that which is essential to it; thus, it follows that He, the Exalted, intended the disbelief.

The response to this is that, apparently, the intention for treatment is something distinct from the intention for removing the illness; likewise, the intention for killing is different from the intention for removing the attack. This is why one of the two intentions is explained by the other—so how could it be the thing itself? As for the claim that the intention for the essentials of a thing is a requirement of the intention for the thing itself, it is not conceded. How many things are essential to another that do not even cross the mind when the latter is intended, let alone what he claimed. Thus, the deduction from the verse regarding what was mentioned is incomplete.