Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:75

This is an exposition of the ignominious traits of another group of hypocrites. The verse was revealed concerning Tha‘labah ibn Hatib—some say Ibn Abi Hatib—who was from the tribe of Banu Umayyah ibn Zayd. He is not the one who participated in Badr, for the latter was martyred at Uhud, may Allah be pleased with him.

Al-Tabarani, Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Dala'il, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others narrated from Abu Umamah al-Bahili that Tha‘labah ibn Hatib came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah grant him peace and blessings) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah, the Exalted, to provide me with wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "Woe to you, O Tha‘labah! Are you not satisfied to be like me? If I wished that Allah, the Exalted, would make these mountains flow with gold for me, they would flow." He said: "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah to provide me with wealth. By the One who sent you with the truth, if Allah grants me wealth, I shall surely give every owner of a right his due." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to you, O Tha‘labah! A little for which you can fulfill your gratitude is better than much which you cannot bear." He insisted: "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, provide him with wealth." He acquired sheep, and they were blessed and multiplied like maggots until Medina became too constricted for him. He moved away and would attend prayer during the day with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but not at night. Then they multiplied further, and his place became too constricted for him, so he moved further away. He stopped attending prayer by day or night, except for Friday, with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then they multiplied even further, and he moved away again, and he stopped attending Friday prayers or funerals with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He began meeting travelers and asking them for news. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) noticed his absence and asked about him. They informed him that he had bought sheep and that Medina had become too constricted for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to Tha‘labah ibn Hatib! Woe to Tha‘labah ibn Hatib!"

Then, Allah, the Exalted, commanded His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to collect charity and revealed: {Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them...} (9:103). He sent two men—one from Juhaynah and one from Banu Salamah—to collect the charity. He wrote for them the ages of camels and sheep to be taken and how to collect them, and commanded them to pass by Tha‘labah and a man from Banu Sulaym. They went out and passed by Tha‘labah. When they asked him for charity, he said: "Show me your document." He looked at it and said: "This is nothing but Jizyah (tribute). Go away until you finish, then come back to me." They left, and the man from Banu Sulaym heard of them and met them with his best camels. They said: "You are only required to give less than this." He replied: "I would not seek closeness to Allah, the Exalted, with anything but the best of my wealth." So they accepted it. When they finished, they passed by Tha‘labah again. He said: "Show me your document." He looked at it and said: "This is nothing but Jizyah. Go away until I consider my opinion." They left and returned to Medina. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw them, he said before they even spoke: "Woe to Tha‘labah ibn Hatib!" He prayed for blessings for the man from Banu Sulaym and Allah, the Exalted, revealed: {Among them are those who made a covenant with Allah...} through the three verses.

Some of his relatives heard this, came to him, and said: "Woe to you, O Tha‘labah! Such and such was revealed about you." He went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is the charity of my wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has forbidden me to accept it from you." He began to weep and cast dust upon his head. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is your own doing to yourself. I commanded you, but you did not obey me." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept it from him until he passed away. Then he went to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: "O Abu Bakr, accept my charity, for you know my status among the Ansar." Abu Bakr said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept it, and I shall not accept it." Then ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, took charge, and he went to him and said: "O Abu Hafs, O Commander of the Faithful, accept my charity." He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept it, nor did Abu Bakr; shall I accept it?" He refused to accept it. Then ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, took charge, and he did not accept it from him either; he died during his caliphate.

In some reports, it is stated that Tha‘labah was previously constant in the Prophet’s mosque until he was nicknamed "the Dove of the Mosque." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him rushing out of the mosque immediately after prayer and said to him: "What is the matter with you, acting like the hypocrites?" He replied: "I have become poor; my wife and I have only one garment. I come to pray in it, then I go and take it off so she can wear it and pray in it. So pray to Allah to expand my provision," until the end of the report.

It is apparent that the prohibition of Allah, the Exalted, to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) against accepting it from him was due to divine revelation that he was a hypocrite, and charity is not taken from such a person, even if they were not killed [for apostasy] because they did not make their hypocrisy manifest. His casting of dust upon his head was not out of repentance for his hypocrisy, but out of shame for his Zakah not being accepted along with the Muslims. The meaning of "this is your own doing" is: this is the recompense for your action and what you said. It is also said that the intent of his "action" is his request for increased provision, and this is an allusion to the prohibition; that is, it is the consequence of your action. Another view is that the "action" refers to his failure to give to the charity collectors.

From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), it is reported that Tha‘labah came to a gathering of the Ansar and called them to witness: "If Allah gives me of His bounty, I shall give charity and give every owner of a right his due." Then his cousin died, and he inherited wealth, but he did not fulfill what he had covenanted with Allah, the Exalted; so Allah revealed these verses concerning him. Al-Hasan said they were revealed regarding Tha‘labah and Mu‘attib ibn Qushayr, who were in a public gathering and swore by Allah that if He gave them of His bounty, they would surely give charity; but when He gave them, they became stingy. Al-Sa'ib said that Hatib ibn Abi Balta‘ah had wealth in the Levant which was delayed in arriving, causing him great hardship. He swore by Allah that if Allah gave them of His bounty—meaning that wealth—he would give charity and join kinship. When He gave it to him, he did not fulfill what he had covenanted with Allah. This is also attributed to Al-Kalbi. However, the first [account regarding Tha‘labah] is more famous and is the correct one regarding the cause of revelation.

Regarding "giving charity," it is said to mean giving the obligatory Zakah, and the subsequent phrase refers to performing other acts of righteousness such as joining ties of kinship and the like. It is also said that the "giving" refers to Zakah and other charities, and the subsequent phrase refers to Hajj, as is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), or to what encompasses that, including spending in battle, as has been said. The phrase "we will surely give charity and be among the righteous" (لنصدقن ولنكونن) has been read with the light nun (non-emphatic) in both.