Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:83

(Then if Allah brings you back): That is, from your journey. The Fa (the letter "so") serves to derive the forthcoming command based on what was previously explained regarding their situation. "Brings back" (raja‘aka) here is transitive, meaning "to return someone," and its verbal noun is ar-raj‘. It can also be intransitive, with the verbal noun ar-ruju‘. The transitive form was chosen, even though the intransitive is more common, to indicate that such a journey—due to the danger it entails—requires divine support to return from it safely. For this reason, the word in (if) was chosen over idha (when). That is: "Then if Allah—Glorified be He—returns you (to a group of them)": Meaning, to the hypocrites who remained behind, based on the understanding that "of them" implies some were not hypocrites, or that it refers to those hypocrites who remained behind because others had either died, been absent from the city, or failed to seek your permission. It is also said that "that group" refers to those who remained firm in their hypocrisy and did not repent, but this is weak. Ibn al-Mundhir and others recorded from Qatadah regarding this verse: It was mentioned to us that they were twelve men from the hypocrites, and it is regarding them that what was said, was said.

(So they ask your permission to go out): With you to another expedition after this one from which Allah returned you by His support. (Then say): To them, in the most complete manner of belittling them, (You shall never go out with me): As long as I remain and you remain, (nor shall you fight with me an enemy): From among the enemies. This is a statement in the form of a prohibition for the sake of hyperbole. The mention of fighting, as some scholars have noted, is because it is the intended purpose of going out; if only one of them had been mentioned, it would have sufficed. This is to remove them from the rank of companionship and the rank of Jihad, or from the register of the soldiers and the register of the warriors, and to manifest dislike for their company and the lack of need to count them among the troops. Alternatively, the second was mentioned for emphasis, as it is more explicit in the intended meaning, while the first aligns with their request. A parallel to this is: "I say to him, 'Leave! Do not remain with us,'" where the second part is more indicative of dislike. (Indeed, you were satisfied with staying behind): From going out with me, (the first time): Meaning, the first instance of not going out. The elative noun (af‘al) is placed in the genitive case as a verbal noun (masdariyyah). It is also said to be an adverb of time, though Abu Hayyan considered this unlikely. It is apparent that this disagreement stems from the disagreement over the word marrah (time/turn). It is reported from Abu al-Baqa’ that it is originally the verbal noun of marra, yamurru (to pass), then used as an adverb. Al-Qadi al-Baydawi chose the accusative case as a verbal noun, pointing to the feminization of the described word where he said: "The first time is the departure for the expedition of Tabuk." The masculine elative (af‘al) was used because the masculine is more frequent in such cases. In al-Kashshaf, it is stated that marrah is an indefinite noun placed in the place of plural occurrences for the sake of preference, and the elative noun attached to it indicates one of the instances. This is because in the two languages, one says Hindun akbaru an-nisa’ (Hind is the greatest of women), and hiya akbaruhunna (she is the greatest of them), and hiya kubra imra’ah (she is the greatest woman). One rarely encounters [the elative in the feminine] unless it is hiya akbaru imra’ah (she is the greatest woman), and awwalu marrah (first time), and akhiru marrah (last time). In al-Kashf, the lack of encountering something like hiya kubra imra’ah is explained by the fact that the elative therein is not attached to the one being excelled, but rather to the number associated with it for the sake of clarification. It is as if one said: "She is a woman greater than each and every one of the women." In such a case, the elative does not change. Therefore, the investigation reveals it is not similar to that which has the lam (definite article); rather, the agreement is between the described word and that to which it is attached, and there is no role for agreement in wording and meaning, so ponder this. The sentence is in the position of providing a reason for what preceded; thus, it is a new, explanatory start—meaning: because you were satisfied, (so sit with those who remain behind).

Meaning: Those who stay behind because they are not fit, such as women, children, and disabled men. The masculine plural is used for the sake of taghlib (generalization). Ibn Abbas limited it to the latter. Explaining al-khalif as "those who remain behind" is what is transmitted from most of the early exegetes. It is also said to be derived from khalafa in the sense of "to spoil/corrupt," from which comes khuluf (the foul odor) of a fasting person's mouth due to the change in its scent. The prepositional phrase is connected to what is implied by "sit," or to an omitted word functioning as a state (hal) of the plural pronoun. The Fa serves to derive the command to sit—as a form of punishment—from the satisfaction they displayed regarding sitting behind. That is: If you were satisfied with sitting behind the first time, then sit behind from now on.

Ikrimah recited: (al-khallifin), in the measure of hadhirin (cautious). Perhaps it is a sifah mushabbahah (adjective) like it. It is also said that it is a shortening of al-khalifin, as its usage in that form is not established otherwise, assuming it is a sifah mushabbahah.