Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:99

(And among the Bedouins), meaning, from their genre absolutely, (are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day), in the manner commanded, (and take), by way of choosing and selecting, (what they spend in the way of Allah), (as means of nearness). Qurbāt is the plural of qurbah, meaning 'attaining nearness', and it is a second object for yattakhidhu. The intent is the taking of that as a cause for attaining nearness, either through metaphorical attribution or implied meaning. Qurbah may also be applied to that which is used to attain nearness; the former is the preference of the majority, and the pluralization considers the types and the individuals. His saying—Exalted be He—(in the sight of Allah) is an adjective for qurbāt or an adverbial phrase for yattakhidhu. Abu al-Baqa’ permitted it to be an adverb, meaning the qurbāt are entities that draw one near in the sight of Allah—Exalted be He.

His saying—Exalted be He—(and the prayers of the Messenger) is joined to (qurbāt), meaning: and as a cause for his prayer—peace and blessings be upon him—for he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to pray for the givers of charity for good and blessing, and would seek forgiveness for them. Therefore, it is Sunnah for the recipient of charity to pray for the giver when taking the charity, but it is not for him to offer Salāt (the specific formal prayer/invocation of blessings) upon him. They have said: One does not offer Salāt upon anyone other than the Prophets and the Angels—peace and blessings be upon them—except in a subordinate capacity, because Salāt contains an exaltation that is not found in other supplications. It is for the increase of mercy and nearness to Allah—Exalted be He—and is thus not appropriate for one from whom sins and transgressions can be conceived. It is allowed as a subordinate act because of the exaltation of the one being followed contained therein.

There is disagreement as to whether it is prohibited by way of Tahrim (forbidden), Tanzih (reprehensible), or Khilaf al-Awla (contrary to the better). Al-Nawawi, in al-Adhkār, deemed the second as correct. However, in the sermon of the Sharh al-Ashbāh by al-Biri, it states: "Whoever offers Salāt upon others has sinned and acted reprehensibly," and this is the correct view. As for the narration by the Six, other than al-Tirmidhi, of his saying—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—"O Allah, send Salāt upon the family of Abi Awfa," it does not stand as an argument against the prohibitor, because that—as stated in al-Mustasfā—is his right—peace and blessings be upon him—so he may bestow it upon whomsoever he wishes initially, whereas others are not so.

As for the Salām (greeting of peace), al-Laqani transmitted in Sharh Jawharat al-Tawhid from Imam al-Juwayni that it is in the meaning of Salāt, so it is not to be used for the absent, nor is it to be singled out for anyone other than the Prophets and Angels—peace be upon them. Thus, it is not said: "Ali—peace be upon him," but rather: "May Allah be pleased with him." This applies equally to the living and the dead, except for those present, where it is said: "Peace be upon you" (al-salāmu 'alayk or salāmun 'alaykum), and this is agreed upon. I say: Perhaps from the "present" are [the phrases]: "Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah" and "Peace be upon you, O home of a believing people." Otherwise, it is problematic.

The manifest view is that the reason for prohibiting the Salām is what al-Nawawi stated regarding the reason for prohibiting Salāt: that it is the emblem of the people of innovation, and that it is restricted in the tongue of the Salaf (pious predecessors) to the Prophets and Angels—peace be upon them—just as our saying "Azza wa Jalla" (Mighty and Majestic) is restricted to Allah—Exalted be He. Thus, one does not say "Muhammad Azza wa Jalla," even if he is noble and majestic—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Then al-Laqani said: Qadi Iyad said: "What the verifiers have inclined toward, and what I incline toward, is what Malik and Sufyan said—and it was chosen by more than one of the jurists and theologians—that it is obligatory to restrict the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and all the Prophets—peace and blessings be upon them—to Salāt and Salām, just as Allah—Exalted be He—is restricted when mentioned to sanctification and transcendence, while others are mentioned with forgiveness and pleasure, as He—Exalted be He—said: 'Allah is pleased with them and they with Him,' and 'They say, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith."' Furthermore, this [practice of Salāt] for others was not present in the first generations; it was only innovated by the Rafidah regarding some of the Imams, and imitation of the people of innovation is forbidden, so opposing them is obligatory."

It is not hidden that the school of the Hanbalis permits this for others than the Prophets and Angels—peace be upon them—independently, acting upon the apparent meaning of the aforementioned Hadith. The reprehensibility of imitating the people of innovation is also established with us, but not absolutely; rather, it is in that which is blameworthy and in that which is intended for imitation, as al-Haskafi mentioned in al-Durr al-Mukhtār. So understand.

Then, the mention of the description of belief in Allah and the Last Day for this group, despite the flow of speech being to clarify the difference between the two groups, is to state the condition of their taking what they spend—both in state and in property. The mention of taking it as a cause for qurbāt and prayers is sufficient without making that explicit, due to the complete concern for their faith and the declaration of their being characterized by it, and the increased concern for the realization of the difference from the very beginning. As for the first group, their being characterized by disbelief and hypocrisy is known explicitly from the context of the noble arrangement.

It is permitted to join (and the prayers) to (what they spend), and upon this, Abu al-Baqa’ limited himself; meaning: he takes what he spends and the prayers of the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—as qurbāt. (Unquestionably, it is a means of nearness for them)—a testimony for them from the Presence of Allah—Exalted be He—of the correctness of what they believed and a confirmation of their hope. The pronoun is either for the expenditure known from what preceded, or for the "what" (mā) which is in its meaning, so it returns to that in consideration of the meaning—therefore it is feminine—or in consideration of the predicate. Ibn al-Khazin permitted its return to the "prayers," and the majority hold the first view. The nunation of qurbah is for magnification, which dispenses with the plural, meaning: a nearness the reality of which cannot be comprehended. In the bringing of the nominal sentence with the two particles of alerting and verification (alā and inna) is a degree of eloquence that is not hidden. The limitation to stating that it is a qurbah for them is because it is the ultimate end, and the prayers of the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—are among its means.

It was recited as qurbah with a damma on the rā’ to follow the pattern. (Allah will admit them into His mercy)—a promise to them of the encompassing of His mercy—Exalted be He—of them, as is indicated by fi (in), which denotes containment. This is in opposition to the threat to the previous group indicated by His saying—Exalted be He—(and Allah is Hearing, Knowing). In this is also an explanation of the qurbah. The sīn (in sayudkhiluhum) is for verification and confirmation of what preceded, as it is in the affirmative, in opposition to lan (never) in the negative. His saying—Exalted be He—(Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful) is a confirmation of what preceded, as if it were proof for it. The verse, as Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Abu al-Shaykh, and others extracted from Mujahid, was revealed regarding the Banu Muqarrin of Muzaynah. Al-Kalbi said: regarding Aslam, Ghifar, and Juhaynah. It is said: the preceding one was revealed regarding Asad, Ghatafan, and Banu Tamim, and this one regarding Abdullah Dhu al-Bijadayn bin Nahm al-Muzani—may Allah be pleased with him.