Surah At-Tawbah (9): 104

Know that when the Almighty recounted the affair of those people previously mentioned—who repented from their sins and gave charity—He did not explicitly state the acceptance of their repentance, only saying: {Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness} (9:102).

In this verse, however, He explicitly states that He accepts repentance and receives charities. The purpose is to encourage those who have not yet repented to do so, and to motivate all sinners toward obedience.

There are several issues (Masā’il) concerning this verse:

Abu Muslim stated that although the phrase {Have they not known} (أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا) is in the form of a question, its intent is to affirm and establish the truth in their minds (i.e., a rhetorical affirmation).

It is a common practice among Arabs, when intending to remove doubt from the listener, to use such phrasing, like saying: "Do you not know that whoever taught you deserves your service?" or "Do you not know that whoever benefited you deserves your gratitude?" Thus, Allah is reassuring these repentant people of the acceptance of their repentance and their charities.

He further emphasized this by saying: {and that Allah is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful}.

The author of Al-Kashshāf mentioned that the verse was recited with both the feminine pronoun (تَعْلَمُوا) and the masculine pronoun (يَعْلَمُوا). There are two interpretations for this:

1. Referring to the repentant ones: The intent is to inform those who have already repented—before their repentance was accepted—that Allah accepts sincere repentance and charities stemming from pure intention.
2. Referring to those who have not repented: This serves as an encouragement for them to repent. It is narrated that when the Prophet (PBUH) confirmed the validity of the repentance of certain individuals, others who had not repented remarked, "What about us? Those who repented were with us yesterday, yet they were not spoken to or sat with. What is their status?" Then this verse was revealed.

There are several benefits derived from the statement {It is Allah Who accepts the repentance}:

Benefit 1: The Implication of Divinity (Uluhiyyah)

Allah first names Himself as Allah (The God), and immediately follows it with {It is Allah Who accepts the repentance}. This implies that His status as Ilāh (God) necessitates the acceptance of repentance.

• The Ilāh is defined as that Being whose state cannot be increased or diminished. His status is not enhanced by the obedience of the obedient, nor diminished by the sin of the sinners.
• Furthermore, the Ilāh does not possess desires (Shahwah) for obedience or aversion (Nafrah) to sin, such that His anger might compel Him to seek vengeance.
• The purpose of prohibiting sin and encouraging obedience is to guide the heart toward the Hereafter and the stations of the fortunate, and to prevent preoccupation with vain physical matters. True worship is that which guides the heart toward the righteous path.
• Therefore, the sinner harms only himself, and the obedient benefits only himself, as stated: {If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, it is against yourselves} (17:7).
• If the Ilāh is inherently Merciful, Wise, and Generous, and His anger toward the sinner is not due to personal harm suffered, then when the servant moves from sin to obedience, His generosity makes the acceptance of repentance obligatory upon Him (as a matter of grace).
• Thus, since Uluhiyyah signifies absolute Self-Sufficiency (Istighnā’ المطلق), which is impossible for any other being, the acceptance of repentance from others would be impossible unless there was another, separate cause, or a counteracting factor.

Benefit 2: Directing the Act to Allah

This specification indicates that the acceptance of repentance is not the responsibility of the Messenger (PBUH); rather, it belongs to Allah, Who accepts sometimes and rejects at other times. Therefore, direct your repentance and intention solely to Allah. It is also a message to these repentant people: "Keep striving, for your deeds, whether good or bad, are not hidden from Allah."

The Mu'tazilah argue that accepting repentance is rationally obligatory upon Allah. Our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah) argue that it is obligatory based on His Promise, Favor, and Benevolence, but not rationally obligatory.

Arguments against rational obligation:

1. The Nature of Obligation (Wujūb): Obligation is only established when failure to perform the act results in deserving blame (Dhamm). If accepting repentance were rationally obligatory upon Allah, then failing to accept it would make Him deserving of blame. This is impossible, because one who requires an external act (acceptance) to be perfected is inherently deficient in that aspect, which is impossible for Allah.
2. The Nature of Blame: Blame only deters an action if the subject is susceptible to the pain of hearing the blame, or if it reveals a deficiency in their status. Since Allah is exalted above desire, aversion, increase, and decrease, the concept of obligation in this sense cannot apply to Him.
3. Praise and Obligation: Allah praises Himself in this verse for accepting repentance. If this were obligatory, He would not be praised for performing an obligation, as fulfilling a duty does not merit praise or glorification.

There are two views regarding the preposition {from} (عَنْ):

1. There is no difference between saying {from His servants} (عَنْ عِبَادِهِ) and saying {of His servants} (مِنْ عِبَادِهِ). Just as one can say, "I took this from you" or "I took this concerning you."
2. Al-Qadi suggests that {عَنْ} is more emphatic, implying acceptance coupled with facilitating the path to the repentance that was accepted.

My view is that the words عَنْ and مِنْ are close, but عَنْ implies a degree of distance. For example, if one says, "So-and-so sat to the right of the Amir," it implies he sat in that vicinity but with a degree of separation. Therefore, {from His servants} (عَنْ عِبَادِهِ) implies that the repentant person must realize within himself that he had become distant from Allah's acceptance due to his sin. This realization brings about the brokenness of a servant who has been dismissed by his Master, and his removal from the presence of his own self. Thus, the word عَنْ serves as a reminder that this state of distance must be achieved by the repentant person.

There is a question regarding the phrase {and takes the charities} (وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ):

• This verse implies Allah is the taker.
• However, {Take from their wealth a charity} (9:103) implies the Messenger (PBUH) is the taker.
• The Prophet's instruction to Mu'adh, "Take it from their wealthy ones," implies Mu'adh is the taker.
• Common sense dictates that when charity reaches the poor person, the poor person is the taker. How can these statements be reconciled?

Answer 1: Equivalence of Status

Since Allah stated in {Take from their wealth a charity} that the Messenger is the taker, and then stated here that Allah is the taker, the intent is that the Messenger's taking stands in the place of Allah's taking. This serves to emphasize the great status of the Messenger, as his taking of charity is equivalent to Allah taking it. This is similar to: {Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are indeed pledging allegiance to Allah} (48:10), and {Indeed, those who abuse Allah and His Messenger} (33:57), where abusing the Prophet means abusing Allah.

Answer 2: Different Levels of Agency

The act is attributed to the Messenger (PBUH) in the sense that he commands the taking and conveys Allah's ruling to the people. It is attributed to the poor person in the sense that he is the one who physically handles the taking.

This is analogous to the attribution of death (Tawaffī):

• Allah attributes it to Himself: {It is He Who takes your souls} (6:60).
• He attributes it to the Angel of Death: {Say, "The angel of death put in charge of you will take your souls"} (32:11).
• He attributes it to the angels who follow the Angel of Death: {Until, when one of you is approached by death, Our messengers take his soul} (6:61).

Thus, it is attributed to Allah by creation, to the Angel of Death by preeminence in that action, and to his followers (the angels) because they are the ones who execute the actions through which Allah creates death. Similarly here.

Given this understanding, the phrase {and takes the charities} is a great honor bestowed upon this act of obedience. Numerous narrations confirm this: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Allah accepts the charity and accepts nothing from it except what is pure, and He accepts it with His Right Hand and causes it to grow for its owner, just as one of you raises his foal or his young camel, until a single morsel becomes greater than Mount Uhud with Allah." He also said, "By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, no Muslim servant gives a charity that reaches the recipient until it falls into the palm of Allah." When Al-Hasan narrated these two Hadiths, he said: "And the Hand of Allah, His Palm, and His Grasp cannot be described. {There is nothing like unto Him} (42:11)." Know that the terms Hand (Yamin) and Palm (Kaff) are terms of sanctification (Taqdīs).