Surah At-Tawbah (9): Verses 11-12

Verse 11: {فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَنُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ}

(But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakāh, then they are your brothers in religion. And We detail the verses for a people who know.)

Know that after Allah the Exalted clarified the state of those who do not observe for Allah any bond of kinship or covenant, who break covenants, harbor hypocrisy, transgress limits, He then clarified their ruling if they establish prayer and pay zakāh. This is encompassed in His statement: {فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ} (then they are your brothers in religion), which implies a set of rulings pertaining to faith, which would be lengthy if fully explained.

Objection: If something is conditional upon a thing using the word 'an (if), its absence implies the absence of that thing. This suggests that if these three conditions (repentance, prayer, zakāh) are not met, brotherhood in religion does not occur. This is problematic because a person might be poor, or if rich, the hawl (full lunar year) for zakāh might not have passed.

Response: We have previously explained in the exegesis of {إِن تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا نُهُونَ عَنْهُ} (If you avoid the major sins of which you are forbidden) (An-Nisā’: 31) that a condition set by 'an does not necessarily mean the absence of the conditioned thing when the condition is absent. Thus, this question is resolved.

Some scholars hold that brotherhood in Islam among Muslims is contingent upon performing both prayer and zakāh, as Allah made them a condition for establishing this brotherhood. However, if someone is not liable for zakāh, they must still affirm its ruling. By affirming this ruling, they enter into the condition by which brotherhood becomes obligatory. It is narrated that Ibn Mas'ūd said, "May Allah have mercy on Abū Bakr, how profound his understanding of religion is!" referring to what Abū Bakr stated regarding those who withhold zakāh: "By Allah, I will not separate two things that Allah has joined together."

Regarding the statement {فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ} (then they are your brothers in religion), there are two points of discussion:

1. The meaning of {فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ} (then they are your brothers): Al-Farrā’ said it means "So they are your brothers," with an implied subject, similar to His saying: {ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ} (Call them by [the names of] their fathers; that is more just with Allah) (Al-Ahzāb: 5), meaning "So they are your brothers."
2. The distinction between Ikhwān and Ikhwah: Abū Hātim said that the people of Basra generally distinguish between al-ukhuwwah (brotherhood) in lineage and al-ikhwān (brothers) in friendship. This is incorrect. Brotherhood (ukhuwwah) is used for friends, and ikhwān is used for non-relatives. Allah says: {إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ} (The believers are but brothers) (Al-Ḥujurāt: 10), and He did not mean lineage. He also says: {أَوْ بُيُوتِ إِخْوَانِكُمْ} (or the houses of your brothers) (An-Nūr: 61), which refers to lineage. Ibn ‘Abbās said that this verse prohibited the shedding of the blood of those who face the Qiblah.

Verse 12: {وَإِن نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَطَعَنُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ فَقَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنتَهُونَ}

(And if they break their oaths after their covenant and defame your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief, for they have no oaths—perhaps they will desist.)

Then He said: {وَنُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ} (And We detail the verses for a people who know). The author of Al-Kashshāf stated that this is an interjection placed between two statements. The purpose is to urge and encourage contemplation of the detailed rulings concerning the polytheists who had treaties, and to maintain adherence to them.

Then He said: {وَإِن نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَطَعَنُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ} (And if they break their oaths after their covenant and defame your religion). The phrase nakatha fulānun ‘ahdahu means he broke his covenant after establishing it, just as a thread of wool is unraveled after being tightly woven. From this comes His saying: {مِن بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنكَاثًا} (after [it was] strongly woven) (An-Naḥl: 92). Al-Aymān is the plural of yamīn, meaning an oath or solemn promise. It is also said that the oath is called yamīn because of the hand, as they used to extend their right hands when swearing or making a mutual pact. Another view is that the oath is named yamīn because of the righteousness (yamin) involved in it.

Thus, {وَإِن نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُم} means they broke their covenants. There are two opinions regarding this:

1. The majority opinion is that it refers to their breaking of the covenant with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
2. It refers to the covenant concerning Islam after faith, meaning apostasy after belief. This is why some recited it as {وَإِن نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ} (if they break their oaths after their covenant [of Islam]). The first view is stronger based on the famous recitation and because the verse addresses those who break covenants; Allah categorized them into two groups, and once those who repent are distinguished, only those who persist in breaking the covenant remain.

And His statement: {وَطَعَنُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ} (and defame your religion). It is said ṭa‘anahu bi-r-rumḥ (he stabbed him with a spear), and ṭa‘ana bi-l-qawl (he attacked with bad speech). Al-Layth said some people differentiate between stabbing with a spear and attacking with words. The meaning here is that they criticized and disparaged your religion.

Then He said: {فَقَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ} (then fight the leaders of disbelief). This means: when they do that, then you should do this. There are several issues concerning this:

Al-Zajjāj explained: The origin of a’immah (plural of imām) is a’immah, like mithāl and amthilah. When two mīm letters meet, the first is assimilated into the second, and its vowel is transferred to the hamza, resulting in a’immah. Then, the second hamza (which was originally a mīm with a kasrah) is changed to a yā’ because of the aversion to having two hamzas together in one word. This is the preferred reading according to all grammarians.

Knowing this, the author of Al-Kashshāf said: The word a’immah has a hamza followed by a sound between a hamza and a yā’. The reading with two distinct hamzas is famous but not accepted by the Basrans. The explicit use of yā’ is not a valid recitation, and whoever uses it is linguistically mistaken and corrupting the text.

Then He said: {إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ} (for they have no oaths). Ibn ‘Āmir recited {لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ} with a kasrah on the initial alif. This has two possible meanings:

1. Lā Amāna lahum (They have no security/protection), meaning do not grant them security. This makes amān a verbal noun (maṣdar) from amāna (to grant security), the opposite of frightening.
2. They are disbelievers who have no faith (īmān), meaning no affirmation or religion.

The rest recite it with a fatḥah on the alif, making it the plural of yamīn (oath). The meaning is that they have no true oaths. This is the basis upon which Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allah have mercy on him) argued that the oath of a disbeliever is not a valid oath. According to Ash-Shāfi‘ī (may Allah have mercy on him), their oath is a valid oath. The meaning of the verse, in his view, is that because they did not fulfill their oaths, their oaths became as if they were not oaths. The proof that their oaths are oaths is that Allah described them as being broken in {وَإِن نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُم}; if they were not binding oaths, describing them as broken would not be valid.

Then He said: {لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنتَهُونَ} (perhaps they will desist). This is connected to {فَقَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ} (then fight the leaders of disbelief). It means that your objective in fighting them, after they have committed such great transgressions, should be that the fighting becomes a means for them to cease what they are upon—disbelief. This demonstrates the utmost generosity and favor of Allah towards doing good.

Verse 13: {أَلَا تُقَاتِلُونَ قَوْمًا نَّكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ وَهَمُّوا بِإِخْرَاجِ الرَّسُولِ وَهُم بَدَءُوكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ أَتَخْشَوْنَهُمْ فَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَوْهُ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ}

(Will you not fight a people who have broken their oaths and intended to expel the Messenger, and they initiated [hostilities] against you the first time? Do you fear them? But Allah is more worthy that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers.)