Surah At-Tawbah (9): 111

Commentary (Tafsir)

After completing the exposition of the hypocrites' scandals and their ugly deeds due to their absence from the Battle of Tabuk, and after detailing their categories and the appropriate consequences for each, the Almighty returns to clarify the virtue and reality of Jihad, saying: {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties...}

In this verse, there are several issues:

Al-Qurtubi mentioned that when the Ansar pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at Aqabah in Mecca—seventy men—Abdullah ibn Rawahah said: "Stipulate for your Lord and for yourself whatever you wish." The Prophet (PBUH) replied: "I stipulate for my Lord that you worship Him and associate nothing with Him, and for myself that you protect me from what you protect yourselves and your wealth from." They asked, "If we do that, what is for us?" He replied, "Paradise." They said, "This is a profitable trade; we will not retract it, nor seek to retract it." It is reported that this verse was revealed concerning this pledge. Mujahid, Al-Hasan, and Muqatil said: "He bargained for them and raised their price."

The scholars of meaning (Ahl al-Ma'ani) state that Allah cannot truly purchase anything, because a buyer only buys what he does not own. This is why Al-Hasan said: "He purchased souls that He created, and wealth that He provided." However, Allah mentioned this for the beauty of gentle persuasion toward obedience. The reality of this is that whenever a believer fights in the cause of Allah until he is killed, his soul departs, and his wealth is spent in Allah's cause, he receives Paradise from Allah in the Hereafter as a reward for what he did. Allah made this an exchange and a purchase.

This is the meaning of His statement: {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise (bi-anna lahum al-Jannah)}, meaning for Paradise. This is also the reading of Umar ibn Al-Khattab and Al-A'mash. Al-Hasan said: "By Allah, listen to a profitable transaction with a weighty balance! Allah has traded with every believer through it. By Allah, there is no believer on earth who has not entered into this transaction."

The Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Your bodies have no price except Paradise, so do not sell them for anything less."

His statement {and their properties} refers to what they spend in the cause of Allah, on themselves, their families, and their dependents.

In the verse, there are subtleties (Lata'if):

Subtlety 1: The Buyer and Seller

A buyer necessitates a seller. Here, the Seller is Allah, and the Buyer is also Allah. This is only valid concerning the guardian (Wali) of a child who cannot manage his own affairs in buying and selling. The validity of this transaction is conditioned upon ensuring a great benefit. Thus, this metaphor serves as a reminder that the servant is like a child who cannot discern his own interests, and that Allah is the one who looks after his interests, provided there is complete benefit. The purpose is to draw attention to ease, leniency, forgiveness of sins, and attainment of high degrees of good and levels of happiness.

Subtlety 2: The Nature of the Exchange

Allah attributed the souls and wealth to them (the believers). This attribution implies that the souls and wealth are distinct from the true essence of the person. The essence of a human being is the remaining, original spirit (Jawhar), while the body is like a tool or apparatus. Wealth is a means created to look after the interests of this apparatus. Therefore, the Truth (Allah) purchased this apparatus (the body) and this wealth in exchange for Paradise, which is the reality.

As long as the heart remains attached to the interests of the changing, transient physical world—the body and wealth—it is prevented from reaching high felicities and noble ranks. When the focus shifts away from them, and this detachment reaches the point where the body is offered up to be killed and the wealth spent seeking Allah's pleasure, the person has reached a state where guidance outweighs desire, the Master outweighs the world, and the Hereafter outweighs the first life. At this point, they are among the fortunate, righteous, and excellent ones.

Thus, the Seller is the essence of the Holy Spirit, and the Buyer is Allah. One of the compensations is the decaying body and the perishable wealth, and the second compensation is the everlasting Paradise and perpetual happiness. The profit is secured, and worry and grief are removed. This is why He said: {So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted.}

The author of Al-Kashshaf stated that the word {They fight} carries the meaning of a command, similar to His saying: {and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives}. Alternatively, {They fight} is made a clarification of that transaction, like an inherent command following it.

Hamzah and Al-Kisai recited with the object preceding the subject: that they are killed before they kill. The rest recited with the subject preceding the object (they kill before they are killed).

The meaning of preceding the subject (killing the enemy) is clear: they fight the disbelievers and do not retreat until they are killed.

As for preceding the object (being killed before killing), the meaning is that a large group of Muslims, even if they are killed, this does not deter the rest from fighting. Rather, those who remain continue fighting the enemies, killing them as much as possible. This is like His saying: {So they were not weakened by what struck them in the cause of Allah} (Al 'Imran: 146), meaning those who remained were not weakened.

There is a difference of opinion on whether this verse includes striving against enemies through argument (Hujjah), enjoining good, and forbidding evil, or if it is restricted to fighting with the sword.

1. Some say: It is restricted to fighting, because Allah clarified that transaction with fighting by saying: {They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed.}
2. Others say: All types of Jihad are included, based on the narration from Abdullah ibn Rawahah. Furthermore, Jihad through argument and calling to the proofs of Tawhid has a more complete effect than fighting. This is why the Prophet (PBUH) said to Ali (RA): "If Allah guides one man through you, it is better for you than what the sun rises upon." Moreover, the effect of fighting is not fully realized except after presenting Jihad through argument. Jihad through argument, however, is self-sufficient without the need for fighting.

The essence of the soul is a noble essence, honored by Allah in this world. There is no inherent corruption in it; corruption lies only in the attribute attached to it, which is disbelief and ignorance. When it is possible to remove the corrupt attribute while preserving the essence and substance, that is preferable. Do you not see that when the hide of a dead animal was found to be useful in some respects, the Law encouraged preserving it, saying: "Why did you not take its hide and tan it so you could benefit from it?" Jihad through argument is like tanning—preserving the essence while removing the corrupt attribute. Jihad by fighting is like annihilating the essence. Therefore, the first station is superior and better.

Al-Zajjaj said that {a promise} (wa'dan) is in the accusative case based on meaning, because the meaning of {in exchange for Paradise} is that He promised them Paradise, making wa'dan an emphatic verbal noun (Masdar).

There is a difference of opinion regarding what was established in these Books:

1. The First Opinion: This promise made to those who strive in Allah's cause is an established promise, which Allah affirmed in the Torah and the Gospel just as He affirmed it in the Qur'an.
2. The Second Opinion: What is meant is that Allah clarified in the Torah and the Gospel that He purchased the lives and wealth of the Ummah of Muhammad (PBUH) in exchange for Paradise for them, just as He clarified in the Qur'an.
3. The Third Opinion: That the command for fighting and striving (Jihad) is present in all previous Legislations (Shara'i').

The meaning is that breaking a covenant implies falsehood. Moreover, it implies trickery and deceit, all of which are ugly traits. These traits are ugly even in humans who need them, so the One who is independent of all needs is more deserving of being purified from them. His statement {And who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah?} is an interrogative used for denial (Inkar), meaning: No one is more faithful to what Allah has promised than He.

Know that this verse contains types of emphasis:

1. The first is His statement: {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties}. The Buyer is Allah, sanctified from lying and treachery, which is the strongest evidence confirming this covenant.
2. The second is that He expressed the delivery of this reward as a sale and purchase, which is a confirmed truth.
3. The third is His statement: {a promise} (wa'dan), and Allah's promise is true.
4. The fourth is His statement: {upon Him} ('alayhi), and the preposition 'ala implies obligation (Wujub).
5. The fifth is His statement: {true} (haqqan), which is an emphasis confirming the truthfulness.
6. The sixth is His statement: {in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an}, which serves as bearing witness by all Divine Books and all Prophets and Messengers to this transaction.
7. The seventh is His statement: {And who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah?}, which is the height of emphasis.
8. The eighth is His statement: {So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted}, which is also an exaggeration in emphasis.
9. The ninth is His statement: {And that is the attainment} (wa dhalika huwa al-fawz).
10. The tenth is His statement: {the great} (al-'aẓīm).

Thus, it is established that this verse contains these ten aspects of emphasis, confirmation, and verification.

We conclude the verse with a final point: Abu Al-Qasim Al-Balkhi used this verse as evidence that compensation must be given for the pains of children and animals. He argued that the verse indicated that inflicting the pain of killing and taking wealth from adults is not permissible except for a price, which is Paradise. Therefore, He said: {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise}. Consequently, the situation must be the same for children and animals. If they were capable of wishing, they would wish for their pains to be multiplied so they could attain those lofty and noble compensations. We say: We do not deny that good things may be obtained by children and animals in return for these pains; the disagreement is only that this compensation is not obligatory according to us, whereas it is obligatory according to you. The verse is silent about establishing obligation.

Surah At-Tawbah (9): 112