Surah At-Tawbah: Verses 25–27

Verse 25: لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ... (Indeed, Allah has already given you victory at many battlefields...)

It has been mentioned previously that Allah commanded believers to turn away from associating with fathers, sons, brothers, clans, wealth, trade, and dwellings for the sake of religious interests. Knowing that this is very difficult for the souls and hearts, Allah mentioned what indicates that whoever abandons the world for the sake of religion, Allah will also lead him to his worldly desires.

Allah set forth an example: The army of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) at the Battle of Hunayn was extremely numerous and strong. When they became impressed by their numbers, they were routed. Then, during their retreat, when they supplicated to Allah, He strengthened them until they defeated the army of the disbelievers.

This demonstrates that whoever relies on the world loses both religion and the world. Conversely, whoever obeys Allah and prioritizes religion over the world, Allah grants him both religion and the world in the best manner. This mention serves as consolation for those commanded to cut ties with relatives, wealth, and homes for religious benefit, and as a promise, by way of allusion, that if they do so, Allah will restore them to their relatives, wealth, and dwellings in the most excellent way. This structure is exquisitely beautiful.

Al-Wāḥidī said: Naṣr (victory) specifically means aid against the enemy. Mawāṭin is the plural of mawṭin, which is any place where a person resides for a purpose. Thus, mawāṭin al-ḥarb (battlefields) means their stations and positions of engagement.

The word mawāṭin is diptote (does not take the kasra in the genitive/accusative case) because it is a plural form whose singular does not follow the same pattern. The many mawāṭin refer to the numerous expeditions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), said to be eighty. Allah informed them that He is the one who grants victory to the believers, and whoever Allah supports has no vanquisher.

Then Allah said: {وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ} (And [remember] the day of Hunayn, when your great number impressed you). This means: Remember the day of Hunayn among those battlefields, at the time when your large number impressed you.

When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) conquered Mecca, a few days remained in the month of Ramadan. He set out towards Hunayn to fight Hawāzin and Thaqīf. There is a difference of opinion regarding the number of the Muslim army:

• ‘Aṭā’ narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that they were sixteen thousand.
• Qatādah said they were twelve thousand (ten thousand who were present at Mecca, and two thousand freed slaves).
• Al-Kalbī said they were ten thousand.

In summary, they were a large number. Hawāzin and Thaqīf numbered four thousand. When the two armies met, a Muslim said: "We will not be defeated today due to scarcity." This statement displeased the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and is what is meant by {إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ} (when your great number impressed you). Some say the Prophet (PBUH) said it, and others say Abū Bakr said it. Attributing this statement to the Prophet (PBUH) is unlikely, as he was, in most circumstances, reliant upon Allah, with his heart detached from the world and its means.

Then Allah said: {فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْئًا} (but it availed you nothing). Ighnā’ (to avail) means to give what wards off need. Thus, {فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْئًا} means it did not give you anything that would ward off your need. The purpose of this statement is to inform them that they were not defeated because of their small numbers, but rather because they relied on their numbers instead of Allah's victory. When they were impressed by their numbers, they were routed.

And {وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ} (and the earth became tight upon you despite its spaciousness). Raḥuba means spaciousness. So, {بِمَا رَحُبَتْ} means with its spaciousness. The mā here, combined with the verb, functions like a verbal noun (maṣdar). The meaning is that due to the intensity of the fear that afflicted you, the earth became tight, and you found no place suitable for fleeing from your enemy.

Al-Barrā’ ibn ‘Āzib narrated: Hawāzin were archers. When we charged them, they were repulsed, and we rushed toward the spoils. They then met us with arrows, and the Muslims were routed away from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). None remained with him except Al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib and Abū Sufyān ibn Al-Ḥārith. Al-Barrā’ swore by the One in whose hand is my soul that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) never turned his back (fled). He said: "I saw him while Abū Sufyān was holding the stirrup, and Al-‘Abbās was holding the reins of his mount, saying: 'I am the Prophet, no lie! I am the son of ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib!' He then urged his mule toward the disbelievers, unconcerned. His mule was greyish-white. Then he told Al-‘Abbās: 'Call out to the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār.' Al-‘Abbās was a man with a loud voice, so he began calling out: 'O servants of Allah! O companions of the tree! O companions of Sūrat al-Baqarah!' When the Muslims heard his voice, they returned in one continuous stream. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) took a handful of pebbles, threw them at them, and said: 'May your faces be disgraced!' Their affair immediately turned to retreat, their strength weakened, until Allah defeated them. Not one of them remained that day whose eyes were not filled with that dust."

This is what is meant by {ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} (Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers).

When Allah clarified that numerical strength is useless, and that victory was only due to Allah, He mentioned three matters:

First: The sending down of Sakīnah (tranquility). Sakīnah is that which calms the heart and soul, bringing security and reassurance. I believe the metaphorical meaning here is that when a person is afraid, his heart is agitated; when he feels secure, he becomes calm and still. Since security causes stillness, the word sakīnah is used as a metaphor for security.

The statement {ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} indicates that the action (stability/victory) is contingent upon the presence of the necessary prerequisite (dā‘ī), and it indicates that the presence of this prerequisite comes only from Allah.

• Regarding the first point: When the people were routed, the prerequisite for stillness and steadfastness did not exist in their hearts, so stillness and steadfastness did not occur; rather, the people fled and were defeated. When sakīnah (the prerequisite for stillness and steadfastness) occurred, they returned to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), stood firm with him, and became calm. This shows that the occurrence of the action depends on the occurrence of the prerequisite.
• Regarding the second point: That this prerequisite comes from Allah is explicit in {ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ}. Reason also dictates this: If the occurrence of this prerequisite in the heart were from the servant's own agency, it would depend on another prerequisite, leading to an infinite regress (tasalsul), which is impossible.

Then Allah said: {وَأَنزَلَ جُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا} (And He sent down soldiers whom you did not see). This is the second matter Allah enacted that day. There is no dispute that this refers to the descent of angels. Unlike the Battle of Badr, the text does not explicitly mention the number of angels.

Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr said: Allah aided His Prophet with five thousand angels. Perhaps this number was inferred by analogy with Badr. Sa‘īd ibn Al-Musayyab narrated: A man who was among the polytheists on the day of Hunayn told me: "When we routed the Muslims, we pursued them. When we reached the owner of the greyish-white mule, we were met by men with white, handsome faces who said, 'May your faces be disgraced! Return!' So we retreated, and they rode upon our backs."

There is also disagreement on whether the angels fought that day. The narration from Sa‘īd ibn Al-Musayyab suggests they fought. Others say the angels only fought on the day of Badr. The benefit of their descent on this day was instilling good thoughts and resolve in the hearts of the believers.

Then Allah said: {وَعَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا} (And He punished those who disbelieved). This is the third matter the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) enacted that day. This punishment refers to killing them, taking them captive, seizing their wealth, and enslaving their offspring.

Our scholars use this as evidence that the actions of the servant are created by Allah, because the intended meaning of ta‘dhīb (punishment) here is only seizing and capturing. Allah attributed these actions to Himself, and we have already shown that {ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ} indicates that the divine action is the source. Thus, the combination of these two statements provides clear and established proof.

Regarding this issue, the Mu‘tazilah argue that Allah attributed the action to Himself because it occurred by His command, a point we have refuted many times previously.

Then Allah said: {وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ} (And that is the recompense of the disbelievers). This means that this punishment is the recompense for the disbelievers.

The people of true knowledge (Ahl al-Ḥaqīqah) rely on the verse {الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا} (The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them) concerning the issue of flogging combined with ta‘zīr (discretionary punishment). They argue that the fā’ (then) indicates that flogging is the jazā’ (recompense), and since jazā’ is a term for sufficiency, the fact that flogging is sufficient prevents any other punishment from being legislated alongside it.

We respond: Jazā’ is not exclusively a term for sufficiency. This is because Allah named this punishment jazā’, even though the Muslims unanimously agree that the eternal punishment in the Hereafter is reserved for them. This verse thus indicates that jazā’ is not solely a term for what suffices.

Then Allah said: {ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَاءُ} (Then Allah will turn in repentance after that for whom He wills). This means that despite all the failure they experienced, Allah may still grant them repentance.

Our scholars say that Allah may repent for some of them by removing disbelief from their hearts and creating faith within them. Al-Qāḍī suggests the meaning is: After what happened to them, if they embrace Islam and repent, Allah will accept their repentance. This view is weak because the apparent meaning of {ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ} indicates that this repentance itself is granted to them by Allah. The full discussion on this meaning is found in Sūrat al-Baqarah regarding the verse {فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ} (Then He turned to him in repentance).

Then Allah said: {وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} (And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful). Meaning: Forgiving to those who repent, and Merciful to those who believe and do righteous deeds. And Allah knows best.

Verse 26: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلَا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَٰذَا... (O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean...)

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلَا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَٰذَا} (O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this, their year).

{وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِن شَاءَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ} (And if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise).