Surah At-Tawbah (9): 39 - "Unless you set out..."

Issues in the Verse:

Issue 1: When Allah encouraged them to strive in the previous verse based on the reward of the Hereafter, in this verse, He encourages them based on three other types of motivating factors:

1. His saying: {Unless you set out, He will punish you with a painful punishment} (يعذبكم عذابا أليما).
   • This punishment could refer to punishment in this world or the Hereafter.
   • Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) called the people to mobilize, but they were reluctant, so Allah withheld rain from them.
   • Al-Hasan said: Allah knows best the punishment that was to befall them.
   • It is said that it refers to the punishment of the Hereafter, as the term al-aleem (painful) is only fitting for it.
   • It is also said that it is a threat encompassing all categories: the punishment of this world, the punishment of the Hereafter, and the loss of benefits in both worlds.

2. His saying: {And He will replace you with another people} (ويستبدل قوما غيركم).
   • This serves as a warning that Allah is responsible for granting victory over His enemies. If they hasten to go out with Him, victory will be achieved through them. If they hold back, victory will occur through others, and they will incur blame. This is to prevent them from thinking that the defeat of the enemies of the religion and the glory of Islam can only happen through them.
   • The text does not indicate who these other people are. A similar verse is: {O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him} (Al-Ma'idah: 54).
   • The commentators differed on the identity of these people:
     • Ibn Abbas said: They are the Successors (Tabi'un).
     • Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: They are the people of Persia.
     • Abu Rawq said: They are the people of Yemen.
   • These views are not definitive interpretations because the verse gives no indication of a specific group. Rather, they are applying the general statement to specific situations they witnessed.
   • Al-Asamm said: It means He will expel them [the Prophet and the believers] from among you, meaning from Medina.
   • Al-Qadi considered this weak because the wording does not imply that the Prophet (PBUH) would be moved from Medina to another place. It is possible that Allah would manifest people in Medina who would support him in battle, or He might support him with angels while he remained there.

3. His saying: {And you will not harm Him at all} (ولا تضروه شيئا).
   • Al-Hasan and others said the pronoun refers back to Allah, meaning: Do not harm Allah, for He is self-sufficient (free of need for the worlds).
   • The rest of the commentators said the pronoun refers to the Messenger, meaning: Do not harm the Messenger, because Allah protects him from people, and Allah will not forsake him if you are reluctant to support him.

Then Allah says: {And Allah is over all things competent} (والله على كل شيء قدير). This serves as a strong deterrent, indicating that since Allah is capable, He does not fail in what He promises. If He threatens punishment, He will carry it out.

Issue 2: Al-Hasan and 'Ikrimah said this verse is abrogated by the verse: {And it was not for the believers to go forth all together} (At-Tawbah: 122). The established scholars argue that this verse addresses those whom the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) called upon to mobilize, but they did not set out. If this is the case, there is no abrogation.

Al-Jubba'i said: This verse indicates a warning for the people of ritual acts of worship (Salat). He argued that since the believers are threatened with a painful punishment if they do not mobilize, and since only believers would be addressed with this command, it refutes the claim of the Murji'ah that people of ritual acts of worship face no threat. If a threat is established for abandoning Jihad, it is established for abandoning other obligations as well, as there is no distinction made. We have discussed the issue of divine threats exhaustively in Surah Al-Baqarah.

Issue 3: Al-Qadi said: This verse indicates the obligation of Jihad, whether with the Prophet (PBUH) or without him, because Allah said: {O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that when you are told, "Go forth for the cause of Allah," you become heavy [with reluctance]...} (ياأيها الذين ءامنوا ما لكم إذا قيل لكم انفروا). He did not specify that the one commanding is the Messenger.

If they argue that the commander must be the Messenger, citing the subsequent phrases: {And He will replace you with another people} and {And you will not harm Him at all}, as these can only refer to the Messenger.

We reply: The specificity of the end of the verse does not negate the generality of the beginning, as established in the principles of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh).