| At-Tawbah (The Repentance): (85) And let not their wealth...

Know that this verse has already been mentioned previously in this Surah, and it is mentioned here again.

However, there are differences in the wording between the two instances:

1. In the preceding verse, it was stated: {فلا تعجبك} (Fa-la ta'jubka) with a Fā’ (ف). Here, it is stated: {ولا تعجبك} (Wa-la ta'jubka) with a Wāw (و).
2. There, it said: {أموالهم ولا أولادهم} (their wealth and their children), whereas here the word {لا} (la) is omitted.
3. There, it said: {إنما يريد الله ليعذبهم} (Indeed, Allah intends to punish them), while here the Lām (ل) is omitted and replaced by the word {أن} (an).
4. There, it said: {وقال إنما} (And he said, "Indeed..."), whereas here the word for "life" is omitted, and only {فى الدنيا} (in this world) is mentioned.

Since there are these four differences between the two verses, we must explain the significance of these four variations, and then explain the purpose of repeating the passage.

Part One: The Significance of the Differences

The reason for using {فلا تعجبك} (Fa-la ta'jubka) in the first instance is that the verse followed the statement: {ولا ينفقون إلا وهم كارهون} (and they spend not except while they are reluctant). They were described as being reluctant to spend, and their reluctance stemmed from their admiration (إعجاب) of the abundance of their wealth. Therefore, Allah forbade that admiration using the Fā’ of sequence (فاء التعقيب).

However, here, this statement is not directly connected to what precedes it, so the Wāw (و) is used instead.

In the first verse, it was stated: {فلا تعجبك أموالهم ولا أولادهم} (let not their wealth and their children amaze you). The reason for this order is that when listing things, one usually starts with the lesser and progresses to the more noble. Saying, "The affair of the minister and the affair of the prince does not amaze me," implies that the affair of the prince is more significant. This suggests that the admiration of those people for their children exceeded their admiration for their wealth. In this current verse, the omission of {لا} indicates that there was no perceived difference in importance between wealth and children in their view.

In the first verse: {إنما يريد الله ليعذبهم} (Allah intends to punish them), and here: {إنما يريد الله أن يعذبهم} (Allah intends that He punish them). The benefit here is to alert us that attributing causality to Allah's decrees is impossible (i.e., we cannot definitively state the reason for His decree). Wherever a particle of causation appears, its meaning is often equivalent to {أن} (an), as in His saying: {وما أمروا إلا ليعبدوا الله} (And they were not commanded except to worship Allah), meaning: they were not commanded except to worship Allah.

In the first verse, it was mentioned: {وقال إنما اتخذتم} (And he said, "Indeed, you have taken..."), whereas here {فى الدنيا} (in this world) is mentioned, and the word for "life" (Ḥayāh) is dropped. This serves as a reminder that the life of this world has reached such a low status that it does not deserve to be called "life." Instead, it is sufficient to restrict the mention to the word "the world" (الدنيا) to indicate its complete baseness.

These are the differences in the wording. And Allah, the Knower of the realities of the Qur'an, is the Most High.

Part Two: The Wisdom Behind the Repetition

The wisdom behind repeating this passage is that the things that most strongly attract hearts and draw attention toward preoccupation with the world are wealth and children. Anything that has such a powerful effect must be warned against repeatedly.

However, since the most desired and longed-for thing for a believing man is the forgiveness of Allah, it is fitting that Allah repeated His saying: {إن الله لا يغفر أن يشرك به ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء} (Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him in worship, but He forgives what is less than that of whom He wills) twice in Surah An-Nisa.

In summary, repetition is for emphasis: here, it is for exaggerating the warning, and in the verse of forgiveness, it is for exaggerating the glad tidings.

Another opinion is that this meaning was repeated because the first verse referred to a group of hypocrites who possessed wealth and children at the time of revelation, while this second verse refers to another group. When a single statement needs to be addressed to many groups at different times, mentioning it to some does not suffice for mentioning it to others.

| 7 < {And when a Surah is sent down, [ordering them] to believe in Allah and strive with His Messenger, the wealthy ones among them ask for exemption and say, "Leave us to be with those who remain behind." * They are content to be with those who stay behind, and their hearts are sealed, so they do not understand.} > 7

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