ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ
And those with excuses among the bedouins came to be permitted [to remain], and they who had lied to Allah and His Messenger sat [at home]. There will strike those who disbelieved among them a painful punishment.
Tafsir
Verse range: 9:90
[9:90] And the excuse-makers came...
Know that when the Almighty explained the condition of the hypocrites in Medina, He began in this verse by explaining the condition of the Bedouin hypocrites, saying: {And the excuse-makers came} (Wa jā’a al-mu‘dhirūn).
Some read this as: "May God curse the excuse-makers" (La‘ana Allāhu al-mu‘dhirīn). This reading suggests that al-mu‘dhir (with a single dhāl) is one who strives to offer a valid excuse, while al-mu‘adhdhir (with a doubled dhāl) is one who offers an excuse without a valid reason.
The essence is that the mu‘dhir is one who reaches the peak of offering an excuse. Hence the saying: "He has excused himself who has warned" (Qad a‘dhara man andhara).
Based on the reading with the single dhāl (al-mu‘dhirūn), the meaning of the verse is that God distinguished between those with a genuine excuse and the liars. The mu‘dhirūn are those who came with an excuse.
It is said that they were from the tribes of Asad and Ghatafān. They said: "We have families, and we are in great need, so grant us permission to stay behind."
It is also said they were a group from 'Amir ibn at-Tufayl. They said: "If we go out with you on the raid, the Bedouins of Ṭayyi’ will raid us." The Messenger of God (PBUH) permitted them. Mujāhid narrated that a number of people from Ghatafān offered excuses.
As for those who read {al-mu‘adhdhirūn} (with the doubled dhāl), which is the common reading, it has two possible derivations in Arabic:
This is what al-Farra’, al-Zajjāj, and Ibn al-Anbārī mentioned: The original word was al-mu‘tadhirūn (the ones seeking excuse). The vowel of the tā’ was moved to the ‘ayn, the dhāl was substituted for the tā’, and then it was assimilated into the following dhāl, resulting in a doubled dhāl (al-mu‘adhdhirūn).
Seeking excuse (i‘tidhār) can be done truthfully or falsely.
And whoever weeps for a full year has indeed offered an excuse. He means he has presented a sound excuse.
That {al-mu‘adhdhirūn} is on the pattern of mufa‘‘ilūn derived from ta‘dhīr, which means falling short or being negligent. It is said: ‘adhara ta‘dhīran if one is deficient and does not exert effort. It is said: "So-and-so stood a standing of ta‘dhīr" if one is satisfied with his minimal effort in a matter where he should have done more.
If we adopt the reading with the light dhāl (al-mu‘dhirūn), it implies they were liars.
If we adopt the reading with the doubled dhāl (al-mu‘adhdhirūn) and interpret it as al-mu‘tadhirūn (those seeking excuse), then it is possible they were truthful or they were liars.
Some exegetes said that {al-mu‘adhdhirūn} were truthful, evidenced by the fact that after mentioning them, God said: {And those who lied to God and His Messenger remained behind}. Distinguishing them from the liars implies they were not liars.
Al-Wāḥidī narrated with his chain from Abū ‘Amr that when this was mentioned to him, he said: "Indeed, people who fabricated excuses falsely are those intended by God in {And the excuse-makers came}. The others who stayed behind, without an excuse or even a semblance of one, were presumptuous against God; they are the ones intended by {And those who lied to God and His Messenger}."
What Abū ‘Amr said is plausible, but the first interpretation is more apparent.
{And those who lied to God and His Messenger} refers to the Bedouin hypocrites who did not come, nor did they offer an excuse, thereby revealing that they lied to God and His Messenger in their claim of faith.
Ubayy read it as {kadhdhabū} (with the doubled dhāl).
{Severe punishment will strike those among them who disbelieve} (9:91). This punishment is in this world by killing, and in the Hereafter by the Fire. He said {among them} (minhum) because God knew that some of them would believe and be saved from this punishment, so He used the word min (from/among) which denotes partiality.
[9:91] There is no cause for complaint against the weak, the sick, or those who do not find what they can spend, provided they are sincere to God and His Messenger. There is no way to blame those who do good; and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
[9:92] Nor is there any cause for complaint against those who, when they came to you to be carried, you said, "I do not find what I can carry you upon," they turned back while their eyes overflowed with tears of grief because they found nothing to spend.
