Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:14-15

"Fight them; Allah will punish them..."

When Allah rebuked them for abandoning the fight, He issued a direct command to them, saying: {Fight them}.

To steady their hearts and rectify their intentions, He promised that He would punish them by their hands through killing, disgrace them through captivity, and grant them victory and dominance over them.

{And heal the chests} of a group of the believers, namely the Khuza'ah. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: They were clans from Yemen and Saba' who came to Mecca and embraced Islam. They suffered severe harm from its people, so they sent word to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) complaining to him. He said: "Rejoice, for relief is near."

{And remove the rage} from your hearts due to the harm you suffered from them. Allah fulfilled all these promises for them, which served as proof of the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the validity of his prophethood.

{And Allah turns in forgiveness to whom He wills} is a new statement, informing that some of the people of Mecca would repent from their disbelief. This also came to pass, as some of them embraced Islam and their Islam was sincere. It has been recited as (wa-yatūba) in the accusative case, implying the hidden particle (an), with repentance being included in the list of things promised in response to the command, in terms of meaning.

{And Allah is All-Knowing}—He knows what will be just as He knows what has already been.

{All-Wise}—He does not act except in accordance with what wisdom dictates.

{Do you think that you will be left alone while Allah has not yet made evident those among you who strive [for the cause of Allah] and do not take other than Allah, His Messenger, and the believers as intimates? And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.}