Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:51

"Say: 'Nothing will befall us...'"

Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) recited: "Say: 'Will anything befall us?'"

Talḥah (may Allah be pleased with him) recited: "Will anything befall us?" with a shaddah on the yā’. The linguistic basis for this is that it is on the measure of yaf‘īlu rather than yaf‘alu, as it is derived from a root ending in wāw (e.g., al-ṣawāb). One says: ṣāba al-sahmu yaṣūbu (the arrow hit the mark), and maṣāwib is the plural of muṣībah. Therefore, the yaf‘alu form should be yaṣūbu. Do you not see their saying: ṣawwaba ra’yahu (he deemed his opinion correct)? Unless it is from the dialect of those who say: ṣāba al-sahmu yaṣību (the arrow hit the mark), as in the saying: "My arrows are the ṣā’ibāt (hitting ones) and the ṣayyib."

The lām in His saying: "except what Allah has decreed for us" conveys the meaning of specification (ikhtiṣāṣ). It is as if it were said: "Nothing will befall us except that which Allah has specified for us by His decree and obligation, whether it be victory over you or martyrdom."

Do you not see His saying: "He is our Mawlā (Protector/Lord)"? That is, the One who takes charge of our affairs and whom we take as our Protector. "That is because Allah is the Protector of those who believe, and the disbelievers have no protector."

"And upon Allah let the believers rely." It is the right of the believers not to rely upon anyone other than Allah, so let them do what is their right.

"Say: 'Do you await for us except one of the two best things? While we await for you that Allah will afflict you with punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait; indeed we, along with you, are waiting.'"