Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 11

(Ayah 11) ➊ {سَيَقُوْلُ لَكَ الْمُخَلَّفُوْنَ مِنَ الْاَعْرَابِ:} When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to go for ‘Umrah, he invited the Bedouins around Madinah to accompany him, so that the people of Makkah, seeing the number of Muslims, would not prevent them from performing ‘Umrah. However, most of them deliberately stayed behind. Although these people were not hypocrites, faith had not yet fully settled in their hearts. The evidence for this is in the upcoming verses {’’ قُلْ لِّلْمُخَلَّفِيْنَ مِنَ الْاَعْرَابِ … ‘‘}. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned victorious and triumphant, these people had already prepared excuses in their hearts, which they were going to present before you upon your arrival. Allah Almighty had already informed you, on the way, of the excuses they were going to present and also told you the real reason for their staying behind. This is among the miracles of the Noble Qur’an, that it informed beforehand of what was going to happen later.

➋ The literal meaning of {’’ الْمُخَلَّفُوْنَ‘‘} is “those left behind,” whereas these people had deliberately stayed behind themselves, so apparently the word {’’مُتَخَلِّفُوْنَ‘‘} (those who stayed behind) should have been used for them. However, Allah Almighty used the word {’’ الْمُخَلَّفُوْنَ‘‘} for them. That is, due to their ill-intent and the evil of their deeds, Allah Almighty did not grant them the ability to go along, rather He left them behind. This proves that a person being deprived of good deeds is due to Allah’s displeasure, because He, due to his evil deeds, takes away the ability to do good deeds. Allah Almighty said about the laggards of the Battle of Tabuk: «وَ لَوْ اَرَادُوا الْخُرُوْجَ لَاَعَدُّوْا لَهٗ عُدَّةً وَّ لٰكِنْ كَرِهَ اللّٰهُ انْۢبِعَاثَهُمْ فَثَبَّطَهُمْ وَ قِيْلَ اقْعُدُوْا مَعَ الْقٰعِدِيْنَ» [التوبۃ : ۴۶ ] “And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it some preparation, but Allah disliked their rising up, so He held them back, and it was said, ‘Sit with those who sit.’” See also Surah At-Tawbah (81).

➌ { شَغَلَتْنَاۤ اَمْوَالُنَا وَ اَهْلُوْنَا فَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا:} That is, these Bedouins will say that our wealth, livestock, and wives and children became an obstacle for us to accompany you, because there was no one to look after and protect them, so for this shortcoming of ours, please pray to Allah Almighty for us that He may forgive us.

➍ { يَقُوْلُوْنَ بِاَلْسِنَتِهِمْ مَّا لَيْسَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ:} That is, upon your arrival in Madinah, these people will say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. The obstacle of wealth, livestock, and family is their false excuse. Likewise, their request for seeking forgiveness is mere pretense; otherwise, if they truly felt guilty, why would they not have gone along? The real reason for their not going has been stated by Allah, the Knower of the unseen, in the next verse.

➎ {قُلْ فَمَنْ يَّمْلِكُ لَكُمْ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ شَيْـًٔا … :} This is the answer to both of their statements. It is said: You, according to your claim, did not go along because of looking after and protecting your wealth and family. Tell me, if Allah Almighty intends to harm you, and despite your staying behind from jihad and being present at home, He destroys your wealth and family, then who can save you from Him? Or if He intends to benefit you, and despite your going out for jihad, He protects your wealth and family and grants them blessing and increase, then who can prevent Him? When no one can prevent benefit or harm, then why do you care about these things in opposition to the command of Allah and His Messenger? And as for your request for seeking forgiveness, if you are truly remorseful for what you have done and Allah Almighty wants to forgive you, then who can prevent Him? Then, if I do not seek forgiveness for you, it will not harm you, and if you are not remorseful and are only pretending to ask for forgiveness, then in that case, even if I do seek forgiveness for you and Allah Almighty does not want to forgive you, rather wants to punish you, then who can prevent Him?

➏ {بَلْ كَانَ اللّٰهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ خَبِيْرًا:} That is, the matter is not as you have assumed, that whatever we say with our tongues will be accepted and the state of our hearts will remain hidden. Rather, the reality is that Allah Almighty is fully aware of all the deeds you do, not only at the present time but always. The meaning of perpetuity is conveyed by {’’ كَانَ ‘‘}. The words of the commentator Tabari are: {’’ بَلْ لَمْ يَزَلِ اللّٰهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُوْنَ مِنْ خَيْرٍ وَ شَرٍّ خَبِيْرًا ‘‘} “Rather, Allah Almighty has always been fully aware of all their good and bad deeds.”

11. 1. By this are meant the tribes settled around Madinah: Ghifar, Muzainah, Juhainah, Aslam, and Wa'il Murad. When the Prophet ﷺ, after seeing a dream whose details will come later, made a general announcement to go for Umrah to Makkah, these mentioned tribes thought that the current circumstances are not favorable for going to Makkah. There, the disbelievers still have dominance and the Muslims are weak. Also, the Muslims cannot go fully armed for Umrah. If, in such a situation, the disbelievers decide to fight the Muslims, how will the Muslims, empty-handed, confront them? At that time, going to Makkah meant putting oneself in destruction. Therefore, these people did not go with you ﷺ for Umrah. Allah Almighty is saying about them that they will present excuses of being occupied to you and will plead for forgiveness.

11. 2. That is, on their tongues is this: that behind us, there was no one to look after our homes and wives and children, so we ourselves had to stay back. But in reality, their staying behind was due to hypocrisy and fear of death.

11. 3. That is, if Allah decides to destroy your wealth and your family, does anyone among you have the power to prevent Allah from doing so?

11. 4. That is, if He wants to help you and grant you spoils, can anyone stop Him? This is, in fact, a refutation of those who stayed behind, who thought that if they did not go with the Prophet ﷺ, they would be safe from loss and would benefit from profit, whereas all authority over benefit and harm is in Allah's hands.

11. 5. That is, He will give you full recompense for your deeds.

11. Those of the Bedouins [11] who stayed behind will say to you, “Our wealth and our families kept us occupied, so ask forgiveness for us [12].” They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, “Who can avail you anything against Allah if He intends to harm you [13] or benefit you?” Rather, Allah is fully aware of what you do.

[11]
On What Grounds Did the Hypocrites Not Accompany the Journey of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah:

When youﷺ intended to perform ‘Umrah, it was formally announced in Madinah and the surrounding settlements that whoever wished to accompany you for ‘Umrah should come to Madinah. However, some tribes from the surrounding settlements, such as Ghifar, Muzaynah, Juhaynah, Aslam, and Ashja‘, refrained from going with you. These people were, in fact, hypocrites and, in their view, were among those waiting for a favorable time. They thought that the Quraysh of Makkah had come here and killed many Muslims in the field of Uhud, so now this small group, which is itself going to the home of its mortal enemies, how could those people possibly let them return alive? Because of this thought, they considered it safer not to participate in this expedition.

[12] When you were returning from Hudaybiyyah to Madinah, this Surah was revealed, and Allah informed you of the inner malice of the hypocrites and their future conduct, that these people would present all sorts of excuses and pretexts, saying that due to such-and-such compulsion, we could not go with you. Therefore, you should pray to Allah for us, that He may forgive our fault. Allah says that even their asking you to seek forgiveness is a deception, and they want to give you the impression that they are truly very sorry for not going with you. Whereas, in reality, they neither consider this act a fault, nor do they feel any regret, nor do they consider themselves in need of a prayer for forgiveness. All of this is mere lip service by which they want to keep you satisfied.

[13] That is, O hypocrites! You considered it safer not to participate in this expedition. Then, if Allah were to cause you to die in your homes or inflict some other calamity upon you, could anyone save you from it, or could you yourselves prevent it? Or, for example, if you had gone on this journey with the Messengerﷺ and Allah wished to benefit your families, or grant you benefit even on this journey, could anyone prevent it?