Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 113

(Ayah 113) ➊ {مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا …:} From the beginning of the Surah up to this point, there is a command to completely sever ties and express disassociation from the polytheists and hypocrites. Now here it is stated that just as it is necessary to express disassociation from their living, it is also obligatory to express disassociation from their dead, and it is not permissible to pray for their forgiveness. Musayyib bin Hazn (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the time of Abu Talib’s death approached, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to him and found Abu Jahl bin Hisham and Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah bin Mughirah with him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Talib: “O uncle! Say {’’لا اله الا الله‘‘}, I will testify to this word before Allah.” But Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah said to Abu Talib: “Are you turning away from the religion of Abdul Muttalib?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept presenting this (word) to him, and they both kept repeating their statement, until at the time of death, the last thing he said was: [عَلٰی مِلَّةِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ ] that I am dying on the religion of Abdul Muttalib. He refused to say “La ilaha illallah,” so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Allah! I will continue to seek forgiveness for you until I am forbidden.” Upon this, this verse was revealed. [ بخاری، الجنائز، باب إذا قال المشرک عند الموت لا إلٰہ إلا اللہ : ۱۳۶۰۔ مسلم : ۲۴ ] This hadith is also found in other books of hadith. In this hadith, it is explicitly stated that Abu Talib refused to say “La ilaha illallah,” and those who say that the religion of Abdul Muttalib was the religion of Ibrahim, and therefore Abu Talib was a Muslim, the reality of their claim is also clarified. Due to Abu Talib dying upon disbelief, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was extremely grieved and distressed, and upon this, this verse was revealed: «{ اِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِيْ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ وَ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَهْدِيْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَ هُوَ اَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِيْنَ }» [ القصص : ۵۶ ] “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He is most knowing of the guided.”
Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The lightest punishment in Hell will be for Abu Talib; he will be made to wear two sandals (of fire) due to which his brain will boil.” [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب أھون أہل النار عذابا : ۲۱۲ ]

➋ { مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ …:} As long as a disbeliever is alive, there is hope for his faith, so it is permissible to pray for his guidance and forgiveness; therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was not forbidden from praying for his forgiveness. However, when it became clear after death upon disbelief that he is among the people of Hell, then it is not permissible for the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the believers to pray for his forgiveness, because Allah has made Paradise forbidden for the polytheist. See Surah An-Nisa (4:48) and Al-Ma’idah (5:72). Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited his mother’s grave, he himself wept and made those around him weep as well, then he said: “I asked my Lord for permission to seek forgiveness for her, but I was not granted permission, and I asked for permission to visit her grave, so I was granted permission. So visit graves, for they remind you of the Hereafter.” [ مسلم، الجنائز، باب استئذان النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ربہ عزوجل… : 976/108 ] There are other hadiths of similar meaning in Musnad Ahmad and others. Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in Fath al-Bari, the commentary of Bukhari, that all these incidents could be reasons for the revelation of the verse. However, among the narrations which mention that his (peace and blessings be upon him) parents were brought to life and then believed and died again, not a single one of them is established according to the explicit statements of Hafiz Ibn Kathir and other researchers.

113. 1. Its explanation in Sahih Bukhari is as follows: When the last moment of the Prophet ﷺ’s respected uncle Abu Talib came, he went to him while Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah were also sitting with him. He said, “Dear uncle, say لَا اِلٰہ اِلَّا اللہ, so that I may present an argument for you before Allah.” Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah said, “O Abu Talib, will you turn away from the religion of Abdul Muttalib?” (i.e., what are you about to do at the time of death? Until he passed away in that very state) The Prophet said, “As long as I am not forbidden by Allah, I will continue to seek forgiveness for you.” Upon this, the verse was revealed in which praying for forgiveness for the polytheists was prohibited (Sahih Bukhari). The verse from Surah Qasas, اِنَّکَ لَا تَھْدِیْ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ, was also revealed in this context. In a narration from Musnad Ahmad, the Prophet ﷺ sought permission to pray for forgiveness for his mother, upon which this verse was revealed (Musnad Ahmad, vol. 5, p. 355). And the supplication the Prophet ﷺ made for his polytheist people, اللھم اغفر لقومی فانھم لایعلمون, “O Allah, forgive my people for they do not know,” is not contrary to the verse. This is because its meaning is a supplication for their guidance, i.e., they are unaware of my status and rank, so grant them guidance so that they may become deserving of forgiveness. And it is permissible to pray for guidance for living disbelievers and polytheists.

113. It is not appropriate for the Prophet and those who believe to seek forgiveness [129] for the polytheists, even if they are close relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the companions of Hell.

[129] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was born an orphan. Until the age of eight, he ﷺ was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. Then Abdul Muttalib also passed away, and he entrusted him ﷺ to his uncle, Abu Talib. Abu Talib raised him ﷺ with great love and affection. When, at the age of forty, he ﷺ proclaimed prophethood, his people became his enemies, but Abu Talib gave him ﷺ full support, and despite not accepting Islam, Abu Talib stood by him ﷺ in every difficult time and acted as a shield for him ﷺ. He stayed with him ﷺ for three years in Sha‘b Abi Talib. The Prophet ﷺ also had great love for Abu Talib. In the eighth year of prophethood, Abu Talib passed away, which caused the Prophet ﷺ great grief. The Prophet ﷺ, being moved by Abu Talib’s paternal affection and his services to Islam, promised to seek forgiveness for him, as is clear from the following hadith.

The Prohibition of Seeking Forgiveness for the Polytheists and the Story of Abu Talib:

Musayyib bin Hazn (the father of Sa‘id bin Musayyib) says that when the time of Abu Talib’s death came, the Prophet ﷺ went to him. At that time, Abu Jahl was sitting with him. The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Talib, “Uncle, say La ilaha illallah, so that I may have an argument before my Lord (for your forgiveness).” Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Umayyah said, “Will you leave the religion of Abdul Muttalib?” Both kept insisting on this, and finally, the last thing Abu Talib said was, “I die upon the religion of Abdul Muttalib.” At that time, the Prophet ﷺ said, “I will continue to seek forgiveness for you until I am forbidden to do so.” Then this verse was revealed: [بخاري۔ كتاب المناقب۔ قصه ابي طالب]

From this hadith, it is understood that before the revelation of this verse, it was not prohibited to seek forgiveness for the polytheists.