Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 118

(Ayah 118) ➊ The literal meaning of {وَ عَلَى الثَّلٰثَةِ الَّذِيْنَ خُلِّفُوْا … : ’’ خُلِّفُوْا ‘‘} is "those left behind," but here it means those whose decision was deferred. This matter was mentioned earlier in Ayah (107) «{ وَ اٰخَرُوْنَ مُرْجَوْنَ لِاَمْرِ اللّٰهِ }». The conjunction of {’’ وَ عَلَى الثَّلٰثَةِ ‘‘} is with {’’ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ‘‘ } (i.e., in being merciful to and forgiving the Ansar and Muhajirin), those three persons were also included, upon whom, during fifty days, such a state passed that was worse than death. (Muwaddih) These three companions were Ka'b bin Malik, Murarah bin Rabi', and Hilal bin Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with them. Before this, they participated in almost every battle, but in the Battle of Tabuk, they could not participate merely due to laziness. Later, when they realized their mistake, they thought that one mistake (of staying behind) had already occurred, but now they would not make the mistake of presenting a false excuse to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, like the hypocrites. Thus, they presented themselves before him, openly admitted their mistake, and offered themselves for any punishment. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, entrusted their matter to Allah Almighty, that He alone would reveal a command regarding them. However, during this period, he ordered all the companions to boycott them, even forbidding conversation with them, and after forty nights, he ordered that they should also stay away from their wives. This was the time whose depiction Allah Almighty has drawn in three sentences: that the earth, despite its vastness, became constricted for them, and their own souls became constricted for them, and they became certain that there is no place of refuge from Allah except with Him. Finally, after a further ten days, their repentance was accepted and the mentioned verse was revealed. Ka'b bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated this incident with great eloquence and clarity, expressing his inner state in a lengthy hadith, which is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari in the Book of Maghazi and in Sahih Muslim in the Book of Repentance. It is also quoted in detail in Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

➋ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيْمُ:} It is understood that the acceptance of repentance is purely the grace and mercy of Allah Almighty; otherwise, no one has any power over it.

118. 1 The meaning of خلفو is the same as مرجون, that is, those whose matter was deferred and postponed, and after fifty days their repentance was accepted. These were three companions: Ka'b bin Malik, Murarah bin Rabi', and Hilal bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with them). All three were extremely sincere Muslims. Prior to this, they participated in every battle. In the Battle of Tabuk, they did not participate only due to negligence. Later, when they realized their mistake, they thought that one mistake (of staying behind) had already been made, but now they would not make the mistake of presenting a false excuse to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ like the hypocrites. Therefore, they presented themselves before him, openly admitted their mistake, and offered themselves for punishment. The Prophet ﷺ entrusted their matter to Allah, that He would reveal some command regarding them. Meanwhile, the companions were forbidden from maintaining any relationship with these three individuals, even from speaking to them, and after forty nights, they were ordered to stay away from their wives as well. After another ten days, their repentance was accepted and the mentioned verse was revealed. (The full details of this incident are present in the hadith narrated by Ka'b bin Malik. See (Sahih Bukhari))

118. 2 This describes the state of those days, which they had to endure due to the social boycott.

118. 3 That is, after fifty days, Allah accepted their lamentation and repentance.

118. And (He also turned in mercy) to the three men [134] whose case was left pending, until the earth, vast as it is, became straitened for them, and their own souls became straitened for them, and they realized that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them in mercy so that they might repent. Surely, Allah is the Acceptor of repentance, the Most Merciful.

[134]
The Story of Sayyiduna Ka‘b bin Malik and His Two Companions:

These are the three men whose brief mention has already come in verse 106 of this Surah, and they were Sayyiduna Ka‘b bin Malikؓ, Hilalؓ bin Umayyah, and Mararah bin Rabi‘ؓ. All three had previously proven their sincerity many times, and Ka‘b bin Malik was among those Companions who pledged allegiance to youﷺ at the Night of ‘Aqabah. Although he could not participate in the Battle of Badr, he often used to say that his participation in the pledge at the Night of ‘Aqabah was dearer to him than participation in the Battle of Badr. Their story is narrated by themselves in many authentic ahadith. We mention two of those ahadith here:

1. Ka‘b bin Malikؓ himself narrates that in whichever battle the Prophetﷺ participated, I was with him except for two battles: one was the Battle of ‘Usrah (Tabuk) and the other was the Battle of Badr. On the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk, I firmly resolved that when youﷺ would return to Madinah at the time of forenoon, I would tell youﷺ the truth. And youﷺ would often return from journeys at the time of forenoon. First, you would go to the mosque and perform two rak‘ahs of prayer. When I told youﷺ the truth, youﷺ forbade the noble Companionsؓ from speaking to me and my (two) companions (Hilal bin Umayyah and Mararah bin Rabi‘). For those who stayed behind except for us three and (presented false excuses), this command was not given. Now the Companions stopped talking to us, and life became very difficult for me. My greatest worry was that if I died in this state, youﷺ would not even pray over my funeral, or (God forbid) if you passed away, I would remain in this affliction for the rest of my life, no one would speak to me, and if I died, no one would pray over me. Finally, (after fifty days had passed) Allah Almighty sent down the command of our forgiveness to the Messenger of Allahﷺ. At that time, a third of the night remained, and youﷺ were in the house of Umm al-Mu’minin Umm Salamahؓ. Umm Salamah was concerned for my well-being and wanted to help me. Youﷺ said to Umm Salamahؓ, “Umm Salamah! The repentance of Ka‘b bin Malik has been accepted.” She said, “Shall I send congratulations to Ka‘b?” Youﷺ said, “People will rush in crowds and disturb your sleep.” Then, when youﷺ performed the morning prayer, you informed the people of the acceptance of our repentance. And whenever youﷺ received good news, your face would shine as if it were a piece of the moon. For us three, whose matter had been left pending, Allah Almighty sent down the command of forgiveness, and as for those who fabricated false excuses, they were mentioned in a very harsh manner. Allah has not mentioned anyone so harshly. He said, “When you return to them, they will begin to make excuses before you. Say to them: Do not make excuses, we will not believe you. For Allah has informed us of your circumstances. And in the future, Allah and His Messenger will see your deeds.” Until the end (Ayah number 94) [بخاري كتاب التفسير]

2. Sayyiduna Ka‘b bin Malikؓ was among those three men who stayed behind in the Battle of Tabuk and whose matter was left pending. Ka‘b bin Malikؓ became blind in his old age, and his son Abdullah bin Ka‘b used to lead him. Abdullah bin Ka‘b says that when Ka‘b would narrate his story, he used to say, “I said to the Messenger of Allahﷺ, ‘In gratitude for the acceptance of my repentance, I give all my wealth in charity for the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger.’” Youﷺ said, “No, keep some of your wealth for yourself, that is better for you.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

In the first hadith, there are a few important points not mentioned which are found in other ahadith, and they are:

1. Sayyiduna Ka‘bؓ says that during the days when the Companions were forbidden to speak to me, a man from the Christians of Syria met me and gave me a letter from the king of Ghassan wrapped in silk. In that letter, it was written, “We have heard that your companion has treated you harshly. You are not a person to be wasted. If you come to us, we will honor you fully.” When I read this letter, I realized that this was another test sent upon me, so I immediately threw the letter into the oven.

2. When forty days had passed in this state, we three were commanded to separate from our wives as well. I asked, “Should I divorce her?” The answer was, “No, just separate.” Hilal bin Umayyah’s wife went to youﷺ and said that Hilal bin Umayyah is very weak and cannot live alone. Youﷺ allowed her to stay with her husband but did not permit intimacy, etc. But I told my wife to go to her parents’ home and wait until Allah decides this matter.

3. After a further ten days, making a total of fifty days, Allah Almighty accepted our repentance. Allah Almighty tested these sincere Companions with a severe trial, and they passed it. Then Allah, in very affectionate words, not only accepted their repentance but in the next verse also praised their truthfulness, uprightness, and loyalty.