Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 19

(Ayah19){ اَجَعَلْتُمْ سِقَايَةَ الْحَآجِّ … :} The addressees of this verse are both the polytheists and the Muslims, because the polytheists used to take great pride in the service of the Ka'bah, its custodianship, and giving drinks and water to the pilgrims, and some Muslims also considered this to be the highest deed. Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that I was sitting near the pulpit of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a group of his companions, when a man said that after accepting Islam, if I do nothing except give water to the pilgrims, I do not care. Another said, rather, the maintenance of Masjid al-Haram (is superior). Another said, rather, jihad in the way of Allah is better than what you are saying. So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) scolded them and said, do not raise your voices near the pulpit of the Prophet (peace be upon him), this was on the day of Jumu'ah, but when you have prayed Jumu'ah, I will go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and have him decide your dispute. So Allah revealed this verse: «اَجَعَلْتُمْ سِقَايَةَ الْحَآجِّ وَ عِمَارَةَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ كَمَنْ اٰمَنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَ الْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِ » [ مسلم، الإمارۃ، باب فضل الشھادۃ فی سبیل اللّٰہ تعالٰی : ۱۸۷۹] That is, although these deeds are virtuous, they have no standing compared to faith in Allah and the Last Day and striving in the way of Allah, and then, without faith, they are not even accepted. «وَ اللّٰهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ » Shirk is the greatest injustice, so how can the one who persists in it be granted the straight path?

19. 1. The polytheists used to take great pride in providing water to the pilgrims and maintaining the Sacred Mosque, and in comparison, they gave no importance to faith and striving in the way of Allah, which was emphasized among the Muslims. Allah Almighty said: Do you consider the giving of water to the pilgrims and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque equal to faith in Allah and striving in the way of Allah? Remember, these are not equal in the sight of Allah; rather, no deed of a polytheist is accepted, even if it appears to be good. As has already been made clear in the phrase of a previous verse (حَبِطَتْ اَعْمَالُهُمْ) 2. Al-Baqarah:217). In some narrations, the reason for its revelation is mentioned as a conversation among the Muslims themselves: one day, some Muslims were gathered near the pulpit of the Prophet, and one of them said that after embracing Islam, the greatest deed in his view was giving water to the pilgrims; another said it was maintaining the Sacred Mosque; a third said rather, striving in the way of Allah is better than all the deeds you have mentioned. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard them arguing in this way, he scolded them and said: Do not raise your voices near the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. It was Friday. The narrator of the hadith, Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him), says that after Friday, he presented himself before the Prophet ﷺ and inquired about their conversation, upon which this verse was revealed. (Sahih Muslim) In which it was made clear that faith in Allah, faith in the Hereafter, and striving in the way of Allah are the most important and virtuous deeds. In the context of the conversation, the main importance and virtue to be stated was that of striving in the way of Allah, but since no deed is accepted without faith in Allah, it was mentioned first. In any case, from this it is learned, firstly, that there is no deed greater than striving in the way of Allah. Secondly, it is learned that the reason for its revelation, besides the false notions of the polytheists, was also that some Muslims, on their own, gave more importance to certain deeds over others, whereas this is the prerogative of the Lawgiver, not the believers. The task of the believers is to act upon whatever is conveyed to them by Allah and His Messenger.

19. 2. That is, no matter what claims these people make, in reality they are wrongdoers, meaning they are polytheists, because polytheism is the greatest wrongdoing. Due to this wrongdoing, they are deprived of divine guidance. Therefore, there is no comparison between them and the Muslims, who are blessed with divine guidance.

19. Do you consider the giving of water to the pilgrims and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque as equal to the deeds of one who believes in Allah and the Last Day and strives in the way of Allah? [18] They are not equal in the sight of Allah, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

[18]
Issues of Jihad:

Regarding the context of revelation of this verse, consider the following hadith: Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir says that I was sitting near the pulpit of the Prophet ﷺ when a man said, "I do not care if, after accepting Islam, I do no deed except giving water to the pilgrims." Another said, "I do not care if, after accepting Islam, I do no deed except the construction and maintenance of Masjid al-Haram." The third said, "Jihad in the way of Allah is superior to the deeds you are mentioning." Sayyiduna Umar ؓ rebuked them, saying, "Do not raise your voices near the pulpit." Nu'man says that it was the day of Jumu'ah. Then Sayyiduna Umar ؓ said, "After the Jumu'ah prayer, I will go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and will definitely ask about the matter in which you are differing." On this occasion, Allah Almighty revealed this verse. [مسلم۔ كتاب الامارة باب فضل الشهادة فى سبيل الله] In this verse, the address is general for both Muslims and polytheists. For the polytheists, in the sense that they used to boastfully say that they serve the pilgrims, give them water, and provide them with food and clothing, and also take care of the repair of Masjid al-Haram, the covering of the Ka'bah, or its lighting, etc. If Muslims consider their jihad and migration to be superior deeds, then we also have this treasure of worship. The answer given to them was that when you do not have faith in the Hereafter and in Allah, then all your deeds will be in vain. And if the address of this verse is considered to be towards the Muslims, then it refers to the mutual comparison of their deeds. That is, those Muslims who merely believe in Allah and the Hereafter cannot be equal in the sight of Allah to those Muslims who both believe and also perform jihad.