Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 28

(Ayah 28) ➊ {يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُوْنَ نَجَسٌ … :} Zamakhshari said: {’’ نَجَسٌ ‘‘ } is a verbal noun; it is said {’’ نَجَِسَ نَجَسًا وَ قَذَِرَ قَذَرًا} (ʿ, n) "to be dirty, impure, filthy." Thus, all polytheists are so impure that it is as if they are entirely filth. By impurity is meant that they are filthy in terms of beliefs, actions, and morals; their impurity is spiritual impurity, not that their bodies are impure such that touching them or being touched by them would make something filthy. Therefore, it is permissible to marry women from the People of the Book, to take them as slave women and men for service, and it is also established that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) drank water from the water skins of a polytheist woman. [ بخاری : ۳۵۷۱ ] And he accepted the invitation of the Jews of Khaybar. [ بخاری : ۲۶۱۷ ] This proves that nothing becomes filthy by their touch or body contact. However, if you look at it, polytheists do not even care for physical cleanliness: neither istinja, nor ghusl after sexual impurity, nor cleaning under the navel, nor avoiding any impurity. Then eating pork, smoking, drinking alcohol, and committing adultery are common practices among them. In short, no matter how clean a polytheist appears, no matter how much perfume made in France or elsewhere he applies, the bad odor from his body and clothes will not go away. No matter how dirty a Muslim is, such a bad odor will never come from him, provided that he performs prayer; if he does not pray, then his case is the same as that of a polytheist. This is a matter of common observation, which is why disbelievers are instructed to perform ghusl before becoming Muslim. Allah Almighty has declared polytheists impure and, for the future, has forbidden them from coming near the Sacred Mosque. Thus, as mentioned earlier, in the 9th year (Hijri), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) announced that after this year, no polytheist will ever perform Hajj. The clear meaning of the prohibition from coming near is that entry of non-Muslims into the entire Haram of Makkah is forbidden. Ibn Kathir has narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in Musnad Ahmad that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "After this year of ours, no one should enter our mosque except a dhimmi and his servant." In another narration in Musnad Ahmad: "After this year of ours, no one should enter our mosque except the People of the Book and their servants." But both these narrations are not established. Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾut has declared the chains of both as weak; Hasan al-Basri did not hear from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), and two narrators, Ashʿath ibn Sawwar and Sharik, are weak. Therefore, no non-Muslim is allowed to enter the Haram of Makkah. In fact, in his last will, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered that the polytheists and Jews and Christians be expelled from the entire Arabian Peninsula. Accordingly, Amir al-Muʾminin ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) expelled the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula as well.

➋ Apart from the Sacred Mosque, a non-Muslim may enter other mosques, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) allowed some polytheists to enter his mosque, and the incident of Thumamah being tied to a pillar in the mosque is well known.

➌ { وَ اِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً … : } With the cessation of trade by non-Muslims throughout the year and the stopping of their coming for Hajj and ʿUmrah, the goods of trade they used to bring and other financial benefits that the people of Makkah used to get from their arrival would necessarily end. So Allah Almighty revealed these words to remove this concern and to reassure the Muslims: do not worry about the closure of trade and business; if Allah wills, He will surely enrich you. He knows everything; it is nothing for Him to make the Muslims rich, but every action and every way of His is based on wisdom. Thus, after this, the series of conquests of the world began, so that the treasures of Caesar and Chosroes came into the hands of the Muslims, and all of them became rich by the grace of Allah. Then the number of Muslims performing Hajj and ʿUmrah became so great that poverty was no longer an issue for the people of Makkah. At present, in 1431 AH, about 3.5 or 4 million pilgrims have performed Hajj, and the Saudi government estimates that in a few years this number will reach ten million, and the government is rapidly implementing plans for the expansion of the Haram and residential buildings accordingly.

➍ { اِنْ شَآءَ:} This is not a condition but rather to emphasize the matter, because every affair depends on Allah's will. For details, see Surah al-Fath (27).

28. 1 The meaning of a polytheist being (impure, unclean) is being impure in terms of beliefs and actions. According to some, a polytheist is impure both outwardly and inwardly, because he does not observe purity (cleanliness and purification) in the manner that the Shariah has commanded. 28. 2 This is the same ruling that was given in the 9th year of Hijrah with the declaration of Bara’ah, the details of which have already passed. According to some, the prohibition is only for Masjid al-Haram; otherwise, as needed, polytheists can enter other mosques, just as the Prophet ﷺ kept Thumamah bin Uthal tied to a pillar of Masjid al-Nabawi until Allah placed the love of Islam and the Prophet ﷺ in his heart and he became Muslim. Furthermore, according to most scholars, here Masjid al-Haram refers to the entire Haram, meaning the entry of a polytheist within the boundaries of the Haram is prohibited. Based on some traditions, dhimmis and servants have been exempted from this ruling. Similarly, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, deducing from this, during his rule, issued an order prohibiting Jews and Christians from entering Muslim mosques (Ibn Kathir). 28. 2 Due to the prohibition of polytheists, some Muslims thought that the trade which takes place due to the large gathering in the season of Hajj would be affected. Allah said, there is no need to fear this poverty (i.e., decrease in business), Allah will soon enrich you from His bounty. Thus, due to conquests, Muslims obtained abundant spoils of war. And then gradually the entire Arabia became Muslim, and during the Hajj season, the crowds of pilgrims became as they were before, rather even more, and this continues to increase day by day.

O you who believe! Indeed, the polytheists are impure, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year. And if you fear poverty [26], Allah will enrich you out of His bounty if He wills. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

[26]
The Fear of an Economic Void Due to the Departure of the Polytheists:

In this verse, the polytheists are called impure. This does not mean that they are inherently impure such that if one touches them, one must wash one's hands. Rather, it means that their beliefs are impure and filthy, their morals are impure, and their intentions are always full of corruption, deceit, and trickery, and their actions are filthy. They are always engaged in enmity against Islam, oppression and violence against Muslims, and hostile activities. According to this verse, Muslims have been given a clear command that now the polytheists cannot even come near the House of Allah. Makkah, which was a sacred place, was also a commercial center, and this trade was mostly in the hands of the polytheists of Makkah. Therefore, the residents of Makkah and its surroundings, especially the new Muslims, feared how their needs would now be fulfilled. There was also a concern that sources of livelihood would be affected. Allah comforted these Muslims, and this concern was remedied in such a way that the Muslims themselves took charge of all fields of the economy, in which Allah bestowed blessing and made the Muslims prosperous. The true extent of this situation can be gauged by the fact that when, at the time of the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Hindus, who held the reins of the economy, were leaving Pakistan for India, and a great void was created in every field of life, especially in the field of economy, so much so that the commercial markets remained closed for a long time. Eventually, when the Muslims took charge of these markets, Allah soon made them prosperous.