Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 81

(Ayah81) ➊ {فَرِحَ الْمُخَلَّفُوْنَ … :} After the lengthy mention of the various states of the hypocrites and their conspiracies and schemes, now specifically begins the mention of those hypocrites who did not go with the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Battle of Tabuk, but instead presented false excuses and took permission to stay behind and remained in Madinah Munawwarah. For them, Allah Almighty has used the word { ’’ الْمُخَلَّفُوْنَ‘‘} "those who were left behind," meaning they should not be pleased, thinking it is their achievement that they did not go with you (peace be upon him) and stayed comfortably in their homes in Madinah. Rather, the reality is that they were not granted the success (tawfiq) by Allah to go, and they were pushed away and left behind by Him. Their status is like that of worthless goods which are not taken along, but rather thrown away or left behind.

➋ { وَ كَرِهُوْۤا اَنْ يُّجَاهِدُوْا بِاَمْوَالِهِمْ وَ اَنْفُسِهِمْ …:} Because sacrificing wealth and life willingly for the sake of Allah cannot be done without faith, which they are deprived of. In this, the heartfelt state of the believers who set out and their praise is also evident, that with what happiness they set out.

➌ {وَ قَالُوْا لَا تَنْفِرُوْا فِي الْحَرِّ … :} Meaning, not only did they themselves stay behind, but they also tried to keep others back by frightening them with the severity of the heat and the hardships of the long journey, because this journey occurred in the intense heat of the season. Zamakhshari (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Allah Almighty has declared this to be the result of their ignorance, that they do not even know that if a person, by bearing a little hardship, can save himself from an everlasting unbearable hardship, then only an ignorant or the most ignorant person would refuse to bear that little hardship and instead prefer to endure the most severe everlasting hardship. Similarly, they do not even know what real heat is; otherwise, if they were aware of the heat of Hell and had faith in it, they would not care about even the most intense heat of this world. This is the meaning of {’’لَوْ كَانُوْا يَفْقَهُوْنَ ‘‘}, because a single dip in Hell will make one forget all the pleasures of the world. [ مسلم : ۲۸۰۷ ] And it is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Your fire is one part out of seventy parts of the fire of Hell." It was said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! Surely that alone would have been sufficient." He said: "It has been increased by sixty-nine parts more than it, all of them as hot as it." [ بخاری، بدء الخلق، باب صفۃ النار و أنہا مخلوقۃ : ۳۲۶۵۔ مسلم : ۲۸۴۳ ]

81. 1 This is a mention of the hypocrites who did not go to Tabuk and, by presenting false excuses, obtained permission. The meaning of خلاف is behind or opposition. That is, after the departure of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, they remained sitting in Madinah behind you or in opposition to you.

81. 2 That is, if they had known that, compared to the heat of the fire of Hell, the heat of this world has no significance, they would never have stayed behind. It is mentioned in the hadith that the fire of this world is the seventieth part of the fire of Hell. That is, the intensity of the fire of Hell is sixty-nine parts greater than the fire of this world (Sahih Bukhari).

81. Those who stayed behind among the hypocrites rejoiced in staying back and not accompanying the Messenger of Allah. They disliked striving with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah, and said to others, "Do not go forth in the heat." Say: "The fire of Hell is far hotter." If only they understood!

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The Discouragement of the Hypocrites Towards Those Joining the Expedition of Tabuk:

The hypocrites outwardly claimed to believe in Allah and His Messenger, but the righteous deeds required to confirm this claim were absent in them. Therefore, Allah Almighty did not consider their claims credible, nor their oaths. For this reason, in several places, they have been called liars, and in other places, they have been declared disbelievers, and sometimes both attributes are mentioned together. Among the actions contrary to their claim was that some of them would not strive in jihad with their wealth and lives at all, and those who did go, went reluctantly, so that the Muslims would not begin to consider them hypocrites. And one common trait among them was that they would discourage those who were going for jihad. At the time of the announcement of jihad for the Expedition of Tabuk, the heat was intense and the journey was long and difficult. Therefore, they began to prevent their companions from participating in jihad for this very reason. In response, Allah Almighty said: You have thought of a remedy for this heat, but what remedy will you have for the fire of Hell, which is seventy times hotter than this heat?