Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 90

(Ayah90){وَ جَآءَ الْمُعَذِّرُوْنَ مِنَ الْاَعْرَابِ … :} Previously, the mention was of the hypocrites and believers of Madinah; now the condition of the Bedouins around Madinah is mentioned, because among them too were both types of people, as will be mentioned ahead in Ayah (98, 99) and then (101, 102). The commentators have interpreted this in two ways, because those making excuses can be truthful or liars. Therefore, some have taken {’’ الْمُعَذِّرُوْنَ‘‘} to mean those Bedouins who were true believers but could not go due to a genuine excuse. These people came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to present their excuse, and those who lied to Allah and His Messenger and were not Muslims at heart, they remained sitting in their homes; they did not even bother to come and present an excuse. Thus, among them, those who disbelieved were warned of a painful punishment, meaning imprisonment and killing in this world and being fuel for Hell in the Hereafter. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this interpretation.

Some commentators have taken {’’ الْمُعَذِّرُوْنَ ‘‘} to mean those who presented false excuses and invalid reasons. Zamakhshari (may Allah have mercy on him) supported this view; he says that if {’’ الْمُعَذِّرُوْنَ ‘‘} is from the form of the verb taf‘il, then the meaning of {’’عَذَّرَ فِي الْأَمْرِ‘‘} is that he was lazy in the task, did not even try, and only outwardly showed that he had an excuse, though he had none. And if {’’ الْمُعَذِّرُوْنَ ‘‘} is from the form of the verb ifti‘al and its original is {’’مُعْتَذِرُوْنَ‘‘}, then even so, false excuses are meant, as is clearly coming ahead: «يَعْتَذِرُوْنَ اِلَيْكُمْ اِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ اِلَيْهِمْ» [ التوبۃ : ۹۴ ] "They will present excuses to you when you return to them." The first interpretation is supported by the fact that not every excuse-maker was a liar; rather, Allah Himself in the next verse has declared many of those with excuses to be free from sin, and even in this verse, only {’’الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا ‘‘} among both types are warned of punishment. Although the common translation of the verse leans toward the second interpretation, the statement of Imam Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) seems weighty.

90. 1. There is a difference of opinion among the commentators regarding these مُعَذرِیْن. According to some, these are those Bedouins living far from the city who presented false excuses and obtained permission. The second category among them are those who did not even consider it necessary to come and present an excuse and simply stayed behind. Thus, it is as if the verse mentions two groups of hypocrites, and both are included in the warning of a painful punishment. And by "منھم" both those who presented false excuses and those who stayed behind are meant. Other commentators have taken "معذرون" to mean those Bedouin Muslims who presented valid excuses and obtained permission, and according to them, "معذرون" is originally "معتذرون," where the "ta" has been assimilated into the "dhal." "معتذر" means one who truly has an excuse. In this sense, in the next phrase of the verse, the hypocrites are mentioned, and the verse mentions two groups: in the first phrase, those Muslims who truly had excuses, and in the second, the hypocrites who stayed behind without presenting any excuse. The warning in the last part of the verse is for this second group.

90. And some of the desert Arabs [103] came with excuses, asking to be excused (from jihad), and those who lied to Allah and His Messenger also stayed behind. Those among the desert Arabs who disbelieved will soon have a painful punishment.

[103]
The Excuse-Making Bedouin Hypocrites:

The people living around Madinah were called A‘rab or Bedouins (i.e., villagers). Among them, too, there was an element of hypocrisy. This verse refers to such hypocrites who, before the announcement of jihad, used to make grand claims, but when the time came, they broke their promises and, like the hypocrites of Madinah, began making excuses to seek exemption from jihad. In the following verses, those people are mentioned who are genuinely excused, and also under what condition their excuse can be considered acceptable.