سُوْرَةُ التَّوْبَةِ
Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 39
إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا۟ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْـًٔا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿39﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
If you march not forth, He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by another people; and you cannot harm Him at all, and Allâh is Able to do all things.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِلَّا
illā
If not
تَنفِرُوا۟
tanfirū
you go forth
يُعَذِّبْكُمْ
yuʿadhib'kum
He will punish you
عَذَابًا
ʿadhāban
(with) a painful punishment
أَلِيمًۭا
alīman
(with) a painful punishment
وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ
wayastabdil
and will replace you
قَوْمًا
qawman
(with) a people
غَيْرَكُمْ
ghayrakum
other than you
وَلَا
walā
and not
تَضُرُّوهُ
taḍurrūhu
you can harm Him
شَيْـًۭٔا ۗ
shayan
(in) anything
وَٱللَّهُ
wal-lahu
And Allah
عَلَىٰ
ʿalā
(is) on
كُلِّ
kulli
every
شَىْءٍۢ
shayin
thing
قَدِيرٌ
qadīrun
All-Powerful
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
39. 1. News was received about the Christian king of Syria, Heraclius, that he was preparing for battle against the Muslims, so the Prophet ﷺ also ordered preparations for it. This incident took place in Shawwal, 9th year of Hijrah. The weather was extremely hot and the journey was very long. This command was burdensome for some Muslims and hypocrites, which is expressed in this verse, and they were cursed and reproached. This is called the Battle of Tabuk, which in reality did not take place. For 20 days, the Muslims stayed near Tabuk, close to the land of Syria, and then returned. It is called Jaish al-‘Usrah because during this long journey, the army faced many difficulties and hardships. اثاقلْتُمْ means you act lazily and want to stay behind. This was demonstrated by some people, but it was attributed to all (Fath al-Qadeer).
