Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 40

(Ayah 40) ➊ {اِلَّا تَنْصُرُوْهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللّٰهُ … :} That is, if you do not go out for Tabuk and do not help him, then he alone is sufficient for his help. Look, when the polytheists of Makkah decided to kill him and forced him to leave his homeland, and he had only one companion with him, even then Allah helped him without the help of any of you. Even now, he does not need any of you; yes, it is better for you to go out to face the enemies of Islam, this is better for you.

➋ { ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ:} "The second of the two" refers to the first. In {’’ ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ ‘‘}, the first is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the second is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Similarly, in {’’ ثَالِثُ ثَلَاثَةٍ‘‘} or {’’رَابِعُ اَرْبَعَةٍ‘‘}, the third or fourth will be the one who is first, the rest will come later. However, in {’’ رَابِعُ ثَلَاثَةٍ‘‘} or {’’ خَامِسُ اَرْبَعَةٍ ‘‘}, the fourth or fifth will be the one who joins later and his number will be fourth or fifth. [ الوسیط للطنطاوی ] All the commentators agree that the one with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and in most religious positions and ranks, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he was the one who held the second position. He was the first to accept Islam and invited people to Islam, through which many eminent companions (may Allah be pleased with them) became Muslim. He never separated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in battles. In the illness of death, with the emphatic command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and after his refusal to allow anyone else to lead the prayer, he stood in the place of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as his deputy, and then was buried beside him. Thus, from beginning to end, Siddiq Akbar (may Allah be pleased with him) had the honor of being the second.

➌ { اِذْ يَقُوْلُ لِصَاحِبِهٖ:} Here, the honor of being the companion is also for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). The word "companion" is originally used mostly for one who stays together. That is why a wife is called {’’ صَاحِبَةٌ ‘‘}, as Allah Almighty said: «اَنّٰى يَكُوْنُ لَهٗ وَلَدٌ وَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَّهٗ صَاحِبَةٌ» [ الأنعام : ۱۰۱ ] "How can he have a child when he has no wife?" From this, it is known that whoever denies Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) being the companion of the Messenger, i.e., his special companion and companion of the cave, is in fact denying the Qur'an. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "The companion of the cave was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), only he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), other companions, some had left earlier, some came later." (Mawdhih)

➍ { اِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ:} The cave referred to here is the cave near the peak of Mount Thawr, which is about five miles south of Makkah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was certain that he would be pursued, so he left the route to Madinah, which is to the north, and took the direction to the south and hid in the cave of Thawr, so that the pursuers would not easily find him. In Tafsir Majidi it is stated: "The mouth of this cave is still so narrow that it is only possible to enter by lying down." Shaykh Rashid Rida Misri, in Tafsir al-Manar, quoting the Egyptian Amir al-Hajj Ibrahim Rifaat Pasha (year of Hajj 1318 AH), has given the measurements of the cave and explicitly mentioned its narrowness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed there for three days, then set out for Madinah. A reward had been set for his capture, so the enemies made every possible effort to find him, until some trackers reached the mouth of the cave, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) could see their feet. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) became worried about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was greatly grieved.

➎ {لَا تَحْزَنْ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَنَا:} Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while I was in the cave: "If any one of them looks down at his feet, he will surely see us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two whose third is Allah?" [ بخاری، فضائل أصحاب النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ، باب مناقب المہاجرین وفضلھم… : ۳۶۵۳ ] {’’ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَنَا ‘‘} (Indeed, Allah is with us) This "with" means special companionship, i.e., Allah's special help and support, otherwise general companionship is for everyone. He said: «وَ هُوَ مَعَكُمْ اَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ » [ الحدید : ۴ ] "And He is with you wherever you are." In this, the virtue of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is evident, that when Musa (peace be upon him) reached the shore of the sea and his people, seeing Pharaoh's army, feared being caught, Musa (peace be upon him) said: « كَلَّا اِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّيْ» [ الشعراء : ۶۲ ] "Never! Indeed, with me is my Lord." Thus, he {’’ مَعِيَ ‘‘} i.e., did not associate anyone with himself in Allah's companionship, whereas the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: « اِنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَنَا» "Indeed, Allah is with us both."

➏ { فَاَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ سَكِيْنَتَهٗ عَلَيْهِ:} That is, Allah sent down His tranquility upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Some commentators have taken it to mean Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), because tranquility had already descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but then the pronoun in {’’عَلَيْهِ‘‘} does not match the following pronoun in {’’ وَ اَيَّدَهٗ بِجُنُوْدٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا ‘‘}, and it is not unlikely that Allah sent a special tranquility upon His Messenger in addition to the first tranquility, which further increased his peace of mind. Therefore, it seems more correct that {’’ عَلَيْهِ ‘‘} refers to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

➐ {وَ اَيَّدَهٗ بِجُنُوْدٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا:} That is, with armies of angels whom you did not see, who did not let the pursuers' eyes fall upon you. Just as He helped at Hunayn (see Tawbah: 26) and at Badr (see Anfal: 9; Al Imran: 124, 125).

➑ Some people narrate that a spider spun a web and a pigeon made a nest and laid eggs, but this is not established. Shaykh Allamah Nasiruddin al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared the story of the spider as weak in Silsilah Da'ifah.

➒ {وَ جَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلٰى …:} That is, in Hijrah, Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Hudaybiyyah, the conquest of Makkah, Hunayn, Tabuk, everywhere disbelief was humbled. {’’ وَ كَلِمَةُ اللّٰهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا ‘‘} And the word of Allah is always the highest and His word is always supreme. If ever the Muslims are subdued, it is not because Allah's word is subdued, but because of some deficiency in their faith and actions. He said: «وَ اَنْتُمُ الْاَعْلَوْنَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ » [ آل عمران : ۱۳۹ ] "And you will be superior if you are believers." And see Surah Muhammad (35).