Indexed OCR Text

352
Surah Al-Taubah :
with unseen help from Allah that this battle was won.
Properties of defeated non-believers:
The need for justice and caution
The second instruction given here relates to the need for observing
caution and justice when handling properties owned by non-believers
who have been defeated and overpowered. This is illustrated by the ac-
tion taken by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he had taken war
materials for the battle of Hunain from the vanquished non-Muslims
of Makkah. This was an occasion when these supplies could have been
taken from them by force too. But the Rasul of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم took
these as borrowing - and then, he returned everything so borrowed
back to them.
This event taught Muslims an essential lesson - that they should
maintain perfect justice and show mercy and magnanimity even when
they are dealing with enemies.
The third instruction is embedded in what he said while making a
stopover at Khaif bani Kinanah enroute Hunain. 'Tomorrow', he said,
'we shall be staying at a place where our enemies, the Quraysh of
Makkah, had once sat and resolved to excommunicate Muslims!' The
hint given here is clear - when Allah Ta'ala has blessed Muslims with
victory and power, they should not forget about the days of distress in
the past, so that they remain grateful to Allah under all conditions. It
will also be recalled that the defeated Hawazin forces had taken refuge
in the Ta'if fortress from where they were shooting arrows against
Muslims repeatedly. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was requested to
pray for a curse to fall on them. He did not respond to their arrows in
that manner. He prayed that they be guided to the right path. Being
mercy for all the worlds, this prayer for his enemies is teaching Mus-
lims the lesson that Muslims, when they fight in a Jihad, do not intend
to subdue the enemy, instead, their objective is to bring them to guid-
ance. Therefore, making efforts to achieve this objective should not be
neglected at any time.
The third verse (27) instructs Muslims that they should not write
off disbelievers who have been defeated at war because it is likely that
Allah Ta'ala may give them the ability to embrace Islam and be
blessed with the light of faith. The Hawazin deputation's entry into
the fold of Islam proves it.

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The same deputation from the tribe of Hawazin had requested the
return of their prisoners and the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had asked
the gathering of Companions if they agreed to do that out of their free
will. The response came in the form of voiced ayes from the audience.
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not consider it to be sufficient. In-
stead, he took elaborate steps to ascertain the approval of each and
every individual before he would act.
This proves that the matter of rights is serious. It is not
permissible to take what belongs to a person as a matter of right
unless it becomes certain that this was done on the basis of his or her
free will. The silence of a person either due to the awe of the crowd or
the sense of shame before people is not a sufficient proof of the
person's free will and heart-felt consent. From here, Muslim jurists
have deduced the ruling that it is not correct to solicit contributions
even for some religious purpose when it is done to impress a person by
one's personal office, power, or influence. The reason is that there are
many gentle people who would be affected by such conditions around
and decide to get away by giving something just to avoid being
embarrassed - of course, this does not have the backing of genuine
free will, approval and pleasure. Incidentally, what is given in that
spirit does not have any barakah either.
Verse 28
يَاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا إِنََّا الْمُشْرِكُوْنَ نَجَسَّ فَلاَ يَقْرَبُوا
الْمُسْجِدَالْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هذَا، وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ
مُغْنِيْكُمُ اللهُ مِنْ فَضْلِةٍ إِنَّ شَآءُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيُمْ حَكِيمٌ (٢٨)
O those who believe, the Mushriks* are impure indeed,
so let them not come near Al-masjid-al-haram after this
year of theirs. And if you apprehend poverty, then, Al-
lah shall, if He wills, make you self-sufficient with His
grace. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [28]
Commentary
A proclamation of withdrawal was made against Mushriks and dis-
believers at the beginning of Surah Al-Taubah. The verse appearing
*. Those who associate partners with Allah.

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 28
above describes injunctions related to this proclamation. In substance,
it stipulated that treaties with disbelievers should be terminated or
fulfilled within a year and after the passage of one year from this proc-
lamation, no Mushrik should remain within the sacred precincts of the
Haram.
This has been stated in the present verse in a particular manner
that accomplishes two objectives simultaneously. It points out to the
wisdom behind this injunction and it also alleviates the apprehensions
of some Muslims about its implementation. Here, the word: __ (najas)
has been used with fathah on the letter jim which carries the sense of
filth and filth denotes every impurity which one averts naturally.
Imam Raghib al-Isfahani has said: It also includes impurity that is per-
ceived through the senses, such as the eye, the nose or the hand as
well as that which one is able to know about through knowledge and
reason. Therefore, the word: 'najas' is inclusive of filth or impurity of
three types. The first one is real. Everyone perceives it as such. Then,
there is the second type. This is known as legal because it makes wu du
(ablution) or ghusl (bath) legally necessary. Examples are the state of
Janabah (intercourse, ejaculation, wet-dream etc.), as well as, the
post-menstruation and post-childbed states known as haid and nifas.
And then, there is the spiritual impurity that relates to the human
heart, for example, false beliefs and evil morals. The word 'najas' cov-
ers all of these.
The word, ul (innama) introduced in this verse has been used for
hasr or restriction. Therefore, the sentence comes to mean that Mush-
riks (those who ascribe partners to Allah) are impure indeed (in the
sense of 'are but filth'). The truth of the matter is that all three types
of impurities are found in Mushriks because they just do not take a lot
of impure things as really impure. The outcome is that they do not
make any effort to stay away from smearing themselves with obvious
impurities - such as, liquor and things made with it. As for the modal-
ities of purification against acquired impurities provided by religious
codes - such as, the prescribed bath after having fallen into the state
of Janabah - they simply do not believe in them! Similarly, spiritual
impurities like false beliefs and evil morals do not make much sense to
them.
Therefore, by declaring Mushriks to be impure in this verse, the in-

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junction given was:فَلَ يَقْرَبُوا الْمُسْجِدَ الْحُرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هذَا (so let them not come near
Al-masjid-al-haram after this year of theirs).
The word: Al-masjid-al-haram is generally used to denote the place
that is surrounded by a walled structure around the Baytullah. But, in
the Qur'an and Hadith, this word, at times, has been used for the sa-
cred precincts of the entire Haram of Makkah as well - which is an
area of several square miles and is hemmed in by limits originally ap-
pointed by Sayyidna Ibrahim >JI Je. It is in this very sense that words
of the text of the Qur'an referring to the event of Mi'raj: ballzils
(from Al-masjid-al-haram - 18:1) have been taken. This interpretation
has the backing of a consensus because the event of Mi'raj did not orig-
inate from inside what is commonly known as Al-masjid-al-haram, in-
stead of which, it started from the home of Sayyidah Umm Hanl' Jl ,
Except those) إِلَّ الَّذِيْنَ عُهَدُتَّمُ عِنْدَ الْسَجِدِ الْحَرَامِ : Similarly, in the noble verse . عنها
with whom you made a treaty near Al-masjid-al-haram - 9:7), Al-
masjid-al-haram means the whole of Haram - because, the event of
making a peace treaty mentioned there took place at Hudaibiyah,
which is located outside the limits of the Haram close by. (Al-Jassas)
Therefore, the verse comes to mean that the entry of the Mushriks
into the sacred precincts of the Haram shall be banned after 'this'
year. Which year is 'this' year? Some commentators say that it means
the Hijrah year 10. But, according to the majority of commentators,
صلى الله عليه وسلم the preferred year is Hijrah 9 - because, the Holy Prophet
had made the 'proclamation of withdrawal' through Sayyidna Abu
Bakr and Sayyidna Ali Lar UI _+, during the Hajj season of this very
Hijrah year 9. Therefore, the period between Hijrah 9 and Hijrah 10 is
the year of respite. It was only after Hijrah 10 that this law came into
force.
Does the rule stop Mushriks from entering the Sacred Mosque
only, or does it apply to all mosques?
About the injunction appearing in the cited verse: that no Mushrik
should be allowed to come near Al-masjid-al-haram (the Sacred
Mosque) after Hijrah 10, three things need consideration. Firstly, we
have to determine if this injunction is particular to the Sacred Mosque,
or other mosques of the world also fall under its jurisdiction. Secondly,
if this is particular to the Sacred Mosque, then, is the entry of a Mush-
rik in the Sacred Mosque banned in an absolute sense? Or the ban of

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 28
such entry applies only in the case of Hajj and 'Umrah - not otherwise.
Thirdly, this injunction appearing in the verse relates to Mushriks. In
that case, are the disbelievers (kuffar) among the People of the Book
included here, or are they not?
Since the words of the Qur'an are silent about these details, there-
fore, the Mujtahid Imams have, by turning to the hints of the Qur'an
and the reports of Hadith, given a description of injunctions in accor-
dance with their respective Ijtihad. The first investigation in this con-
nection is about the terms of reference in which the Holy Qur'an has
declared Mushriks as 'najas' (filth). If this means physical filth or some
major legal impurity (janabah etc.), then, as evident, allowing the en-
try of filth in any masjid is not permissible. Similarly, allowing any
person in the state of major impurity or a woman in the state of men-
struation or childbed in any masjid is not permissible. And if 'najasah'
in this verse means the spiritual filthiness of kufr and shirk, then, it is
possible that the injunction which covers it may be different from the
injunction which covers outward filth.
According to Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Imam Malik and other jurists of
Madinah, may Allah have mercy on them, said: Mushriks are filthy on
all counts. They generally do not abstain from obvious filth, are not
very particular about taking a bath after having fallen into the state of
major impurity and, as for the spiritual impurity of kufr and shirk,
they already suffer from it. Therefore, this injunction is equally appli-
cable to all Mushriks and mosques. To prove this, they have cited an
executive order given by Sayyidna 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz as Mig, in
which he had instructed the administrators of cities that they should
not allow disbelievers to enter mosques. He had quoted this very verse
as part of his executive order. In addition to that, there is a Hadith of
1) لَا أُحِلُّ الْسَجِدَ يِخَائِضٍ وَ لاَجُنُبٍ : in which he said صلى اللّه عليه وسلم the Holy Prophet
do not make entry into the masjid lawful for any woman in menstrua-
tion or for any person in the state of major impurity) - and since the
Mushriks and disbelievers do not generally take a bath when in a
state of jan abah, their entry into the masjid has been prohibited.
Imam Shafi'i has said that this injunction is applicable to all Mush-
riks and disbelievers among the People of the Book - but, is restricted
to the Sacred Mosque. Their entry into other mosques is not prohibit-
ed. (Qurtubi) In proof, he has cited the event relating to Thumamah ibn

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 28
Athal, according to which Thumamah was arrested. The Holy Prophet
had him tied to a pillar of his Mosque before he embraced صلى اللّه عليه وسلم
Islam.
According to Imam Abu Hanifah, not letting Mushriks come near
the Sacred Mosque as commanded in the verse means that they will
not be allowed to perform Hajj and 'Umrah in their peculiar polytheis-
tic manner from the next year. Its proof lies in the proclamation of
withdrawal which was made through Sayyidna 'Ali al-Murtada July»,
ar at the time of the Hajj season. This proclamation made was for
nothing but: ◌ٌلَيَحُجَنَّ بَعُدَ الْعَامِ مُشُرِك which made it very clear that no Mushrik
will be able to perform Hajj after that year. Therefore, the meaning of
the statement : ◌َفَلاَ يُقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الحَرَام (so let them not come near Al-masjid-al-
haram) in this verse is - in accordance with this proclamation - noth-
ing but that they have been prohibited to perform Hajj and 'Umrah,
with the exception of entering there on the basis of a particular need
which would be subject to the permission of the Muslim 'Amir. This is
proved by what happened in the case of the deputation from the tribe
of Thaqif. When, after the Conquest of Makkah, their deputation came
to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, he let them stay in the masjid, al-
though they were kafirs at that time. Thereupon, the Companions sub-
mitted: 'Ya Rasulallah, these are filthy people!' He said: 'The floor of
the masjid is not affected by their impurity.' (Jassas)
This report from Hadith also makes it very clear that the Holy
Qur'an, when it calls Mushriks 'najas' (filth), it refers to the filth of
their kufr and shirk - as interpreted by the great Imam Abu Hanifah.
Similarly, according to a narration of the Companion, Sayyidna Jabir
ibn 'Abdullah رضى الله عنه, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that no
Mushrik should go near the Masjid except that the person be a bond-
man or bondwoman of a Muslim - then, he could be admitted if need-
ed. (Qurțubi)
This Hadith too confirms that the Mushriks were not prevented
from entering into the Sacred Mosque on the basis of their outward
impurity as the cause - otherwise, there was nothing particular about
a bondman or bondwoman. In fact, the real basis is the danger of kufr
and shirk lest these come to dominate. In the case of a bondman or
bondwoman, this danger does not exist. So, they were allowed. In addi-
tion to that, as far as outward impurity is concerned, even Muslims

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 28
stand included under this restriction for they too, if in a state of full
impurity (jan abah or haid or nifas), are not allowed to enter the Sacred
Mosque.
Besides, when according to the explanation given by the majority
of commentators, Al-masjid-al-haram at this place means the entire
Haram, then, that too lends support to the view that this prohibition is
not based on outward impurity, instead, it is based on the impurity of
kufr and shirk. It is for this reason that their entry was banned not
simply in the Sacred Mosque, in fact, it was banned in the entire area
known as the Haram. This was done because the Haram is the sanctu-
ary and fortress of Islam and having some non-Muslim inside it cannot
be tolerated.
To sum up the investigative approach of the great Imam Abu Hani-
fah, it can be said that the concern for maintaining masajid in a state
of perfect purity, free from all sorts of outward and inward pollution, is
an issue of major importance having its proof from the Qur'an and Ha-
dith. But, this verse is not connected with this problem. It is, in fact,
connected with the particular political order of Islam that was an-
nounced at the beginning of Surah Al-Bara'ah and wherein the pur-
pose was to have the sacred Haram vacated by all Mushriks present in
Makkah. But, such was the dictate of justice and mercy that all of
them were not ordered to vacate immediately and en-block soon after
the Conquest of Makkah. Instead of that, the plan was to be imple-
mented within the time-span of one year by allowing people who had a
treaty for a specified period to complete that period subject to its sol-
emn fulfillment and by giving others available periods of respite. This
is what was stated in the verse under study - that the entry of Mush-
riks will stand prohibited within the sacred precincts of the Haram af-
ter that year and they would no more be able to perform Hajj and
'Umrah in their polytheistic style.
After it was clearly stated in the 'ayat of Surah Al-Taubah that no
Mushrik would be able to enter the sacred precincts of the Haram af-
ter Hijrah , the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had increased this injunc-
tion to cover the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. Hadith reports con-
firm it but its implementation could not take effect during the lifetime
رضى الله عنه Then, Sayyidna Abu Bakr. صلى الله عليه وسلم of the Holy Prophet
remained unable to attend to it because of other emergent problems on

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 28
hand. It was Sayyidna 'Umar ate July», who, during his period, put this
legal order in force.
As for the problem of the impurity of disbelievers and the problem
of keeping masajid secured from impurities of all kinds, that has its
own place. These problems and their solutions have been taken up in
books of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). Details can be seen there. In
brief, no Muslim can enter any masjid in the state of najasah or jana-
bah. As for disbelievers and Mushriks or the People of the Book, they
too are not generally free and duly purified from these impurities,
therefore, their entry too is not permissible in any masjid, unless need-
ed acutely.
When, according to this verse, the entry of Kafirs and Mushriks
into the Haram was banned, Muslims had to face an economic prob-
lem. Makkah had no produce of its own. Visitors from far and near
brought the needed supplies with them. Thus, during the Hajj season,
the people of Makkah found what they needed available locally. Now
that their entry was banned, the Makkans worried, how things would
work for them. In response, they were told in the Qur'an: Gprs HE ,22: 315
And if you apprehend poverty, then, Allah shall, if) يُغْنِيُكُمُ اللهُ مِنْ فَضْلِمٍ إِنْ تَّاءَ
He wills, make you self-sufficient with His grace). In other words, the
sense is: if you foresee any economic hardships, then, you must realize
that the economic support of the entire creation rests with Allah
Almighty. If He wills, He shall make you self-sufficient, free from any
dependence on all those kafirs. Incidentally, the restriction of 'if He
wills' placed here does not mean that there is any doubt or hesitation
in carrying out the Divine will. On the contrary, this is to point out
that those who have their sights trained on nothing but material
causes find it very difficult to understand and accept a situation like
this. Here, the ground reality was that these non-Muslims were the
apparent source of all economic support. Putting a ban on the entry of
disbelievers amounted to nothing but a termination of the means of
livelihood for believers. So, this restriction was placed to remove any
such doubts and apprehensions. The strong message given to them
was that Allah Ta'ala does not depend on material causes as such.
When He intends to do something, all related causes start falling in
line with His will. So, His will is what matters - the rest follows.
Hence, 33l (in sha') at the end of the sentence serves as a wise

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 29 - 30
indicator of this truth.
Verses 29 - 30
قَاتِلُوا الَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَ بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُوْنَ
مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِيْنُونَ دِيْنَ الُحُقِّ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ أُوتُوا
الْكِتْبَ حَتّى يُعْطُوا الْجُزْبَةَ عَنْ تَّدٍ وَهُمْ صَغِرُونَ ﴿٢٩﴾
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُوُدُ مُزَيْرُ اِبْنُ اللّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصْرَى المُسَيْحُ ابْنُ
اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُمْ بِآَفْوَاهِهِمْ يُضَاهِتُوْنَ قَوْلَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا مِنْ
قَبُلُ + قتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَتَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ ﴿٣٠)
Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor in the Last
Day, nor take as prohibited what Allah and His
Messenger have prohibited, nor submit to the Faith of
Truth - of those who were given the Book - until they
pay jizyah with their own hands while they are
humbled. [29]
And the Jews said, "Uzair (Ezra) is the Son of Allah"
and the Christians said, "Masih (the Christ) is the Son
of Allah." That is their saying (invented) by their
mouths. They resemble the earlier disbelievers in their
saying. Be they killed by Allah, how far turned away
they are! [30]
Commentary
Verse 28 appearing earlier referred to Jihad against the Mushirks
of Makkah. The present verses talk about Jihad against the People of
the Book. In a sense, this is a prelude to the battle of Tabuk that was
fought against the People of the Book. In Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, it
has been reported from the Qur'an commentator, Mujahid that these
verses have been revealed about the battle of Tabuk. Then, there is the
reference to 'those who were given the Book.' In Islamic religious ter-
minology, they are referred to as 'ahl al-Kitab' or People of the Book. In
its literal sense, it covers every disbelieving group of people who be-
lieve in a Scripture but, in the terminology of the Holy Qur'an, this
term is used for Jews and Christians only - because, only these two
groups from the People of the Book were well-known in and around
Arabia. Therefore, addressing the Mushriks of Arabia, the Holy Qur'an

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has said:
أَنْ تَقُوْلُؤَّا إِنََّّ أُنْزِلَ الْكِتْبُ عَلى طَيِفَتَيْنِ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا وَإِنْ كُنَّا عَنْ دِرَاسَتِهِمْ
لَغْفِيْنَ .
lest you should say, "The Book was sent down only upon two
groups before us, and we were ignorant of what they studied."
- 6:156
As for the injunction of Jihad against the People of the Book given
in verse 29, it is really not particular to the People of the Book. The
fact is that this very injunction applies to all disbelieving groups -
because, the reasons for the injunction to fight mentioned next are
common to all disbelievers. If so, the injunction has to be common too.
But, the People of the Book were mentioned here particularly to serve
a purpose. Since, it was possible that Muslims may hesitate to fight
against them on the ground that they too are believers in a certain
degree, believers in Torah and Injil, and in Sayyidna Musa and 'Īsa,
In may peace be upon them both. So, it was possible that their
connection with past prophets and their Books may become a factor in
dissuading them from Jihad. Therefore, fighting with them was
mentioned particularly.
There is yet another element of coherence at this place. This par-
ticularization of the People of the Book in the verse is also releasing a
hint that, in a certain way, these people are deserving of greater pun-
ishment. The reasons were simple. They were people with knowledge.
They had the knowledge of Torah and Injil. These Scriptures referred
to the Last among prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa Jul
du Lle, giving his blessed identity in details. They knew all this, yet
elected to reject the truth and went on to mount conspiracies against
Islam and Muslims. When they did what they did, their crime became
much more serious. That explains why fighting against them was
mentioned particularly.
The injunction to fight spells out four reasons in this verse:
1. kysel'ý : They do not believe in Allah.
.They do not believe in the Hereafter: وَلاَ بِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ .2
3.Asu sies : They do not take as prohibited what Allah and His
Messenger have prohibited.

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 29 - 30
.They do not submit to the Faith of Truth : لاَيَدِيُنُوْنَ دِيْنَ الْحَقِّ .4
This raises a doubt. Is it not that the People of the Book, that is,
the Jews and Christians, obviously believe in Allah - and in Hereafter
and a Last Day too? Why, then, their faith ('Iman) in these things has
been negated? The reason is that mere words of faith are hardly suffi-
cient to prove one's actual belief in it. Not having the kind of faith de-
sirable in the sight of Allah would amount to having no faith at all. Of
course, the Jews and Christians did not openly reject the belief in
Tauhid, that is, oneness of Allah or pure monotheism. But, as says the
next verse, the Jews took Sayyidna 'Uzayr WJI _Le and the Christians
took Sayyidna 'Isa WJI ale to be the sons of God and thereby assigned
to them partnership in His divinity. Therefore, their confession of pure
monotheism became ineffectual and any claim to faith, false.
Similarly, the kind of faith desirable in the Hereafter was some-
thing not to be found with the People of the Book. Many of them went
by the belief that, on the Last Day (the Qiyamah) there will be no re-
turn to life in body forms they had in the mortal world. Instead, it will
be a kind of spiritual life. As for Paradise and Hell, they did not con-
sider them to be any particular places. Spirit when happy was Para-
dise and spirit when gloomy was Hell. Since all this is patently con-
trary to what Allah says, therefore, even their faith in the Last Day
too turns out to be no faith in real terms.
The third thing - that these people do not take, what Allah has de-
clared to be unlawful, as unlawful - means that they do not believe in
the unlawfulness of many things prohibited by Torah or Injil - for ex-
ample, riba (interest). Similarly, there were many edibles prohibited in
Torah and Injil. They just did not consider these unlawful and in-
dulged in them freely.
This tells us about a religious rule of conduct. According to this
rule, taking anything declared unlawful by Allah Ta'ala as lawful is
not simply the commitment of a sin, in fact, it is kufr, a flat rejection of
the faith itself. Similarly, taking something lawful to be unlawful is
also kufr. However, should someone inadvertently fall short in practice
while still taking the unlawful as unlawful, then, that would be sin,
not kufr.
Since all wars must end, a limit and end of the action of fighting

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against those people has also been set forth in this verse where it has
been said: ◌َحَتى يُعْطُوا الْجُزريَةَ عَن ◌َّدٍ وَّهُمُ صِغِرُون (until they pay jizyah with their own
hands while they are humbled).
Literally, jizyah means return or recompense. In the terminology of
the Shari'ah, it refers to the amount of money taken from disbelievers
in lieu of killing.
The reason is that kufr and shirk are rebellion against Allah and
Rasul. Killing is the real punishment for it. But, Allah Ta'ala has, in
His perfect mercy, reduced their punishment by giving them an option.
The option is that, should they agree to live as subjects of the Islamic
state under the general Islamic legal framework, they may be allowed
to remain there against the payment of a nominal amount of jizyah.
Since, they would be living there as citizens of a Muslim state, the pro-
tection of their life, property and honor will be the responsibility of the
Islamic government and no hindrance will be placed in the observance
of their religious duties. The amount thus taken is called jizyah.
Should jizyah be fixed by mutual conciliation and agreement, there
is no prescribed limit imposed by the Shari'ah. It accepts the amount
and thing for which a mutual peace treaty is arrived at - as was done
by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with the people of Najran. A peace
pact was concluded between him and the whole group of these people.
They agreed to give him two thousand hullahs annually. A hullah is a
pair of clothes. It could be a waist wrap for the lower part of the body
with a top sheet wrap, or a long, loose shirt or cloak. Even the estimat-
ed monetary worth of every hullah was pre-determined. The value of
each hullah was supposed to be one 'Uqiyah of silver. An 'Uqiyah is
equal to approximately 122.472* grams of silver, according to our
weights.
A similar agreement was reached between Sayyidna 'Umar Alle,
aus and the Christians of Bani Taghlib which stipulated that the jizyah
on them be levied at the rate of Islamic Zakah - but, twice the Zakah.
Furthermore, in the event Muslims conquered a certain land
through war, then allowed the properties of its residents to remain un-
der their ownership and possession, and they too agreed to continue
1. Awzan-i-Shar'iyyah, Hadrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi.

364
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 29 - 30
living there as law-abiding citizens, a jizyah was levied on them. The
rate of jizyah fixed and implemented by Sayyidna 'Umar me dl y+, dur-
ing the period of his Khilafah was four dirhams from the rich, two dir-
hams from the middle class and only one dirham from the active poor
who earned by working on wages, or by making or vending things.
This monthly payment of one dirham was equal to about 3.618 grams*
of silver or its equivalent amount. According to rules, nothing was to
be taken from the very poor, disabled or handicapped. Similarly, noth-
ing was to be taken from women, children, aged people and religious
leaders living in seclusion.
These were small amounts, yet there were instructions from the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that no one should be made to pay more
than he could afford. If anyone oppressed a non-Muslim, the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself will support that non-Muslim against his
oppressor on the day of Qiyamah (Mazhari)
Reports such as these have led some Muslim jurists to hold the po-
sition that there is no particular rate of jizyah payment as fixed by the
Shari'ah. Instead, this has been left for the ruler of the time to deter-
mine the appropriate action in terms of existing conditions.
The comments appearing above also make it clear that jizyah is a
compensation for removing the punishment of killing from disbelievers
- not a substitute for Islam. Therefore, there is no justification for
doubting as to why were they given the permission to keep staying on
their policy of aversion from and denial of Islam for a paltry price. The
proof is that permission is given to many other people also who live in
an Islamic country with the freedom to keep observing the percepts of
their religion. Jizyah is not taken from them - for example, women,
children, the aged, religious leaders, the disabled and the handi-
capped. Had jizyah been taken in lieu of Islam, it should have been
taken from these as well.
It should be noted that the paying of jizyah in this verse has been
qualified with the words: {{ :'with their own hands.' Here, the first
word: ¿ ('an: with) denotes cause, and I (yad: hands) signifies power
and subjugation. It means that the payment of this jizyah should not
1. Awzan-i-Shar'iyyah, Hadrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi.

365
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 29 - 30
be in the spirit of some voluntary contribution or charity. Instead of
that, it has to be in the spirit of recognition and acceptance of Islamic
victory and of the willingness to live under it. (As in Ruh al-Ma'ani) As for
the later part of the sentence: 33 ;;; (while they are humbled), it
means, according to the explanation given by Imam Shafii JJ JJl>>,
that they should subscribe to the common law of Islam and take the
responsibility of remaining obedient to it. (Ruh al-Ma'ani and Mazhari)
Regarding the instruction given in this verse that once these peo-
ple have agreed to pay jizyah, fighting should be stopped, a little expla-
nation may be useful. According to the majority of Muslim jurists, it
includes all disbelievers - whether from the People of the Book or from
those other than them. However, the Mushriks of Arabia stand exclud-
ed from it for jizyah was not accepted from them.
In the second verse (30), the subject taken up briefly in verse 29
(where it was said that these people do not believe in Allah) has been
enlarged. In the second verse, it has been said that the Jews take
Sayyidna 'Uzayr WILe to be the Son of God.1 So do the Christians.
They say that Sayyidna 'Isa WILL is the Son of God. Therefore, their
claim that Allah is One and that they have faith turns out to be false.
After that, it was said:du 's cui. (That is their saying [invented]
by their mouths). This could also mean that these people profess it
openly and clearly through their own tongues. There is nothing secret
about it. Then, it could also mean that this blasphemy they utter re-
mains the work of their tongues. They can give no reason or justifica-
tion for it.
Finally, it was said : ◌َمُضَاهِرُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ قَتَلَهُمُ اللّهُ أَثْى ميٌفَكُون (They re-
semble the earlier disbelievers in their saying. Be they killed by Allah,
how far turned away they are!). It means that the Jews and Chris-
tians, by calling prophets sons of Allah, became the same as disbeliev-
ers and Mushriks of past ages, for they used to say that the angels,
and their idols, Lat and Manat, were daughters of God.
1. This is not the belief of all the Jews; it was the belief of some Jews of the
Arabia. Now, the Dead Sea Scrolls have also proved the fact that some
Jewish sects believed Ezra to be the son of God. It is learnt from some
scholars who have studied the Scrolls. Lel Att, (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

366
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
Verses 31 - 35
اِتَّخَذُؤْآَ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهُبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُوْنِ اللَّهِ وَالْسِبْحَ ابْنَ
مَرْيَمَ، وَمَّا أُمِرُوا إِلَّ لِيَعْبُدُوْاْ إِلهَا وَاحِدًا، لَّ اللهَ إلاَّ هُوَء
سُبْحُنَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴿٣١) يُرِيُّدُونَ أَنْ تُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللهِ
◌ِقْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّ أَنْ تُتِمَ نُوْرَهُ وَلَؤُكَرِةَ الْكُفِرُوْنَ ﴿٣٢﴾
هُوَ الَّذِئُّ أَرْسَلَ رَسُوْلَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِيْنِ الْحَقِّ لِبُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى
الدِّيْنِ كُلِّمٌ وَلَوْكَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾ ◌َآَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُؤْاْ إِنَّ
كَثِيْرًا ◌ِنَ الْآَحْبَارِ وَالُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُوْنَ آَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ
وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّهِ، وَالَّذِيْنَ يَكْفِرُوْنَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ
وَلَا يُنْفِقُوْنَهَا فِىْ سَبِيْلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ اَلِيُم ﴿٢﴾ يَّهُمَ
يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِىُ نَارِجَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوْبُهُمْ
وَظُهُوْرُهُمْ﴿ هَذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَ نْفُسِكُمْ فَدُوْقُوْا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنُِوُنَ
﴿٣٥﴾
They have taken their rabbis and their monks as gods
beside Allah, and also (they have taken) Masih the son
of Maryam (as god). And they were not commanded but
to worship only One God. There is no god but He. Pure
is He from what they associate with Him. [31]
They want to blow out the Light of Allah with their
mouths, and Allah rejects everything short of making
His light perfect, no matter how the disbelievers may
hate it. [32]
He is the One who has sent down His Messenger with
guidance and the Faith of Truth, so that He makes it
prevail over every faith, no matter how the associators
may hate it. [33]
O those who believe, many of the rabbis and the monks
do eat up the wealth of the people by false means and
prevent (them) from the way of Allah. As for those who
accumulate gold and silver and do not spend it in the
way of Allah, give them the 'good' news of a painful

367
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
punishment, [34] on the day it will be heated up in the
fire of Jahannam, then their foreheads and their sides
and their backs shall be branded with it: "This is what
you had accumulated for yourselves. So, taste what you
have been accumulating." [35]
Commentary
The four verses cited above mention how astray the learned and
the devoted and the abstaining among the Jews and Christians had
gone and what blasphemies of word and deed they had come up with.
The word :احبار (ahbar) is the plural form of حبر (hibr) and رهبان (ruhban)
is the plural of ,al, (rahib). Hibr refers to a religious scholar among the
Jews and Christians while a rahib denotes someone who devotes to
worship and abstains from a worldly role in life.
In the first verse (31), it has been said that these people have taken
their rabbis and monks as gods beside Allah and they have done the
same with Sayyidna 'Isa ibn Maryam >JILL whom they have given
the status of their Lord. This is, of course, obvious in the case of Sayy-
idna 'Isa >JI ule whom they took to be the son of God and did not de-
mur from saying so. As for the charge against them that they had tak-
en their rabbis and monks as gods, it has its reason. They used to call
them as their Lord in clear terms, but even if it is presumed that they
did not believe their religious leaders to be their gods, they had
virtually transferred to them the right to be obeyed which is the right
of Allah Jalla Thana'uh, absolutely and exclusively. They would, so to
say, follow the dictates of these leaders under all circumstance - even
if their dictates happen to be against Allah and His Messenger. With
that attitude, one is bound to land in a valley of no return. How can
one go about obeying someone even if that person says things contrary
to the dictates of Allah and His Messenger? And how can one who has
reached this ultimate limit still not refuse to obey that person? This is
like taking someone as god - an act of flagrant blasphemy, an open
kufr.
This tells us that the present verse is not related in any way to the
popular religious issue of following a particular juristic school (taqlid)
which has two main aspects. Firstly, common people who are not
aware of religious precepts and their details trust 'Ulama' and follow
their fatawa. Secondly, Mujtahid Imams are followed in juristic issues

368
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
requiring Ijtihad. So, this verse has no bearing on that count because
such following is, in real terms, nothing but the following of the dic-
tates of Allah and His Rasul صلى الله عليه وسلم. Those whom Allah has
blessed with knowledge and insight have a direct access to the original
resources of Shari'ah whereby they know what Allah and His Rasul
have said. They see it and act accordingly. The unaware masses act in
accordance with the same injunctions by asking those who have
knowledge. Then, there are those who have knowledge but are not
competent enough to occupy the station of Ijtihad, they too follow the
Mujtahid Imams in matters requiring ijtihad. This following is in ac-
cordance with the injunction of the Holy Qur'an and is nothing but
obedience to Allah Ta'ala - as says the Qur'an :َفَشْتَلُؤْآَ آَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُتِهُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُون It
means: 'If you yourself are not aware of the injunctions of Allah and
the Messenger, act by asking the people of knowledge - 16:43.'
In sum, the masses of people among the Jews and Christians had
ignored Scriptures, Divine commandments and the teachings of apos-
tles totally and, in its place, they had taken the word and deed of self-
serving scholars and ignorant pseudo-devotees as the core of their re-
ligion. This is what has been condemned in the verse.
Then, it was said that these people chose to take the way of error
although they were asked by Allah to worship only one God who is free
and pure from what they associated with Him. This verse limits itself
to saying that they followed the false and obeyed people other than Al-
lah, something they were not permitted to do. In the verse that follows
(32), mentioned there is another error they make. It is said that they do
not stop at the error they have already made. They, rather, like to
compound their errors when they try to subvert Divine guidance and
1. The basic point of difference is that the one who follows an imam does not
believe him to be an independent point of obedience. He simply consults
him as an interpretor of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. That is why he will
not follow him if there is a clear clash between his view and a clear-cut
ruling given by the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. The case of Jews and
Christians is totally different. They believe their religious leaders (rabbis
and popes) as law-givers. They believe them to be infallible who cannot
commit mistakes and their rulings are to be obeyed in any case, even
though they contradict the ruling given by the scriptures. For more
details on the subject, see my book on 'Taglid' or on 'Uloom al-Qur'an.'
(Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

369
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
black out the Faith of Truth. The statement has been dressed in a si-
militude - 'they want to blow out the Light of Allah with their mouths'
- although, this is something they cannot do. Allah Ta'ala has already
decided that He shall see to it that His Light, that is, the Religion of
Islam, reaches its perfection, no matter how displeasing this may turn
out to be for those who disbelieve.
After that, the same subject has been further stressed in the third
verse (33) by saying that Allah Ta'ala has sent His Messenger with
guidance, that is, the Qur'an, and with the Faith of Truth, that is, Is-
lam, in order to have it prevail over all other faiths. Appearing in al-
most the same words, there are several other verses of the Holy Qur'an
promising that the religion of Islam shall be made to prevail over all
other faiths of the world.
This glad tiding regarding the ascendancy of Islam is, as in Tafsir
Mazhari, for most times and circumstances. In a Hadith from Sayydina
Migdad رضى الله عنه, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: No mud or mor-
tar home shall remain on the face of the earth where the word of Islam
has not entered with the honor of the honored and the disgrace of the
disgraced. Whoever Allah blesses with honor shall embrace Islam and
whoever is to face disgrace shall not, though, accept Islam but shall
become a subject of the Islamic government. This promise of Allah
Ta'ala was fulfilled. For about a thousand years, the primacy of Islam
remained operative throughout the world.
How this Light of Allah reached its perfection during the blessed
period of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the most righteous and
worthy elders of the Muslim Community is a spectacle the world has
already witnessed. Then, in future too, in terms of its legitimacy and
truth for all times to come, the religion of Islam is a perfect religion no
sensible person would elect to criticize. For this reason, this Faith of
Truth, in terms of its arguments and proofs, has always been power-
ful. And, should Muslims follow this religion fully and faithfully, out-
ward ascendancy, power and governance also turn out to be its inevita-
ble results. As proved by the annals of the history of Islam, whenever
Muslims acted whole-heartedly in accordance with the Qur'an and
Sunnah, no impediment in their way could defeat their determination
and their presence was felt all over the world as a dominant force. And
whenever and wherever they have reached the limits of being subju-

370
Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
gated or oppressed, it was but the evil consequence of heedlessness to
and contravention of the injunctions of Qur'an and Sunnah which
came before them. As for the Religion of Truth, it stood its grounds as
always, august and protected.
In the fourth verse (34), the address is to Muslims but the subject
taken up concerns the conduct of rabbis and monks among the Jews
and Christians, a conduct which led common people astray. Perhaps,
the address to Muslims indicates a purpose behind the description of
the conduct of Jewish rabbis and Christian monks. The purpose is to
warn them as well in order that they too remain alert against such
conditions prevailing among Muslims.
The verse states that many rabbis and monks among the Jews and
Christians eat up the wealth of the people by false means and prevent
(them) from the way of Allah.
Most rabbis and monks among the Jews and Christians were in-
volved in this practice - and under such conditions, people generally
tend to make a sweeping statement and call everyone bad. But, at this
place, the Holy Qur'an, by adding the word: Wyss (kathira: many), has
prompted Muslims to mind their words even when dealing with ene-
mies. It was clearly demonstrated here by not attributing the practice
to all of them. Instead, what was said here was that many of them do
so. Then, it was said that they were not doing the right thing when
they eat up the wealth of people by false means. 'False means' refers to
their practice of giving fatwa (religious edict or ruling) counter to the
injunction of Torah, for money. In doing so, on occasions, they would
misinterpret Divine injunctions through concealment and falsification.
Further on from here, yet another error of their conduct was pointed
out by saying that they were unfortunate people who, not only that
they themselves had gone astray but were also ready to prevent others
from seeking the way of Allah in the hope of finding right guidance.
The reason is that people, when they see their leaders doing things
like that, the inherent love for truth in them dies out. In addition to
that, when they start basing their conduct on such false rulings, they
end up taking that error and waywardness to be as good as correct.
Since this disease among the rabbis and monks of the Jews and
Christians - that they give false rulings for money - showed up be-
cause of worldly greed and love for money, the verse takes up the sub-

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Surah Al-Taubah : 9 : 31 - 35
ject in its own way. It says that excess in love for money and property
produces bad results, even punishment if not spent in the way of Al-
lah, and suggests how to get rid of this disease. The exact words of the
text are:
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَكْنِرُوُنَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنْفِقُوْنَهَا فِىُ سَبِيْلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشُِّرُهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ
.
As for those who accumulate gold and silver and do not spend
it in the way of Allah, give them the 'good' news of a painful
punishment.
The words: wpis, (and do not spend it) indicate that people who
spend in the way of Allah as necessary, for them the rest of their accu-
mulated wealth brings no harm.
In Hadith too, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said: Wealth for
which Zakah has been paid is not included under: sys (kanaztum: you
have accumulated). (Abu Dawud, Ahmad and others)
This tells us that keeping wealth which remains after taking out
Zakah is no sin.
The majority of Muslim jurists and Imams have taken this ap-
proach. It should be noted that the pronoun in ups, (and do not
spend it) reverts to tai (fiddah) which means silver. Two things, gold
and silver, were mentioned immediately earlier but the pronoun was
made to revert to silver only. Tafsir Mazhari takes it to be a clear indi-
cator of the rule that should a person have a little of both gold and sil-
ver, his threshold (nişab) will be determined in terms of silver. His Za-
kah will be paid by calculating the price of gold in terms of the price of
silver.
Explained in the fifth verse (35) is the detail of the 'painful punish-
ment' referred to at the end of verse 34. There, it has been said: 33335
on) عَلَيْهَا فِىْ نَارِ جَهَتَّمَ فَتُكُوَى بِهَا حِبَاهُهُمْ وَُهُمْ وَظُهُؤْرُهُمْ، هَذَا مَا كَتُّتُمُ ◌ِآَ تُفْسِكُمْ فَدُفُوْا مَا كُنْهُمْ تَكُتِرُوْنَ
the day it will be heated up in the fire of Jahannam, then their fore-
heads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it: "This is
what you had accumulated for yourselves. So, taste what you have
been accumulating". It means that this 'painful punishment' will be for
those who do not pay Zakah. It will come on a day when the gold and
silver accumulated by them will be heated up in the Fire of Jahannam.