9. [at-Tawbah, Meidan 113, 9 H after Tabuk]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَمِنْهُم
مَّنْ عَاهَدَ
اللّهَ لَئِنْ
آتَانَا مِن
فَضْلِهِ
لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ...
9: 75. Amongst them are men who made a Covenant with Allah that if He bestowed on them of His bounty, they would give (largely) in charity,
...وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿٧٥﴾
and be truly amongst those who are righteous.
فَلَمَّا
آتَاهُم مِّن
فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُواْ
بِهِ وَتَوَلَّواْ
وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴿٧٦﴾
9: 76. But when He did bestow of His bounty, they became covetous, and turned back (from their Covenant), averse (from its fulfillment).
فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ
نِفَاقًا فِي
قُلُوبِهِمْ
إِلَى يَوْمِ
يَلْقَوْنَهُ
بِمَا أَخْلَفُواْ
اللّهَ...
9: 77. So He hath put as a consequence hypocrisy into their hearts, (to last) till the day whereon they shall meet Him:
C1332. If men are false to their covenants and words, the natural consequence will be hypocrisy to cover their falsehood. Such consequences will last till the Day of Judgment, when they will have to account for their deeds.
They may think that they are deceiving men by their hypocrisy, but they cannot deceive Allah, to Whom all their most secret thoughts and plots and doings are known.
...مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْذِبُونَ ﴿٧٧﴾
because they broke their Covenant with Allah, and because they lied (again and again).
9: 75
Pickthall And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah (saying): If He give us of His bounty We will give alms and become of the righteous.
Transliteration Wa minhum man 'a_hadalla_ha la'in a_ta_na_ min fadlihi lanassaddaqanna wa lanaku_nanna minas sa_lihin(a).
[[ Ali’s notes -
The reference is to a plot made by the Prophet's enemies to kill him when he was returning from Tabuk. The plot failed. It was all the more dastardly in that some of the conspirators were among the men of Madinah who were enriched by the general prosperity that followed the peace and good government established through Islam in Madinah. Trade flourished: justice was firmly administered with an even hand. And the only return that these men could make was a return of evil for good. That was their revenge, because Islam aimed at suppressing selfishness, stood for the rights of the poorest and humblest, and judged worth by righteousness rather than by birth or position. (9.74)]]
[[ Asad’s notes - 102 – See the first sentence of verse 61 above, and the corresponding note 86. The allegation that the Prophet deceived himself in the matter of revelation is, naturally, equivalent to disbelief in the outcome revelation, i.e., the Quran.
103 – Lit., “which they were unable to attain to”. The classical commentators take this as a reference to an abortive plot, on the part of some of the hypocrites, to kill the Prophet during the expedition to Tabuk. However, without contesting the validity of this historical interpretation, I believe that the above allusion has a far deeper meaning – namely, the existential impossibility of one’s ever attaining to inner peace without a positive belief that man’s life has meaning and purpose, either of which can be glimpsed only through the revelations bestowed on those exceptionally gifted and receptive personalities, the prophets. (As indirect reference to divine revelation as the only source of this kind of cognition appears in 96:5, that is, in the earliest Quranic passage revelaed to the Prophet.) Thus, torn between their half-hearted desire to “surrender themselves to God” and their unwillingness to accept the divine guidance offered them by the Prophet, the hypocrites “were aiming at something which was beyond their reach.”
104 - …………to their lack of gratitude for the spiritual and material benefits which they had derived from it. ]]
[[ Ruby’s note 9:74 – The reference of bounty here implies all the social, political and economic enrichment and empowerment due to victories of the Muslim community and the social stability, security and trade that followed. The hypocrites in order to enjoy the success associated themselves with the community and declared themselves as “believers” however in truth they still remained ambivalent or doubters or even rejecters of the revelation. That is why they could deliberately taunt the Prophet of being hallucinated. There were repeated attempt or inclinations to spread this idea of doubt among the followers and the community members and promote rejection among others. The way this verse is articulated here seems to imply that the hypocrites were not comfortable that these benefits were coming from being followers of the Prophet. The nature of these activities at a time of war or a major confrontation with an enemy could amount to treason, particularly, at that time when the fundamental premise of those confrontations and fight came from the need of preserving the rights, security and continuity of the believers against the onslaught of the enemies who were determined to eradicate the Muslims or violate their rights.]]
9: 76
Asad But as soon as He has given them [aught] out of His bounty, they cling to it niggardly, and turn away in their obstinacy [from all that they have bowed]:
Pickthall Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they boarded it and turned away, averse;
Transliteration Falamma_ a_ta_hum min fadlihi bakhilu_ bihi wa tawallau wa hum mu'ridu_n(a).
9: 77
Asad whereupon He causes hypocrisy to take root in their hearts, [therein to remain] until the Day on which they shall meet Him [note 105] - because they have failed to fulfill the vow which they had made unto God, and because they were wont to lie [note 106].
Pickthall So He hath made the consequence (to be) hypocrisy in their hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him, and because they lied.
Transliteration Fa a'qabahum nifa_qan fi qulu_bihim ila_ yaumi yalqaunahu_ bima_ akhlafulla_ha ma_ wa'adu_hu wa bima_ ka_nu_ yakzibu_n(a).
[[ Asad’s note 105 – Lit., “He has caused hypocrisy to become for them a consequence (a’qabahum) in their hearts until the Day of on which they shall meet Him”…………..Thus, the Quran states that it is excessive love of worldly possessions which gives rise, in a certain type of mean, to the attitude of mind described as “hypocrisy” – and not vice versa (see also note 29:11 and the corresponding note 7). Cf. in this connection the Prophet’s saying, reported as Abu Hurayrah: “The mark (ayah) of the hypocrite is threefold: when he speaks, he lies; and when he promises, he breaks his promise; and when he is trusted, he betrays” (Bukhari, Muslim Trimidhi and Nasa’I;……………….]]