Repentance

This surah begins by canceling all the peace agreements broken by the idol-worshippers.

Muslims are asked to be fair with those who honoured their agreements.

Allah always supported and protected His Prophet, especially during his Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah and the Battle of Hunain.

Victory comes only from Allah.

Life is full of tests.

The faithful joined the Prophet when he marched for the Battle of Tabuk.

The hypocrites were exposed and criticized for making up excuses to avoid marching with the Muslim army.

It is haram to joke about Allah, His Prophet, or the Quran.

Allah is willing to forgive those who are honest and sincere.

Muslims should always be ready to protect their community.

It is important to gain more knowledge about Islam.

The Prophet came as a mercy to all of humanity.

To really understand this surah, we need to know its historical background. As far as the new Muslim Community in Madinah was concerned, there were 4 main groups in and outside the city: 1. Muslims who had true faith in Allah and worked hard to build a strong community. 2. Hypocrites who accepted Islam publicly but worked secretly against the Muslims. 3. Non-Muslims (mostly idol-worshippers, Jews, and Christians) who honoured their agreements with the Prophet. 4. Non-Muslims who broke their agreements and were a threat to the Muslim community.

This surah talks about all these 4 groups. The faithful Muslims are promised great rewards for supporting Allah's cause. The hypocrites are criticized and warned repeatedly for their evil actions and attitudes.

As for the non-Muslims who honoured their agreements and didn't threaten the Muslim community in any way, the Prophet is ordered to honour his agreements with them. As for other non-Muslims who were a threat (by attacking Muslims, supporting others against them, breaking their agreements with them, or preventing them from inviting others to Islam), they are given 3 options (mentioned in an authentic hadith reported by Imam Muslim): accept Islam, pay the protection-tax (jizyah), or go to war. (Imam Ibn Al-Qayim in his book Ahkam Ahl Az-Zimmah 'Rulings Related to Protected Peoples'})

Someone may ask, 'Why doesn't this surah start with the basmalah as all other surahs do?' It's true that this is the only surah in the Quran that does not begin with: 'In the Name of Allah-the Most Kind, Most Merciful.' The scholars mention different reasons for this:

1. Maybe because this surah and the previous one (Al-Anfal) are considered to be twin surahs that complete each other. So, there was no need to add the basmalah in between.

2. Or maybe because this surah begins by declaring war against the enemies who kept breaking their peace agreements with the Prophet. So, it was not suitable to mention Allah's kindness and mercy in the basmalah and then declare war in the same breath!

According to Imam Al-Qurtubi, the chosen opinion is that this is the way the surah was revealed to the Prophet and this is the way he ordered it to be written down, period!

Following the victory over Makkah, most of Arabia accepted Islam and made peace, but the tribes of Hawazín and Thagif planned to attack the Muslims.

In response, the Prophet (peace be upon him) led the largest Muslim army ever assembled at that time, consisting of 12,000 soldiers, to fight them.

Some Muslims, overconfident in their large numbers, boasted that their army was unbeatable.

However, during the battle, the Muslim army was ambushed. Most of the soldiers fled, leaving only the Prophet and a few faithful companions to stand their ground.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) remained firm and motivated the believers to return and fight. Eventually, the army regrouped and achieved victory at Hunain. (Reported by Imam Ibn Kathir and Imam Al-Qurtubi)

The jizyah (protection tax) was a practice that existed even before the time of the Prophet Muhammad. According to the Bible, Jesus allowed his followers to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor.

Under Islamic rule, all citizens had financial duties: Muslims paid zakah (2.5% of their savings), and non-Muslims paid jizyah.

The jizyah was a small annual amount, averaging one dinar (4.25 grams of gold).

Many non-Muslims were exempt from paying jizyah, including women, children, the elderly, the poor, the unable to work, and those who dedicated their lives to worship in temples. Those who joined the Muslim army were also exempt.

Poor non-Muslims received financial support from the Muslim state. Furthermore, if a Muslim ruler was unable to protect the non-Muslims under their care, the jizyah was refunded to them.

Verse 31 states that Jews and Christians have taken their religious leaders as lords.

A man named 'Adi ibn Hatim, who was a Christian before accepting Islam, expressed his confusion to the Prophet, saying, 'But they don't worship their religious leaders!'

The Prophet replied by asking, 'Don't they obey those leaders when they permit what is forbidden and forbid what is allowed?'

'Adi confirmed, 'Yes, they do.'

The Prophet then explained, 'That is how they worship them.' (Recorded by Imam At-Tirmizi)

The story of Salman Al-Farisi's conversion to Islam is a remarkable one, as reported by Imam Ahmad.

Salman, who was from Persia, was initially a fire-worshipper and his father was the keeper of their 'holy fire.' He later became a Christian and served a religious leader in Syria.

Salman discovered that this leader was dishonest, secretly hoarding the church's gold and silver donations instead of giving them to the poor. When the leader died, Salman exposed his treachery to the people, who, in their anger, refused to bury the body.

After serving other good religious leaders, Salman was told about Prophet Muhammad. On his journey to Arabia, he was captured and sold as a slave in Madinah.

When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, Salman accepted Islam and, with the help of the Muslim community, he was able to buy his freedom.

Verses 34-35 of the Qur'an strongly condemn dishonest religious leaders who steal donations. These verses warn that on Judgment Day, the treasures they hoarded will be used to punish them in Hell.

The holy months in the Islamic calendar are the 11th (Dhul-Qadah), 12th (Dhul-Hijjah), 1st (Muharram), and 7th (Rajab) months.

The idol-worshippers knew that fighting was prohibited during these holy months, but they would switch the prohibition to other months.

They would allow fighting in the actual holy months and, to maintain the total of four prohibited months, they would arbitrarily ban fighting in four different months (e.g., the 3rd, 4th, 8th, and 10th).

This practice of changing the sacred months was a form of deception and manipulation. (Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir & Imam Al-Baghawi)

The unity of Arabia under Islam threatened the Roman and Persian empires, as many non-Muslim tribes began to shift their loyalty to the Muslim community.

According to Imam Ibn Kathir, the Prophet received news that Roman troops were preparing to attack the Muslims. In the 9th year after Hijrah, the Prophet announced a campaign to Tabuk (over 700 km north of Madinah) to confront them.

This campaign was extremely difficult due to the severe heat, long distance, and the financial hardship of the Muslims. Despite this, the Prophet called for support, and faithful Muslims donated what they could, while the hypocrites did not.

Although the Prophet managed to gather over 30,000 soldiers, many others failed to join the army, with or without valid excuses.

During the journey, the Prophet performed many miracles, such as multiplying food and water, praying for rain, and warning of a coming storm. On the way back, Allah saved him from an assassination attempt by some hypocrites. (Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim)

The Roman army, remembering their difficulty with the 3,000-strong Muslim army at the Battle of Mu'tah a year earlier, fled from Tabuk to other Roman-controlled lands like Syria.

The Muslim army stayed at Tabuk for several days to demonstrate their courage. During this time, several Christian Arab tribes came to pay jizyah to the Muslims.

The following verses were revealed to criticize those who failed to join the Prophet on the campaign to Tabuk.