Surah Tawbah ayat 122 Tafsir Quran 9:122

﴿۞ وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا كَافَّةً ۚ فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ﴾
[ التوبة: 122]

9:122 And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.

When the Prophet s was about to dispatch a raiding party — after they certain Muslims had been reproached for staying behind — all of them went forth and so the following was revealed It is not for the believers to go forth on a raid altogether why should not a party a group of every section of every tribe of them go forth while the others remain behind so that they those who remain behind may become learned in religion and that they may warn their folk when they return to them from the raid by teaching them some of the rulings which they have come to learn so that they may beware? of God’s punishment by adhering to His commands and prohibitions. Ibn ‘Abbās said that this verse is specifically intended for raiding parties while the previous one is specifically to prohibit any individual staying behind when the Prophet s sets out on a campaign.

Nor should those who conformed to Islam go forth all at once to the Messenger, but only a group from each community should go to learn from him practical divinity and jurisprudence and convey back such divine knowledge to their people and caution them against provoking Allahs indignation that they may heed

Allah the Exalted here explains His order to Muslims to march forth with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the battle of Tabuk. We should first mention that a group of the Salaf said that marching along with the Messenger ﷺ, when he went to battle, was at first obliged on all Muslims, because, as they say, Allah said, انْفِرُواْ خِفَافًا وَثِقَالاً ( March forth, whether you are light or heavy ) 9:41, and, مَا كَانَ لأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُمْ مِّنَ الاٌّعْرَابِ ( It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the bedouins of the neighborhood... ) 9:120.
However, they said, Allah abrogated this ruling ( 9:41 and 9:120 ) when He revealed this Ayah, 9:122.
However, we could say that this Ayah explains Allah's order to participate in battle on all Arab neighborhoods, that at least a group of every tribe should march for Jihad.
Those who went with the Messenger ﷺ would gain instructions and studies in the revelation that came down to him, and warn their people about that battle when they returned to them.
This way, the group that went with the Prophet will achieve both goals Jihad and learning the revelation from the Prophet .
After the Prophet , a group of every tribe or neighborhood should seek religious knowledge or perform Jihad, for in this case, Jihad is required from at least a part of each Muslim community.
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas about the Ayah, وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُواْ كَآفَّةً ( And it is not (proper ) for the believers to go out ( to fight - Jihad ) all together.
) "The believers should not all go to battle and leave the Prophet alone, فَلَوْلاَ نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ ( Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth ) in the expeditions that the Prophet sent.
When these armies returned to the Prophet, who in the meantime received revealed parts of the Qur'an from Allah, the group who remained with the Prophet would have learned that revelation from him.
They would say, `Allah has revealed some parts of the Qur'an to your Prophet and we learned it.' So they learned from them what Allah revealed to His Prophet in their absence, while the Prophet sent some other men into military expeditions.
Hence Allah's statement, لِّيَتَفَقَّهُواْ فِى الدِّينِ ( that they may get instructions in religion, ) so that they learn what Allah has revealed to their Prophet and teach the armies when they return, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ ( so that they may beware. )" Mujahid said, "This Ayah was revealed about some of the Companions of the Prophet who went to the desert and were helped by its residents, had a good rainy year and called whomever they met to guidance.
The people said to them, `We see that you left your companions and came to us.' They felt bad in themselves because of this and they all came back from the desert to the Prophet .
Allah said, فَلَوْلاَ نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ ( Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, ) those who seek righteousness such as to spread the call of Islam, while others remain behind, لِّيَتَفَقَّهُواْ فِى الدِّينِ ( that they may get instructions in (Islamic ) religion,) and learn what Allah has revealed, وَلِيُنذِرُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ ( and that they may warn their people ), when those who went forth returned to them, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ ( so that they may beware (of evil ).)" Qatadah said about this Ayah, "It is about when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent an army; Allah commanded them to go into battle, while another group remained with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to gain instructions in the religion.
Another group returns to its own people to call them ( to Allah ) and warn them against Allah's punishment of those who were before them." It was also said that this verse, وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُواْ كَآفَّةً ( And it is not (proper ) for the believers to go out all together.) is not about joining Jihad.
They say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ invoked Allah against Mudar to try them with years of famine, and their lands were struck by famine.
The various tribes among them started to come, entire tribes at a time, to Al-Madinah, because of the hardship they faced and they would falsely claim that they are Muslims.
This caused hardship for the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ and Allah revealed to him that they are not believers.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent them back to their tribes and warned their people not to repeat what they did.
Hence Allah's statement, وَلِيُنذِرُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُواْ إِلَيْهِمْ ( and that they may warn their people when they return to them, )

(9:122) And it was not required that all the believers should leave their homes, but why did not some people from every habitation leave their homes in order to understand the Way of Islam and to warn their people when they returned to them, so that they should refrain from un-Islamic conduct? *120

And it is not for the believers meaning

*120) In order to comprehend the meaning of this verse, v.
97 with which it is connected, should be kept in view:
" These Bedouins are most stubborn in unbelief and hypocrisy, and, in all probability, will remain ignorant of the laws of the Way which Allah has sent down to His Messenger. "
In v.
97, the Qur'an merely diagnosed the disease and pointed out its symptoms.
The Bedouins were suffering from the disease of hypocrisy because of their ignorance of the laws of the Way of Allah.
This was so because they had not had any connections with the Centre of that knowledge.
Here in this concluding portion of the Surah, the remedy of that disease has been prescribed so that they should have an understanding of Islam and its implications.
It is not necessary that for this purpose all of them should leave their homes and come to AI-Madinah to learn that knowledge, but some of them should come from each habitation, clan and region to the Centres of the Knowledge ( AI-Madinah, Makkah and the like ) and understand Islam.
Then they should go back to their own habitations and create its understanding among the common people.

This was a very important instruction that was given at the opportune moment to strengthen the Islamic Movement for, at that time, the people were entering into the fold of Islam in large numbers without its proper understanding.
Obviously, this instruction was not needed in the initial stages of the Movement, for at that tune everyone who embraced Islam did so with its full understanding.
No one would think of becoming a Muslim without this as this was an invitation to persecution.
When the Movement became successful and won power in the land, the clans and the habitations began to enter en bloc into the fold of Islam.
Naturally very few of them understood the full implications of the Faith before accepting it, but the majority of them were being carried into the fold, as it were, by the strong current that had been generated by the Movement.
Outwardly this immense increase in numbers appeared to be a source of strength to Islam, but in reality such people as had no true understanding of Islam and were, therefore, not prepared to fulfil its moral obligations, were not only useless for the Islamic System but were actually harmful to it.
This side of the matter became quite apparent during the preparations for the Tabuk expedition.
That is why Allah sent down the instruction that necessary steps should be taken for the integration of the Islamic Community so that it may keep pace with the immense increase in its number.
Therefore some people should be brought out from every habitation and taught and trained in the requirements of Islam and these in their turn should teach and train their own people so that the whole Muslim population should understand Islam and obtain the knowledge of the limits prescribed by Allah.

In this connection, it should also be clearly understood that the Command about mass education given in this verse is not merely about literacy but it had the definite aim of imparting the understanding of the Way of Islam among the masses and enabling them to refrain from un-lslamic Ways.
This is the real and permanent aim of education that has been set before the Muslims by Allah Himself.
Therefore every system of their education shall be judged by this criterion and shall be regarded Islamic only to the extent it fulfils this aim.
It does not, however, mean that Islam is against the spreading of literacy and teaching of the purely mundane subjects to the masses, but it simply means that the primary aim of the Islamic Education shoud be the achievement of the objective which has been mentioned above in italics.
Without this, it does not consider any education to be education at all, even if it were to produce Einsteins and Freuds of the age.

It will be worthwhile to consider the true significance of the words used in the context, for they created a strange misunderstanding among the people of the later period, and produced lasting poisonous effects on the religious education of the Muslims, nay, on their whole religious life in general.
It is obvious that Allah used these words in order to lay down the objective of education before the Muslims, which was this: to understand the Islamic Way of life and have an insight into its system: to be familiar with its true nature and spirit so as to be able to judge and differentiate between the Islamic and the un-Islamic ways of thought and conduct in every aspect of life.
But later on when the knowledge of the Muslim Law was given the technical name of ( fiqh ), it gradually developed into the science of the details of external form ( as opposed to the spiritual aspect of the Islamic Law ).
As the word ( fiqh ) is of the same root as used in this verse, a misunderstanding was created that this Command of the Qur'an was about acquiring the knowledge of fiqh in the above-mentioned sense.
It is true that this knowledge is of great importance in the Islamic System of life, but it is not all that is required by the Qur'an but only a part of the objective.
It is not possible to recount here all the damages that the Muslim Community has suffered because of this misunderstanding, but suffice it to say that this is the thing, which is responsible for reducing the religious education of the Muslims to the knowledge and interpretation of the external form of Islam without paying any attention to the spirit of Islam.
This inevitably resulted in making lifeless formalism the ultimate goal of the life of the Muslims.

 

Allah the Exalted here explains His order to Muslims to march forth with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the battle of Tabuk. We should first mention that a group of the Salaf said that marching along with the Messenger ﷺ, when he went to battle, was at first obliged on all Muslims, because, as they say, Allah said, انْفِرُواْ خِفَافًا وَثِقَالاً ( March forth, whether you are light or heavy ) 9:41, and, مَا كَانَ لأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُمْ مِّنَ الاٌّعْرَابِ ( It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the bedouins of the neighborhood... ) 9:120.
However, they said, Allah abrogated this ruling ( 9:41 and 9:120 ) when He revealed this Ayah, 9:122.
However, we could say that this Ayah explains Allah's order to participate in battle on all Arab neighborhoods, that at least a group of every tribe should march for Jihad.
Those who went with the Messenger ﷺ would gain instructions and studies in the revelation that came down to him, and warn their people about that battle when they returned to them.
This way, the group that went with the Prophet will achieve both goals Jihad and learning the revelation from the Prophet .
After the Prophet , a group of every tribe or neighborhood should seek religious knowledge or perform Jihad, for in this case, Jihad is required from at least a part of each Muslim community.
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas about the Ayah, وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُواْ كَآفَّةً ( And it is not (proper ) for the believers to go out ( to fight - Jihad ) all together.
) "The believers should not all go to battle and leave the Prophet alone, فَلَوْلاَ نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ ( Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth ) in the expeditions that the Prophet sent.
When these armies returned to the Prophet, who in the meantime received revealed parts of the Qur'an from Allah, the group who remained with the Prophet would have learned that revelation from him.
They would say, `Allah has revealed some parts of the Qur'an to your Prophet and we learned it.' So they learned from them what Allah revealed to His Prophet in their absence, while the Prophet sent some other men into military expeditions.
Hence Allah's statement, لِّيَتَفَقَّهُواْ فِى الدِّينِ ( that they may get instructions in religion, ) so that they learn what Allah has revealed to their Prophet and teach the armies when they return, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ ( so that they may beware. )" Mujahid said, "This Ayah was revealed about some of the Companions of the Prophet who went to the desert and were helped by its residents, had a good rainy year and called whomever they met to guidance.
The people said to them, `We see that you left your companions and came to us.' They felt bad in themselves because of this and they all came back from the desert to the Prophet .
Allah said, فَلَوْلاَ نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ ( Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, ) those who seek righteousness such as to spread the call of Islam, while others remain behind, لِّيَتَفَقَّهُواْ فِى الدِّينِ ( that they may get instructions in (Islamic ) religion,) and learn what Allah has revealed, وَلِيُنذِرُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ ( and that they may warn their people ), when those who went forth returned to them, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ ( so that they may beware (of evil ).)" Qatadah said about this Ayah, "It is about when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent an army; Allah commanded them to go into battle, while another group remained with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to gain instructions in the religion.
Another group returns to its own people to call them ( to Allah ) and warn them against Allah's punishment of those who were before them." It was also said that this verse, وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُواْ كَآفَّةً ( And it is not (proper ) for the believers to go out all together.) is not about joining Jihad.
They say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ invoked Allah against Mudar to try them with years of famine, and their lands were struck by famine.
The various tribes among them started to come, entire tribes at a time, to Al-Madinah, because of the hardship they faced and they would falsely claim that they are Muslims.
This caused hardship for the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ and Allah revealed to him that they are not believers.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent them back to their tribes and warned their people not to repeat what they did.
Hence Allah's statement, وَلِيُنذِرُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُواْ إِلَيْهِمْ ( and that they may warn their people when they return to them, )

( And the believers should not all ) it is not permissible for all the believers to ( go out to fight ) and leave the Prophet ( pbuh ) alone in Medina. ( Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth ) while another party should stay in Medina, ( that they (who are left behind ) may gain sound knowledge in religion) that they may learn the religion from the Prophet ( pbuh ) ( and that they may warn ) and that they may inform ( their folk when they return to them ) from their military expedition, ( so that they may beware ) in order to know that which they have been commanded to do and that which they have been prohibited from doing. It is also said that this verse was revealed about the Banu Asad who came to the Prophet ( pbuh ) in Medina after being hit by drought. Their arrival caused prices in Medina to rise and all the streets became filthy with excrement. And so Allah prohibited them from this.

And it is not (proper) for the believers to go out to fight (Jihad) all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may get instructions in (Islamic) religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil).

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