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Repentance [At-Taubah] - English Translation - Saheeh International

Surah Repentance [At-Taubah] Ayah 129 Location Madanah Number 9

(1) [This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allāh and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists.[461]

(2) So travel freely, [O disbelievers], throughout the land [during] four months but know that you cannot cause failure to Allāh and that Allāh will disgrace the disbelievers.

(3) And [it is] an announcement from Allāh and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage[462] that Allāh is disassociated from the disbelievers, and [so is] His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away - then know that you will not cause failure to Allāh.[463] And give tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful punishment.

(4) Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allāh loves the righteous [who fear Him].

(6) And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allāh [i.e., the Qur’ān]. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.

(7) How can there be for the polytheists a treaty in the sight of Allāh and with His Messenger, except for those with whom you made a treaty at al-Masjid al-Ḥarām? So as long as they are upright toward you,[465] be upright toward them. Indeed, Allāh loves the righteous [who fear Him].

(8) How [can there be a treaty] while, if they gain dominance over you, they do not observe concerning you any pact of kinship or covenant of protection? They satisfy you with their mouths, but their hearts refuse [compliance], and most of them are defiantly disobedient.

(10) They do not observe toward a believer any pact of kinship or covenant of protection. And it is they who are the transgressors.

(13) Would you not fight against a people who broke their oaths and determined to expel the Messenger, and they had begun [the attack upon] you the first time? Do you fear them? But Allāh has more right that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers.

(14) Fight them; Allāh will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts [i.e., desires] of a believing people

(15) And remove the fury in their [i.e., the believers'] hearts. And Allāh turns in forgiveness to whom He wills; and Allāh is Knowing and Wise.

(19) Have you made the providing of water for the pilgrim and the maintenance of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām equal to [the deeds of] one who believes in Allāh and the Last Day and strives in the cause of Allāh? They are not equal in the sight of Allāh. And Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people.

(22) [They will be] abiding therein forever. Indeed, Allāh has with Him a great reward.

(25) Allāh has already given you victory in many regions and [even] on the day of Ḥunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you at all, and the earth was confining for you with [i.e., in spite of] its vastness; then you turned back, fleeing.

(26) Then Allāh sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down soldiers [i.e., angels] whom you did not see and punished those who disbelieved. And that is the recompense of the disbelievers.

(29) Fight against those who do not believe in Allāh or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allāh and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth [i.e., Islām] from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah[466] willingly while they are humbled.

(33) It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allāh dislike it.

(35) The Day when it[470] will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."

(37) Indeed, the postponing [of restriction within sacred months] is an increase in disbelief by which those who have disbelieved are led [further] astray. They make it[473] lawful one year and unlawful another year to correspond to the number made unlawful by Allāh[474] and [thus] make lawful what Allāh has made unlawful. Made pleasing to them is the evil of their deeds; and Allāh does not guide the disbelieving people.

(38) O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allāh, you adhere heavily to the earth?[475] Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little.

(40) If you do not aid him [i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ)] - Allāh has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two,[476] when they were in the cave and he [i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ)] said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allāh is with us." And Allāh sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with soldiers [i.e., angels] you did not see and made the word[477] of those who disbelieved the lowest,[478] while the word of Allāh[479] - that is the highest. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

(42) Had it been a near [i.e., easy] gain and a moderate trip, they [i.e., the hypocrites] would have followed you, but distant to them was the journey. And they will swear by Allāh,[481] "If we were able, we would have gone forth with you," destroying themselves [through false oaths], and Allāh knows that indeed they are liars.

(43) Allāh has pardoned you, [O Muḥammad, but] why did you give them permission [to remain behind]? [You should not have] until it was evident to you who were truthful and you knew [who were] the liars.

(44) Those who believe in Allāh and the Last Day would not ask permission of you to be excused from striving [i.e., fighting] with their wealth and their lives. And Allāh is Knowing of those who fear Him.

(46) And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it [some] preparation. But Allāh disliked their being sent, so He kept them back, and they were told, "Remain [behind] with those who remain."[482]

(47) Had they gone forth with you, they would not have increased you except in confusion, and they would have been active among you, seeking [to cause] you fitnah [i.e., chaos and dissension]. And among you are avid listeners to them. And Allāh is Knowing of the wrongdoers.

(48) They had already desired dissension before and had upset matters for you[483] until the truth came and the ordinance [i.e., victory] of Allāh appeared, while they were averse.

(49) And among them is he who says, "Permit me [to remain at home] and do not put me to trial." Unquestionably, into trial they have fallen.[484] And indeed, Hell will encompass the disbelievers.

(53) Say, "Spend willingly or unwillingly; never will it be accepted from you. Indeed, you have been a defiantly disobedient people."

(56) And they swear by Allāh that they are from among you while they are not from among you; but they are a people who are afraid.

(57) If they could find a refuge or some caves or any place to enter [and hide], they would turn to it while they run heedlessly.

(58) And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry.

(59) If only they had been satisfied with what Allāh and His Messenger gave them and said, "Sufficient for us is Allāh; Allāh will give us of His bounty, and [so will] His Messenger; indeed, we are desirous toward Allāh,"[486] [it would have been better for them].

(60) Zakāh expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed for it[487] and for bringing hearts together [for Islām] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allāh and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allāh. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.

(62) They swear by Allāh to you [Muslims] to satisfy you. But Allāh and His Messenger are more worthy for them to satisfy,[489] if they were to be believers.

(67) The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right and close their hands.[491] They have forgotten Allāh, so He has forgotten them [accordingly]. Indeed, the hypocrites - it is they who are the defiantly disobedient.

(68) Allāh has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally. It is sufficient for them. And Allāh has cursed them, and for them is an enduring punishment.

(69) [You disbelievers are] like those before you; they were stronger than you in power and more abundant in wealth and children. They enjoyed their portion [of worldly enjoyment], and you have enjoyed your portion as those before you enjoyed their portion, and you have engaged [in vanities] like that in which they engaged. [It is] those whose deeds have become worthless in this world and in the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers.

(70) Has there not reached them the news of those before them - the people of Noah and [the tribes of] ʿAad and Thamūd and the people of Abraham and the companions [i.e., dwellers] of Madyan and the towns overturned?[492] Their messengers came to them with clear proofs. And Allāh would never have wronged them, but they were wronging themselves.

(74) They swear by Allāh that they did not say [anything against the Prophet (ﷺ)] while they had said the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their [pretense of] Islām and planned that which they were not to attain.[493] And they were not resentful except [for the fact] that Allāh and His Messenger had enriched them of His bounty.[494] So if they repent, it is better for them; but if they turn away, Allāh will punish them with a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And there will not be for them on earth any protector or helper.

(75) And among them are those who made a covenant with Allāh, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous."

(77) So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him - because they failed Allāh in what they promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie.

(79) Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allāh will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment.

(80) Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muḥammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allāh forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger, and Allāh does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.

(81) Those who remained behind[495] rejoiced in their staying [at home] after [the departure of] the Messenger of Allāh and disliked to strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allāh and said, "Do not go forth in the heat." Say, "The fire of Hell is more intense in heat" - if they would but understand.

(83) If Allāh should return you to a faction of them [after the expedition] and then they ask your permission to go out [to battle], say, "You will not go out with me, ever, and you will never fight with me an enemy. Indeed, you were satisfied with sitting [at home] the first time, so sit [now] with those who stay behind."

(84) And do not pray [the funeral prayer, O Muḥammad], over any of them who has died - ever - or stand at his grave. Indeed, they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger and died while they were defiantly disobedient.

(85) And let not their wealth and their children impress you. Allāh only intends to punish them through them in this world and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers.

(86) And when a sūrah was revealed [enjoining them] to believe in Allāh and to fight with His Messenger, those of wealth among them asked your permission [to stay back] and said, "Leave us to be with them who sit [at home]."

(90) And those with excuses among the bedouins came to be permitted [to remain], and they who had lied[496] to Allāh and His Messenger sat [at home]. There will strike those who disbelieved among them a painful punishment.

(91) There is not upon the weak or upon the ill or upon those who do not find anything to spend any discomfort [i.e., guilt] when they are sincere to Allāh and His Messenger. There is not upon the doers of good any cause [for blame]. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

(92) Nor [is there blame] upon those who, when they came to you for you to take them along, you said, "I can find nothing upon which to carry you."[497] They turned back while their eyes overflowed with tears out of grief that they could not find something to spend [for the cause of Allāh].

(94) They will make excuses to you when you have returned to them. Say, "Make no excuse - never will we believe you. Allāh has already informed us of your news [i.e., affair]. And Allāh will observe your deeds, and [so will] His Messenger; then you will be taken back to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed,[498] and He will inform you of what you used to do."

(96) They swear to you so that you might be satisfied with them. But if you should be satisfied with them - indeed, Allāh is not satisfied with a defiantly disobedient people.

(99) But among the bedouins are some who believe in Allāh and the Last Day and consider what they spend as means of nearness to Allāh and of [obtaining] invocations of the Messenger. Unquestionably, it is a means of nearness for them. Allāh will admit them to His mercy. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

(101) And among those around you of the bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madīnah. They have persisted in hypocrisy. You, [O Muḥammad], do not know them, [but] We know them. We will punish them twice [in this world]; then they will be returned to a great punishment.

(102) And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed [i.e., polluted] a righteous deed with another that was bad.[502] Perhaps Allāh will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

(103) Take, [O Muḥammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allāh's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

(105) And say, "Do [as you will], for Allāh will see your deeds, and [so will] His Messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you of what you used to do."

(106) And [there are] others deferred until the command of Allāh - whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.

(107) And [there are] those [hypocrites] who took for themselves a mosque for causing harm and disbelief and division among the believers and as a station for whoever had warred against Allāh and His Messenger before. And they will surely swear, "We intended only the best." And Allāh testifies that indeed they are liars.

(109) Then is one who laid the foundation of his building on righteousness [with fear] from Allāh and [seeking] His approval better or one who laid the foundation of his building on the edge of a bank about to collapse, so it collapsed with him into the fire of Hell? And Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people.

(110) Their building which they built will not cease to be a [cause of] skepticism in their hearts until their hearts are cut [i.e., stopped]. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.

(112) [Such believers are] the repentant, the worshippers, the praisers [of Allāh], the travelers [for His cause], those who bow and prostrate [in prayer], those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and those who observe the limits [set by] Allāh. And give good tidings to the believers.

(114) And the request of forgiveness of Abraham for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became apparent to him [i.e., Abraham] that he [i.e., the father] was an enemy to Allāh, he disassociated himself from him. Indeed was Abraham compassionate and patient.

(118) And [He also forgave] the three who were left alone [i.e., boycotted, regretting their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness[505] and their souls confined [i.e., anguished] them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allāh except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allāh is the Accepting of Repentance,[506] the Merciful.

(120) It was not [proper] for the people of Madīnah and those surrounding them of the bedouins that they remain behind after [the departure of] the Messenger of Allāh or that they prefer themselves over his self.[507] That is because they are not afflicted by thirst or fatigue or hunger in the cause of Allāh, nor do they tread on any ground that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they inflict upon an enemy any infliction but that it is registered for them as a righteous deed. Indeed, Allāh does not allow to be lost the reward of the doers of good.

(124) And whenever a sūrah is revealed, there are among them [i.e., the hypocrites] those who say, "Which of you has this increased in faith?" As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing.

(125) But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it has [only] increased them in evil [in addition] to their evil.[508] And they will have died while they are disbelievers.

(128) There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.

(129) But if they turn away, [O Muḥammad], say, "Sufficient for me is Allāh; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne."