| | N J Dawood (2014) rendition of Surah Repentance(at-Taubah)
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| 9:1 | | A DECLARATION of immunity from God and His apostle to the idolaters with whom you have made treaties |
| 9:2 | | For four months you shall go unmolested in the land. But know that you shall not escape God‘s judgement, and that God will humble the unbelievers |
| 9:3 | | A proclamation to the people from God and His apostle on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage: God and His apostle are under no obligation to the idolaters. If you repent, it shall be well with you; but if you pay no heed, know that you shall not be immune from God‘s judgement. Proclaim a woeful punishment to the unbelievers |
| 9:4 | | except to those idolaters who have honoured their treaties with you in every detail and aided none against you. With these keep faith, until their treaties have run their term. God loves the righteous |
| 9:5 | | When the sacred months¹ are over kill the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and compassionate |
| 9:6 | | If an idolater seeks asylum with you, give him protection so that he may hear the Word of God, and then convey him to safety; for the idolaters are ignorant people |
| 9:7 | | How can God and His apostle repose trust in idolaters, save those with whom you have made treaties at the Sacred Mosque? So long as they keep faith with you, keep faith with them. God loves the righteous |
| 9:8 | | How can you trust them? If they prevail against you, they will respect neither treaties nor ties of kin. They flatter you with their mouths, but their hearts reject you; and most of them are ungodly |
| 9:9 | | They sell God‘s revelations for paltry price and debar others from His path. Evil is what they do |
| 9:10 | | they break faith with the believers and set at nought all ties of kin. Such are the transgressors |
| 9:11 | | If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, they shall become your brothers in the Faith. Thus do We expound Our revelations to those endowed with knowledge |
| 9:12 | | But if, after coming to terms with you, they break their oaths, and revile your religion, then fight the leaders of unbelief ― for no oaths are binding for them ― so that they may desist |
| 9:13 | | Will you not fight against those who have broken their oaths and conspired to banish the Apostle? They were the first to attack you. Do you fear them? Surely God is more deserving of your fear, if you are true believers |
| 9:14 | | Fight them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them and heal the spirit of the faithful |
| 9:15 | | He will take away all rancour from their hearts: God shows mercy to whom He pleases. God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:16 | | Or did you imagine you would be forsaken before God has recognized those of you who have fought valiantly and served none but God, His apostle and the faithful? God is cognizant of what you do |
| 9:17 | | It ill becomes the idolaters to visit the mosques of God, for they are unbelievers, self-confessed. Vain shall be their works, and in the Fire shall they abide for ever |
| 9:18 | | None should visit the mosques of God except those who believe in God and the Last Day, attend to their prayers and render the alms levy and fear none but God; these shall be rightly guided |
| 9:19 | | Do you pretend that he who gives a drink to the pilgrims and pays a visit to the Sacred Mosque is as worthy as the man who believes in God and the Last Day, and fights for God‘s cause? These are not held equal by God. God does not guide the wrongdoers |
| 9:20 | | Those that have embraced the Faith, and left their land, and fought for God‘s cause with their wealth and with their persons, are held in higher esteem by God; it is they who shall triumph |
| 9:21 | | Their Lord has promised them the joy of mercy from Himself and His pleasure, and Gardens of eternal bliss |
| 9:22 | | where shall they abide for ever; God‘s recompense is great indeed |
| 9:23 | | Believers, do not befriend your fathers or your brothers if they choose unbelief in preference to faith; wrongdoers are those of you that befriend them |
| 9:24 | | Say: ‘If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribes, the property you have acquired, the merchandise you fear may not be sold, and the homes you love, are dearer to you than God, His apostle and the struggle for His cause, then wait until God shall pass His judgement. God does not guide the ungodly.&lsquo |
| 9:25 | | God has aided you on many a battlefield. In the Battle of Hunain¹ you set great store by your numbers, but they availed you nothing: the earth, for all its vastness, seemed to close in upon you, and you turned your backs and fled |
| 9:26 | | Then God caused His Divine Presence² to descend upon His apostle and the faithful: He sent to your aid warriors you did not see and sternly punished the unbelievers; that was the infidels recompense |
| 9:27 | | Then God will after that show mercy to whom He will. God is forgiving and compassionate |
| 9:28 | | Believers! The idolaters are unclean. Let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year is ended. If you fear poverty, God, if He pleases, will enrich you through His own bounty; God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:29 | | Fight those who believe in neither God nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His apostle have forbidden, and do not embrace the Religion of Truth, from among those who were given the Book, until they render the tribute, by hand, in abject submission |
| 9:30 | | The Jews say Ezra is the son of God, and the Christians say Christ is the son of God. Such are the words they utter with their mouths, by which they emulate the infidels of old. God smite them! How perverse they are |
| 9:31 | | They make of their clerics and their monks, and of Christ, the son of Mary, Lords besides God; though they were ordered to serve but one God; there is no god but Him. Exalted be He above those they deify besides Him |
| 9:32 | | They would extinguish the light of God with their mouths: but God seeks only to perfect His light, though the infidels abhor it |
| 9:33 | | He it was who has sent forth His apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth that He may exalt it above all religions, though the infidels abhor it |
| 9:34 | | Believers, many are the clerics and the monks who defraud the people of their possessions and debar them from the path of God. To those that hoard up gold and silver and do not spend them in God‘s cause, proclaim a woeful punishment |
| 9:35 | | the day when their treasures shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and their foreheads, sides, and backs branded with them. They will be told: ‘These are the treasures that for yourself you hoarded. Taste then the treasures that you hoarded.&lsquo |
| 9:36 | | God ordained the months twelve in number when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these, four are sacred, according to the True Religion. Therefore do not sin against yourselves by violating them. But fight the idolaters in all these months, as they themselves fight you in all of them. And know that God is with the righteous |
| 9:37 | | The postponement of sacred months is a grossly impious practice, in which the unbelievers are misguided. They make it lawful one year and make it unlawful in the next, in order to make up for the months which God has sanctified; thus making lawful what God has forbidden. Their foul acts seem fair to them: God does not guide the unbelievers |
| 9:38 | | Believers, why is it that when you are told: ‘March in the cause of God,‘ you linger slothfully in the land? Are you content with this life in preference to the life to come? Few indeed are the blessings of this life, compared with those of the life to come |
| 9:39 | | If you do not go on the march, He will mete out to you grievous punishment, and will replace you by other people. You will in no way harm Him: for God has power over all things |
| 9:40 | | If you do not help him,¹ God did help him when he was driven out by the unbelievers with one other¹. In the cave he said to his companion: ‘Do not despair, God is with us.‘ God caused His Divine Presence² to descend upon him and sent to his aid warriors you did not see, so that he brought low the unbelievers design: supreme is God‘s design. God is mighty and wise |
| 9:41 | | Whether lightly armed or well-equipped, march on and fight for the cause of God, with your wealth and with your persons. This will be best for you, if you but knew it |
| 9:42 | | Had the gain been immediate or the journey short, they would have followed you:³ but the distance seemed too far to them. Yet they will swear by God: ‘Had we been able, we would have marched with you.‘ They bring ruin upon themselves. God knows that they are surely lying |
| 9:43 | | God pardon you! Why did you give them leave before you discovered who was speaking the truth, and knew who was lying |
| 9:44 | | Those that believe in God and the Last Day will not beg you to exempt them from fighting with their wealth and with their persons. God best knows the righteous |
| 9:45 | | Only those seek exemption who disbelieve in God and the Last Day, and whose hearts are filled with doubt. Because they doubt, they waver |
| 9:46 | | Had they intended to set forth, they would have prepared themselves for the march. But God was loath to let them go, and held them back. They were bidden to stay with those who stayed behind |
| 9:47 | | Had they taken the field with you, they would have only added to your burden. They would have wormed their way through your ranks, seeking to sow discord among you: and among you there were some who would have been willing listeners. God well knows the wrongdoers |
| 9:48 | | They had sought to sow dissension before this, and turned things topsy-turvy for you until the Truth prevailed and the will of God became manifest, averse to it though they were |
| 9:49 | | Some among them say: ‘Give us leave to stay behind, and do not expose us to temptation.‘ Surely they have already succumbed to temptation. Hell shall engulf the unbelievers |
| 9:50 | | If you meet with success, it grieves them; and if a disaster befalls you, they say: ‘We have already taken our precautions.‘ And they turn away, rejoicing |
| 9:51 | | Say: ‘Nothing will befall us except what God has ordained for us. He is our Guardian. In God let the faithful put their trust.&lsquo |
| 9:52 | | Say: ‘Are you waiting for anything to befall us except victory or martyrdom? We are waiting for God‘s scourge to smite you, direct from Him or at our hands. Wait if you will; we will wait with you.&lsquo |
| 9:53 | | Say: ‘Whether you give willingly or with reluctance, your offerings shall not be accepted from you; for you are ungodly people.&lsquo |
| 9:54 | | Their offerings shall not be accepted from them only because they have denied God and His apostle. They pray but half-heartedly and give only with reluctance |
| 9:55 | | So let neither their riches nor their children make you wonder. Through these God seeks to punish them in the life of this world, so that their souls shall perish while they are still in unbelief |
| 9:56 | | They swear by God that they are believers with you, and they are not with you. But they are afraid |
| 9:57 | | If they could find a shelter or some cave, or any hiding-place, they would run in frantic haste to seek refuge in it |
| 9:58 | | And there are some among them who speak ill of you¹ concerning the distribution of alms. If a share is given them, they are content: but if they are not given a share, they grow resentful |
| 9:59 | | Would that they were satisfied with what God and His apostle have given them, and said: ‘All-sufficient is God for us. God will provide for us from His own bounty, and so will His apostle. To God we will humbly submit.&lsquo |
| 9:60 | | Alms shall be only for the poor and the destitute, for those that are engaged in the management of alms and those whose hearts are sympathetic to the Faith; for the freeing of slaves and debtors; for the advancement of God‘s cause; and for the traveller in need. That is a duty enjoined by God. God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:61 | | And there are some among them who speak ill of the Prophet, saying: ‘He has an ear for everything.‘ Say: ‘He has an ear for only what is good for you. He believes in God and puts his trust in the faithful. He is a blessing to the true believers among you. Those that speak ill of God‘s apostle have woeful punishment in wait for them.&lsquo |
| 9:62 | | They swear by God in order to please you. But it is more just that they should please God and the Apostle, if they are true believers |
| 9:63 | | Are they not aware that whoever defies God and His apostle shall abide for ever in the fire of Hell? That surely is the supreme humiliation |
| 9:64 | | The hypocrites are afraid lest a sūrahbe revealed to them, telling them what is in their hearts. Say: ‘Scoff if you will; God will surely bring to light what you are dreading.&lsquo |
| 9:65 | | If you question them, they will surely say: ‘We were only jesting and making merry.‘ Say: ‘Would you mock God, His revelations, and His apostle |
| 9:66 | | Make no excuses. You have renounced the Faith after embracing it. If We pardon some among you, We will punish others, for they were transgressors.&lsquo |
| 9:67 | | Be they men or women, the hypocrites are all alike. They enjoin the reprehensible, forbid the just, and tighten their fists. They forgot God, so God forgot them. Surely it is the hypocrites who are the ungodly |
| 9:68 | | God has promised the hypocrites, both men and women, and the unbelievers, the fire of Hell. Therein shall they abide for ever: a sufficient recompense. God has cursed them; and lasting torment awaits them |
| 9:69 | | Like those before you, mightier they were than you, and had greater riches and more offspring. Like them, you have enjoyed your earthly lot and, like them, you have engaged in idle talk. But vain were their works in this life, and vain shall they be in the life to come. These will surely be lost |
| 9:70 | | Have they not heard the histories of those who have gone before them? The fate of Noah‘s people and of ‘Ād and Thamūd; of Abraham‘s people and the people of Midian and the Ruined Cities? Their apostles came to them with veritable signs. God did not wrong them, but they wronged their own souls |
| 9:71 | | The true believers, both men and women, are friends to one another. They enjoin the just and forbid the reprehensible; they attend to their prayers, and render the alms levy, and obey God and His apostle. On these God will have mercy. God is mighty and wise |
| 9:72 | | God has promised the men and women who believe in Him Gardens watered by running brooks, wherein shall they abide for ever: goodly mansions in the Gardens of Eden: and, what is more, they shall have grace in God‘s sight. That is the supreme triumph |
| 9:73 | | Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: a wretched fate |
| 9:74 | | They swear by God that they said nothing. Yet they uttered the word of blasphemy and renounced Islām after embracing it. They sought to do what they could not attain. Yet they had no reason to be spiteful; except perhaps because God and His apostle had enriched them through His bounty. If they repent, it will indeed be better for them; but if they pay no heed, God will torment them grievously, in this world and in the world to come. They shall have none on earth to protect or succour them |
| 9:75 | | Some among them pledged themselves to God: ‘If He is bountiful to us, we will assuredly give alms and be among the righteous.&lsquo |
| 9:76 | | But when God had bestowed His bounty on them they tightened their fists and, turning their backs, hurried away |
| 9:77 | | He has caused hypocrisy to reign in their hearts till the day they meet Him, because they have been untrue to the pledge they gave Him and because of the lies they told |
| 9:78 | | Are they not aware that God knows what they conceal and what they talk about in secret? That God knows what is hidden |
| 9:79 | | As for those that taunt the believers who give freely, and deride those who give according to their means, God will deride them. Woeful punishment awaits them |
| 9:80 | | It is the same whether or not you beg forgiveness for them. If seventy times you beg forgiveness for them, God will not forgive them, for they have denied God and His apostle. God does not guide the ungodly |
| 9:81 | | Those that stayed at home were glad that they were left behind by God‘s apostle, for they had no wish to fight for the cause of God with their wealth and with their persons. They said: ‘Do not go to war, the heat is fierce.‘ Say: ‘More fierce is the heat of Hell-fire!‘ Would that they understood |
| 9:82 | | They shall laugh but little and shed many tears. Thus shall they be rewarded for what they did |
| 9:83 | | If God brings you back in safety and some of them ask leave to march with you, say: ‘You shall never march with me, nor shall you ever fight with me against an enemy. You chose to stay at home on the first occasion; therefore you shall now stay with those who will remain behind.&lsquo |
| 9:84 | | You shall not pray for any of their dead, nor shall you attend their burial. For they denied God and His apostle and remained sinners to the last |
| 9:85 | | So let neither their riches nor their offspring rouse your envy. Through these God seeks to punish them in the life of this world, so that their souls shall perish while still in unbelief |
| 9:86 | | Whenever a sūrah was revealed, saying: ‘Believe in God and fight alongside His apostle,‘ the rich among them excused themselves to you, saying: ‘Leave us; we would rather be with those who are to stay behind.&lsquo |
| 9:87 | | They were content to be with those who stayed behind: a seal was set upon their hearts, leaving them bereft of understanding |
| 9:88 | | But the Apostle and the men who shared his faith fought with their goods and with their persons. These shall be rewarded with good things. These shall surely prosper. |
| 9:89 | | God has prepared for them Gardens watered by running brooks, wherein shall they abide for ever. That is the supreme triumph |
| 9:90 | | Some Arabs of the desert turned up with excuses, begging to be given leave; while those who denied God and His apostle remained idle at home. A woeful scourge shall fall on those of them that disbelieved |
| 9:91 | | It shall be no offence for the disabled, the sick, and those lacking the means, to stay behind: if they are true to God and His apostle. The righteous shall not be blamed: God is forgiving and compassionate |
| 9:92 | | Nor shall those be blamed who, when they came to you demanding conveyances to mount to the battle-front and you said you could find none to carry them, went away in tears grieving that they could find nothing to contribute |
| 9:93 | | The offenders are those that seek exemption although they are men of wealth. They are content to be with those who stay behind. God has set a seal upon their hearts so that they are devoid of knowledge |
| 9:94 | | They will come up to you with excuses when you return to them. Say: ‘Make no excuses: we will not believe you. God has revealed to us the truth about you. God will watch your actions, and so will His apostle. Then you shall return to Him who knows alike the unknown and the manifest, and He will declare to you what you have done.&lsquo |
| 9:95 | | When you return they will appeal to you in God‘s name to let them be. So let them be: they are an abomination. Hell shall be their home, in requital for their misdeeds |
| 9:96 | | They will swear to you in order to gain your acceptance. But if you accept them, God will not accept the ungodly |
| 9:97 | | The desert Arabs surpass others in unbelief and hypocrisy, and have more cause to be ignorant of the laws which God has revealed to His apostle. But God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:98 | | Some desert Arabs regard what they give as a compulsory fine and wait for some misfortune to befall you. May ill-fortune befall them! God hears all and knows all |
| 9:99 | | Yet there are some among the desert Arabs who believe in God and the Last Day, and regard what they give as a means of bringing them close to God and to the Apostle‘s prayers. Indeed, closer they shall be brought; God will admit them into His mercy. God is forgiving and compassionate |
| 9:100 | | As for those who led the way, the first of the muhājirīn¹ and the anşār,² and those who nobly followed them, God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens watered by running brooks, wherein shall they abide for ever. That is the supreme triumph |
| 9:101 | | Some of the desert Arabs around you are hypocrites, and so are some of the citizens of Madinah, who are indeed fanatical in their hypocrisy. You know them not, but We know them well. Twice We will chastise them: then shall they return to a grievous torment |
| 9:102 | | Others there are who have confessed their sins; they intermixed their good works with evil. Perchance God will pardon them |
| 9:103 | | God is forgiving and compassionate. Take alms from their wealth, that they may thereby be cleansed and purified, and pray for them: for your prayers will give them comfort. God hears all and knows all |
| 9:104 | | Do they not know that God accepts the repentance from His servants and welcomes alms, and that God pardons and is compassionate |
| 9:105 | | Say: ‘Act as you will. God will behold your actions, and so will His apostle and the faithful; then shall you return to Him who knows alike the unknown and the manifest, and He will declare to you what you have done.&lsquo |
| 9:106 | | And there are yet others who must await God‘s decree. He will either punish them or pardon them. God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:107 | | And there are those who built a mosque from mischievous motives, to spread unbelief and disunite the faithful, in expectation of him¹ who had made war on God and His apostle. They swear their intentions were nothing but good, and God bears witness that they are lying |
| 9:108 | | You shall not set foot in it. It is more fitting that you should pray in a mosque founded on piety from the very first, wherein you shall find men who love to keep themselves pure; God loves those that are purified |
| 9:109 | | Who is a better man, he who founds his house on the fear of God and His good pleasure, or he who builds on the brink of a crumbling precipice, so that his house will fall with him into the fire of Hell? God does not guide the wrongdoers |
| 9:110 | | The edifice they built shall ever inspire their hearts with doubt, until their hearts are cut in pieces. God is all-knowing and wise |
| 9:111 | | God has purchased from the faithful their lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for the cause of God, they will slay and be slain. Such is the true promise He made in the Torah, the Gospel and the Koran; and who is more true to his pledge than God? Rejoice then in the bargain you have made; that is the supreme triumph |
| 9:112 | | Those that repent and those that worship and praise Him; those that fast and those that kneel and prostrate themselves; those that enjoin justice, forbid the reprehensible, and observe God‘s commandments: proclaim joyful tidings to the faithful |
| 9:113 | | It is not for the Prophet or the believers to beg forgiveness for idolaters, even though they be related, after it has become manifest to them that they have earned the punishment of Hell |
| 9:114 | | Abraham prayed for his father only to fulfil a promise he had made him. But when he realized he was an enemy of God, he disowned him. Yet Abraham was a compassionate and tender-hearted man |
| 9:115 | | Nor will God confound men after He has given them guidance until He has manifested to them all that they should avoid. God has knowledge of all things |
| 9:116 | | God has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth; He ordains life and death. You have none besides God to protect or help you |
| 9:117 | | God pardoned the Prophet, the muhājirīn and the anşār, who stood by him in the hour of adversity, when some among them were on the point of losing heart. He pardoned them; He took pity on them and was compassionate |
| 9:118 | | And to the three who had been left behind. So despondent were they that the earth, for all its vastness, and their own souls, seemed to close in upon them. They knew there was no refuge from God except in Him. Therefore He pardoned them, that they might repent. God pardons and is compassionate |
| 9:119 | | You believers, fear God and stand firm with those who uphold the cause of Truth |
| 9:120 | | No cause have the people of Madinah and the desert Arabs around them to forsake God‘s apostle or to jeopardize his life so as to safeguard their own; for they do not expose themselves to thirst or hunger or to any ordeal for the sake of God, nor do they take any step which may displease the unbelievers, nor do they inflict any loss on an enemy but shall it shall be noted down for them as a good deed: God will not deny the righteous their reward |
| 9:121 | | Each sum they give, be it small or large, and each valley they traverse, shall be noted down, so that God may requite them for their noblest deeds |
| 9:122 | | It is not right that all the faithful should go to war at once. A band from each community should stay behind to instruct themselves in Religion and to admonish their people when they return, so that they may be warned |
| 9:123 | | Believers, fight the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them; and know that God is with those that fear Him |
| 9:124 | | Whenever a sūrah is revealed, some among them ask: ‘Which of you has had his faith increased by this?‘ It will surely increase the believers‘ faith and give them joy |
| 9:125 | | As for those whose hearts are tainted, it will add abomination to their abomination, so that they shall die while still in unbelief |
| 9:126 | | Do they not see how every year they were afflicted once or twice? Yet they neither repent nor take warning |
| 9:127 | | And whenever a sūrah is revealed, they glance at each other, asking: ‘Is anyone watching you?‘ Then they turn away. God has turned away their hearts, for they are senseless people |
| 9:128 | | There has now come to you an apostle of your own, one who grieves at your sinfulness and cares for you; one who is benevolent and compassionate to the believers |
| 9:129 | | If they pay no heed, say: ‘All-sufficient is God for me. There is no god but Him; in Him I have put my trust. And He is the Lord of the Glorious Throne.&lsquo |
