at-Taubah (Repentance) at IslamAwakened.com

9:2 "You are free to move around for four months, but you can never escape God, and God will disgrace all who deny the truth."

9:3 On the day of the great pilgrimage, there will be a proclamation from God and His Messenger to all humankind: "God and His Messenger are released from all treaty obligations with the idolaters. If you repent, it will be for your own good, but if you persist, know that you can never escape God." Warn the unbelievers that they will have a painful punishment.

9:4 As for those who have honored their treaty obligations, and have not assisted anyone against you, fulfill your agreement with them to the end of its term. God loves those who are mindful of Him.

9:5 But, once the sacred months are over, kill those idolaters wherever you find them, besiege them, ambush them, and imprison them. However, if they repent and pray, and pay the prescribed purifying alms, let them go on their way, for God is the Forgiver and the Mercy-Giver.

9:6 If any of those idolaters seek your protection, protect him so that he will be able to hear the words of God. Take him to a place where he is safe, because they are people who do not know the truth.

9:7 How can there be a treaty between God and His Messenger with the idolaters, except for those with whom you made a treaty at the Sacred House? As long as they remain true to you, be true to them. God loves those who are mindful of Him.

9:8 What sort of a treaty is this, since, if they gain the upper hand, they would not respect any agreement or obligation to protect [you]. They please you with what they say, while their hearts remain averse [to you]. Most of them are disobedient.

9:9 They have sold God's messages for small change and have turned others away from His path. What they have done is truly evil.

9:10 They respect neither kinship nor treaty with believers, and it is they who are offenders.

9:11 If they repent, and pray, and pay the prescribed purifying alms, they become your brothers in faith; We spell out these messages clearly for people who understand.

9:12 If they violate their oaths after having made a treaty with you and condemn your faith, then fight against these leaders of ungodliness, who have no regard for their own oaths, so that they will stop their aggression.

9:13 Won't you fight against people who have broken their solemn oaths, and done all they can to drive the Messenger out, and attacked you first? Are you afraid of them? It is God whom you should fear if you are [truly] believers.

9:14 Fight them. God will use your hands to punish them, and will disgrace them, and will give you victory over them. He will heal the believers' hearts

9:15 and will remove the fury from their hearts. God redeems whomever He wills. God knows and is wise.

9:16 Believers, do you think you will be spared without God testing your loyalty to the struggle in His cause, your loyalty to Him, His Messenger and the believers? God is totally aware of everything you do.

9:17 It is not for the idolaters to visit or tend God's places of worship while they testify that they deny the truth. Their deeds will come to nothing, and they will be eternally in the fire.

9:18 Only those who believe in God and the Last Day, who perform their prayers, give the purifying alms, and who are in awe of God and no one else, shall visit and tend God's places of worship. Only such people can expect to be included among those who are guided by God.

9:19 Do you think that providing water to pilgrims and tending to the Sacred House is the same thing as believing in God and the Last Day, and persevering in God's path? They are not the same in God's sight. God does not grace unjust people with guidance.

9:20 Those who have believed, migrated and persevered in God's cause with their possessions and their lives have the highest rank with God. They are the ones who are victorious.

9:21 Their Lord brings them the good news of the grace that flows from Him and His approval, and of Gardens that await them, full of everlasting pleasure,

9:22 where they will live forever. God has a tremendous reward [for them].

9:23 Believers, do not take your fathers and brothers for allies if unbelief is dearer to them than faith; those of you who do so are unjust.

9:24 Say, "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, your kin, the worldly goods you have acquired, the trade you fear will decline, and the dwellings you love are dearer to you than God and His Messenger and the struggle in His cause, then just wait until God brings about His punishment. God does not guide defiantly disobedient people.

9:25 God has helped you on many battlefields and on the day of the Battle of Hunayn, when you were so pleased with your great numbers-which proved to be of no use to you. The earth, despite its vastness, seemed so narrow to you that day. You turned around and ran.

9:26 Then God sent down His serenity on His Messenger and the believers, and He sent down invisible forces to punish those who reject the truth. This is what they deserve.

9:27 Then, after this, God in His mercy is free to forgive whomever He will. God is most forgiving and Merciful-to-all.

9:28 Believers: idolaters are impure. From this year on, do not let them come near the Sacred House. If you fear poverty, then God, if He wills, will enrich you out of His favor. God knows everything and is wise.

9:29 Fight those People of the Book who do not believe in God and the Last Day, those who do not forbid that which has been forbidden by God and His Messenger, and do not follow the religion of Truth, until they pay the exemption tax after having been subdued.

9:30 Some Jews say, "Ezra is God's son," while some Christians say, "The Messiah is God's son." This is what they say with their own mouths. They repeat the assertions made before by unbelievers. "May God destroy them". How perverted are their minds.

9:31 They have taken their rabbis and their monks, and even Christ, the son of Mary, for their lords instead of God, when they were commanded to worship only one God. There is no god but Him. May He be exalted in His glory above all the partners they may ascribe to Him.

9:32 They want to suppress God's enlightenment with their words, but God will not allow it, for He wants to spread His enlightenment in all its fullness, no matter how much the unbelievers hate it.

9:33 He has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the true faith, that he may exalt it above all religions, no matter how much the idolaters hate it.

9:34 Believers, many of the rabbis and monks wrongfully take men's wealth and turn people away from the path of God. Tell those who hoard gold and silver, and do not spend it in the path of God, tell them that they will have a very painful punishment.

9:35 On the day when their gold and silver will be heated in the fire of Hell and used to brand their foreheads, sides and backs, [they will be told:] "These are the treasures which you have hoarded. Now you will taste what you have hoarded."

9:36 According to God on the day when He created heavens and earth, the number of months is twelve. Of these, four are sacred; this is the correct way. So, do not wrong one another during them. However, fight against the unbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. You should know that God is with those who are mindful of Him.

9:37 Postponing sacred months is an increase in the rejection of the truth, a means by which those rejecters are further mislead. They declare it lawful one year and unlawful the next, in order to correspond to the number of month made unlawful by God. They allow what God has forbidden. They are enticed by their own sins. God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth.

9:38 Believers, what is the matter with you? When you are told to march forth to war in God's cause, you continue to cling to the earth. Are you content with this present life to the point that you prefer it to the life to come? The enjoyment of the present life is practically nothing in comparison to the life to come.

9:39 If you do not go forth [to fight], He will punish you severely and will replace you with others, [although] you will not bother Him at all. God is able to do all things.

9:40 [It does not matter] if you do not support the Messenger, [since] God already supported him when the unbelievers expelled him. He was one of two men hiding in a cave, and he said to his companion, "Do not be panic, God is with us." Then God sent His peace down on him and supported him with forces that were invisible to you. He made the unbelievers' word the lowest and God's word supreme. God is Almighty and All-Wise.

9:41 March forth, whether young or old, and commit your possessions and your lives to God's cause; if only you knew how much this is for your own good.

9:42 Had there been immediate profit and an easy journey, they would have followed you. But the distance was too far for them. Later, they will swear by God, "Had we been able, we would surely have marched with you." They will be damning their own souls. God knows they are liars.

9:43 God forgives you [Prophet] for permitting them to stay behind before it was obvious which of them were truthful and which were liars.

9:44 Those who believe in God and the Last Day do not ask you for exemption from committing their possessions and their lives to the struggle. God knows who is mindful of Him.

9:45 Only those who do not believe in God and the Last Day ask you for exemption. Their hearts are full of doubts, and they are hesitant.

9:46 If they had truly wanted to march with you, they would have prepared. [But, knowing what was in their hearts,] God hated for them to join, so He held them back, and they were told, "Stay behind with those who remain."

9:47 Had they gone with you, they would have only made things more difficult. They would have spread rumors, causing divisions, because some of you are avid listeners to them. God knows exactly who the transgressors are.

9:48 They tried before to create conflict and hatch plots against you, until the Truth was revealed and God's command became evident, even though they despised it.

9:49 Some of them said, "Grant me leave and do not cause me to doubt." They were already doubting. Hell will always be ready to embrace those who refuse to believe.

9:50 If anything good happens to you, it will grieve them, and, should you have misfortune, they will say: "We knew it, and that is why we took precaution." They will turn away in delight.

9:51 Say, "Only what God has decreed will happen to us. He is our Supreme Lord. Let the believers place their trust in God."

9:52 Say, "Do you expect something other than one of the two glorious rewards (victory or death in God's cause] to be ours? We, too, are waiting to see whether your punishment will come directly from God or at our hands. Wait, then; we wait with you."

9:53 Say, "You may give [your contribution] willingly or unwillingly, but it will never be accepted from you. You are disobedient people."

9:54 The only thing that prevents their giving from being accepted is their refusal to acknowledge God and His Messenger. They never pray without reluctance, and they never spend without resentment.

9:55 Do not let their worldly goods or their children impress you. God intends to punish them with it in this world, and for their souls to depart while they are still unbelievers.

9:56 They swear to God that they are part of you, but they are not. They are petrified,

9:57 and, if they could find a place of refuge, or a cave, or something to crawl into, they would run towards it quickly.

9:58 Some of them criticize you concerning the distribution of charitable gifts. They are content if they are given something, and they are very angry if they are given nothing.

9:59 If only they had been satisfied with what God and His Messenger gave them and said, "God is enough for us. We trust that God will give us out of His bounty, and so will His Messenger. We turn to God alone, with hope."

9:60 The purifying alms funds are meant only for the poor and the needy, for those who administer the fund, for reconciling hearts, for freeing slaves, for helping those in debt to spend in God's cause, and for travelers in need. This is ordered by God. God is All-Knowing and All-Wise

9:61 There are others who insult the Prophet by saying, "He will listen to anything." Say, "He listens for your own good. He believes in God and trusts the Believers, and he is a mercy to those of you who believe." And those who abuse the Messenger of God, will have a painful punishment.

9:62 They swear by God, hoping to please you, but it is proper for them to please God and His Messenger, if they are Believers.

9:63 Did they not know that whoever opposes God and His Messenger will go to the fire of Hell [and] remain there forever? This is the greatest disgrace.

9:64 The hypocrites fear lest a chapter be revealed that will expose what is in their hearts. Say, "Mock all you want. God will bring about what you fear."

9:65 If you were to question them, they would surely answer, "We were just joking and having fun." Say, "Is it God, His messages and His Messenger that you were joking about?

9:66 Do not offer excuses. You have denied the truth after believing." Even though We may forgive some of you, We will punish others because they were guilty.

9:67 The hypocrites, both men and women, are all the same: they ordain what is wrong and forbid what is right. They are tight fisted. They have forgotten God, and so He has forgotten them. They are defiantly disobedient.

9:68 God has promised both the hypocrites-men and women-[and] the unbelievers the fire of Hell, where they will stay forever. This is sufficient for them. God has rejected them, and ever-lasting suffering awaits them.

9:69 [Unbelievers] you are just like your predecessors. They were more powerful than you and had more wealth and children. They enjoyed their share of worldly pleasures, just as you have been enjoying yours. You are as indulgent as they were. It is those people whose works became worthless in this world and in the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers.

9:70 Have they not heard the stories of those who came before them? Noah's people, Ad's and Thamud's, Abraham's people, Midian's inhabitants, and the people of the destroyed towns. Their messengers came to them with clear evidence of the truth, and so it was not God Who was unfair to them, but they were unfair to themselves.

9:71 The believers, both men and women, support each other; they order what is obviously right and forbid what is obviously wrong, and they perform prayers, pay the prescribed purifying alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God will have mercy on them. He is Almighty and All-Wise.

9:72 God has promised the believers, men and women, Gardens with flowing rivers and nice homes in Gardens of Eden. But the greatest pleasure is God's continuous approval of them. That is the ultimate victory.

9:73 Prophet, struggle hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be tough with them. If they do not repent, their final home will be Hell, a miserable destination.

9:74 The hypocrites swear by God that they have said nothing wrong, but they have definitely uttered words of blasphemy and become unbelievers after having submitted. They plotted that which was beyond their ability. They resented that God and His Messenger had enriched them out of His favor. If they repent, it would be for their own good, but if they turn away, God will cause them to suffer painfully in this world and in the life to come, and no one on earth will be able to help or protect them.

9:75 Some among them pledged to God, "If He give us out of His bounty, We will definitely spend on charity and will be among the righteous,"

9:76 but when He gave them out of His bounty, they were stingy with it and defiantly turned away.

9:77 Because of their failure to fulfill their pledge to Him, and because of the lies they told, He caused hypocrisy to overtake their hearts until the Day they will meet Him.

9:78 Do they not know that God knows all their secrets and their private conversations and that God is most knowing of everything that is beyond their perception?

9:79 They criticize the believers who voluntarily contribute, and ridicule the ones who had nothing to give except their own efforts. Instead, God ridicules them, and a painful punishment awaits them.

9:80 Praying or not praying for their forgiveness will make no difference. Even if you were to pray seventy times for their forgiveness, God will not forgive them because they reject God and His Messenger. God does not guide those who are defiantly disobedient people.

9:81 After God's Messenger had left, those who remained behind were glad, because they hated to strive in God's way with their possessions and their lives. They had even said, "Do not go to war in this heat." Say, "The fire of Hell is a lot hotter!" If they could only understand.

9:82 Let them laugh a little because they will weep a lot in return for what they have earned.

9:83 So, [Prophet,] if God brings you face to face with them again, and they should ask you for permission to go to war with you, say, "You will never come with me, nor will you fight an enemy with me. You were happy to stay at home the first time, so, stay at home now with those who remain behind."

9:84 Do not ever pray over any of them who died, and do not stand at their graves; they rejected God and His Messenger, and they died defiantly disobedient.

9:85 Do not let their worldly possessions and their children impress you. God wants to use such things to punish them in this world, and for their souls to depart in anguish while they are still denying the truth.

9:86 When a new revelation is given asking them to believe in God and to strive hard alongside His Messenger, even those of them with means ask your permission to stay, saying "Allow us to stay with those who remain at home."

9:87 They were happy to remain with those who were left behind, because their hearts have been sealed, and they do not understand!

9:88 However, the Messenger and all who share his faith strive hard in God's cause with their possessions and their lives, and great things await them in the life to come. It is they who will prosper.

9:89 God has prepared Gardens with rivers flowing through them. There, they will remain eternally. This is the ultimate victory!

9:90 Some of the Bedouins, too, came [to the Messenger] to make excuses, asking to be granted exemption. Those who lied to God and His Messenger stayed behind at home. A painful punishment will fall on those who rejected faith.

9:91 No blame will be placed on the weak, or the sick, or those who have no means to equip themselves, provided that they are sincere towards God and His Messenger. In no way the righteous should be blamed. God is most forgiving and Merciful-to-all.

9:92 Blame will not be placed on those who come to you [Prophet, with the request] that you provide them with riding animals, and to whom you say, "I do not have rides for you." They turned away with their eyes overflowing with tears out of sorrow that they had nothing they could contribute.

9:93 The ones to be blamed are those wealthy [persons] who asked you for an exemption. They are happy to remain with those who are left behind. God has sealed their hearts and they don't realize it.

9:94 They will offer you excuses when you return. Say, "Do not give us any excuses, we will not believe you. God has already told us about you. God will be watching your deeds, and so will His Messenger, and, in the end, you will be brought before Him the Knower of the unknown and the known. He will make you truly understand [the negative impact of] what you were doing."

9:95 [Believers], when you return to them, they will swear by God in order to make you leave them alone. Leave them alone. They are despicable, and their destiny is Hell, fit payment for their actions.

9:96 They will swear to you to in order to make you accept them. God will never accept those who are defiantly disobedient.

9:97 The Bedouins are the most hypocritical and stubborn in [their] rejection of faith and the least likely to comprehend the limits [of laws] that God has sent down to His Messenger. God knows everything, and He is wise.

9:98 Among the Bedouins, there are some who consider what they spend [in God's cause] to be a loss and expect that you will run into trouble, but it is they who will be overwhelmed by trouble. God hears everything and knows everything.

9:99 Yet, there are also Bedouins who believe in God and the Last Day and regard everything they spend [in God's cause] to be means of drawing them closer to God and the Messenger's prayers. It will definitely bring them nearer to God, admitting them to His mercy. God is forgiving and Merciful-to-all.

9:100 It is the first of the early emigrants and supporters, as well as those who followed them in righteousness, with whom God is very pleased, and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared Gardens with flowing rivers for them, where they will stay forever. This is the ultimate victory.

9:101 Among the Bedouins who live around you, some are hypocrites, as are some of the people of Medina, who have grown accustomed to hypocrisy. You do not [always] know them [but] We know them. We will cause them to suffer twice as much [in this world,] and then they will face a severe punishment.

9:102 And there are others, who, after having done both good and bad deeds, confessed their sins. God may accept their repentance because God is forgiving and Merciful-to-all.

9:103 Accept their offerings for the sake of God, that it may cleanse them and cause them to grow in purity, and pray for them. Your prayer will comfort them. God hears everything, and He knows everything.

9:104 Do they not know that God alone can accept the repentance of His worshipers and is the [true] recipient of what is offered for His sake, and that God alone is the Acceptor of Repentance, the Merciful-to-all?

9:105 Say: "Act! And God will see your deeds, and so will His Messenger and the believers. [In the end], you will be brought before Him who knows the unknown and the known, and He will tell you what you have been doing."

9:106 And yet, there are others who are waiting for God's decree, either to punish them or to show them His mercy. God knows everything, and He is wise.

9:107 [As for those hypocrites) who have established a [separate] house of worship in order to create trouble, causing unbelief and disunity among the believers, and providing a base for those who previously fought God and His Messenger. They will definitely swear, "We have only the best of intentions," while God testifies that they are lying.

9:108 [Prophet,] never pray in that mosque. Rather, you should pray only in a mosque founded from its very first day on consciousness of God. That is a place where men want to grow in purity. God loves everyone who purifies himself.

9:109 Which is better, one who has founded his building on God-consciousness and a desire for His acceptance, or he who has founded his building on the edge of a crumbling cliff that will tumble down with him into Hellfire? God does not guide people who are [deliberately] unjust.

9:110 The building they built will always be a source of skepticism within their hearts until their hearts are torn to pieces. God knows everything, and He is wise.

9:111 God has purchased the souls and possessions of the believers, promising them paradise in return. They fight in God's cause, and they kill and are killed. It is a true promise given by Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an. Who could be more faithful to his promise than God? Rejoice in this good news! This is the bargain you have made with Him. This is the ultimate victory.

9:112 Those are the ones who turn to God in repentance, who worship and praise Him. They journey, bow before Him and prostrate themselves in adoration. They order what is obviously right and forbid what is obviously wrong, and stay within the boundaries set by God. So, give good news to the believers.

9:113 It is not for the Prophet and the believers to pray for forgiveness for the idolaters-even if they are related-after it has been made clear to them that those [sinners] are destined for Hell.

9:114 Abraham's prayer that his father would be forgiven was due to a promise that he had given his father. However, when it became clear to him that his father was one of God's enemies, he renounced him, even though Abraham was tender-hearted, tolerant.

9:115 God would not lead astray those He has already guided to the faith, unless He first makes it entirely clear to them what they should avoid. God knows everything.

9:116 To God, alone, belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He, alone, has the power over life and death. There is none besides Him who can protect you or help you.

9:117 God has forgiven the Prophet, as well as those emigrants and supporters who followed him in the hour of distress, after the hearts of some of them had hesitated. Then He forgave them. He is compassionate, merciful.

9:118 He also forgave the three who stayed behind. They had [come to feel that] the earth, for all its vastness, was closing in on them, and that their souls were narrowing [as well], until they realized that the only refuge from God was to be with Him. He turned to them in mercy so that they would return to Him. God alone is the accepter of repentance and is merciful.

9:119 Believers, remain mindful of God and be among those who are truthful.

9:120 It is not appropriate for the people of Medina and the Bedouins [who live] around them to stay behind [and refuse to follow] God's Messenger. Nor should they care about themselves more than they care for him. This is because a righteous deed is registered to their favor every time they suffer from thirst, weariness or hunger in God's cause, or take any step that angers the unbelievers, or cause any harm to any enemy. God never loses track of the rewards [due] those who do good.

9:121 They will spend no amount, large or small [for God's sake], nor cross any valley [in God's cause] that will not be credited to them. God will reward them according to the best of their deeds.

9:122 The believers shouldn't all go to battle. From within every group, some should devote themselves to acquiring deeper knowledge of the Faith; to teach their people when they return. So they might be on their guard.

9:123 Believers, fight against the unbelievers who live nearer to you, and let them find you tough in your determination. Know that God is with those who are mindful of Him.

9:124 Whenever a chapter is revealed, some ask, "Which of you has this increased in faith?" As for those who believe, it strengthens them in their faith, and they rejoice in the good news [it brings them].

9:125 As for those who have diseased hearts, [each new revelation] adds only [more] disbelief to their disbelief, and they die as unbelievers.

9:126 Do not they realize that they are being tested once or twice a year? Yet, they do not repent, nor do they remember

9:127 and whenever a chapter is revealed, they look at one another and say, "Is anyone watching you?" And then they leave. God has turned their hearts away from the truth because they are people who will not be able to understand.

9:128 A messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering weighs heavily upon him. He is deeply concerned for you and full of compassion and mercy towards the believers.

9:129 If they turn away, say, "God is sufficient for me. There is no God but Him. In Him I have put my trust, for He is the Lord of the magnificent Throne of His majesty."