Sura al-Tawba: Difference between revisions

'''Sūra al-Tawba''' or '''al-Barāʾa''' (Arabic: {{ia|سُورَة التَوْبَة}}) is the ninth [[sura]] of the [[Quran]]. It is a [[Madani sura]] of the Quran, located in [[juz']] ten or eleven. It is called “al-Tawba” because some of its [[verses]] are about [[repentance]].  The name “Baraʾa” (repudiation) comes from its first verse. Sura al-Tawba begins without “[[Bism Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim]]” (In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful). It commands Muslims to cut their ties to [[polytheists]], and commands the [[Prophet (s)]] not to ask for the forgiveness of polytheists. The sura also talks about [[jihad]] against [[disbeliever]]s and polytheists as well as [[zakat]]. According to [[hadiths]], the Prophet (s) first entrusted [[Abu Bakr]] with the task of declaring this sura to polytheists, but he then cancelled Abu Bakr’s mission and left it to [[Imam 'Ali (a)]].

The sura has a number of names (up to fourteen), two of which are more famous: al-Baraʾa and al-Tawba. The former, which occurs in most hadiths, is derived from its first verse, and the latter, which appears in some hadiths, is because it contains a number of verses about tawba (or repentance). Other names of the sura are as follows: Fadiha (scandalizing), Mukhziya (humiliating), Mubaʿthira (inquirer), Hafira (revealer), Munqira (divulger), Musharrida (scattering), and Munakkila (torturer).<ref>''Dāʾirat al-maʿārif Qurʾān al-karīm'', vol. 9, p. 59-60.</ref>

Sura al-Tawba is a Madani sura of the Quran. In the [[order of revelation]], it is the 114th (last) sura revealed to the [[Prophet (s)]]. In the present order of compilation, it is the ninth sura of the Quran,<ref>Maʿrifat, ''Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān'', vol. 2, p. 168.</ref> located in juzʾ ten and eleven.

Sura al-Tawba has 129 verses, 2506 words, and 11116 letters. As for its length, it is one of the seven long suras ([[sab' tiwal]]); that is, a relatively large sura, which occupies about one juzʾ of the Quran.<ref>Khurramshāhī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī'', vol. 2, p. 1238-1239.</ref>

Unlike other Quranic suras, this sura does not begin with “Bism Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim” (In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful). Quranic [[exegete]]s have provided a number of reasons why this is so:

* The sura was revealed after [[Sura al-Anfal]], and hence, they count as one sura.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 9. p. 146.</ref>

* “Bism Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim” is a verse of mercy and amnesty, while Sura al-Baraʾa declares the repeal of amnesty, which does not square with “Bism Allah.”<ref>Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, ''Rawḍ al-Jinān'', vol. 9, p. 163.</ref>

* According to a hadith from [[Ibn 'Abbas]], [['Uthman]] said that the Prophet (s) did not say anything about the place of these two suras. Thus, we wrote them consecutively because both were revealed in [[Medina]] and were concerned with the same topic.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 11, p. 5-6.</ref><ref>Ibn ʿAbbas says: “I told ʿUthman why you have included Sura al-Baraʾa, which is a “miʾun” sura [suras with at least one hundred verses], among the seven long suras together with Sura al-Anfal which is one of al-Mathani, and why did you not write ‘Bism Allah’ between these two suras?” ʿUthman said: “When Quranic verses were revealed to the Prophet (s), he had the practice of telling the scribes of revelation to include those verses in such and such suras. Sura al-Anfal was one of the first suras revealed in Medina, and Sura al-Baraʾa was among the last suras revealed therein, and since these two suras involve the same stories [or similar contents], we treated Sura al-Baraʾa as a sequel of Sura al-Anfal. The Prophet (s) himself never said anything about this until he died. Thus, we included it among the long seven suras, without writing ‘Bism Allah’ between them.”</ref>

* Declaration of the repudiation of polytheists (verses 1-4)

* Victory in the [[Battle of Hunayn]] and helping God (verses 25-26)

* The Prophet’s hiding in a cave when migrating to Medina (verses 40)

* Dirar Mosque (verses 107-110)

* Abraham’s request for the forgiveness of [[Azar]] (verses 114)

* Three of the [[Prophet's companions]] defying the order to attend the [[Battle of Tabuk]] (verses 117-118)

==Imam ʿAli (a) and the Mission of Declaring the Sura==

According to ''[[Tafsir-i nimuna]]'', almost all Muslim exegetes and historians agree that upon the [[revelation]] of Sura al-Tawba (or at least its opening verses), the treaties between the Prophet (s) and polytheists were revoked. In [[9 AH]]/630, the Prophet (s) commissioned [[Abu Bakr]] to declare the decree to all people during the [[Hajj]] season,<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 7, p. 275.</ref> but he then cancelled Abu Bakr’s mission and commissioned [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] to declare the order to people in [[Mecca]]. The event is cited in many [[Sunni]] sources, albeit with slight verbal differences.<ref>Ibn Ḥanbal, ''Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal'', vol. 1, p. 183, vol. 2, p. 423; Nasā'ī, ''Khaṣāʾiṣ Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib'', p. 93; Ibn Kathīr, ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm'', vol. 4, p. 107; Ibn Athīr, ''Jāmiʿ al-uṣūl'', vol. 8, p. 660; Ṭabarī,  ''Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā'', p. 69.</ref> For instance, [[Ahmad b. Hanbal]] reports in his ''Musnad'' that the Prophet (s) sent Abu Bakr to declare Sura al-Tawba to people, but he then sent ʿAli (a) to take the message from him, saying: “this sura should only be declared by someone who is from me and whom I am from.”<ref>Ibn Ḥanbal, ''Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal'', vol. 5, p. 178.</ref> It should be noted that Imam ʿAli (a) himself appealed to this event as a proof for his superiority over other [[companions of the Prophet (s)]] and as evidence for his entitlement for the position of [[caliphate]].<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''al-Iḥtijāj '', vol. 1, p. 297.</ref>

The opening verses of Sura al-Tawba are called Verses of Repudiation or Baraʿa Verses, in which the ultimate rulings about the relations between [[Muslim]]s and [[polytheists]] are issued.<ref>Mughnīya, ''Tafsīr al-Kāshif'', vol. 4, p. 8.</ref> In these verses, [[God]] commands the Prophet (s) and Muslims to publicly declare their repudiation of polytheists, to exit the treaties they had made with them, and to declare war against them if they do not convert to Islam.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 5, p. 5; Mughnīya, ''Tafsīr al-Kāshif'', vol. 4, p. 8; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 7, p. 282.</ref> The verses were declared to polytheists on the day of [[Eid al-Adha]] by Imam ʿAli (a).<ref>Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol. 2, p. 76.</ref>

In [[Shia]] and Sunni sources, there are many [[hadith]]s about the occasion of the [[revelation]] of this verse.<ref>Shūshtarī, ''Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq'', vol. 3, p. 122.</ref> According to one hadith, which is deemed the most accurate by ''[[Tafsir-i nimuna]]'',<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 7, p. 321.</ref> a dispute occurred between Shayba and [['Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib]], the Prophet’s uncle. ʿAbbas boasted about his position of [[Siqayat al-Hajj|“siqaya”]] (provision of water for hajj pilgrims) and Shayba boasted about his position of holding the [[Ka'ba]]’s key. Imam ʿAli (a) entered and said that his honor was his early faith and jihad in the way of God. ʿAbbas was angered and complained to the Prophet (s). When Imam ʿAli (a) went to the Prophet (s), the above verse was revealed, in which faith and jihad are said to be superior.<ref>Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, ''Shawāhid al-tanzīl'', vol. 1, p. 320-330.</ref>  

There are disagreements among Quranic exegetes over what is meant by “Sadiqin” (the truthful). Some Sunni exegetes believe that it refers to the Prophet (s) and his companions, but Shiite exegetes cite hadiths to show that it refers to [[Infallible Imams]].<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 8, p. 181-183.</ref>

There are about fifteen verses in Sura al-Tawba, which count as [[ayat al-ahkam]]<ref>Īrawānī, ''Durūs tamhīdīyya fī tafsīr āyāt al-aḥkām'', vol. 1, 2, index of the book; Ardibīlī, ''Zubdat al-bayān'', index of the book; Fāḍil Miqdād, ''Kanz al-ʿirfān fī fiqh al-Qurʾān'', index of the book.</ref> (verses of jurisprudential rulings). Major rulings inferred by [[jurist]]s from these verses include the rulings of [[zakat]] and the way it should be spent,<ref>Īrawānī, ''Durūs tamhīdīyya fī tafsīr āyāt al-aḥkām'', vol. 1, p. 173-177; Ardibīlī, ''Zubdat al-bayān'', p. 183.</ref> the rulings of [[jihad]] and three groups of people being exempt from it,<ref>Īrawānī, ''Durūs tamhīdīyya fī tafsīr āyāt al-aḥkām'', vol. 1, p. 225-243; Fāḍil Miqdād, ''Kanz al-ʿirfān'', vol. 1, p. 228</ref> and impurity of polytheists.<ref>Īrawānī, ''Durūs tamhīdīyya fī tafsīr āyāt al-aḥkām'', vol. 1, p. 95; Ardibīlī, ''Zubdat al-bayān'', p. 37.</ref> Moreover, these verses are said to imply certain principles of [[jurisprudence]] and its principles. For instance, the Verse of Nafr is said to imply [[Khabar al-Wahid]],<ref>Ākhund Khurāsānī, ''Kifāyat al-uṣūl'', p. 298-299.</ref> verse 115 is said to imply the presumption of innocence (asl al-baraʾa),<ref>Ākhund Khurāsānī, ''Kifāyat al-uṣūl'', p. 298-299.</ref> and verse 91 implies the principle of benefaction (al-ihsan).<ref>Īrawānī, ''Durūs tamhīdīyya fī tafsīr āyāt al-aḥkām'', vol. 2, p. 691.</ref>