التوبة
The Repentance
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
infirū khifāfan wathiqālan wajāhidū bi-amwālikum wa-anfusikum fī sabīli l-lahi dhālikum khayrun lakum in kuntum taʿlamūna
Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allāh. That is better for you, if you only knew.
law kāna ʿaraḍan qarīban wasafaran qāṣidan la-ittabaʿūka walākin baʿudat ʿalayhimu l-shuqatu wasayaḥlifūna bil-lahi lawi is'taṭaʿnā lakharajnā maʿakum yuh'likūna anfusahum wal-lahu yaʿlamu innahum lakādhibūna
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, "If we were able, we would have gone forth with you," destroying themselves [through false oaths], and Allāh knows that indeed they are liars.
ʿafā l-lahu ʿanka lima adhinta lahum ḥattā yatabayyana laka alladhīna ṣadaqū wataʿlama l-kādhibīna
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.
lā yastadhinuka alladhīna yu'minūna bil-lahi wal-yawmi l-ākhiri an yujāhidū bi-amwālihim wa-anfusihim wal-lahu ʿalīmun bil-mutaqīna
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.
innamā yastadhinuka alladhīna lā yu'minūna bil-lahi wal-yawmi l-ākhiri wa-ir'tābat qulūbuhum fahum fī raybihim yataraddadūna
Only those would ask permission of you who do not believe in Allāh and the Last Day and whose hearts have doubted, and they, in their doubt, are hesitating.
walaw arādū l-khurūja la-aʿaddū lahu ʿuddatan walākin kariha l-lahu inbiʿāthahum fathabbaṭahum waqīla uq'ʿudū maʿa l-qāʿidīna
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."
law kharajū fīkum mā zādūkum illā khabālan wala-awḍaʿū khilālakum yabghūnakumu l-fit'nata wafīkum sammāʿūna lahum wal-lahu ʿalīmun bil-ẓālimīna
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.
laqadi ib'taghawū l-fit'nata min qablu waqallabū laka l-umūra ḥattā jāa l-ḥaqu waẓahara amru l-lahi wahum kārihūna
They had already desired dissension before and had upset matters for you until the truth came and the ordinance [i.e., victory] of Allāh appeared, while they were averse.
wamin'hum man yaqūlu i'dhan lī walā taftinnī alā fī l-fit'nati saqaṭū wa-inna jahannama lamuḥīṭatun bil-kāfirīna
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. And indeed, Hell will encompass the disbelievers.
in tuṣib'ka ḥasanatun tasu'hum wa-in tuṣib'ka muṣībatun yaqūlū qad akhadhnā amranā min qablu wayatawallaw wahum fariḥūna
If good befalls you, it distresses them; but if disaster strikes you, they say, "We took our matter [in hand] before," and turn away while they are rejoicing.
qul lan yuṣībanā illā mā kataba l-lahu lanā huwa mawlānā waʿalā l-lahi falyatawakkali l-mu'minūna
Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allāh has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allāh let the believers rely.
qul hal tarabbaṣūna binā illā iḥ'dā l-ḥus'nayayni wanaḥnu natarabbaṣu bikum an yuṣībakumu l-lahu biʿadhābin min ʿindihi aw bi-aydīnā fatarabbaṣū innā maʿakum mutarabbiṣūna
Say, "Do you await for us except one of the two best things [i.e., martyrdom or victory] while we await for you that Allāh will afflict you with punishment from Himself or at our hands? So wait; indeed we, along with you, are waiting."
qul anfiqū ṭawʿan aw karhan lan yutaqabbala minkum innakum kuntum qawman fāsiqīna
Say, "Spend willingly or unwillingly; never will it be accepted from you. Indeed, you have been a defiantly disobedient people."
wamā manaʿahum an tuq'bala min'hum nafaqātuhum illā annahum kafarū bil-lahi wabirasūlihi walā yatūna l-ṣalata illā wahum kusālā walā yunfiqūna illā wahum kārihūna
And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allāh and in His Messenger and that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy and that they do not spend except while they are unwilling.
falā tuʿ'jib'ka amwāluhum walā awlāduhum innamā yurīdu l-lahu liyuʿadhibahum bihā fī l-ḥayati l-dun'yā watazhaqa anfusuhum wahum kāfirūna
So let not their wealth or their children impress you. Allāh only intends to punish them through them in worldly life and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers.
wayaḥlifūna bil-lahi innahum laminkum wamā hum minkum walākinnahum qawmun yafraqūna
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.
law yajidūna malja-an aw maghārātin aw muddakhalan lawallaw ilayhi wahum yajmaḥūna
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.
wamin'hum man yalmizuka fī l-ṣadaqāti fa-in uʿ'ṭū min'hā raḍū wa-in lam yuʿ'ṭaw min'hā idhā hum yaskhaṭūna
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.
walaw annahum raḍū mā ātāhumu l-lahu warasūluhu waqālū ḥasbunā l-lahu sayu'tīnā l-lahu min faḍlihi warasūluhu innā ilā l-lahi rāghibūna
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," [it would have been better for them].
innamā l-ṣadaqātu lil'fuqarāi wal-masākīni wal-ʿāmilīna ʿalayhā wal-mu-alafati qulūbuhum wafī l-riqābi wal-ghārimīna wafī sabīli l-lahi wa-ib'ni l-sabīli farīḍatan mina l-lahi wal-lahu ʿalīmun ḥakīmun
Zakāh expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed for it 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.