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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

At-Tawbah 9:40

Word by word

إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلْعُلْيَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

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, 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 of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allāh - that is the highest. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Allah supports His Prophet

Allah said,إِلاَّ تَنصُرُوهُ(If you help him not), if you do not support His Prophet , then it does not matter, for Allah will help, support, suffice and protect him, just as He did,إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ(when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two;) During the year of the Hijrah, the idolators tried to kill, imprison or expel the Prophet , who escaped with his friend and Companion, Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafah, to the cave of Thawr. They remained in the cave for three days so that the pagans who were sent in their pursuit, returned (to Makkah), and they proceed to Al-Madinah. While in the cave, Abu Bakr was afraid the pagans might discover them for fear that some harm might touch the Messenger ﷺ. The Prophet kept reassuring him and strengthening his resolve, saying,«يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، مَا ظَنُكَ بِاثْنَينِ اللهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا»(O Abu Bakr!

What do you think about two, with Allah as their third) Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that Abu Bakr said to him, "I said to the Prophet when we were in the cave, `If any of them looks down at his feet, he will see us.' He said,«يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، مَا ظَنُكَ بِاثْنَينِ اللهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا»(O Abu Bakr! What do you think about two with Allah as their third)" This is recorded in the Two Sahihs.

This is why Allah said,فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ(Then Allah sent down His Sakinah upon him) sent His aid and triumph to His Messenger , or they say it refers to Abu Bakr,وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا(and strengthened him with forces which you saw not), the angels,وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِىَ الْعُلْيَا(and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of Allah that became the uppermost;) Ibn `Abbas commented, "'The word of those who disbelieved', is Shirk, while, `The Word of Allah' is `La ilaha illallah." It is recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about a man who fights because of courage, or out of rage for his honor, or to show off.

Whom among them is in the cause of Allah' The Prophet said,«مَنْ قَاتَلَ لِتَكُونَ كَلِمَةُ اللهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ الله»(He who fights so that Allah's Word is superior, then he fights in Allah's cause.)" Allah said next,وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ(and Allah is All-Mighty), in His revenge and taking retribution, He is the Most Formidable and those who seek refuge with Him and take shelter by adhering to what He instructs are never made to suffer injustice,حَكِيمٌ(All-Wise), in His statements and actions.

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

In the third verse (40), by citing the event of the Hijrah of the Holy Prophet, it has been stressed that the Rasul of Allah has no need to depend on any human help and support. Allah can help him directly through unseen factors - as it happened at the time of Hijrah when his own people had forced him to leave his homeland. On this journey, the only companion he had was Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ the true one. Enemy foot soldiers and riders were looking for them in hot pursuit. The place to hide he had found was no fortified fortress. It was just a cave and the enemy search party had reached close to its edges. Inside it, the companion of the cave, Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ was worried, not for his own safety, but about his master. He was in fear lest the enemy outside were to harm the Holy Prophet ﷺ . But, the master himself was sitting calm like a mountain at peace. Not simply that he was himself cool and collected, he was telling his companion, Sayyidna Abu Bakr: ؓ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَنَا (` la tahzan innallaha ma` ana': Do not grieve. Allah is with us).

What has been said here is composed of a couple of words, easy and effortless as they sound. But, let those listening place the blueprint of conditions prevailing before their eyes, cross their hearts and ask: Can someone dependent on mere material means be that tranquil? Every honest person would say that it was just not possible. The reason for this was no other but that which the Qur'an has given in the next sentence:So, Allah sent down His tranquility on him and strengthened him with troops you did not see ...

These troops could be troops of angels, and of the elemental forces of the entire universe too - for they are, so to say, a virtual army of Allah. When this happened, the ultimate came to be. The word of disbelievers was rendered low and the word of Allah remained the highest.

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

يا معشر أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن لا تنفروا معه أيها المؤمنون إذا استَنْفَركم، وإن لا تنصروه; فقد أيده الله ونصره يوم أخرجه الكفار من قريش من بلده (مكة) ، وهو ثاني اثنين (هو وأبو بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه) وألجؤوهما إلى نقب في جبل ثور بـ «مكة» ، فمكثا فيه ثلاث ليال، إذ يقول لصاحبه (أبي بكر) لما رأى منه الخوف عليه: لا تحزن إن الله معنا بنصره وتأييده، فأنزل الله الطمأنينة في قلب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وأعانه بجنود لم يرها أحد من البشر وهم الملائكة، فأنجاه الله من عدوه وأذل الله أعداءه، وجعل كلمة الذين كفروا السفلى. وكلمةُ الله هي العليا، وذلك بإعلاء شأن الإسلام. والله عزيز في ملكه، حكيم في تدبير شؤون عباده. وفي هذه الآية منقبة عظيمة لأبي بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

يقول تعالى : ( إلا تنصروه ) أي : تنصروا رسوله ، فإن الله ناصره ومؤيده وكافيه وحافظه ، كما تولى نصره ( إذ أخرجه الذين كفروا ثاني اثنين ) [ إذ هما في الغار ] ) أي : عام الهجرة ، لما هم المشركون بقتله أو حبسه أو نفيه ، فخرج منهم هاربا صحبة صديقه وصاحبه أبي بكر بن أبي قحافة ، فلجأ إلى غار ثور ثلاثة أيام ليرجع الطلب الذين خرجوا في آثارهم ، ثم يسيرا نحو المدينة ، فجعل أبو بكر - رضي الله عنه - يجزع أن يطلع عليهم أحد ، فيخلص إلى الرسول - عليه السلام - منهم أذى ، فجعل النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يسكنه ويثبته ويقول : يا أبا بكر ، ما ظنك باثنين الله ثالثهما ، كما قال الإمام أحمد :حدثنا عفان ، حدثنا همام ، أنبأنا ثابت ، عن أنس أن أبا بكر حدثه قال : قلت للنبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - ونحن في الغار : لو أن أحدهم نظر إلى قدميه لأبصرنا تحت قدميه .

قال : فقال : يا أبا بكر ، ما ظنك باثنين الله ثالثهما .أخرجاه في الصحيحين .ولهذا قال تعالى : ( فأنزل الله سكينته عليه ) أي : تأييده ونصره عليه ، أي : على الرسول في أشهر القولين : وقيل : على أبي بكر ، وروي عن ابن عباس وغيره ، قالوا : لأن الرسول لم تزل معه سكينة ، وهذا لا ينافي تجدد سكينة خاصة بتلك الحال ؛ ولهذا قال : ( وأيده بجنود لم تروها ) أي الملائكة ، ( وجعل كلمة الذين كفروا السفلى وكلمة الله هي العليا )قال ابن عباس : يعني ( كلمة الذين كفروا ) الشرك و ( كلمة الله ) هي : لا إله إلا الله .وفي الصحيحين عن أبي موسى الأشعري - رضي الله عنه - قال : سئل رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - عن الرجل يقاتل شجاعة ، ويقاتل حمية ، ويقاتل رياء ، أي ذلك في سبيل الله ؟ فقال : من قاتل لتكون كلمة الله هي العليا فهو في سبيل الله .وقوله : ( والله عزيز ) أي : في انتقامه وانتصاره ، منيع الجناب ، لا يضام من لاذ ببابه ، واحتمى بالتمسك بخطابه ، ( حكيم ) في أقواله وأفعاله .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.