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Tafsir

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

At-Tawbah 9:78

Word by word

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُمْ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ

Did they not know that Allāh knows their secrets and their private conversations and that Allāh is the Knower of the unseen?

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

Hypocrites seek Wealth but are Stingy with Alms

Allah says, some hypocrites give Allah their strongest oaths that if He enriches them from His bounty, they will give away alms and be among the righteous. However, they did not fulfill their vows or say the truth with their words. The consequence of this action is that hypocrisy was placed in their hearts until the Day they meet Allah the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection. We seek refuge with Allah from such an end. Allah said,بِمَآ أَخْلَفُواْ اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ(...because they broke that (covenant) with Allah which they had promised to Him) He placed hypocrisy in their hearts because they broke their promise and lied.

In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,«آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلَاثٌ: إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا ائْتُمِنَ خَان»(There are three signs for a hypocrite: if he speaks, he lies; if he promises, he breaks the promise; and if he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.) Allah said,أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ(Know they not that Allah knows their secret ideas, and their Najwa,) Allah states that He knows the secret and what is more hidden than the secret. He has full knowledge of what is in their hearts, even when they pretend that they will give away alms, if they acquire wealth, and will be grateful to Allah for it. Truly, Allah knows them better than they know themselves, for He is the All-Knower of all unseen and apparent things, every secret, every session of counsel, and all that is seen and hidden.

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Verse 77: فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ (So Allah, in turn, put hypocrisy in their hearts) points out to its cause which lies in their lying and pledge breaking. As a consequence, Allah made the hypocrisy of their hearts become deep and firm. Now, they would just not have the ability to make Taubah itself.

A serious note of warning

From here we learn that there are occasions when the curse of evil deeds assumes alarming proportions, so much so that one is deprived of the very ability (taufiq) of making Taubah. May Allah protect us from this misfortune!

Let us now go back to the detailed narrative of Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ mentioned a little earlier. Ibn Jarir writes at the end of it: When the Holy Prophet ﷺ said Was for Tha'labah' three times, some of his relatives were present in the gathering. When they heard it, one of them immediately traveled to see Tha’ labah. When he reached there, he reproached him for his behavior while informing him that it has caused the revelation of a particular verse of the Qur'an. This made Tha'labah nervous. He reached Madinah and requested the Holy Prophet ﷺ that his Sadaqah may be accepted. He said that Allah Ta` ala had told him not to accept his Sadaqah. Hearing this, Tha'labah went crazy with disappointment and literally started throwing dust on his head.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, ` this is something you have chosen to do on your own. I ordered you and you did not obey. Now, your Sadaqah cannot be accepted.' Tha'labah returned disappointed. Then, some days later, the Holy Prophet ﷺ departed from this mortal world and Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ became the Khalifah. Tha'labah came to Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ and requested that he should accept his sadaqah. Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ said, ` when the Holy Prophet ﷺ did not accept it, how can I do it?'Then, after the demise of Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ Tha'labah came to Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ عن . He made the same request and got the same answer from him, as was given by Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ عن . Again, he submitted this request to Sayyidna Uthman ؓ during his period of Khilafah. He too refused it. It was during the tenure of the Khilafah of Sayyidna Uthman ؓ ، that Tha'labah died. We seek the protection of Allah from all evil deeds. (Mazhari)A question and its answer

When Tha'labah had submitted in repentance, the question is why was his Taubah not accepted? The reason is evident. The Holy Prophet ﷺ was informed through revelation that he was not making his Taubah with absolute sincerity. He had hypocrisy concealed in his heart. He was simply trying to deceive Muslims for the time being only to put matters right between them. Therefore, it was not acceptable. And when the Holy Prophet I himself declared him to be a hypocrite, the Khulafa' who succeeded him were left with no right to accept his Sadaqah - because, being a Muslim is a condition for Zakah. Now, after the Holy Prophet JI no one knows the hypocrisy hidden in the heart of a person, therefore, the rule to follow in future is: Anyone who makes Taubah and confesses to his Islam and 'Iman should be treated as Muslims are treated - no matter what lies in his heart. (Bayn a1-Qur'n)

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

ألم يعلم هؤلاء المنافقون أن الله يعلم ما يخفونه في أنفسهم وما يتحدثون به في مجالسهم من الكيد والمكر، وأن الله علام الغيوب؟ فسيجازيهم على أعمالهم التي أحصاها عليهم.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

وقوله : ( ألم يعلموا أن الله يعلم سرهم ونجواهم وأن الله علام الغيوب ) يخبرهم تعالى أنه يعلم السر وأخفى ، وأنه أعلم بضمائرهم وإن أظهروا أنه إن حصل لهم أموال تصدقوا منها وشكروا عليها ، فإنه أعلم بهم من أنفسهم ؛ لأنه تعالى علام الغيوب ، أي : يعلم كل غيب وشهادة ، وكل سر ونجوى ، ويعلم ما ظهر وما بطن .

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.