Transliteration:( Yaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa tattakhizoo 'aduwwee wa 'aduwaakum awliyaaa'a tulqoona ilaihim bilmawaddati wa qad kafaroo bima jaaa'akum minal haqq, yukhrijoonar Rasoola wa iyyaakum an tu'minoo billaahi rabbikum in kuntum kharajtum jihaadan fee sabeelee wabtighaaa'a mardaatee; tusirroona ilaihim bilma waddati wa ana a'alamu bimaaa akhfaitum wa maaa a'lantum; wa many yaf'alhu minkum faqad dalla sawaaa'as sabeel )
1. Reason for its Revelation Barah, an infidel lady from Makkah came to Madina after being totally distressed with her destitution. The believers gave her a great deal of assistance. One of the Noble Companions, Hatim ibn Abi Balta gave her ten dinars(gold pieces) and one sheet as a letter to the Makkans in which he had written that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم would soon be attacking, so be ready for the Conquest of Makkah. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم gave the Companions information about this. He asked Hazrat Alli and a few Companions to go to Khakh Garden to intercept a travelling woman carrying the letter of Hatim ibn Balta.
Take the letter from her, if she gives it willingly leave her, but if she refuses, kill her. They found her in that garden and arrested her. At first she refused to hand over the letter, but when she was threatened with death, she took out the letter from the back-knot of her hair and handed it over.
The Holy Prophet asked Hatim to explain what he had done. He began by saying that O Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم that his children are totally helpless in Makkah. He has no other family or relatives there to take care of them. He thought that by doing this favour to the Makkans they may protect his children there, because they are certainly doomed and my letter would be in no way save them from it.
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه واله وسلم accepted his plea but Hazrat Umar Farooq sought permission to put Hatim to the sword. However, the Messenger of Allah turned down the request by saying that Hatim was from the blessed warriors of Badr At that point in time this auspicious verse was revealed. This verse reveals the Holy Prophet's صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم knowlege of the unseen
2 From this emerge a few issues:
2.1 The enemy of the pious servants of Allah Almighty is the enemy of Allah Almighty. The infidels of Makkah were the enemies of the believers, but Allah Almighty has declared them as His enemies.
2.2. Friendship with the infidels is absolutely forbidden, even if that infidel happens to be one's father, son, wife, etc.
2.3. To inform the infidels about the secrets of the believers is an act of treachery and rebellion against the religion and the people.
2.4. Man does not become an infidel by committing a sin. Observe, Allah Almighty has called Hatim a believer.
3. By truth is meant the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم whose every action and every word is true and is from One who is Truth. Or, it could mean the Holy Qur'aan, or Religion of Islam (Tafseer Roohul Mu'ani, etc).
4. This means the infidels are compelling you to migrate from Makkah Muazzamah. Otherwise, in truth the intention of the infidels was to martyr him and not to expel him out the sacred city of Makkah.
5. This means they are enemies of your faith, yet you want to help them. How wrong this is. The enemy of faith is far more dangerous. The only reason why they expelled you out of Makkah is because you are believers. Other than that there was no other fault.
6. From this we learn that Jihad in the Path of Allah Almighty will only take place when the heart of the Islamic warrior is full of love for the believer and hatred for the infidel. If there is a little inclination in his heart for the infidel, then he will not be regarded as a soldier striving in the Path of Allah Almighty.
7. This means that you sending such s message to the infidels, which will make them to love you, and due to this love they will protect your children in Makkah. This is what is expected from message of love, because Hazrat Hatim had done exactly this.
8 This means Allah Almighty is fully aware finner inclination and physical deeds .Thus, keep your hearts clean, from love for the infidels.
1. Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies Allah. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. 2. O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do 3. Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do. 4. Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows as if they were a solid structure.
We mentioned in many a places before the meaning of Allah’s statement,
(Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies Allah. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.) Therefore, we do not need to repeat its meaning here. Allah’s statement,
(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) This refutes those who neglect to fulfill their promises. This honorable Ayah supports the view that several scholars of the Salaf held, that it is necessary to fulfill the promise, regardless of whether the promise includes some type of wealth for the person receiving the promise or otherwise. They also argue from the Sunnah, with the Hadith recorded in the Two Sahihs in which Allah’s Messenger said,
(There are three signs for a hypocrite: when he promises, he breaks his promise; when speaks, he lies; and when he is entrusted, he betrays.) And in another Hadith in the Sahih,
(There are four characteristics which if one has all of them, he is the pure hypocrite, and if anyone has any of them, he has a characteristic of hypocrisy, until he abandons it.) So he mentioned breaking the promise among these four characteristics. We mentioned the meaning of these two Hadiths in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, and to Allah is the praise and the thanks. Therefore Allah implied this meaning, when He continued His admonishment by saying,
(Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.) Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amir bin Rabi`ah said, “Allah’s Messenger came to us while I was a young boy, and I went out to play. My mother said, `O `Abdullah! Come, I want to give you something.’ Allah’s Messenger said to her,
(What did you want to give him) She said, `Dates.’ He said,
(If you had not given them to him, it would have been written as a lie in your record.)†Muqatil bin Hayyan said, “The faithful believers said, `If we only knew the dearest good actions to Allah, we would perform them.’ Thus, Allah told them about the dearest actions to Him,saying,
(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows) Allah stated what He likes, and they were tested on the day of Uhud. However, they retreated and fled, leaving the Prophet behind. It was about their case that Allah revealed this Ayah:
(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) Allah says here, `The dearest of you to Me, is he who fights in My cause.â€â€™ Some said that it was revealed about the gravity of fighting in battle, when one says that he fought and endured the battle, even though he did not do so. Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was sent down to admonish some people who used to say that they killed, fought, stabbed, and did such and such during battle, even though they did not do any of it. Sa`id bin Jubayr said about Allah’s statement,
(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows (ranks)) “Before Allah’s Messenger began the battle against the enemy, he liked to line up his forces in rows; in this Surah, Allah teaches the believers to do the same.†He also said that Allah’s statement,
(as if they were a solid structure.) means, its parts are firmly connected to each other; in rows for battle. Muqatil bin Hayyan said, “Firmly connected to each other.†Ibn `Abbas commented on the meaning of the Ayah,
(as if they were a solid structure.) by saying, “They are like a firm structure that does not move, because its parts are cemented to each other.â€
1. It would be appropriate to give at the outset the details of the incident concerning which these verses were revealed so that the subject that follows is understood easily. The commentators agree, and Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Urwah bin Zubair and others also have unanimously reported that these verses were revealed at the time when a letter of Hatib bin Abi Baltaa to the pagans of Makkah was intercepted.
It so happened that, when the Quraish broke the treaty of Hudaibiyah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) started making preparations for an invasion of Makkah, but he did not tell anyone, except a few close companions, about the goal of the expedition. At about the same time a woman arrived from Makkah, who had been a slave-girl of the Bani Abdul Muttalib, and then after her freedom had adopted singing as her profession. She complained of poverty to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and requested for financial help. The Prophet (peace be upon him) appealed to Bani Abdul Muttalib and he satisfied her need. When she was about to leave for Makkah, Hatib bin Abi Baltaa met her and quietly gave her a letter addressed to some of the Makkah chiefs and paid her ten dinars so that she kept the secret and carried the letter to the addressees secretly. When she had just left Al-Madinah, Allah informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) of it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately sent Ali, Zubair and Miqdad bin Aswad after her with the instruction: Make haste. At Raudah khaki (12 miles from Al-Madinah on the road to Makkah) you will meet a woman, who carries a letter from Hatib to the pagans of Makkah. Seize that letter by any means you like. If she delivers the letter willingly, let her go; if she refuses to deliver it, kill her. When these companions reached the place, they found the woman there. They demanded the letter from her. She replied that she had a letter. They searched her but could find no letter. At last, they told her to deliver the letter, otherwise they would strip her and search her. When she saw that there was no way of escape, she took out the letter from her hair-plait and delivered it to them, and they brought it to the Prophet (peace be upon him). When the letter was opened and read, it was found to contain information to the Quraish that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was making preparations to attack them. (In different traditions different wordings of the letter have been reported but the purport of all is one and the same). The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Hatib what induced him to act thus. He replied: Do not make haste in this matter of mine. I have not done this because I have become a disbeliever or an apostate, and have started preferring disbelief to Islam. But the truth is that my near and dear ones are still in Makkah. I do not belong to the tribe of the Quraish, but had settled there under the guardianship of some of them. The families of the Emigrants, which are still in Makkah, will be defended and protected by their tribes and clans, but I have no tribe which could give protection to my family. Therefore, I sent this letter in order to keep the Quraish under obligation so that they did not harm my children. (According to Hatib’s son Abdur Rahman, Habit had his children and brother still in Makkah at that time, and according to Hatib’s own report his mother was also there). Hearing what Hatib had to say, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the people: Hatib has told you the truth. That is, the real motive of his action was this and not any treachery against Islam or any intention to support disbelief. Umar rose and said: Permit me, O Messenger of Allah, that I should cut off this hypocrite’s head. He has been treacherous to Allah and His Messenger and the Muslims. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: This man has participated in the Battle of Badr. You may not know, O Umar, Allah may have looked favorably at the people of Badr and said: Do as you please, I have forgiven you. (The words in the last sentence are different in different traditions. In some these are to the effect: I have granted you forgiveness; in some other: I am your forgiver; and in still an other: I will forgive you). Hearing this Umar wept and said: Allah and His Messenger have the best knowledge. This is a resume of those many traditions which Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Daud, Timidhi, Nasai, Ibn Jarir Tabari, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Hibban and Ibn Abi Hatim have related on the authority of several reliable transmitters. The most authentic of these is the tradition which Ali’s secretary, Ubaidullah bin Abu Rafi, heard from Ali himself, and from him Ali’s grandson, Hasan bin Muhammad bin Hanafiyah, heard and conveyed to the later reporters. In none of these there is any mention that Hatib was pardoned when he presented this excuse. But there is no hint either to show that he was awarded some punishment. That is why the Muslim scholars have concluded that Hatib’s excuse was accepted and he was pardoned.
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