9
SURE
Tevbe Suresi
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(O You who have attained belief! The treaties that you had signed with the idolaters of the Arabian Peninsula, no longer remain valid, for they have repeatedly violated them (9:4)). Freedom from obligation in this matter is proclaimed from Allah and His Messenger towards those Idolaters with whom you made a treaty.
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(O Idolaters who have repeatedly violated the peace treaties), Travel freely in the land four months, and know that you cannot escape Allah, and that Allah will bring disgrace to the rejecters of the Truth. (If you persist in rebellion, you will be overpowered and the Central Authority will subdue you).
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And a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger is herewith made to all mankind on this day of the Greatest Pilgrimage (9th day of the 12th lunar month, Zil-Hajjah). Allah disowns the idolaters, and so does His Messenger. So, if you repent, it will be better for you. But if you turn away from repentance, then know that you cannot escape Allah. (O Messenger) Give tiding of an awful retribution to those who are bent upon denying the Truth.
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When the four Sacred Months are over and if the idolaters are still aggressing, neither becoming law-abiding citizens of the State, nor emigrating, subdue them wherever you find them, take them captive, and besiege them, and ambush them. But if they repent from aggression, and help in the consolidation of the Divine System and in setting up the Just Economic Order of Zakat, then leave them free. Verily, Allah is Forgiving Merciful.
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(O Messenger) If anyone of the idolaters seeks your protection or a safe passage, grant him protection from the State. Convey to him the Word of God, and then send him to a place where he feels safe and secure. This kindness on your part is mandatory because they are people who have not yet seen the beauty of the Divine System.
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They trade away Allah's Revelations for petty gains and hinder people from His Path. Their deeds spread inequity and confusion in the society. (This trade mentioned in the Qur'an, generally indicates disregarding Divine Moral Values in favor of instant gratification achieved by following the selfish desire).
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If they mend their ways, and as law-abiding citizens, help consolidate the Divine System, and the Just Economic Order of Zakat, then they are your brothers in the System of life. We explain Our Revelations for those who wish to learn. (The usual translation of this verse conveys the meaning that if they start praying five times a day and give 2.5% poor-due per year, then they are your brothers in religion. This interpretation goes directly against the all-encompassing Ordinance of Allah that there is no compulsion or coercion in DEEN Islam (2:256)).
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Those who associate others with Allah whether idols, religious leaders or temporal leaders, shall not administer Masjids, the Centers of the Divine System. Nor shall those who choose for themselves sects in religion (9:107), (30:31), (72:18). They are bearing witness against themselves in their disbelief (of the Qur'an). All their works are vain and they will abide eternally in the Fire.
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Only those people are fit to administer the Masjids, the Centers of the Divine Order, who have unwavering belief in Allah and the Last Day. And, they strive to establish the Divine System, and to set up the Just Economic System of Zakat and fear none but Allah. They are the only ones who are rightly guided.
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Do you think that providing water to Pilgrims and caring for the Sacred Masjid (in Makkah) is equal to the work of him who has Conviction in Allah and the Last Day and then strives in the Cause of Allah? They are not equal in the Sight of Allah. Allah does not intervene to guide those who displace action with ritual.
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Say, "If your parents, your children, and your siblings, and your spouses, and your tribe, and the wealth you have acquired, and the business in which you fear a decline, and the houses you love, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His Cause, then wait till Allah brings His Command to pass. " (Systems based on other than the Supreme Divine Ideology are destined to collapse). Allah does not intervene to guide those who drift away from Divine Laws.
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Then Allah sent His peace of reassurance down upon His Messenger and upon the believers (48:4). And sent down armies you could not see, and punished the rejecters. (The Messenger led them from chaos back to discipline, and boosted their morale. That was the army unseen (3:125), (8:10), (9:40), (41:30)). Such is the reward of the rejecters of the Truth.
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O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! The idolaters have made their hearts unclean (and the Sacred Masjid of Makkah is the House of Pure Monotheism. Only those who believe in the Divine System can administer this Sacred House (9:18)). So let not the Idolaters come close to it after this year. If you fear scarcity of trade, Allah will enrich you with His Bounty. This is the Promise of Allah who is Knower, Wise.
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Fight against those who reject belief in Allah and the Last Day, and hold not Sacred what Allah and His Messenger have declared Sacred, nor acknowledge the Divine System, among those who received the Scripture, until they pay JIZYA, the tax, with willing submission, and feel themselves subjects of the State as law-abiding citizens. (As citizens of the State they must pay taxes, as the Muslims contribute toward the Just Economic Order of Zakat. In return, the State will guarantee them internal and external security, and equal rights of citizenship. JIZYA will always be less than Zakat, and will be payable only by the able-bodied Non-Muslim citizens of the State. In addition, these able-bodied citizens would be exempt from compulsory military service).
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The Jews say, "Uzayr is God's son," while the Christians say, "The Messiah is God's son. " They only utter baseless themes with their mouths, following in spirit assertions made in earlier times by people (like the Greeks and Zoroastrians) who denied the Truth! Allah condemns them. They are surely deluded. (Some Jews in the Arabian Peninsula used to believe that Osiris, the Egyptian idol, was God's son while others thought of Ezra, who restored the Torah after it had been lost in the Babylonian Exile, as God's son).
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They take their rabbis, priests and monks to be their Lords* besides Allah. And they take as their Lord, the Messiah son of Mary. Yet they were commanded to worship but One God. There is no god but He. Praise and Glory to Him, He is far too Glorious for what they ascribe to Him. (*Talmud shows the Jewish superstition of ascribing divinity to Ezra, rabbis, saints, doctors of law and learned men. And the doctrine of Papal infallibility, divinity of saints and praying to them are common in the Roman Catholic Church).
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O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! A great many religious leaders, rabbis, priests, monks, mullahs, yogis, and mystics devour the wealth of mankind in falsehood, and debar them from the Path of Allah. All those who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the Cause of Allah, to them give tidings (O Prophet) of a painful doom.
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Allah has ordained twelve months in one year. This has been Allah's Ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Four of these Months are Sacred, forbidden for all warfare. (Mankind, through international treaties, must agree to shun all kind of warfare during these four months. This will give them a cooling off period that sense may prevail over emotions). This is the Firm Religion, the right way. So, do not wrong yourselves by fighting during the Sacred Months. However, you may fight the idolaters in any or all these months if they fight against you in any or all of them (2:194). And know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves. (Four Sacred Months: (2:194), (9:1-5)).
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Altering the Sacred Months is only an addition to disbelief. It increases the straying of the disbelievers. They keep the total count of the Sacred Months as four, but keep shifting them within the same year or from year to year. Thus they allow what Allah has forbidden. Their evil actions seem pleasing to them. Allah does not intervene to guide those who have decided to live in darkness.
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O You who have chosen to be graced with belief! What is amiss with you that, when called upon, "Go forth in the Cause of Allah," you cling heavily to the ground? Do you choose pleasure in the life of this world rather than in the life to come? The enjoyment of this life is but a paltry thing compared to the Hereafter.
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If you did not go forth in Allah's Cause, His Law will afflict you with a painful doom. He will replace you with another nation. You cannot harm Him in the least. All things transpire according to the Laws appointed by Allah. (Only the competent nations live honorably in the earth (21:105), (24:55)).
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If you do not help the Messenger, Allah will help him, as always. When the disbelievers drove him out of his home, they were just two men. They had to seek refuge in a cave. The Messenger said to his companion, "Grieve not. Surely, Allah is with us." Then Allah sent His reassuring peace upon him, and supported him with invisible forces of faith and courage (9:26). He made the word of the disbelievers utterly low. Allah's Word remains Supreme, for Allah is Mighty, Wise.
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There are people among you that if it were a quick material gain and a short easy journey, they would follow you. But the strife and the distance seem heavy and long to them. They will swear by Allah, "If we could, we would have gone along with you." They destroy their "Self". Allah knows that they are liars.
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Say, "Can you expect for us other than one of the two things" (victory or martyrdom in the Cause of Allah?) On the other hand, we expect for you retribution from Allah's Law of Requital, and it may be at our hands when you fight against us. Wait then hopefully, and we shall hopefully wait with you."
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What prevents their contributions from being accepted is this: They do not truly believe in Allah and His Messenger. They only claim to believe (2:8). They join you in congregations of prayer only half-heartedly and just to be seen of men (4:142), (107:5). And they contribute only with great reluctance in their hearts. (Islam involves only willing submission to Allah (2:256).
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Let not their riches nor their children and party astonish you (O Prophet). It holds them back from the way of struggle. According to Allah's Law there is no Paradise for those who fail to strive and build it with their own hands (3:135), (16:32), (46:14-16). They live the life of hell in this world and they depart this world in sorrow for their rejection (9:85).
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It would have been enormously good for them if they were content with what Allah and His Messenger had given them (59:7). And if they said, "Allah suffices us. (What we have received in equity is good for us). Allah will give us of His Bounty, and the Messenger will distribute in kindness and equity. We turn to Allah with all our hopes." (The Central Authority will be just to all).
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Remember that the funds that the Central Authority receives as Alms and Charity belong to the following categories: The poor. Those who are not able to earn enough living to meet their basic needs, for any reason. Those whose running businesses have stalled or the ones who have lost their jobs, who have become needy with their active lives coming to a standstill. Officers who have been appointed by the government to collect alms and charity. Those who are hindered from joining the Divine System for financial reasons. To free men and women from bondage of any kind: physical slavery, unjust captivity, and oppression from any quarters. Those pressed under the load of ransom or heavy debt from an enemy. Defense of the Ideological State, in the Cause of Allah. The wayfarer who becomes needy, or travels to the believers in destitute condition, and the homeless son of the street. This is a Duty from Allah. He is the Knower, the Wise and His Commands are based on Knowledge and Wisdom.
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And among those (enemies of the Truth) are some who hurt the Prophet and say, " He is only a hearer. " Say, "A listener, that is good for you. He believes in Allah, has faith in the believers, and is a Mercy to those of you who believe." Those who vex and hurt the Messenger of Allah, for them is an awful punishment. (The Messenger is not an emperor or a king who keep guards around them. He is accessible to all at all time and it is good for you that he pays attention to everyone).
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The hypocrites, both men and women, are all of a kind. They enjoin the doing of what is wrong and forbid the doing of what is right, and withhold their hands from doing good. They are oblivious of Allah, and so He is oblivious of them. (Whoever forgets Allah, forgets himself and his honored stature of being a human (59:19)). Verily, the hypocrites drift away from humanity.
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There have been people like you before who were mightier than you in strength, more affluent than you in wealth and children and party. They enjoyed their share of this worldly life. And you have been enjoying your share, just as they did, and you indulge in idle talk as they did. Such are the people whose works have perished in the world and in the life to come. And it is they, yes, they who are the losers.
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Has not the history reached them of those before them? Of the People of Noah, Aad, Thamud, Abraham's folk, the dwellers of Midyan, and the disasters that befell them. Their Messengers had come to them with clear evidence of the Truth. Allah never did injustice to them. But they used to wrong their own people and thus wronged their own "Self".
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And the believers, both men and women, are colleagues one of another. They enjoin the doing of Right and forbid the doing of Wrong (The distinction between right and wrong will never be arbitrary. The Qur'an is the eternal Criterion of what is right and what is wrong (2:185)). Together, they help establish the Divine System, and set up the Just Economic Order of Zakat (9:60). This is how they obey Allah and His Messenger. These are the men and women on whom Allah will shower His Mercy. Allah is Mighty, Wise.
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O Prophet! (Establishment of the Divine System will build a paradise on earth. But you will meet staunch opposition). Strive hard against the rejecters of the Truth and the hypocrites! And be tough with them without the least inclination towards compromise in matters of Ideology. Their ultimate abode is Hell, a miserable destination indeed.
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(The hypocrites) swear by Allah that they have said nothing wrong. Yet they most certainly have uttered a word of disbelief (9:61-62). And have denied the Truth after professing their surrender to Allah. They were aiming at something beyond their reach (attaining inner peace without sincerity to the Divine Guidance). And they could find no fault in the Divine System except that Allah has enriched them and caused His Messenger to enrich them out of His Bounty. Hence, it will be good for them if they repent and correct themselves. But if they still turn away, Allah will cause them to suffer grievous retribution in this world and in the life to come. And they will have no protector or helper in the earth.
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It is these hypocrites who find fault with such of the believers who give generously, and they find fault with such believers who have nothing to give but the fruit of their toil and labor. They ridicule them all. Allah's Law of Requital will cause their ridicule to rebound on themselves, and grievous suffering awaits them.
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(O Prophet! You very compassionately ask forgiveness for them. ) It does not matter if you ask forgiveness for them, or not, Allah will not forgive them even if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness. They have rejected Allah and His Messenger. Allah does not intervene to guide people who intentionally drift away from the Right Path.
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Those (hypocrites) who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the Messenger of Allah, and disliked to strive with their wealth and persons in Allah's Cause. They said, "Let us not go forth in heat." Say, "The fire of Hell is more intense", if they but understood. (And the aggressors could soon bring the heat of the conflict to their homes).
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If Allah returns you to a situation where they ask your permission to go forth, say, "You shall never again go out with me for any foe. For you were well pleased with sitting still the first time. Stay at home then with those who are obliged to remain behind (women, children, elderly men, the sick and the disabled).
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Let not their wealth nor their children or party astonish you! Allah's Law will punish them with these things and their "Self" will depart while they are disbelievers (9:55). (Hoarding of wealth and taking pride in children, party and possession causes the humans to ignore the Divine Laws in their daily lives, thus these things become a tribulation for them (2:195), (8:28), (18:32), (63:9), (68:14), (57:20)).
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Not to be blamed are the physically weak, the elderly, the sick, and the ones who have no means to offer, so long as they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger (48:17). They should keep doing what they can to support the Cause. There is no way of blame against the doers of such good. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
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They will make excuse to you when you believers return. Say, "Make no excuse, for we shall not believe you. Allah has informed us about you. Allah and His Messenger, the Central Authority, will keep you under probation. And then you will be brought back to Him, the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, and He will make you truly understand what you were doing in life."
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And the first to lead the way are the emigrants (from Makkah), their hosts who sheltered them (in Madinah), and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. He has made ready for them Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. This is the Supreme Triumph.
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(The hypocrites keep making schemes. ) They built a Masjid out of mischief and to promote disbelief, and sectarianism among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger before. They will surely swear, "We had but good intentions", but Allah bears witness that they are liars.
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Allah has bought from the believers their persons and their goods, for (in return) theirs is the Garden. They shall fight in the Cause of Allah, and shall slay and be slain. It is a Promise that is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel, and the Qur'an. Who can fulfill a promise better than Allah? Rejoice then in the bargain you have made, for that is the Supreme Triumph. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 6:32. Matthew 10:5, 10:39, 19:29, 21:19).
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Triumphant are those who: Return to the Right Path and take corrective action as soon as they feel that they have erred. Obey the Commands of Allah. Praise Allah in word and action by serving His creation. Pick up lessons from travel and from history. Are always humble before the Divine System. Adore Allah alone. Promote the Qur'anic Values, and resist the non-Qur'anic customs. Guard against trespassing the Limits ordained by Allah. These are the men and women who deserve a pleasant life in both worlds (33:35), (66:5). Give them the glad tiding (O Messenger).
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Abraham asked forgiveness for his father because of a promise that he had made. The promise was based on the hope that his father would mend his ways. When Abraham was sure that his father was a persistent opponent of Allah's Commands, he desisted from asking forgiveness for him (14:41), (19:47). Abraham was kind-hearted, clement.
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Allah showed compassion to the three men who had stayed behind. They felt hopeless and the vast earth seemed shrunk to them, and their lives became narrow for them. They realized that there is no refuge but within the Divine Laws. Then He turned to them in Mercy that they too might turn in hopeful repentance (9:106). Allah is Acceptor of repentance, Merciful.
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People of Madinah, and the Bedouins around, should not stay behind the Messenger. Nor shall they prefer their lives to his life. For, any thirst, effort or hunger that afflicts them in the Cause of Allah, or a single step that they take that angers the rejecters, and whatever gain they gain from the enemy, becomes a credit, a good deed recorded for them. Allah never loses the wages of the doers of good.
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