At-Tawba 9:122 · SocialQuran

سُورَةُ التَّوۡبَةِ · 9:122

MedinanRevelation order ١١٣Juzʾ ١١Page ٢٠٦

۞ وَمَا كَانَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا۟ كَآفَّةًۭ ۚ فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌۭ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا۟ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا۟ قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ

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Saheeh International · EN

And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.

Introduction Revelation Tafsir Transmission Debate

Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 122 of Sūrat At-Tawba (The Repentance), the 113th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 11. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

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Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl

Period: Medinan
Order revealed: 113 of 114
Surah: At-Tawba (9)

Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(And the believers should not all go out to fight�) [9:122]. Al-Kalbi reported that Ibn �Abbas said: �When Allah, exalted is He, revealed the defects of the hypocrites due to their failure to join Jihad, the believers said: �By Allah, we will never fail to join any military conquest or expedition undertaken by the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace�. So when the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, ordered the march of military expeditions to fight the enemy, all the Muslims went out to fight and left the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, alone in Medina. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse�.

Commentary

Tafsir

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Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And it is not (proper) for the believers to go out (to fight - Jihad) all together. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they may get instructions in religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil)(122) Allah the Exalted here explains His order to Muslims to march forth with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the battle of Tabuk. We should first mention that a group of the Salaf said that marching along with the Messenger ﷺ, when he went to battle, was at first obliged on all Muslims, because, as they say, Allah said, انفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالًا (March forth, whether you are light or heavy)[9:41], and, مَا كَانَ لِأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُم مِّنَ الْأَعْرَابِ (It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the bedouins of the neighborhood...)[9:120]. However, they said, Allah abrogated this r…

Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

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Provenance

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