Surah 9

Surah 9:83

"If God brings you back to some contingent of them, and they ask your permission to go forth, say: ‘You will never go forth with me, nor will you ever fight any enemy with me. Surely you were pleased with sitting (at home) the first time, so sit with the ones who stay behind.’"
Hypocrites are barred from participating in Jihad Verses 9:83
Show Full Scripture Context (9:83) — 1 Verse
Verse 83

فَإِن رَّجَعَكَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَىٰ طَآئِفَةٖ مِّنۡهُمۡ فَٱسۡتَـٔۡذَنُوكَ لِلۡخُرُوجِ فَقُل لَّن تَخۡرُجُواْ مَعِيَ أَبَدٗا وَلَن تُقَٰتِلُواْ مَعِيَ عَدُوًّاۖ إِنَّكُمۡ رَضِيتُم بِٱلۡقُعُودِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٖ فَٱقۡعُدُواْ مَعَ ٱلۡخَٰلِفِينَ

If God brings you back to some contingent of them, and they ask your permission to go forth, say: ‘You will never go forth with me, nor will you ever fight any enemy with me. Surely you were pleased with sitting (at home) the first time, so sit with the ones who stay behind.’

Quoted Scripture
"83. If Allah brings you back to a party of them (the hypocrites), and they ask your permission to go out (to fight), say: "Never shall you go out with me nor fight an enemy with me; you were pleased to sit (inactive) on the first occasion, then you sit (now) with those who lag behind.""

Allah commands His Messenger, peace be upon him,
{If Allah brings you back}, from this battle,
{to a party of them} in reference to the twelve (hypocrite) men, according to Qatadah,
{and they ask your permission to go out}, with you to another battle,
{say: "Never shall you go out with me nor fight an enemy with me..."}

as an admonishment and punishment for them. Allah mentioned the reason for this decision,
{"You were pleased to sit (inactive) on the first occasion..."}

Allah said in a similar Ayah,
{And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time.} [6:110]
The recompense of an evil deed includes being directed to follow it with another evil deed, while the reward of a good deed includes being directed to another good deed after it. For instance, Allah said concerning the 'Umrah of Hudaybiyyah,
{Those who lagged behind will say, when you set forth to take the spoils.} [48:15]
Allah said next,
{"...then you sit (now) with those who lag behind."}

in reference to the men who lagged behind from (Tabuk) battle, according to Ibn 'Abbas.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 4, Page 488-490)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.