بَرَآءَةٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَـٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ 1
Translations
[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allāh and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists.
Transliteration
Barā'atun min-Allāhi wa rasūlihī ilā alladhīna 'āhattum min-al-mushrikīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This opening ayah of Surah At-Tawbah announces a declaration of disavowal (barā'ah) from Allah and His Messenger to the polytheists with whom the Muslims had made treaties. According to classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, this verse marks the abrogation of treaties with idolaters who had violated their covenants, signifying a break in diplomatic relations and the end of the peace agreements. The verse establishes that both Allah and His Prophet take responsibility for this formal rejection, emphasizing the seriousness and divine backing of this pronouncement.
Revelation Context
This surah was revealed in the 9th year of Hijrah during the period of Prophet Muhammad's military campaigns. The verse specifically refers to the polytheists of Mecca and their allies who had repeatedly broken their treaties with the Muslims, particularly the Quraysh's violations of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The context involves the Prophet's expedition to Tabuk and the subsequent declaration that polytheists would no longer be granted the security (dhimmah) previously afforded to them under treaty agreements.
Related Hadiths
The historical narrations in Sirah sources (such as Ibn Ishaq's accounts) detail how the polytheists violated their treaties by supporting the tribes that attacked the Muslims. Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Muslim regarding the declaration that 'after this year, polytheists shall not enter Al-Masjid Al-Haram,' which implements the consequences of this barā'ah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that agreements made in good faith must be honored, but when one party repeatedly violates covenants, just action requires their termination. For believers today, it emphasizes the importance of integrity in contracts while recognizing that justice sometimes demands ending relationships that have become fundamentally dishonest.
Related Ayahs
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَوٰتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Take, [O Muḥammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allāh's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلْأَحْبَارِ وَٱلرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ ٱلذَّهَبَ وَٱلْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنفِقُونَهَا فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
O you who have believed, indeed many of the scholars and the monks devour the wealth of people unjustly and avert [them] from the way of Allāh. And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allāh - give them tidings of a painful punishment.
وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهُ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ إِيمَـٰنًا ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فَزَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًا وَهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
And whenever a sūrah is revealed, there are among them [i.e., the hypocrites] those who say, "Which of you has this increased in faith?" As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing.
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّهُۥ مَن يُحَادِدِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَأَنَّ لَهُۥ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدًا فِيهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْخِزْىُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Do they not know that whoever opposes Allāh and His Messenger - that for him is the fire of Hell, wherein he will abide eternally? That is the great disgrace.