قُلْ إِن كَانَ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ وَأَزْوَٰجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلٌ ٱقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَـٰرَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَـٰكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَآ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَجِهَادٍ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ فَتَرَبَّصُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ 24
Translations
Say, [O Muḥammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allāh and His Messenger and jihād [i.e., striving] in His cause, then wait until Allāh executes His command. And Allāh does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."
Transliteration
Qul in kana aba'ukum wa abnaukum wa ikhwanukum wa azwajukum wa ashiratukum wa amwalin iqtaraftumuhaa wa tijaratun takhshawna kasadaha wa masakinu tardawna ahabba ilaykum mina Allah wa rasulih wa jihad fee sabilihi fatarabbasu hatta yatia Allah bi-amrihi wa Allah la yahdil-qawmal-fasiqin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a test of faith, stating that if worldly attachments—family, wealth, commerce, and dwellings—are more beloved than Allah, His Messenger, and jihad in His cause, then such people are committing a grave sin. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this ayah does not forbid loving these things absolutely, but rather warns against prioritizing them over one's duties to Allah and His Messenger. The conclusion warns that those who fail this test (the fasiqun—the transgressors) will not receive Allah's guidance.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in the Medinan period as part of Surah At-Tawbah, which addresses issues of loyalty and commitment to Islam and the Muslim community. It was revealed in the context of some Muslims being reluctant to participate in expeditions and Jihad due to their attachment to worldly pursuits and family obligations, reflecting the testing times when the early Muslim community faced threats and required unwavering commitment.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Abu Hurairah reports the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: 'None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his children, and all people.' This directly reinforces the hierarchy of love mentioned in Surah 9:24. Additionally, the hadith from At-Tirmidhi about abandoning one's family for jihad illustrates the practical application of this principle.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that sincere faith requires examining our priorities: Is our love for Allah and obedience to His commands greater than our attachment to family, wealth, and comfort? For modern believers, it is a reminder that while loving family and working for provision are permissible, they must never supersede our obligations to Allah, and that true spiritual success comes from ordering our loves according to Islamic principles.
Related Ayahs
لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ ۙ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُم مُّدْبِرِينَ
Allāh has already given you victory in many regions and [even] on the day of Ḥunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you at all, and the earth was confining for you with [i.e., in spite of] its vastness; then you turned back, fleeing.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُۥ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ ٱلْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلدِّينِ كُلِّهِۦ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْمُشْرِكُونَ
It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allāh dislike it.
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوضُ وَنَلْعَبُ ۚ قُلْ أَبِٱللَّهِ وَءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَرَسُولِهِۦ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only conversing and playing." Say, "Is it Allāh and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?"
وَمَا كَانَ ٱسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَآ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥٓ أَنَّهُۥ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لَأَوَّٰهٌ حَلِيمٌ
And the request of forgiveness of Abraham for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became apparent to him [i.e., Abraham] that he [i.e., the father] was an enemy to Allāh, he disassociated himself from him. Indeed was Abraham compassionate and patient.