إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا۟ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْـًٔا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 39
Translations
If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all. And Allāh is over all things competent.
Transliteration
Illa tanfiroo yu'aththibkum adhaaban aliman wa yastabdil qawman ghayrakum wa la tadurroohu shay'an wa Allahu ala kulli shay'in qadeer
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah warns the believers of severe punishment if they neglect the obligation to perform Jihad (striving in the cause of Allah), particularly in the context of the military expedition mentioned in Surah At-Tawbah. Allah emphasizes that if the Muslims fail to respond to this call, He will replace them with another people who will obey Him, and their failure to participate will not harm Allah in any way, as He is all-powerful and self-sufficient. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note this ayah addresses both the obligation of Jihad and the consequence of abandoning communal religious duties.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in the 9th year of Hijrah during the context of the Tabuk expedition, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) called upon the Muslims to prepare for battle against the Byzantine Christians. Some believers were reluctant to participate due to the hardship of travel during harvest season, and this ayah served as a stern warning against their hesitation and excuse-making.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever dies without having fought or having made up his mind to fight, dies on one of the branches of hypocrisy' (Sahih Muslim 1910). Additionally, the hadith of the Tabuk expedition in Sahih Bukhari illustrates the context of this revelation and the Prophet's emphasis on participation in Jihad.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that avoiding our religious obligations—whether Jihad in its broader sense of striving for Allah's cause or other communal duties—carries serious spiritual consequences, and reminds us that Allah's will and purposes cannot be thwarted by human disobedience, as He can always find others to fulfill His commands. For modern believers, it emphasizes the importance of responding to calls for collective religious responsibility and understanding that our participation matters for the strength and continuity of the Islamic community.
Related Ayahs
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ عَـٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَلَمْ يُظَـٰهِرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا فَأَتِمُّوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَىٰ مُدَّتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allāh loves the righteous [who fear Him].
وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مَسْجِدًا ضِرَارًا وَكُفْرًا وَتَفْرِيقًۢا بَيْنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَإِرْصَادًا لِّمَنْ حَارَبَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَلَيَحْلِفُنَّ إِنْ أَرَدْنَآ إِلَّا ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ
And [there are] those [hypocrites] who took for themselves a mosque for causing harm and disbelief and division among the believers and as a station for whoever had warred against Allāh and His Messenger before. And they will surely swear, "We intended only the best." And Allāh testifies that indeed they are liars.
كَيْفَ وَإِن يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا يَرْقُبُوا۟ فِيكُمْ إِلًّا وَلَا ذِمَّةً ۚ يُرْضُونَكُم بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَتَأْبَىٰ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ
How [can there be a treaty] while, if they gain dominance over you, they do not observe concerning you any pact of kinship or covenant of protection? They satisfy you with their mouths, but their hearts refuse [compliance], and most of them are defiantly disobedient.
ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ وَعَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَنزَلَ جُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَعَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
Then Allāh sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down soldiers [i.e., angels] whom you did not see and punished those who disbelieved. And that is the recompense of the disbelievers.