Tafseer Surat Taubah 43 And Infallibility

[Amanda Habiba]

السلام عليكم!

I was reading Quran today and came across this ayah (9:43) which appears like the prophet (pbuhahf) is being reprimanded by Allah (swt).

عَفَا اللّهُ عَنكَ لِمَ أَذِنتَ لَهُمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَتَعْلَمَ الْكاذِبِينَ

“May Allah pardon you! Why did you give them leave before you had found out those who spoke the truth and before you had known the liars?”

I tried looking for a good shia tafseer online but no luck. Does anyone know of a good tafseer explaining this ayah and how it doesn't contradict the concept of infallibility?

[Ethics]

Aqa Mahdi Puya says:

 

Like verse 2 of Fat-h, the companions are addressed here through the Holy Prophet. The manner, mode and trend of expression is the same as in verse 1 of Tahrim or verse 68 of Anfal. The Holy Prophet had the option of giving permission (Nur: 62), and there was no prohibitory order prior to his action. He did not want to expose the hypocrites on his own, unless Allah condemns them as He does here and in other places.

 

Previous verses:

 

[shakir 9:38] O you who believe! What (excuse) have you that when it is said to you: Go forth in Allah's way, you should incline heavily to earth; are you contented with this world's life instead of the hereafter? But the provision of this world's life compared with the hereafter is but little.

 

[shakir 9:39] If you do not go forth, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement and bring in your place a people other than you, and you will do Him no harm; and Allah has power over all things.

 

[shakir 9:40] If you will not aid him, Allah certainly aided him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So Allah sent down His tranquillity upon him and strengthened him with hosts which you did not see, and made lowest the word of those who disbelieved; and the word of Allah, that is the highest; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.

 

[shakir 9:41] Go forth light and heavy, and strive hard in Allah's way with your property and your persons; this is better for you, if you know.

 

[shakir 9:42] Had it been a near advantage and a short journey, they would certainly have followed you, but the tedious journey was too long for them; and they swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would certainly have gone forth with you; they cause their own souls to perish, and Allah knows that they are most surely

 

[shakir 9:43] Allah pardon you! Why did you give them leave until those who spoke the truth had become manifest to you and you had known the liars?

 

As we can see, Allah is not reprimanding him, Allah is the one who gave him such an authority. It is to show the hypocrisy of certain companions. Muhammad A.S was so merciful that he allowed those who wanted to leave, to leave, before those hypocrites could show their true selves. Muhammad A.S, waited for Allah to reprimand the hypocrites.

 

[shakir 24:62] Only those are believers who believe in Allah and His Messenger, and when they are with him on a momentous affair they go not away until they have asked his permission; surely they who ask your permission are they who believe in Allah and His Messenger; so when they ask your permission for some affair of theirs, give permission to whom you please of them and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

 

Aqa Mahdi Puya says;

 

This verse explains "afallahu anka" (Allah makes allowance for you) in verse 43 of al Bara-at. Allah has already given the Holy Prophet the authority to give or refuse permission to whomsoever he liked in the exercise of his impartial discretion. The blame in verse 43 of al Barat is on those who asked for his permission. Those who asked his permission to leave (in al Bara-at: 43 to 45) were hypocrites who did not want to take part in the defensive preparations, therefore were blamed and condemned.

 

 

[shakir 24:63] Do not hold the Messenger's calling (you) among you to be like your calling one to the other; Allah indeed knows those who steal away from among you, concealing themselves; therefore let those beware who go against his order lest a trial afflict them or there befall them a painful chastisement.

 

Among the companions there were some who were unwilling to attend the assemblies summoned by the Holy Prophet, so they used to stealthily disappear. This tendency to bypass the commands of the Holy Prophet became a common practice in his last days when he was about to depart from this world

http://quran.al-islam.org/

[peace seeker II]

it is quite clearly saying "pardon" .. directly to the prophet .. because Allah is obviously not happy with one of the decisions made by him ..

 

pardon is obviously a result of having done something wrong ..

 

if Allah says "Allah pardon you" .. then it shows proof of fallibility.

 

may Allah pardon us all

عفا الله عنك

may Allah pardon you 9:43

[narsis]

Bismillah.

 

Salaam.

 

This verse (عَفَا اللّهُ عَنكَ) is in fact a pray (Dua) for the Prophet (p) and does not show any negative action of him. It means that if you have given permission to Munafiqin they would be exposed earlier and the next forth verse proves this in which Allah says:

 

لَوْ خَرَجُواْ فِيكمُ مَّا زَادُوكُمْ إِلَّا خَبَالًا وَ لَأَوْضَعُواْ خِلَالَكُمْ يَبْغُونَكُمُ الْفِتْنَةَ وَ فِيكمُ‏ْ سَمَّاعُونَ لهَُمْ وَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمُ بِالظَّلِمِين

 

Had they gone forth with you, they would have only added to your troubles, and they would have surely spread rumours in your midst, seeking to cause sedition among you. They have some spies among you, and Allah knows best the wrongdoers.

 

This verse shows that not even his not givving them permission was not beneficial, but also what he has done (giving permission) was beneficial to other Muslims because if he brought them, Muslims would be thinking differently and be put in corruption.

 

With Duas.

 

Narsis.

[peace seeker II]

Bismilah

Walaikum salaam

Why would Allah talk about pardoning if there is nothing to pardon .

That's clearly Allah talking about the need of being pardoned

Wasalam

[Nader Zaveri]

(salam)
(bismillah)

 

Here is a narration from our A'immah (as) where they are explaining this verse, this hadith is Da`eef (weak) though.

 

ابن بابويه: قال: حدثنا تميم بن عبد الله بن تميم القرشي (رضي الله عنه)، قال: حدثني أبي، عن حمدان بن سليمان النيسابوري، عن علي بن محمد بن الجهم، قال: حضرت مجلس المأمون و عنده الرضا علي ابن موسى (عليه السلام)، فقال له المأمون: يا بن رسول الله، أليس من قولك إن الأنبياء معصومون؟ قال: «بلى». فقال له المأمون فيما سأله: يا أبا الحسن، فأخبرني عن قول الله تعالى: عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْكَ لِمَ أَذِنْتَ لَهُ.

قال الرضا (عليه السلام): «هذا مما نزل بإياك أعني و اسمعي يا جارة، خاطب الله تعالى بذلك نبيه (صلى الله عليه و آله) و أراد به أمته، و كذلك قوله عز و جل: لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخاسِرِينَ «1». و قوله تعالى:

وَ لَوْ لا أَنْ ثَبَّتْناكَ لَقَدْ كِدْتَ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئاً قَلِيلًا «2»». قال: صدقت، يا بن رسول الله.

From `Ali b. Muhammad b. al-Jahm said, al-Ma’mun was present in a gather and with him was al-Rida `Ali b. Musa (as), and al-Ma’mun said to him (al-Rida): “O song of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), is it not from your belief that the prophets are Ma`soom? He (as) said: ‘Yes’

 

Then al-Ma’mun said to him, in what he asked him: ‘O Aba al-Hasan, inform me about the saying of Allah, the Most High: “May Allah pardon you, Why did you grant them...” (Surah al-Tawbah (9) : Verse 43)

 

Al-Rida (as) said: ‘This is the case of addressing someone in speaking while actually intending to have someone else hear what you are saying. Allah, the Most High, was addressing the Prophet by that but He intended it for his Ummah.

 

And it is like His saying: “If you ascribe a partner, your work will be nullified (or, failed) and you will be from the losers” (Surah al-Zumar (39) : Verse 65)

 

And His, The Most High, saying: “And had we not given you strength, you would have inclined to them a little” (Surah al-Isra’ (17) : Verse 74).

 

He (al-Ma’mun) said: ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, you are truthful!’

Source:
al-Saduq, Uyoon al-Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 1, Ch. 15, pg. 202, hadith # 1

Edited December 2, 2014 by Nader Zaveri