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
ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Then Allāh will accept repentance after that for whom He wills; and Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.
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.
وَءَاخَرُونَ مُرْجَوْنَ لِأَمْرِ ٱللَّهِ إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
And [there are] others deferred until the command of Allāh - whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.
وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتِ وَٱلْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ هِىَ حَسْبُهُمْ ۚ وَلَعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ
Allāh has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally. It is sufficient for them. And Allāh has cursed them, and for them is an enduring punishment.