Surah Tawbah and the Minor Judgment Day
The Holy Quran is the story of warning by Allah’s last prophet and messenger, meaning he was sent as a messenger in the land of Arabia and there he gave the call of truth to two main groups living there, namely the Children of Ismail and the People of the Book. In a period of less than a quarter of a century, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) completed the argument on the Children of Ismail, who were led by the Quraysh, and the two groups of the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians. That is, the call of truth was delivered to them with the utmost explanation and clarity. The Holy Quran is the story of this call of warning, glad tidings, and the completion of the argument, after which Allah’s law was enacted, which has always been His tradition in the matter of messengers, that is, the decision of punishment on the disbelievers and victory and salvation for the believers was made. Surah Tawbah is the declaration of this decision. It is, as it were, the Minor Judgment that took place in the land of Arabia, and Surah Tawbah is a narrative of this Judgment from which we can deduce how Allah will deal with different human groups on the Day of Judgment. Those who want to see its practical image can see it in the form of an allegory in my novel “When Life Begins”.
Surah Tawbah: the form of the Lord’s decree
Now let us see one by one what topics have been mentioned in this Surah and how they guide how Allah will deal with humanity on the Day of Resurrection. Keep in mind that Surah Tawbah of the Noble Quran, was revealed during the final stage of the warning phase. Although that was the final phase in which the decision was being announced, at the same time, people’s conditions, statements, demands, affairs, attitudes, mistakes, misguidances, etc., were all under discussion. The Holy Quran, as a living book, was commenting on them, responding, providing guidance, and also announcing the decision. I will ignore all other topics and focus only on the ‘decisions‘ for my discussion, if I start explaining the other topics as well, then it would become an interpretation of the entire surah, which is obviously not my topic at the moment. My topic is to state the decisions regarding people by Allah and to make some inferences about the Day of Judgment from them.
The Beginning of Surah Tawbah
Unlike all other surahs of the Holy Quran, this surah does not begin with the words “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim,” which actually represent Allah’s mercy and guidance. The reason is that this surah is a form of punishment, and at the beginning, the words of mercy are not suitable as a title. It is as a “reference” to the Judgment Day. The incident of Judgment is referring that Allah has decided to free His earth from the clutches of the disobedient and criminals. For this, He does not need to do anything but just withdraw His mercy, which has subjugated the most powerful forces of the universe for humans. Thus, on that day, He will leave these forces to their own, and without Allah’s mercy, the forces of the universe will turn into a storm of destruction and lay waste to the inhabitants of this world, turning this world upside down.
The End of the Polytheists
If we look at the themes of Surah Tawbah, it appears to be divided into two parts. The first part discusses the different groups of disbelievers who rejected Allah and His messenger and were part of the realm of disbelief in the land of Arabia. The second part relates to those who had accepted Islam as a religion.
Verses 1 to 37 declare Allah’s decision regarding three groups of non-believers who did not accept Islam. The first group consists of the polytheistic Arabs of the Children of Ismail, led by the Quraysh. These were people who practiced polytheism not only in action but also openly admitted to having many partners with Allah. Obviously, this is the most serious matter, which is the worst form of insolence in the court of Allah. Consequently, the surah begins with the mention of this group and the decision that Allah has disassociated from these polytheists. All peace treaties with these polytheists have been terminated with a grace period of four months, after which polytheists will be killed wherever they are found (Verse 5). Their punishment for their disbelief and rebellion is that Allah will punish them through the hands of Muslims (Verse 14), and the polytheists will be expelled from Masjid al-Haram (Verse 28).
This is the punishment in this world for disbelievers and polytheists, while other places in the Holy Quran indicate that these rebels will be given a greater punishment on the Day of Judgment. This is the eternal punishment of Hell that will forever be their fate.
The End of the Disbelieving People of the Book
Verse (29) begins with the declaration of punishment for those among the People of the Book who denied Allah and His messenger. Despite all their disbelief and polytheism, the People of the Book, since they claimed to believe in monotheism verbally, were given a somewhat lighter punishment compared to the disbelievers, who were sentenced to death. Therefore, instead of the death penalty, they were given the punishment of living a life of humiliation, paying jizya (taxes) in a state of subjugation, and spending their remaining lives in this condition.
Verse (35) clarifies that as a result of their crimes, they will also face Hell’s punishment on the Day of Judgment. However, it can be speculated that, just as they were given a lighter punishment in this world compared to the disbelievers because of their verbal commitment to monotheism, their punishment on the Day of Judgment might be less severe compared to the disbelievers. This is the greatness of monotheism, that even verbal affiliation with it will bring some ease for even the worst criminals. Let’s all bear witness together that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last prophet and messenger.
The First Group of Muslims: The Hypocrites
Starting from Verse (38), the discussion shifts to Muslims, and the hypocrites are mentioned first in comparison to the disbelievers. Although the hypocrites will be in a worse place than the disbelievers in terms of their fate, “Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire,” legally, they are part of the Muslims, which is why their mention is with the Muslims.
In the context of the Battle of Tabuk, Surah Tawbah most extensively discusses the conditions of these hypocrites and the various groups among them. However, before them, Allah warns the weak Muslims in Verse (38). These are people like us, who, although reluctantly Muslims, when faced with a harsh religious demand, back away instead of responding, due to their love for the world. They are warned that this attitude invites the wrath of Allah, and as a result, in this world, it will lead to Allah using others for His work and including them among the hypocrites.
Then, after a detailed discussion of the hypocrites and their fate, a humiliating, disgraceful punishment and torment were declared for them. Firstly, they are exposed in society. The believers are commanded to adopt a harsh attitude towards them (73). The Prophet is prohibited from, including them in future battles (83) and from seeking forgiveness for them or leading their funeral prayers (84). Furthermore, throughout this sequence, eternal punishment for them in the hereafter is repeatedly declared.
The Three Groups of Sincere Muslims
Finally, Allah discusses the case of three groups of sincere Muslims. The first group is the early forerunners of the Muslims, the leaders in faith and good deeds. These are the Muhajirs and Ansar and those who followed them excellently, who, in this very life, were given the certificate of Allah’s pleasure and the glad tidings of eternal kingship in Paradise (100). Obviously, when the Day of Judgment is established, they will be the first group to be saved.
The second group consists of Muslims who, under the title of weak Muslims, were warned earlier. They have confessed to their sins because they were not naturally rebellious but committed sins due to human weaknesses and also performed good deeds due to their good nature. Thus, their record of deeds included both good and bad actions. Allah has given them hope of His forgiveness and mercy (103).
My guess is that a large number of the Muslim Ummah today stands exactly here. They have the opportunity to repent fully and adopt the path of righteousness and goodness. If they do so, then on the Day of Judgment, their end will be with those early forerunners. But if this does not happen and they die in their mixed state, i.e., with both good and bad deeds, without fully repenting but not rebelling to the extent of committing major sins, then based on this verse, although salvation can be hoped for them, there is also the fear that before presenting themselves before Allah, they will have to go through the hardships of the Field of resurrection to shake off their sins and purify themselves. Obviously, even the slightest hardship of that day will be more severe and painful than thousands of hardships in this world. The sincere believers will rise from their graves in such a way that they will be saved from all kinds of hardships and will be under the shade of divine mercy.
The third group includes those who were formally caught in disobedience to Allah. These were three sincere Companions who did not participate in the Battle of Tabuk despite being able to and did not initially repent in the manner required for the forgiveness of sins. Consequently, their forgiveness was deferred, but when they sincerely repented, Allah forgave them.
On the Day of Judgment, this situation might apply to those sincere Muslims who, despite their good deeds, might have committed some serious mistakes and did not repent for those mistakes in the desired manner in this world. As a result, Allah will completely ignore them, and unlike the second group, they will be left to endure the worst conditions of the Field of resurrection for a long period, after which, based on their sincere faith and good deeds, there is a possibility of their forgiveness. However, this is a very serious risk that no serious Muslim can even consider taking.
Now, it is the responsibility of each one of us to look into this mirror and see where he / she stands in terms of his actions. His deeds will tell us exactly what is going to happen to him on the Day of Judgment. After that, it is up to him to be concerned or not, as that is his own responsibility.