وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ قُل لَّا تُقْسِمُوا طَاعَةٌ مَّعْرُوفَةٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
They swear by Allah with solemn oaths that if you order them they will surely go forth. Say: ‘Do not swear! Honourable obedience [is all that is expected of you]. Allah is indeed well aware of what you do.’
EXEGESIS
Jahd (solemn) means capability (ṭāqah).[1] That is, to take something as far as it can go.[2] It means here their most loudly proclaimed and firm oaths.[3] There is no oath stronger that they could think of swearing or else they would have sworn in that manner.
Maʿrūfah (honourable) comes from the root of ʿarafa, meaning to know. Maʿrūf is an action that is known to be good,[4] like in the verse, Maintain the prayer and bid what is right (maʿrūf) and forbid what is wrong (31:17). Muṣṭafawī adds that maʿrifah (knowledge), which is from the same root, is more specific than ʿilm (knowledge), as it is to know something by distinguishing it from what it is not. Therefore, he says maʿrifah includes ʿilm, but not vice versa.[5] The expression ṭāʿatun maʿrūfah means obedience with regards to that which is known to be good.
EXPOSITION
The address now switches in this verse to the Messenger of God and mentions yet another example of a problem that existed in the Muslim society of Medina (and still exists today). Similar to those who claimed to believe but would refuse to obey the Prophet of God and submit to his judgement, were those hypocrites and people of weak faith who swore up and down that they would join in jihad and the holy defence of Islam, yet when the time came to act on it, they would only present excuses.
They swear by Allah with solemn oaths: this expression is only used to describe the hypocrites and the weak in faith (see 5:53, 6:109, 16:38, and 35:42). It is therefore not praising their action, but denigrating it. One of the qualities of those who suffer from diseases of the heart is that they will often make the biggest displays of their faith, the most vocal attestations of loyalty, perhaps thinking that they have fooled everyone by doing so, or perhaps seeking to reassure themselves. The reality is that the ones of strong faith and pure heart are content to quietly put in the work and necessary effort, not focusing on things such as recognition or the opinions of others.
There is also a lesson here for the believers not to be fooled by simple words or outward displays of faith. For the hypocrites nothing is sacred, and they will swear the most solemn oaths by God and by all that is holy in order to fool others, They make a shield of their oaths, and bar from the way of Allah (63:2). They attempt to hide behind these oaths to escape the consequences of their actions by providing public displays of faith to fool the believers and misdirect them. The believers must always examine the actions of an individual in totality and draw conclusions based on that.
That if you order them they will surely go forth: while going forth could be understood as many different things, the majority of the exegetes generally agree it refers here to going forth to wage jihad and to do battle.[6]
Say: ‘Do not swear!: note that in this verse God does not command the Prophet to wait for them to expose their hypocrisy by refusing to join when the time to fight comes, but rather is commanded immediately to tell them not to swear.
Honourable obedience: this is similar to the verse, when a definitive surah is sent down and war is mentioned in it, you see those in whose hearts is a sickness looking upon you with the look of someone fainting at death. So woe to them! Obedience and upright speech (47:20-21).[7]
Rather than swearing such meaningless oaths, which they have no intention of keeping, they should rather obey honourably.[8] Rather than making empty boasts about what they would do in the future, they should start now with what they can do now and what they know is their duty.
This is a very important lesson. One of the ways in which a disease of the heart manifests itself is when one tries to distract themselves by focusing on far off things and suspending their obedience there. For example, by saying: ‘If I was a millionaire I would donate so much to charity.’ If one wishes to obey God then the time to do that is here and now. God is not interested in vast sums of money. It is not the quantity of money that is important, what is important is the obedience attached to it, Let the affluent man spend out of his affluence, and let he whose provision has been tightened spend out of what Allah has given him. Allah does not task any soul except [according to] what He has given it (65:7). It is the ploy of Satan to make a person think that they can postpone and defer their obedience to some vague future time and place.
This verse can best be understood by comparing it to Sūrat al-Tawbah, where God similarly criticises the faithful who have a disease in their heart, O you who have faith! What is the matter with you that when you are told: ‘Go forth in the way of Allah,’ you sink heavily to the ground? (9:38). They offered excuses as to why they cannot join the fight, swearing oaths, Yet they will swear by Allah: ‘If we could, we would have surely gone forth with you.’ They [merely] destroy themselves. Allah knows that they are indeed liars (9:42). God then points out the obvious flaw in their claims: Had they desired to go forth, they would have surely made some preparations for it (9:46). If a believer truly wishes to do something good, he must prepare himself for that. Otherwise, they are simply saying that to make themselves feel good or appear good or because it feels like the right thing they should be saying. If I say: ‘By God, I wish I could go for hajj,’ this statement is an empty boast unless I actually make preparations for it. If I truly wish to go to hajj, I need to put money aside and save for that instead of, for example, taking a trip to another place for leisure. Ṭāʿatun maʿrūfah, obedience is known and obvious, every Muslim knows what they should do, the question is whether they wish to do that or not. Loudly boasting about it is not the same as actually doing it.
Allah is indeed well aware of what you do: He knows that you are swearing false oaths and what your goal is when you do such things. If you think you can attempt to fool the Messenger of God, do you really think you can fool God Himself?[9]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
It has also been suggested that ṭāʿatun maʿrūfah means hādhihī ṭāʿatun maʿrūfah minkum (this kind of obedience is well known from the likes of you).[10] In other words, it is well known and established how the likes of you obey in such matters, so do not bother to swear such oaths. This is similar to what we read in Sūrat al-Tawbah: Those who were left behind exulted for their sitting back against [the command of] the Apostle of Allah, and were reluctant to wage jihad … They will offer you excuses when you return to them [from the battle]. Say: ‘Do not make excuses; we will never believe you. Allah has informed us of your state of affairs’ (9:81-94).
Because their disobedience and hypocrisy had already been established, their oaths and superficial pleas to join to fight are not accepted. Whilst this opinion is not inherently wrong in this verse, it would have perhaps been better if it were phrased ṭāʿatukum maʿrūfah (your obedience is well-established), if this was intended.
Tabatabai argues that the verse means: Do not swear, since jihad is an established and well-known part of Islam and does not require separate oaths. If you swear for the sake of trying to make the Messenger pleased with you, know that God is aware of what you do.[11]
As always, some level of ambiguity is inevitable in language, and it does add to the richness of the text. Perhaps all of these understandings are intended to be pondered by the reader.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will, sir,” but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? “The first,” they answered.[12]
Note: This parable illustrates the importance of actions and deeds over mere words, emphasising that genuine obedience is reflected in one’s behaviour.
[1] Raghib, p. 208, j-h-d; Munyah, 19/131.
[2] Zamakhshari, 3/250.
[3] Tibyan, 7/453; Tabari, 18/121.
[4] Raghib, p. 561.
[5] Tahqiq, 8/117, ʿ-r-f.
[6] Tibyan, 7/453; Tabrisi, 7/238; Tabari, 18/121; Ahkam, 3/1391; Muhit, 8/63; Jalalayn, 1/359; Andulusi, 4/192; Tantawi, 10/144; Mizan, 15/149; Mudarrisi, 8/344.
[7] So woe to them, can also be translated as: Better for them is …
[8] See Tibyan, 7/453; Tabrisi, 7/238; Razi, 24/411.
[9] Mudarrisi, 8/345.
[10] Tibyan, 7/453; Thalabi, 7/114; Baghawi, 3/424; Alusi, 9/390; Tantawi, 10/145; Sharawi, p. 10311.
[11] Mizan, 15/149.
[12] Matthew 21:28-31.