إِلّا مَن تَوَلّىٰ وَكَفَرَ
Except him who turns back and disbelieves.
EXPOSITION
In continuation from the previous verses, this verse now refers to one who refuses the admonitions and reminders of the Prophet, disbelieves in God, acts contrary to His commands, and is ungrateful for His favours. The Prophet is relieved of the obligation to remind such people and is asked to leave them alone: Him Allah will punish with the greatest punishment (verse 24).
And hence their turning back (tawallī) and disbelief is mentioned after the reminder in verse 21 because it serves as an exception that applies only to those who reject God’s message after having heard and understood it. The Prophet’s obligation is to deliver God’s message to those unaware of it and those who were disbelievers even before he was commissioned to preach. Except him who turns back and disbelieves therefore means, once you remind him, you are not obligated to keep reminding him. Thus for him who turns back and disbelieves means once you remind him, you are not obligated to keep reminding him. Do not persist in trying to convince him against all odds and the animosity he displays. Leave him to his own devices and Him Allah will punish with the greatest punishment (verse 24). Collectively, verses 21-24 resemble the meaning of a similar set in the previous surah: So remind, for reminding is indeed beneficial: he who fears will heed the reminder, and the most wretched will shun it – he who will enter the great fire (87:9-12).
Similar to verses 21-22, this verse is also a consolation to the Prophet so that he should keep reminding God’s servants and not be concerned with those who turn away and reject the truth.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
This verse starts with an exception clause: Except him. This has led exegetes to offer multiple possible meanings in the context of the preceding verses.
First, Except him could refer back to So remind (verse 21), to mean: you do not need to remind one who turns away and disbelieves. This would agree with the verse, So leave them to gossip and play until they encounter their day which they are promised (43:83).
Second, except him could be referring to an elided statement after the words So remind – for you are only a reminder (verse 21), and that ellipsis would be: indeed reminding profits one who listens to the reminder, followed by: Except him who turns back and disbelieves; this would mean: your admonishing and reminding will profit, but not one who turns away and refuses to listen to you. And this would agree with verses like 51:55 and, So remind, for reminding is indeed beneficial (87:9).
Third, the preposition except (illā) him could mean: but for him, or: as for him, in which case this verse would be the start of a new statement continuing to the next, to mean: [as for] him who turns back and disbelieves, him Allah shall punish with the greatest punishment.
Fourth, except him is an exception to the pronoun them in the previous verse (22) in which case this verse would mean: you are not a taskmaster over them except [over] him who turns back and disbelieves; these, you can confront and fight until you defeat. To quote the exegete Thaʿālabī:
‘And concerning His [Allah’s] words, the most exalted: Except him who turns back and disbelieves [88:23], some have said this exception … is detached [from the previous verse, meaning 88:22] and the meaning then is: you are not a taskmaster over them but for one who turns away and disbelieves, Allah will punish him … [88:22-24]. So it is a verse abrogated with [the verse allowing] combat. And this is the correct understanding because this surah is Meccan, and [the permissibility of] fighting was revealed [later] in Medina … and it is reported from Tirmidhī and others that the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, said: “I am commanded to fight people until they say ‘there is no god but Allah’. So when they declare it, they are safe from me, their blood and their possessions except what is rightfully due from it. And their accounting is on Allah.” Then he [the Prophet] recited: So remind, for you are only a reminder; you are not a taskmaster over them [88:21-22] as a way of interpreting the verse.
‘The meaning is that: when people have declared “there is no god but Allah” then you are no longer a taskmaster over what they conceal in their hearts. Your duty is [to deal with] the apparent [submission]; and all that they conceal [in their hearts] is for Allah, the exalted [to deal with]. This hadith is the correct meaning, and Allah knows better.’
It is this fourth interpretation that is contentious (see Review of Tafsīr Literature for verse 22) unless we interpret them as only those regarding whom the Prophet received explicit orders to fight because of their rejecting God and their violence and oppression against the Muslims, rather than a generalisation for all who reject the Prophet’s message (see 8:61).
By far the most acceptable and plausible of all these interpretations is the first one, meaning except him in this verse is connected to, and a continuation from, the words So remind (verse 21) and not a continuation from the previous verse (22), which was merely an interjection to clarify verse 21.
The contentious fourth explanation for this exception clause, which implies the Prophet was asked to be a taskmaster over people (or a segment of them), is untrue despite some exegetes suggesting it, for several reasons:
Firstly, jihad was not made permissible to the Prophet and the Muslims until after the migration to Medina whereas this is a Meccan-era surah. Rāzī tries to resolve this problem by saying: ‘It has been objected that at that time [in Mecca], the Prophet (s) had not yet been commanded to fight. Perhaps the intent [of the verse] is: you will not endure being a taskmaster except over one who turns away.’ But that is hardly convincing or a command to the Prophet to take up fighting those who reject him. Furthermore, most of the Meccan Quraysh had rejected the Prophet at the time, so he would have to compel the majority of people.
Secondly, the suggestion that this and the previous verse foretell a future abrogation and responsibility, informing the Prophet that for one who turns away and disbelieves Allah will punish him at your hands with the greatest punishment (verse 24), that too is implausible because, as shall be seen in the next verse, the greatest punishment refers to hellfire and not war or punishment in this world. It is also a weak and forced argument as nothing in these verses suggest this is a promise for the future.
Thirdly, some have quoted verses like Fight them until faithlessness is no more and religion becomes exclusively for Allah (8:39) as proof of abrogation, the permissibility to fight to establish Islam, and so forth, but then they ignore the verse that follows it: And if they turn away, then know Allah is your master: an excellent master and an excellent helper! (8:40). With the full context, 8:39 is obviously not a general statement to apply against all peoples. See the Exposition for 8:39 for more.
Fourthly, if we assume the Prophet is a taskmaster over those who turn away and disbelieve then the corollary is that the verse, and not a taskmaster over them (verse 22) refers to the faithful. But these are already heeding the reminder and admonitions of the Prophet so it would beg the question: why would God need to advise His Apostle that he is not a taskmaster over the faithful, who do not need a taskmaster watching over them in the first place?
And finally, to interpret these verses as an allowance for the Prophet to be a taskmaster over others contradicts numerous other explicit verses such as There is no compulsion in religion (2:256), We have not sent you to keep watch over them (4:80), Had Allah wished they would not have ascribed partners [to Him]. We have not made you a caretaker for them, nor is it your duty to watch over them (6:107), And had your Lord wished, all those who are on the earth would have believed. Would you then force people until they become faithful? (10:99), And say: ‘[This is] the truth from your Lord: let anyone who wishes believe it, and let anyone who wishes disbelieve it’ (18:29), But if they disregard [your warnings], We have not sent you as a keeper over them. Your duty is only to communicate (42:48), and many others that are listed under the Exposition of verse 22.
Even if we write off some of the above-mentioned verses as Meccan, they would be too many to ignore as all being abrogated to justify that the Prophet was asked to force people to surrender to Islam at the tip of the sword. Rather, widely-quoted ‘Prophetic traditions’, such as the one earlier from Thaʿālabī, were quite likely forged for convenience by those who formed dynasties and ruled after the Prophet as his self-appointed caliphs to legitimise their expansionist ambitions and to conquer new land. Or, if true, then such traditions were not general statements by the Prophet but contextual, in explaining a specific occasion, such as verse 9:5 that declares war against those who had breached their treaties at the time. See the Exposition of 9:5 for more.
Thus, borrowing from Thaʿālabī’s quotation previously, ‘Your duty [O Prophet] is [to deal with] the apparent [submission] and all that they conceal is for Allah, the exalted [to deal with]’, is a misplaced statement and more correctly should read: ‘Your duty [O Prophet] is only to deliver the message and their acceptance or rejection of your message is for Allah, the exalted [to deal with].’
[1] Safi, 5/322.
[2] Nawawi, 2/626.
[3] Thaalabi, 5/584.
[4] Razi, 31/146.
[5] As suggested by Alusi, 15/33.