At-Tawbah; Only Surah That Begins without Name of God
Also known as Bara'ah, this is the 9th chapter of the Quran and it contains 129 verses. The surah has been revealed in Medina and is in the 10th and 11th juzes of the Quran. As far as the sequence of revelation is concerned, this is the 114th, i.e. the last, surah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Tawbah in Arabic means repentance and in Quranic terminology, it refers to returning from sins towards God Almighty. Numerous verses of this chapter talk about repentance and this is the reason behind its name. Among the most important features of this chapter is that it begins without “In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful”. Experts and interpreters have named various reasons for this:
- The sentence “In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful” is aimed at bestowing mercy but the surah warns of the consequences of avoiding repentance
- According to Ibn Abbas, Uthman said that the Prophet (PBUH) did not talk about the place of these two surahs and that they were placed following each other as both of them were revealed in Medina and had one theme.
- The companions of the Prophet (PBUH) never heard the surah with that sentence in the beginning.
- This chapter has been revealed following Surah Al-Anfal and both are considered one chapter.
Repentance is the main aim of this surah as it offers solutions for a real Tawbah with attention to acts such as prayer, zakat, and jihad.
The chapter also touches upon some sins such as worldliness, laziness, deceit, and lying that are not considered major sins and usually accompany those who claim to be Muslim and pretend adherence to religious values. These behaviors are examples of immorality and infidelity in the Holy Quran.
The surah orders the faithful to cut ties with the infidels while also keeping the path of repentance open. The chapter instructs the believers to avoid disbelievers around them as Prophet Abraham stayed away from his father.
The story of Masjid al-Dirar is among other topics discussed in this chapter; the mosque had been built by hypocrites to sow discord among Muslims and was later demolished with the directive of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
