Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Then He turned to them in order that they might turn to Him" in the story of the three who were left behind
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Question:
What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah, Glorious and Exalted is His Majesty, in Surat al-Tawbah regarding the story of the three who were left behind, "Then He turned to them in order that they might turn to Him"? He asks: What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Then He turned to them in order that they might turn to Him"?
Answer:
The three who were left behind were among the senior Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for the Battle of Tabuk, they delayed.
Then their delay increased, because if they had hastened with the Muslims and set out, they would have been safe from this. But when they delayed, the matter became more severe for them, delay after delay, until the expedition passed them by due to laziness, delay, and lack of haste. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived,
they came to him. They excused themselves and told the truth that they had no excuse and that they had been left behind without any excuse.
As for the hypocrites, they excused themselves and presented false excuses, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) excused them outwardly, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is only concerned with the outward appearance. As for the three, they openly admitted that they were in error and that they had not been left behind due to inability, but rather due to laziness and the passing of the time. They told the truth to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He postponed their case, delaying their matter until their repentance was revealed. He ordered their boycott, delaying their matter and ordering the people to boycott them, until Allah revealed their repentance. Regarding the three, meaning He turned to the three. Indeed, Allah turned to the Prophet and the emigrants, up to His saying: "And to the three," meaning He turned to the three who were left behind. Then He mentioned their state and their regret for what had happened to them:[At-Tawbah 9:118] and they thought there was no [At-Tawbah 9:118]. So they were saved by their truthfulness; they did not lie to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah, Glorious and Exalted is His Majesty, in Surat al-Tawbah regarding the story of the three who were left behind, "Then He turned to them in order that they might turn to Him"? He asks: What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Then He turned to them in order that they might turn to Him"?
Answer:
The three who were left behind were among the senior Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for the Battle of Tabuk, they delayed.
Then their delay increased, because if they had hastened with the Muslims and set out, they would have been safe from this. But when they delayed, the matter became more severe for them, delay after delay, until the expedition passed them by due to laziness, delay, and lack of haste. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived,
they came to him. They excused themselves and told the truth that they had no excuse and that they had been left behind without any excuse.
As for the hypocrites, they excused themselves and presented false excuses, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) excused them outwardly, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is only concerned with the outward appearance. As for the three, they openly admitted that they were in error and that they had not been left behind due to inability, but rather due to laziness and the passing of the time. They told the truth to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He postponed their case, delaying their matter until their repentance was revealed. He ordered their boycott, delaying their matter and ordering the people to boycott them, until Allah revealed their repentance. Regarding the three, meaning He turned to the three. Indeed, Allah turned to the Prophet and the emigrants, up to His saying: "And to the three," meaning He turned to the three who were left behind. Then He mentioned their state and their regret for what had happened to them:
to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْrefuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Source
لقاء مفتوح [الطائف] — alfawzan.live (51:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.