'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted, says: "Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you if you only knew." "If it had been a near gain and a short journey, they would have followed you. But the distance has become too great for them, and they will swear by Allah, 'If we could, we would have gone forth with you.' They destroy themselves, and Allah knows that they are lying." (p-319) This is a command from Allah, the Exalted, to the Ummah of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, to go forth for battle. Some people said: This is a general command for all believers, and it is expressed as an obligation on individuals during that time. Then Allah, the Exalted, abrogated it with His saying: "And it is not for the believers to go forth" [At-Tawbah: 122]. This was narrated from Al-Hasan and Ikrimah. Most people said: Rather, this is an encouragement, and the matter itself is contingent upon the obligation of communal duty, and the verse does not intend to impose it on individuals. As for His saying: "light or heavy," it is an accusative case indicating the state of the pronoun in His saying: "Go forth." The meaning of light and heavy here is metaphorical for those who can travel easily and those who can travel with difficulty. As for those who cannot travel, like the blind and others, they are excluded from this. It was narrated that 'Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'Should I go forth?' He said to him: 'Yes,' until the verse was revealed: "There is no blame upon the blind" [Al-Fath: 17]. People have mentioned various meanings for light and heavy, and there is no basis for specifying some without others; rather, they are agreed-upon aspects. It was said: The light one is the rich, and the heavy one is the poor, as stated by Mujahid. It was said: The light one is the young man, and the heavy one is the old man, as stated by Al-Hasan and a group. It was said: The light one is the active, and the heavy one is the lazy, as stated by Ibn 'Abbas and Qatadah. It was said: The busy one and the one who has no work, as stated by Al-Hakam ibn 'Uyaynah and Zayd ibn 'Ali. It was said: The one who has a property is the heavy one, and the one who has no property is the light one, as stated by Ibn Zayd. It was said: The brave one is the light one, and the coward is the heavy one, as narrated by Al-Naqqash. It was said: The man is the heavy one, and the horseman is the light one, as stated by Al-Awza'i. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

These two other aspects are contradictory. It has been said that, but it is according to their inclination towards the enemy. The brave one is the heavy one, and likewise the knight, while the coward is the light one, and likewise the pedestrian. Similarly, the poor and the rich are reversed, so the rich is the heavy one, meaning the one who has work. The meaning of this is that people have been commanded collectively. These sayings are merely in the sense of the example of heaviness and lightness. Abu Talhah said: Allah has not excused anyone. He went out to Sham and fought until he died. Abu Ayyub said: I never find myself except as heavy or light. It has been narrated that some people saw in the battles of Sham a man whose eyebrows had fallen over his eyes due to old age. He said to him: O uncle, Allah has excused you. He replied: O my nephew, we have been commanded to march forth, whether light or heavy. Al-Tabari narrated from someone who saw Al-Miqdad ibn Al-Aswad in Homs, and he was on a coffin, having become heavy on the coffin due to his fat while preparing for battle. He said to him: Allah has excused you. He replied: The verse of Al-Bu'uth has come upon us: 'March forth, whether light or heavy.' It has been narrated: the verse of Al-Buhuth.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'With your wealth and your lives' is a description of the most complete form of jihad, and the most precious of it with Allah, the Exalted. He urged towards the most complete attributes. Wealth was mentioned first because it is the primary resource at the time of preparation. He arranged the matter as it is in itself. Then He informed that this is better for them for attaining the pleasure of Allah, overcoming the enemy, and inheriting the land. And in His saying: 'If you know' is a reminder and a shaking of the souls.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'If it had been a near gain' is the apparent meaning of this verse and what is preserved from the story of Tabuk, that when Allah commanded His Messenger to fight the Romans, He called upon the people. This was during a severe heat and a time of good fruits and shade. The believers rushed forth, and there was certainly a group that excused themselves, especially from the tribes neighboring Medina. This is indicated by His saying, the Exalted, at the beginning of this verse: 'O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that when you are told,

Abu Ubaidah mentioned that a Bedouin came to Basrah and he had carried a burden but was unable to do so. He had with him a son named Al-Ahwas. Al-Ahwas quickly addressed his father, saying: "Indeed, we are those whom you know, and we are the sons of a wayfarer, and we have come from a distance, and we seek our right, and you grant us, and may Allah reward you." His father prepared to speak, saying to him: "O, beware, I have sufficed for you."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "O": is an alert, and "beware": is a prohibition. Isa ibn Umar read: "the distance" with a kasra on the sheen, and Al-A'raj read: "it has become distant" with a kasra on the 'ain. Abu Hatim reported that this is the language of Banu Tamim in both expressions.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And they will swear by Allah﴾ refers to the hypocrites. This is news of the unseen. And His saying: ﴿They destroy themselves﴾ refers to their abandonment of openly declaring their disbelief and hypocrisy, so it is as if they impose upon themselves the certainty of Allah's punishment. Then He informed that Allah, who is the most just of witnesses, knows their lies, and that they were able to go out but they left it out of disbelief and hypocrisy. All of this is in general, not specifying an individual, and if an individual were specified, he would be killed by the law.

Al-Amash read in the manner of comparison with the collective pronoun: "If we were able" with the waw being pronounced. Ibn Jinni mentioned it and exemplified it with His saying, the Most High: ﴿They certainly sought fitnah﴾ [At-Tawbah: 48], ﴿So they wished for death﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 94], and ﴿They purchased misguidance﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 16] and what is similar to it.