(Medinan [except for the last two verses, which are Meccan] and its verses are 130, and it is said 129 [revealed after Al-Ma'idah]) It has several names: Al-Bara'ah, Al-Tawbah, Al-Muqashqashah, Al-Mub'athirah, Al-Musharradah, Al-Makhziyah, Al-Fadhihah, Al-Muthirah, Al-Hafirah, Al-Munakkilah, Al-Mudhammah, Surah Al-Adhab, because in it is repentance for the believers. It clears away hypocrisy, meaning it exonerates from it, and it scatters the secrets of the hypocrites, searching for them and stirring them up, digging into them, exposing them, punishing them, scattering them, humiliating them, and bringing destruction upon them. And from Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him: You call it Surah Al-Tawbah, but it is indeed Surah Al-Adhab, and by Allah, it has not left anyone except that it has reached him. If you say: Why did it not begin with the verse of naming as in other surahs? I say: Abdullah ibn Abbas asked this of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them both, and he said: When the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had a surah or verse revealed to him, he would say: Place it in the place where such and such is mentioned, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, passed away without clarifying for us where to place it. Its story was similar to that of Al-Anfal, [[the phrase

Bara'ah is a news of a subject that is omitted, meaning this is a declaration. And 'min' is for the beginning of the limit, related to something omitted and not a connection, as in your saying: I am free from the religion. The meaning is: this is a declaration reaching from Allah and His Messenger to those whom you have made a covenant with, as it is said: a letter from so-and-so to so-and-so. It is also permissible for 'Bara'ah' to be a subject to specify it by its description, and the news is to those whom you have made a covenant with, as you say: a man from the Banu Tamim in the house. And it has been read 'Bara'ah' in the accusative, as: listen to the declaration. And the people of Najran read 'min Allah' with a kasrah on the noon, while the correct form is the opening with the definite article due to its frequency. The meaning is that Allah and His Messenger have declared themselves free from the covenant that you made with the polytheists.

And it was narrated that what was mentioned is another secret, which is the one being preserved, and Allah knows best. That is because attributing the covenant to Allah and His Messenger in a context that refers to casting it aside from the polytheists is not legally sound. Do you not see the advice of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to the leaders of the expeditions when he says to them: 'And if you descend upon a fortress and they seek to submit to the judgment of Allah, then submit them to your judgment, for you do not know whether you have encountered the judgment of Allah upon them or not? And if they seek the protection of Allah, then submit them to your protection, for it is better for you to breach your protection than to breach the protection of Allah.' So look at his command, peace be upon him, to honor the protection of Allah for fear of breaching it, even if that anticipated matter has not yet occurred. Thus, honoring the covenant of Allah, which has been realized from the polytheists' breach, and they have disavowed Allah and His Messenger by not attributing the repudiated covenant to Allah is more appropriate and fitting. Therefore, the covenant is attributed to the Muslims without disavowal from it, and Allah knows best. If you say: Why did you connect the disavowal to Allah and His Messenger and the covenant to the Muslims? I say: Allah has permitted the covenant with the polytheists initially, so the Muslims agreed with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and made a covenant with them. When they breached the covenant, Allah, the Exalted, mandated the repudiation towards them. The Muslims were addressed with what we renew from that, and it was said to them: 'Know that Allah and His Messenger have disavowed what you have covenanted with the polytheists.' It has been narrated that they made a covenant with the polytheists from the people of Mecca and others from the Arabs, and they breached it except for a few among them, namely Banu Dumrah and Banu Kinana. The covenant was then repudiated towards the breachers, and they were commanded to roam the land for four months in safety wherever they wished without being harmed, which are the sacred months in His saying: 'So when the sacred months have passed.' This was to protect the sacred months from killing and fighting in them. It was revealed in the ninth year of the Hijrah and the conquest of Mecca was in the eighth year. The commander during that time was Ittab bin Asid. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, appointed Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, for the pilgrimage season of the ninth year, then he followed him with Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, riding the she-camel to recite it to the people of the pilgrimage. It was said to him: 'Why did you not send it to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him?' He said: 'No one should convey it on my behalf except a man from me.' When Ali approached, Abu Bakr heard the bleating and stopped, saying: 'This is the bleating of the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him.' When he caught up with him, he asked: 'Are you the commander or the commanded?' He replied: 'The commanded.' It was narrated that when Abu Bakr was on part of the way, Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended and said: 'O Muhammad, your message should not be conveyed except by a man from you.' So he sent Ali back. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them, returned to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, has something descended from the heavens?' He said: 'Yes, rejoice while you are at the pilgrimage, and Ali will announce the verses.' When it was before the day of Tarwiyah, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, addressed them about their rites, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, stood on the day of Eid al-Adha at Jamrat al-Aqabah and said: 'O people, I am the messenger of the Messenger of Allah to you.' They said: 'With what?' He recited to them thirty or forty verses. I said: This is compiled from various places. Its beginning is mentioned in the Maghazi of Ibn Ishaq. And his saying: 'And they are Banu Dumrah and Banu Kinana,' means those who breached it except for those who were excluded from them, as is understood from its apparent meaning. The covenant was in the sixth year, and the breach and its revelation and the conquest were in the eighth year, as will be clarified shortly after the hadiths. The period without breach was eighteen months. Thus, the first breach occurred in the month of Rabi' al-Akhir of the eighth year; this is the accurate transmission. As for his saying: 'And the commander during it,' meaning in the eighth year regarding Mecca and the pilgrimage, this was mentioned by Al-Waqidi in the Maghazi. As for his saying: 'And Abu Bakr was appointed for the pilgrimage season of the ninth year,' it is in the authentic narration from Abu Huraira in its meaning. As for his saying: 'And he followed him with Ali,' Ahmad and Abu Ya'la narrated it from the narration of Abu Ishaq from Yazid bin Mani' from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, sent him with the disavowal to the people of Mecca. He mentioned the hadith, and in it he traveled for three days, then said to Ali: 'Catch up with him and return to Abu Bakr and convey it.' He did so, and when Abu Bakr arrived, he cried and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, has something happened?' He said: 'Nothing has happened concerning you except good. But I have been commanded that it should not be conveyed except by me or a man from me.' In Al-Mustadrak from the narration of Jami' bin Umayr, it was said: 'I went to Ibn Umar and asked him about Ali, and he rebuked me, then said: 'Should I not tell you about Ali? The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent Abu Bakr and Umar with the disavowal to the people of Mecca. They set out, and if they saw a rider, they asked: 'Who is this?'

He said: I am Ali ibn Abi Talib. He said: O Abu Bakr, bring the book, the narration, and it was narrated. "Thus in one of the two originals, there is a blank space of the size of lines. In the other original, the words were omitted and no blank was left. This is what the corrector said." And from Mujahid, may Allah be pleased with him, there are thirteen verses. Then he said: I was commanded with four: that no polytheist should approach the House after this year, that no one should circumambulate the House naked, that no one should enter Paradise except for every believing soul, and that every one who has a covenant should fulfill his covenant. They said at that time: O Ali, inform your cousin that we have discarded the covenant behind our backs, and that there is no covenant between us and him except for stabbing with spears and striking with swords. And it was said: He was commanded that no one should convey this except a man from him, because the custom of the Arabs in breaking their covenants is that a man from the tribe should take charge of it. If Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, were to take charge of it, they could say: This is contrary to what is known among us regarding breaking covenants. Thus, their excuse was removed by appointing Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, to this task. If you ask: What are the four sacred months? I say: From Al-Zuhri, may Allah be pleased with him, that Al-Bara'ah was revealed in Shawwal, so they are four months: Shawwal, Dhul-Qi'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram. It was said that they are twenty from Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, Safar, and the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, and ten from the month of Rabi' al-Thani. They were sacred, because they were safe in them and killing and fighting them was prohibited. Or it is by predominance, because Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram are among them. It was said: For ten from Dhul-Qi'dah to ten from Rabi' al-Awwal, because the pilgrimage that year was at that time due to the postponement that was among them, then it became in the second year of Dhul-Hijjah. If you ask: What is the reason for the consensus of most scholars on the permissibility of fighting polytheists in the sacred months when Allah, the Exalted, has protected them from that? I say: They said that the obligation of protection was abrogated and fighting polytheists in them was permitted, and Allah is not to be outdone. Do not let them escape you, even if He gives you respite, for He will disgrace you: that is, He will disgrace you in this world by killing and in the Hereafter by punishment.