Surah At-Tawbah
Surah 9 · The Repentance · 129 verses · medinan
The Repentance — from the repentance accepted in verses 117–118, including the three who were left behind and then forgiven.
The story
When the Prophet ﷺ was hiding in a cave and enemies were right outside, his friend Abu Bakr was frightened. The Prophet ﷺ told him: "Do not be sad — Allah is with us." This surah is also about people who made excuses when they were needed, and about three men who told the truth even though it got them into trouble — and Allah forgave them.
How it unfolds
AYAH 1-29
Treaties honoured and dissolved
Agreements kept with those who kept them; ended with those who broke them first.
AYAH 38-99
The excuses at Tabuk
Who stayed behind and why — wealth, heat, comfort — and the mosque built to divide.
AYAH 100-112
Those who were true
The foremost among the Muhajirun and Ansar, and the trade in which Allah buys the believers' souls.
AYAH 117-118
The three left behind
Ka'b ibn Malik and his two companions — the truth told at cost, and the forgiveness that followed.
AYAH 128-129
A messenger from among you
The last two verses: he grieves at your hardship, and is gentle and merciful to the believers.
Verses to carry
- 9:40"Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." Spoken in the cave, and carried by believers ever since.
- 9:128"There has certainly come to you a messenger from among yourselves — grieved by what you suffer, concerned for you."
- 9:118The three forgiven "when the earth closed in on them despite its vastness" — the Quran naming what guilt actually feels like.
- 9:105"Work — Allah will see your work, and His Messenger, and the believers."
Remember this
Telling the truth when a lie would be easier is one of the bravest things a person can do.
Talk about it
The three men could have made up an excuse like everyone else, but they told the truth. What do you think that felt like?