Summary of Quran Chapter 9 Surah Tauba The
Repentance 

This
is also a Madani Surah and was revealed in the last period of the life of the
Holy Prophet (sws). In terms of its subject matter, this is a complement to the
previous surah, Surah Anfal. Probably this is why Bismillah-ur-Rehman-ur-Rehman
(The meaning of this Islamic
phrase is, “In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and The Most
Merciful“) was not revealed or written at the beginning of
this surah, unlike the common surahs. And the rule of its recitation is that
whoever is reciting Surah Anfal from behind, should not recite Bismillah here.
And some people have made some other sentences instead of Bismillah at the
beginning of this surah to read, they are baseless. The method written above
has been the method of our pious ancestors. 

This
Surah was revealed after the conquest of Makkah. Many Arab tribes were waiting
to see what the outcome of the Quraysh war with the Holy Prophet would be. When
the Quraysh broke the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) attacked Makkah and conquered it without any special bloodshed. On this
occasion, the infidels’ backs were broken, but as a last resort, the Hawazan
tribe gathered an army to fight the Muslims, which led to the last major battle
in the valley of Hunain, and after a slight defeat at the beginning, the
Muslims also won it. Happened Some incidents of this war are also mentioned in
this surah. 

Now
the Arab tribes who were afraid to accept Islam because of the Quraysh, or were
waiting for the end of their wars, removed every obstacle against Islam from
their hearts, and they came to Madinah in droves and became Muslims. And so the
flag of Islam began to fly over most of the Arabian Peninsula. On this
occasion, Allah Almighty declared the Arabian Peninsula as the main center of
Islam and Muslims. The original intention was that no non-Muslims should remain
as permanent residents in the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, as the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) wished that no two religions should remain in the
Arabian Peninsula. (Mutta Imam Malik, Kitab al-Jami ‘wa Musnad Ahmad vol. 6 P.572). 

But
a gradual approach was adopted to achieve this goal. The first goal was to rid
the Arabian Peninsula of idolaters. Thus the remnants of the idolatrous Arabs,
who had been subjected to the brutal persecution of the Muslims for more than
twenty years, were given a respite of different periods at the beginning of
this surah, in which if they converted to Islam. If they do not, they are
ordered to leave the Arabian Peninsula or face war, and the Masjid al-Haram is
declared to be cleansed of all traces of idolatry. After this goal was
achieved, the second step in the complete cleansing of the Arabian Peninsula
was to expel the Jews and Christians. This stage was not completed in the life
of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). But he had bequeathed it. As will be
explained under the verse of this surah. 

Earlier,
the Roman emperor, seeing the growing power of the Muslims, gathered a large
army to attack them. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) advanced to Tabuk
to meet him. Much of this surah sheds light on various aspects of this
campaign. The hostile actions of the hypocrites continued. In this Surah, their
corruption has also been exposed. This Surah is also called Surah Tawbah, and
also Surah Baraat. Innocence because at the beginning of it the acquittal and
renunciation of the polytheists have been announced, and repentance because it
mentions the acceptance of the repentance of some of the Companions who did not
take part in the Tabuk campaign, and they later repented of their mistake.