The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 703
PT. 10 AT-TAUBAH whose works shall be vain, and in the Fire shall they abide. 1180 18. He alone Mosques of Allah in a good and flourishing condition CH. 9 هُم خُلِدُونَ إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسْجِدَ اللهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللهِ can keep the وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلوةَ وَأَتَى who الزَّكُوةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا اللهَ فَعَسَى Day, and observes Prayer, and أولكَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ believes in Allah, and the Last pays the Zakāh, and fears none but Allah; so these it is who may be among those who reach the goal. 1181 1180. Commentary: This verse relates to idolatrous pilgrims and serves as an introduction to the announcement contained in 9:28 below. No idolater was henceforth to be allowed to approach the Ka'bah, as announced by ‘Alī to the pilgrims assembled at Mecca on the occasion of the Greater Pilgrimage of the year 9 AH (see note on 9:3 above). The verse under comment gives the reason for that prohibition. The Ka'bah being a temple dedicated to the worship of the One God, idolaters had nothing to do with it. They were declared enemies of God's Unity who bore witness to their own idolatrous beliefs and thus stood condemned by their own confession. Moreover, while performing the Pilgrimage, idolaters, instead of declaring God's Oneness, attributed co-partners to Him, for it is on record that, while reciting the prescribed formula: "Here I am, O my Lord, here I am; Thou hast no co- partner" they used to add the words "except him whom Thou hast Thyself 1143 made Thy co-partner. " The words, while they bear witness against themselves to disbelief, beside being general in their significance, may also refer to this practice of idolaters. 1181. Important Words: (me (may be) is meant to express desire or hope of obtaining something good or to express fear lest one should fall into an evil way (Aqrab). The word thus implies either desire or hope of good or fear of evil. They say ie Zaid is near to. عسى زيد ان يقوم standing; or I eagerly desire or I hope that Zaid may be performing the act of standing; or it may be that Zaid is, or will be, standing. (ne may thus be explained as meaning, it may be that, or simply may be. When uttered by God, the word is expressive of an event of necessary occurrence (Lane). See also the meaning of the word J under 2:22. Though desire or hope are not attributable to God, yet the words JJ and and are used by God to point to the fact that a certain thing is such that people may base their desire or hope on it (Mufradāt).