Surah Tawbah

**Ibn Abi Ahmed** · 06-01-2005

Why does Surah Tawbah have no Bismillah in the begining and it simply starts off with "Baraa atum Minalahi wa Rasoolihi....."

Surah 9 - Al Tawbah THE REPENTANCE

009.001 A (declaration) of immunity from God and His Apostle, to those of the Pagans with whom ye have contracted mutual alliances:-

009.002 Go ye, then, for four months, backwards and forwards, (as ye will), throughout the land, but know ye that ye cannot frustrate God (by your falsehood) but that God will cover with shame those who reject Him.

**Ibn Abi Ahmed** · 06-01-2005

nobody knows?

umm anybody? plz?

**Ra`eesah** · 06-02-2005

Assalamu'Alayakum'

Bismillah will not be recited when a person reciting the previous Surah, Surah An-fal, comes down to it. If a person begins recitation of the Quran with Surah-i-Taubah, or starts recitation from somewhere in its middle then not only 'ta'awwuz' but Bismillah too shall be recited.

As far as the question is concerned thats why Bismillah is not recited before the said Surah, the answer is that Rasoolullah sallallahu "alaihe wasallam did not have it written to separate it from the previous Surah that is all.

**Ibn Abi Ahmed** · 06-02-2005

I need proof, cuz im talking to someone over this, and i need to back up my statements.

**Ra`eesah** · 06-02-2005

Assalamu'Alayakum

Source

**Ansar Al-'Adl** · 06-02-2005

Why does Surah Tawbah have no Bismillah in the begining and it simply starts off with "Baraa atum Minalahi wa Rasoolihi....."

There are a number of reasons scholars have mentioned in response to this question.

Insha'Allah, I'll post something for you tomorrow.

**samtoloui** · 06-02-2005

My understanding is that Allah alone knows the reason there is no Bismillah at the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah. One thing I have learned though is that regardless of its absence, there still are 114 Bismillahs in the Qur'an. It's part of the 19 code in the Qur'an (114 = 19 x 6), Allah put an extra Bismillah in Surah An-Naml when the Queen of Sheba reads out Sulaiman's (a.s.) letter.

She said: O chief! surely an honorable letter has been delivered to me. Surely it is from Sulaiman, and surely it is in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Saying: exalt not yourselves against me and come to me in submission. (27:29-31)

Another interesting note is that counting Surah At-Tawbah (the 9th Surah) Surah An-Naml is the 19th surah after it (the 27th Surah).

مع سلام,
Sammy

**Ansar Al-'Adl** · 06-02-2005

Welcome to the forum, samtoloui!

Perhaps it would be a good idea to introduce yourself in the introduction section.

I agree with you that Allah swt knows best the answer to all matters.

Regarding what you said about the miracle of 19, please read:
http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/eng...hFatwaID=68326

**Uthman** · 06-02-2005

Being the Word of Allah, the Glorious Qur'an is preserved in the same form it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 1400 years ago, and will remain so until the Day of Judgment. This is nothing but the fulfillment of Allah's promise: "Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian."

By the same token, no creature has the authority to add to or omit anything from the Glorious Qur'an. This rule applies even to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. Allah, Most High, says, "It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. And if he had fabricated against Us some of the sayings, We would certainly have seized him by the right hand, then We would certainly have cut off his aorta, and not one of you could have withheld Us from him. " (Al-Haqqa: 43-47)

As regards your question, surat At-Tawbah or 'repentance', exposes the true qualities of the hypocrites and threatens them with a woeful doom. It can be likened to a stern warning made in the strongest terms. Hence, an opening which stresses divine mercy and compassion does not seem particularly fitting to the subject matter of the surah. Therefore, the surahBismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Rahim", which comes at the beginning of every other surah in the Qur'an. To recite this phrase at its beginning is forbidden because it constitutes an addition to the Qur'an, which is not part of it.

In his well-known, The Meaning of the Qur'an, Sayyed Abu Al-A`la Al-Maududi states: "Surat At-Tawbah is known by two names: At-Tawbah and Bara'ah. It is called At-Tawbah because it enunciates the nature of Tawbah (repentance) and mentions the conditions of its acceptance. The second name, Bara'ah (Release), is taken from the first word of the Surah.

This is the only Surah of the Qur'an to which the Basmallah is not prefixed. Though the commentators have given different reasons for this, the correct one that which has been given by Imam Razi is that the Prophet himself did not dictate it at the beginning of the surah. Therefore, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) did not prefix it and so did their successors. This is a further proof of the fact that utmost care has been taken to keep the Qur'an intact so that it should remain in its complete and original form."

(Al-Hijr: 9) does not start with the phrase "

Source