There are three verses that deal with this type:
- Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.}[Quran 9:102]
This verse means that these people remained behind without a valid excuse under the Sharee’ah, but then they regretted what they had done and did not make false excuses like the hypocrites did. Rather, they repented, admitted their guilt and wished that Allah The Almighty would forgive them. The “righteous deed” refers to their embracing Islam, their abidance by the ordinances of Islam, and their participation in Jihaad in other battles. The “bad deed” refers to their remaining behind in this battle. They followed this bad deed with a good one, which was admitting their guilt and repenting.
The sheer admission of guilt is not considered repentance unless it is accompanied by regret and determination to give up the sin immediately and in the future. These people did this.
Allah The Almighty Says (what means):{Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness.} The word “perhaps” when coming in the context of the words of Allah means that the promised thing will definitely be fulfilled. As Allah is the Most Generous, all His promises that are expressed in any tone are guaranteed to be fulfilled. This proves that they admitted their sin and repented. {Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.} This means that Allah The Almighty forgives His slaves and bestows His favors on them.
- Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And [there are] others deferred until the Command of Allah - whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.}[Quran 9:106] Those who were deferred were Hilaal bin Umayyah, Ka‘b bin Maalik and Muraarah bin Ar-Rabee‘. These three men did not go with the Prophet, , for a certain reason but they initially intended to follow him and then could not. Their remaining behind was not because of hypocrisy, as they were from the sincere believers.
When the Prophet, , returned and those who had remained behind started making their excuses, these three men said, “We have no excuse. We are sinful.” They did not apologize to the Prophet, , and did not do what those who tied themselves to the pillars of the mosque did. The Prophet, , ordered that they should be avoided, and their issue was suspended for fifty nights without knowing what Allah The Almighty would do with them.
- Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, The Merciful.} [Quran 9:118] These three were Hilaal bin Umayyah, Ka‘b bin Maalik and Muraarah bin Ar-Rabee‘, may Allah be pleased with them. This verse was revealed in relation to their issue, and we will discuss their story in detail in a later article, as it has many lessons and benefits.
Those Who Remained Behind Without Valid Sharee‘ah-Based Excuses Whom Allah The Almighty Excused -II