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سُورَةُ التَّوۡبَةِ · 9:57
MedinanRevelation order ١١٣Juzʾ ١٠Page ١٩٦

لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَـًٔا أَوْ مَغَٰرَٰتٍ أَوْ مُدَّخَلًۭا لَّوَلَّوْا۟ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ

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Saheeh International · EN

If they could find a refuge or some caves or any place to enter [and hide], they would turn to it while they run heedlessly.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 57 of Sūrat At-Tawba (The Repentance), the 113th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 10. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
113 of 114
Surah
At-Tawba (9)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

They swear by Allah that they are truly of you while they are not of you, but they are a people (hypocrites) who are afraid (that you may kill them)(56)Should they find a refuge, or caves, or a place of concealment, they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush (57) Exposing Hypocrites' Fright and Fear Allah describes to His Prophet ﷺ the fright, fear, anxiety and nervousness of the hypocrites, يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ لَمِنكُمْ (They swear by Allah that they are truly of you), swearing a sure oath, وَمَا هُم مِّنكُمْ (while they are not of you), in reality, وَلَٰكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ يَفْرَقُونَ (but they are a people who are afraid), and this is what made them swear. لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَأً (Should they find a refuge), such as a fort in which they hide and fortify themselves, أَوْ مَغَارَاتٍ (or caves), in some mountains, أَوْ مُدَّخَلًا (or a place of concealme…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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