The Ḥajj of Abū Bakr and the Proclamation of Barāʾah

In the ninth year of the hijrah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appointed Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq to lead the Ḥajj; so Abū Bakr was to lead the delegation of Ḥajj, not the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want to make Ḥajj while the false gods were lining up around the Kaʿbah — obviously the idols themselves had already been destroyed, but their followers were still coming, because shirk was still surviving in some parts of Arabia. Plus, they also had the tradition of making ṭawāf naked. They used to believe that because of their sins, because of their impurity, they could not come with those clothes on; so they would take off their clothes and then borrow some clothes from the people of Quraysh — they used to view them as special, al-Ḥums. So they would borrow clothes from them; but some people were not in a position to borrow — they had no money; they had no status to borrow — so they would end up making ṭawāf naked. So there was the double problem of having mushrikūn, and having naked people, going around the Kaʿbah. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want to attend the Ḥajj while this munkar, this evil, was going on.

So Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq led the Muslims in Ḥajj; it says that a few hundred of the Companions went with him to make Ḥajj. And after he had left, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) received the first parts of Sūrat al-Tawbah. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted to send these āyāt to Makkah so that the people would hear them. So they said: shall we send them to Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: no; only a man of my household should convey these announcements from me. And he called ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and told him to go to Makkah and announce the following.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib: go with these verses of Sūrat Barāʾah, and announce them to the people — declare them to the people — when they are gathering at Minā; and tell them that no disbeliever shall enter Paradise, and no polytheist shall make Ḥajj after this year, and no naked person shall make ṭawāf around the House of Allah; and whoever has a contract of security from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), his contract will be fulfilled until the end of its term — fa-huwa lahu ilā muddatih. And then he was to read the āyāt of Sūrat al-Tawbah. Here are just the first five āyāt:

This is a declaration of disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists. Notice that the sūrah of Barāʾah, which is al-Tawbah, is the only sūrah in the Qur'an that does not start with bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm includes the name of Allah, the Merciful; and this is a straightforward declaration of disassociation from the kuffār, and therefore it does not start with bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. It starts with barāʾah, disassociation: that is the first word of this sūrah — disavowal, disassociation, being free of them. This is a declaration of disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists. So travel freely, O disbelievers, throughout the land during four months; but know that you cannot cause failure to Allah, and that Allah will disgrace the disbelievers. So they were given four months. And it is an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah is disassociated from the disbelievers, and so is His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away, then know that you will not cause failure to Allah; and give glad tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful punishment.

Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists, and who then have not been deficient towards you in anything, nor supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term has ended; indeed, Allah loves the righteous, who fear Him. And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them, and capture them, and besiege them, and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush; but if they should repent, establish prayer and give zakāh, let them go on their way; indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. These are the āyāt, and more, that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib announced to the disbelievers at the Ḥajj of the ninth year of the hijrah. And it was the last year in which the mushrikūn were going to make Ḥajj, and the last year in which the traditions and rituals of disbelief were going to be shown in Makkah.