Name

This Surah is known by two names Al-Tawba and Al-Bara'a. It is called Al-Tawba because it enunciates the nature of tawba (repentance) and mentions the conditions of its acceptance (vv. 102. 118). The second name Bara'a (Release) is taken from the first word of the Surah.

Why Omission of Bismillah

This is the only Surah of the Qur'an to which Bismillah(In the name of Allah, the mercy-giving the merciful) is not prefixed. The commentators have given different reasons for this; the correct one which has been given by Imam Razi:
 namely this is because the Holy Prophet himself did not dictate it at the beginning of the Surah. Therefore the Companions did not prefix it and their successors followed them. 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.

Discourses and Periods of Revelation

This Surah comprises three discourses. The first discourse (vv. 1-37) was revealed in zu al-Qa'ada A. H. 9 or thereabout. As the importance of the subject of the discourse required its declaration on the occasion of Hajj the Holy Prophet dispatched Ali to follow Abu Bakr who had already left for Mecca as leader of the Pilgrims to the Ka'ba. He instructed Hadrat Ali to deliver the discourse before the representatives of the different clans of Arabia so as to inform them of the new policy towards the mushriks (unbelievers).
The second discourse (vv. 38-72) was sent down in Rajab A. H. 9 or a little before this when the Holy Prophet was engaged in making preparations for the Campaign of Tabuk. In this discourse the Believers were urged to take active part in jihad and the shirkers were severely rebuked for holding back their wealth and for hesitation to sacrifice their lives in the way of Allah because of their hypocrisy weak faith or negligence.

The third discourse (vv. 73-I 29) was revealed on his return from the Campaign of Tabuk. There are some pieces in this discourse that were sent down on different occasions during the same period and were afterwards consolidated by the Holy Prophet into the Surah in accordance with inspiration from Allah. But this caused no interruption in its continuity because they dealt with the same subject and formed part of the same series of events. This discourse warns the hypocrites of their evil deeds and rebukes those Believers who had stayed behind in the Campaign of Tabuk. Then after taking them to task, Allah pardons those true Believers who had not taken part in the Jihad in the Way of Allah for one reason or the other. Chronologically the first discourse should have come last; but being the most important of the three in regard to its subject-matter it was placed first in the order of compilation.

Historical Background

Now let us consider the historical background of the Surah. The series of events that have been discussed in this Surah took place after the Peace Treaty of Hudaibiyah. By that time one-third of Arabia had come under the sway of Islam which had established itself as a powerful well organized and civilized Islamic State. This Treaty afforded further opportunities to Islam to spread its influence in the comparatively peaceful atmosphere created by it. After this Treaty two events took place which led to very important results.

Conquest of Arabia

The first was the Conquest of Arabia. The Holy Prophet was able to send missions among different clans for the propagation of Islam. The result was that during the short period of two years it became such a great power that it made the old order of ignorance' feel helpless before it. So much so that the zealous elements from among the Quraish were so exasperated that they broke the Treaty in order to encounter Islam in a decisive combat. But the Holy Prophet took prompt action after the breach so as not to allow them any opportunity to gather enough force for this. He made a sudden invasion on Mecca in the month of Ramadan in A. H. 8 and conquered it. Though this conquest broke the backbone of the order of ignorance it made still another attack on Islam in the battle-field of Hunain which proved to be its death-knell. The clans of Hawazin, Thaqif and others gathered their entire forces in the battle field in order to crush the reformative Revolution but they utterly failed in their evil designs. The defeat of 'ignorance' at Hunain paved the way for making the whole of Arabia the "Abode of Islam" (Dar al-Islam). The result was that hardly a year had passed after the Battle of Hunain when the major portion of Arabia came within the fold of Islam and only a few upholders of the old order remained scattered over some corners of the country.

The second event that contributed towards making Islam a formidable power was the Campaign of Tabuk which was necessitated by the provocative activities of the Christians living within or near the boundaries of the Roman Empire to the north of Arabia. Accordingly the Holy Prophet with an army of thirty thousand marched boldly towards the Roman Empire but the Romans evaded the encounter. The result was that the power of the Holy Prophet and Islam increased manifold and deputations from all corners of Arabia began to wait upon him on his return from Tabuk in order to offer their allegiance to Islam and obedience to him. The Holy Qur'an has described this triumph in Surah al-Nisa': "When the success of Allah came and victory was attained and you saw people entering the fold of Islam in large numbers..."