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Well, maybe it would also mean to repent of breaking a treaty. It all depents from the context of the ayahs of that surah, and to be honest, I'm not crystal-clear with the context of surah Tawbah.
Brother Joseph has done an awesome illustration of surah Tawbah, perhaps it can be useful to you. Search in "illustrations" section of quransmessage.com.
Hope it helps,
Your sister Seraphina

Selam aleikum brother Selim, I'm glad I have one more brother in my family in faith (which is this forum).
Your post caught my attention because of all the aspects of Islam, what triggers my attention most in my studies is always 'the practices rooted in judaism". I was interested to find out the origins of the practices you mentioned since forever, and I would love to read your booklet when it's ready, if it's ok with QM administrators and members.
And, I don't know if you have read any of brother Joseph's articles, he has done an awesome job in explaining some of the practices you nentioned in the light of the Quran. I'm sure you'll find a lot of help in them.
May Allah help you in your task, good luck,
Your sister Seraphina

Selam aleikum Serdar,
The keyword in that ayat is 'repent'. If a polytheist 'repents' it means he accepted that there is only one God and Muhammad is his messenger. So if he 'repents' he will start praying and giving zakat. This would make him our brother in faith, as the verse says.
I'm aware that prayer and zakst have been mentioned also in regards to People of the book, but they are "our brethren from previous scriptures", not "our brethren in faith". For someone to become our brethren in faith they would need to repent, i.e. accept prophethood of Muhammad and the Quran as the word of God.
I hope I could help,
Your sister Seraphina

Selam sister Truthseeker,
I said I won't respond to Donald until he stops with this aggressive way of expressing himself. So, I'm directing this post towards you, since I see you have not yet given up. I envy you for being more patient than me. However, I think we are taking the wrong approach. We are treating the symptoms, not the cause.
There are some things about this guy that I don't understand, which would possibly reveal the underlying cause of his anger towards God. Here's what I'd ask him if I didn't promise not to talk to him until he minds his manners:
1.Why are you so furious at God? Is it because you suffered a tragedy or lost a loved one? What has He done to you to deserve your hatred? (Don't deny it, your posts speak volumes of it).
2.If the answer to question above is negative, then tell me, if He is so cruel and merciless, why hasn't He punished you yet for your arrogance? Since He is the same like Enver Hoxha, why doesn't He yet persecute you and execute you (or whatever) for your insults, like E.Hoxha would?
3.Who do you think you are to judge His creation, while you are part of that creation as well? Do you posses infinite knowledge and wisdom like Him? And regarding the science, human brain and animal brain are not yet entirely known from the science. To this day, studies and examinations are being done on this. And more than once it happened that science was wrong in its hypothesis. For example: the Geocentric system of Ptolemy(sun goes around earth) was held a "scientific fact" for centures, and one day it was proved to be wrong. Same with expansion of universe:for centuries it was a "scientific fact" that universe is static, until one day was discovered it was dynamic, constantly expanding. And the list goes on. What I'm trying to say is that science has not yet given us definitive answer in many areas. But the answers it has given us so far - not one of them has ever contradicted a Quranic statement, and we the believers know why but anyway, that's a separate subject.
May God give us patience with those who need our help but won't admitt it
Selam

What would we do without you brother Joseph thank you for responding me,
Barakallahu fikhi,
Your sister Seraphina Rosa

Thank you brother Munir Rana for helping me with my research,but I found nothing yet that answers my questions clearly. I'm waiting for brother Joseph's response, as you could have seen from my last post. Thank you and selam ☺

Dear brother Joseph, I'm so grateful you took some time to respond to us, to my thread particulary. Well, If you saw my postings I'd like to know your opinion regarding the correctness of the conclusions I reached, and I would kindly ask your opinion in the subject of this thread. Here I go with 'short bullet points' as you asked:
•Was Adam created immortal, since he was placed in the paradise(an eternal abode of felicity)?
•if yes, then how could Satan tempt him with something he already had?Or was he talking about another type of immortality(angel-like)?
•if no, then how did God place a mortal in the eternal abode? Where would he go after death? Nowhere does the Quran say that there were two paradises at some point.
•Satan is described as an arrogant and in-love-with-himself type of creature. Those kind of creatures are so confident in themselves that they consider their future plans as a sure fact, like failing is not an option. Could this be a reason why he talks about mankind's death and resurrection as a sure fact? He said those words right after refusing to bow, long before he made Adam and Eve sin, like he was so sure he'll make them eat the fruit, so death and resurrection are inevitable, and so he asks for reprivement until the day they are resurrected?
It may be like I'm making a big deal of it, but it is important I guess, everything started right there, and it's one of main fundamental differences between me and my christian friends.
Praying for your health, strength and wellbeing,
Your sister Seraphina ☺

Amin, may Gid bless you too, and sorry for naming you "brother"

May the Almighty reward you Truthseeker, it was exactly what I needed to hear. You've been of a great help and comfort I hope brother Munir Rana reads this too. Salam.

Dear brother Truthseeker, selam aleikoum,
You understood me correctly. But someone with many prejudices and no correct information wouldn't be able to. Yes, God gave mankind the free will to choose between his path or Satan's path, between good and evil. If God then would stop his choices or interfere in them, would it really be a free will? And the reason that the evil sometimes lasts longer and is not punished immediately is not because God lacks power or is slow, but because He is merciful, He gives a chance to get his message and repent even to his most disobedient creatures. Then if they continue up to the point when they have transgressed every limit, only then does he punish them. Take a look at Egypt's people and their king (for example), or people of Lot, or people of Hud and Saleh, and see what I mean. In the other hand, look at the case of Nineveh, Assyria, where Jonah was sent. You can check history for yourself, and the bible as well, they have been known as "the land washed in blood" which speaks volumes about their cruelty and transgression. But once they accepted the God's call and repented, God forgave them and refrained them from punishment.
But to understand this, and to understand why does He permitt some things, you need to get to know God better. And you can't know Him from people who keep themselves as his representers, just like you can't know a parent from his child: if your child would be a robber or a killer, would I be right if I asssumed you are as well, just because you are his parent? A parent can be the kindest person of the world, and yet his child can become perverted and corrupted, but the parent would never punish his child straightaway, without giving him a chance to repent and without talking to him. (Just an example for ilustration, otherwise we know human parent and God are not the same)
I hope I made my point clear brother Truthseeker, thanks again,
Your sister Seraphina

Thank you brother Truthseeker, that's what I was trying to say but couldn't find the right words, something is wrong with my expressions lately, sometimes I can't seem to express my views exactly how I mean. And, yes, no matter how much of a believer you are, if you can't submit yourself to His will and be obedient, then I don't think anything else matters.
Selam:)

Brother, you're right, I couldn't make my point clear. A muslim fights and struggles to be a mumin throughout his life. But even if for whatever reason he cannot plant the imaan in his heart as deep as he wishes, at least he can submit himself to God and practice his faith at his best.  It's similar like the charity: Allah loves those who give charity as much as they can, who spend in the way of God, to help the kinship and the poor, etc., but at the same time warns us not to give to the point we harm ourselves: "And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully. Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful. And if you [must] turn away from the needy awaiting mercy from your Lord which you expect, then speak to them a gentle word. And do not make your hand [as] chained to your neck or extend it completely and [thereby] become blamed and insolvent."(Al-Isra, 26-29).
The point I'm trying to make is that Allah wants us to do our best within our possibilities. The more we can be steadfast in faith, the better. But th minimum he expects of us is to be submitted to him and practice faith as possible as we can. Whatever he has made us obligatory is within our possibilities and reach. If we can't become the strongest in belief, at least submit ourselves to Him and do what He commands us at our best. To me, it's one more verse showing us how merciful He is towards us - He knows that not everyone will be able to build the strongest imaan possible, but anyone can be a good muslim with a little effort. So by using the name 'muslim' not 'mumin' in this verse He gives us hope.
Perhaps I'm wrong but in the end, only He knows best
Selam

1.Why don't you think it is a historic fact? Because you have evidence for it, or because it doesn't fit with what you want to believe?
2.Famins and plagues were frequent in ancient times. There was a famine in Egypt in the time of prophet Joseph for example. But Joseph, under God's instructions, was able to save people from it. Well, Omar was not a prophet, but his personality and intellegence were useful in showing us how to apply quranic guidance in times of calamities.
3."Seems Allah was not pleased with him as you are"?! Honestly, you're ridiculos. Thank God He has given us answers in Quran. Check Quran 48:29.
Your sarcasm and arrogance throughout your posts is beginning to get me tired, seriously. If you have come to study and gain knowledge, great, but if you've come here to troll us and treat us with arrogant speach, then until you improve your self expression I won't respond anymore.
Selam

Please Donald one question at a time. One thing at a time. Your questions are a bit deep, so can't be answered in a second. First of all, the creation of God was not created to cause harm and spread mischief on land. The creation of God was meant to enjoy eternal hapiness, and they did for a while. It was when they revolted against God that they brought disgraces you mentioned. What you don't understand is that human being was not created in a robot-like manner. We were given the freedom of choice, the free will. The free will if used correctly would mean happiness, if used wrongly would mean disgrace. Have you ever brought a new tv, or a household machine? Ever noticed that the creator of it placed the manual with using instructions together with it inside the box? Why would he do it? It's because he knows best how he made it, so he knows what's the best way to use it. If you follow the instructions of that manual, the machine will benefit you greatly, if not, it will take you longer to get used to it and there is a risk you will accidentaly ruin it, and your whole family will be affected from it.
The same goes for our free will and the way we use it. God gave it to us to use it in our benefit, not in our harm. It was not God's guidance that brought disgrace to mankind, it was the abandonment of God's guidance that brought all of the disgraces. The kingdom of Israel in times of David and Solomon, for example, people rejoiced and enjoyed great benefit from their work, because in those times they were upholding the guidance of God in Torah and Zabur. Only when they left it and started spreading mischief on land the disgraces befell them. Same with muslims-so long as Quran was their constitution and was applied correctly, they enjoyed same as jews in time of David and Solomon-the whole world is familiar with the science, medicine and overall progress in every aspect of life in those times. For instance, I remember attending a class about Omar ibn Khatab (I guess we all know him) and during his ruling (similarily of the rest 3 righteous chalifas) not a single murder, not a single rape, not a single robbery was reported in the whole country. That's what it means to uphold God's law correctly-there is security and peace for all. It was only hundreds of years later when they started abandoning God's law and upholding man-made laws that they gradually came in the state they are today. Don't blame God and don't blame his guidance for the disgraces that humanity suffers, because:"Whatever good reaches you is from God, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself." (Nisa, 79).
Last but not least, don't say about me what you don't know. I do not read only brother Joseph's studies. Believe it or not, I have read tafsirs and studies from many other scholars, and I have also studied jewish tanakh and christian doctrines. Focusing on islamic studies, you're right, I rely mostly on brother Joseph's works because he: 1.uses Quran to interpret Quran, 2.when asked a question answers with quranic evidence, and 3.doesn't use sources outside quran unless they're well documented. Hope it satisfies your curiosity.
Sorry if I made it too long, I expect to hear from others as well do they agree with me or not.

Well Donald, maybe Duster's post had nothing to do with your question, but also your question had nothing to do with the subject of this topic. The topic treated in this post has nothing to do with torture and killing because of beliefs. It is about Adam's state before and after disobeying God. Please can you be more careful as to what you post and where you post? Thanks in advance,
Seraphina