Tafsir of Surah Al-Hajj - Verse 39

Permission to fight; this is the first Ayah of Jihad

Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "This was revealed about Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions, when they were expelled from Makkah." Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and others among the Salaf, such as Ibn `Abbas, `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, Zayd bin Aslam, Muqatil bin Hayan, Qatadah and others said, "This is the first Ayah which was revealed about Jihad." Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the Prophet was driven out of Makkah, Abu Bakr said, `They have their Prophet. Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return; surely they are doomed."' Ibn `Abbas said, "Then Allah revealed the words:

أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَـتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُواْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ

(Permission (to fight) is given to those (believers) fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely, Allah is able to give them victory.)" Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Then I knew that there would be fighting." Imam Ahmad added: "Ibn `Abbas said, `This was the first Ayah to be revealed concerning fighting."' This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in the Book of Tafsir of their Sunans. At-Tirmidhi said: "It is a Hasan Hadith."

وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ

(and surely, Allah is able to give them victory.) means, He is able to grant victory to His believing servants without any fighting taking place, but He wants His servants to strive their utmost in obeying Him, as He says:

فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَثْخَنتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّواْ الْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَآءً حَتَّى تَضَعَ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ذَلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَآءُ اللَّهُ لاَنْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَـكِن لِّيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ - سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ - وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ

(So, when you meet those who disbelieve, strike necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly. Thereafter either for generosity, or ransom, until war lays down its burden. Thus, but if it had been Allah's will, He Himself could certainly have punished them. But (He lets you fight) in order to test some of you with others. But those who are killed in the way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost. He will guide them and set right their state. And admit them to Paradise which He has made known to them.) 47:4-6

قَـتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ وَيَنْصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَشْفِ صُدُورَ قَوْمٍ مُّؤْمِنِينَ - وَيُذْهِبْ غَيْظَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَيَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

(Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands, and disgrace them, and give you victory over them, and heal the breasts of a believing people, and remove the anger of their (believers') hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.) 9:14-15

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتَّى نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَـهِدِينَ مِنكُمْ وَالصَّـبِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَ أَخْبَـرَكُمْ

(And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard and the patient, and We shall test your facts.) 47:31. And there are many similar Ayat. Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah,

وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ

(and surely, Allah is able to give them (believers) victory.) "And this is what He did." Allah prescribed Jihad at an appropriate time, because when they were in Makkah, the idolators outnumbered them by more than ten to one. Were they to engage in fighting at that time, the results would have been disastrous. When the idolators went to extremes to persecute Muslims, to expel the Prophet and resolving to kill him; when they sent his Companions into exile here and there, so that some went to Ethiopia and others went to Al-Madinah; when they settled in Al-Madinah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ joined them there, and they gathered around him and lent him their support, and they had a place where Islam prevailed, and a stronghold to which they could retreat; then Allah prescribed Jihad against the enemy, and this was the first Ayah to be revealed for it. Allah said:

أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَـتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُواْ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُواْ مِن دِيَـرِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ

(Permission (to fight) is given to those fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely, Allah is able to give them victory. Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said; "They were driven out of Makkah to Al-Madinah unjustly, i.e., Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions."

إِلاَّ أَن يَقُولُواْ رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ

(only because they said: "Our Lord is Allah.") means, they had not done anything to their people or committed any wrongs against them, apart from the fact that they believed in the Oneness of Allah and they worshipped Him Alone, with no partner or associate. But for the idolators, this was the worst of sins, as Allah says:

يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّـكُمْ أَن تُؤْمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ رَبِّكُمْ

(and have driven out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah, your Lord!) 60:1. Then Allah says:

وَلَوْلاَ دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ

(For had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another,) meaning, were it not for the fact that He repels one people by means of another, and restrains the evil of people towards others by means of whatever circumstances He creates and decrees, the earth would have been corrupted and the strong would have destroyed the weak.

لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَمِعُ

(Sawami` surely have been pulled down) means the small temples used by monks. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak and others. Qatadah said, "This refers to the places of worship of the Sabians;" according to another report, he said, "The Sawami` of the Zoroastrians." Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "These are houses along the roads."

وَبِيَعٌ

(Biya`.) These are larger than the Sawami` and accommodate more worshippers; the Christians also have these. This was the view of Abu Al-`Aliyah, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Sakhr, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Khusayf and others. Ibn Jubayr reported from Mujahid and others that this referred to the synagogues of the Jews which are known to them as Salut. And Allah knows best.

وَصَلَوَتِ

(Salawat) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Salawat means churches." `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said that it referred to the synagogues of the Jews. Abu Al-`Aliyah and others said, "Salawat refers to the places of worship of the Sabians." Ibn Abi Najih reported that Mujahid said, "Salawat refers to places of worship of the People of the Book and of the people of Islam along the roads." Masjids belong to the Muslims.

يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيراً

(wherein the Name of Allah is mentioned much,) It was said that the pronoun refers to Masjids, because this is the closest of the words mentioned. Ad-Dahhak said, "In all of them the Name of Allah is often mentioned." Ibn Jarir said, "The correct view is that the monasteries of the monks, the churches of the Christians, the synagogues of the Jews and the Masjids of the Muslims, in which the Name of Allah is mentioned much, would have been destroyed -- because this is the usual usage in Arabic." Some of the scholars said, "This is a sequence listing the smallest to the greatest, because the Masjids are more frequented by more worshippers who have the correct intention and way."

وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ

(Verily, Allah will help those who help His (cause).) This is like the Ayah:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ إِن تَنصُرُواْ اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ - وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَتَعْساً لَّهُمْ وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ

(O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm. But those who disbelieve, for them is destruction, and (Allah) will make their deeds vain.) 47:7-8

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ

(Truly, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty.) Allah describes Himself as being All-Strong and All-Mighty. By His strength He created everything and measured it exactly according to its due measurements; by His might nothing can overpower Him or overwhelm Him, rather everything is humbled before Him and is in need of Him. Whoever is supported by the All-Strong, the All-Mighty, is indeed supported and helped, and his enemy will be overpowered. Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا الْمُرْسَلِينَ - إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ الْمَنصُورُونَ - وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ الْغَـلِبُونَ

(And, verily, Our Word has gone forth of old for Our servants, the Messengers, that they verily, would be made triumphant, and that Our soldiers! They verily, would be the victors.) 37:171-173

كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لاّغْلِبَنَّ أَنَاْ وَرُسُلِى إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ

(Allah has decreed: "Verily, it is I and My Messengers who shall be the victorious." Verily, Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty.) 58:21

Commentary

First command to fight the infidels

The infidels of Makkah intensified their aggression against the Muslims and every day people arrived in Madinah bearing marks of ill-treatment which they had suffered at the hands of unbelievers. In the days before Hijrah the number of the faithful had increased considerably and they sought permission to defend themselves against the oppression to which they were being constantly subjected, but the Holy Prophet ﷺ advised them patience because he had not received Allah's permission so far to resist the infidels with force of arms. This situation persisted for about ten years. (Qurtubi)

At last, things became so bad that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was left with no choice but to leave Makkah. As he started on his journey accompanied by Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ he said اخرجوا نبیّھم لیھلکنّ (They have expelled their Prophet ﷺ and the time has come when they will perish). When he arrived at Madinah this verse was revealed which permitted the Muslims to take up arms against the infidels. (رواہ النسایٔی والترمذی عن ابن عباس ؓ Qurtubi)

Tirmidhi, Nasa’ i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, Hakim and others have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that this is the first verse which permitted the Muslims to offer armed resistance to the infidels, whereas in more than seventy earlier verses armed resistance was forbidden.

When servants of God opt for the path of God, they are not alone in this world. When heedless, arrogant people make them the target of their persecution, God takes the side of the devotees against the persecutors. Initially God tests the sincerity of his proponents. But then He comes to the help of those who, having undergone this test have proved their sincerity. He creates such circumstances for them as may help them to overcome all kinds of hurdles and continue to adhere to the Truth. The real task of the believers is solely to keep calling people to the truth. Once launched on this course, they remain steadfastly upon it. They sometimes wage war, if necessary, but their war is always defensive, never aggressive. If a group remains in power for a long time, it becomes arrogant and boastful. Therefore, God has devised the law of ‘repelling’ for this world. He manages again and again, to dislodge one group from power through another group. Thus the political balance of power has remained steady throughout history. If God did not resort to this method, then human high-handedness would grow to such an extent that even sacred institutions like places of worship would not remain safe from the depredations of the wicked.