"But if they desist, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until there is no Fitnah any more, and obedience remains for Allah. But, if they desist, then there is no aggression except against the transgressors. The holy month for the holy month, and the sanctities are subject to retribution. So when anyone aggresses against you, agress against him in the like manner as he did against you. And fear Allah and be sure that Allah is with the God-fearing. And spend in the way of Allah and do not put yourselves into destruction. And do good. Of course, Allah loves those who do good." (2:192-195)

Commentary

1) When the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him decided to travel to Makkah in the year 7 A.H. to perform his qada' 'Umrah as envisaged in the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah; his Companions who were to accompany him knew that disbelievers could not be trusted with treaties, or peace. It was quite possible that they may start fighting. Now, the blessed Companions had a problem before them. They thought if this fighting came, it would have to be within the sacred precincts of Makkah, which is not permissible in Islam.

This doubt was answered in Verse 191 by stating that the sanctity of the sacred precincts of Makkah must certainly be observed by Muslims, but should the disbelievers start to fight within the sacred limits, then, it is permissible for them to fight back in defence.

2) The second problem that bothered the noble Companions was about the month, which was Dhul-Qa'dah, being one of the four known as the 'sacred months' wherein fighting anyone anywhere was not permissibe. Now, the Muslims thought if the disbelievers of Makkah started fighting against them how could Muslims fight a defensive battle during a 'sacred month'? The verse under reference (194) was revealed to answer this doubt. The answer is that, the way a state of defence grants an exception to observing the sanctity of the Haram of Makkah, in the same manner, it allows an exception to observing the sanctity of the 'sacred months' also.

Ruling

There are four 'sacred months': Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muhar-ram which are consecutive and the fourth is Rajab. Even before Islam, fighting in these months was considered unlawful and the disbelievers of Makkah too used to observe their sanctity. Even in the early days of Islam, right through the year 7 A.H., this law was in force which is why the noble Companions were perplexed. Later, according to the consensus of the Ummah, this unlawfulness of fighting was abrogated and the permission to fight was given, but it is still preferable not to initiate fighting in these four months without the need to defend. Therefore, it can be said that the sanctity of the 'sacred months' has not been abrogated totally, but it holds good like the sanctity of Haram. Both of them have been subjected to an exception for the the sake of defence.

Spending For Jihad

The verse 195 introduces the tenth injunction under the theme of 'righteousness' which began in Verse 177. So, in: (And spend in the way of Allah...), Muslims have been obligated to spend money and materials according to the need of Jihad ordered in the way of Allah. From here, jurists have deduced the ruling that Muslims have some other financial obligations as well in addition to the mandatory obligation of Zakah, but these are neither permanent nor bound by a 'threshold' or quantity, instead, it is obligatory on all Muslims to provide everything as and when needed. Of course, should there be no need, nothing remains obligatory. The expenditure on Jihad is included under this provision.

The literal meaning of the next sentence in this verse as translated in the text are obvious. The verse forbids Muslims from throwing themselves into destruction by their own choice. However, the question remains: What does the expression, 'put yourselves into destruction', mean here? Commentators have explained it in different ways. The blessed Companion, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him said: 'This verse was revealed about us. We can explain it best. It was when Allah gave Islam authority and power, we started talking that 'Jihad' was not necessary any more, and that we could stay home and take care of our wealth and property'. Thereupon, this verse was revealed which made it clear that 'destruction' at this place means 'the abandonment of Jihad'.

This proves that the banishing of Jihad from Muslim lives is the cause of their degradation and destruction. This is why the blessed Companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him spent his entire life in Jihad, out of Madinah, his home, so much so, that he met the end of his life in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey and was buried there.

The same approach to the meaning of this verse has been reported from the earliest authorities in Tafsir, such as, Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas, Hudhayfah, Qatadah, Mujahid and Dahhak (R.A). Sayyidna Bara' ibn 'Azib Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him said that to lose hope in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah is to go for personal destruction voluntarily; therefore, to lose hope in Forgiveness is forbidden. Others say that exceeding the limit while spending in the way of Allah so much so that the rights of the family are compromised thereby, is the act identified as 'putting yourself into destruction'; so, such excess in expenditure is not permissible. Still others think that the verse makes it unlawful to throw oneself into an offensive fighting in a situation when it is already obvious that one will be unable to do anything against the enemy other than dying at their hands.
Notwithstanding the apparently various interpretations of this verse, al-Jassas synthesizes these by saying that all these rules can be inferred from this verse.

The last sentence of the verse (195): (And do good. Of course, Allah loves those who do good), gives an incentive to do everything nicely. The Holy Qur'an calls this Ihsan. Now, doing something nicely, can take two forms. When ihsan relates to 'Ibadah (worship), its meaning has been explained by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself in the well-known hadith of Jibra'il where he said that 'you should worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and if you cannot achieve that degree of perception, then you should, at the least, believe that Allah Almighty is seeing you'.

And when it (Ihsan) relates to social transactions and dealings, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has explained Ihsan by saying (as reported in the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of the noble Companion Mu'adh Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him) that 'you should like for others what you like for yourselves, and in the same manner, you should dislike for others what you dislike for yourselves.' (Mazhari) (Ma'ariful Qur'an)

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 1st July 2011

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