Name
This Sura takes its name from v. 27.
Period of Revelation
As this Sura contains the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Suras
the commentators have differed as to its period of revelation
but in the light of its style and themes we are of the opinion that a part of it (vv. 1-24)
was sent down in the last stage of the Makki life of the Holy Prophet a little before
migration and the rest (vv. 25-78) during the first stage of his Madani life. That is why
this Sura combines the characteristics of both the Makki and the Madani Suras. The
sudden change of the style from v. 25 shows that probably vv. 25-78 were sent down in
the month of Zul-Hijjah in the very first year after HijrahThis is indicated by vv. 25-41
and confirmed by the occasion of the revelation of vv. 39-40. It appears that the month
of Zul-Hijjah must have brought to the immigrants nostalgic memories of their homes in
Makkah and naturally they must have thought of their Sacred City and of their
Hajjcongregation there
and grieved to think that the mushrikQuraishhad debarred them from visiting the Sacred
Mosque. Therefore
they might even have been praying for and expecting Divine permission to wage war
against those tyrants who had expelled them from their homes and deprived them of
visiting the House of Allah and made it difficult for them to follow the way of Islam. It
was at this psychological occasion that these verses were sent down. That is why the
pur- pose for which Masjidal Haramwas built has been specifically mentioned. It has
been made plain that Hajj(pilgrimage) had been enjoined for the worship of One Allah.
But it is an irony that afterwards it had been dedicated to the rituals of shirkand the
worshippers of One Allah had been debarred from visiting it. Therefore
permission for waging war against those tyrants has been given to oust them from there
and to establish the righteous way of life for establishing virtue and eradicating evil.
According to Ibn Abbas
Mujahid
Urwah bin Zubair
Zaid bin Aslam
Muqatil bin Hayyan
Qatadah and other great commentators
v. 39 is the first verse that grants the Muslims permission to wage war. Collections of
Hadlth and books on the life of the Holy Prophet confirm that after this permission
actual preparations for war were started and the first expedition was sent to the coast of
the Red Sea in Safar A.H. 2
which is known as the Expedition of Waddan or Al- Abwa. Subject Matter and Theme
This Sura is addressed to: (1) The mushriks of Makkah
(2) the wavering Muslims
and (3) the True Believers. The mushriks have been warned in a forceful manner to this
effect: "You have obdurately and impudently persisted in your ideas of ignorance and
trusted in your deities instead of Allah
though they possess no power at all and you have repudiated the Divine Messenger.
Now you will meet the same end as has been the doom of those like you before. You
have only harmed yourselves by rejecting Our Prophet and by persecuting the best
element of your own community; now your false deities shall not be able to save you
from the wrath of God". At the same time
they have been admonished time and again for their creed of shirkand sound
arguments have been given in favour of Tauhidand the Hereafter. The wavering
Muslims
who had embraced Islam but were not prepared to endure any hardship in its way
have been admonished to this effect: "What is this faith of yours? On the one hand
you are ready to believe in Allah and become His servants provided you are given
peace and prosperity but
on the other
if you meet with afflictions and hardships in His Way
you discard your Allah and cease to remain His servant. You should bear in mind that
this wavering attitude of yours cannot avert those misfortunes and losses which Allah
has ordained for you." As regards the true Believers
they have been addressed in two ways: (1) in a general way so as to include the
common people of Arabia also
and (2) in an exclusive way: (1)The Believers have been told that the mushriks of
Makkah had no right to debar them from visiting the Holy Mosque. They had no right to
prevent anyone from performing Hajj because the Holy Mosque was not their private
property. This objection was not only justified but it also acted as an effective political
weapon against the Quraish. For it posed this question to the other clans of Arabia:
Were the Quraishmere attendants of the Holy Mosque or its owners? It implied that if
they succeeded in debarring the Muslims from Hajj without any protest from others,
they
would feel encouraged in future to debar from Hajj and Umrah the people of any other
clan, who happened to have strained relations with the Quraish. In order to emphasize
this point, the history of the construction of the Holy Mosque has been cited to show
that it was built by Prophet Abraham by the Command of Allah and he had invited all
the peoples to perform Hajj there. That is why those coming from outside had enjoyed
equal rights by the local people from the very beginning. It has also been made clear
that that House had not been built for the rituals of shirk but for the worship of One
Allah. Thus it was sheer tyranny that the worship of Allah was being forbidden there
while the worship of idols enjoyed full licence.
(2) In order to counteract the tyranny of the Quraish, the Muslims were allowed to fight
with them. They were also given instructions to adopt the right and just attitude as and
when they acquired power to rule in the land. Moreover, the Believers have been
officially given the name of "Muslims", saying, "You are the real heirs to Abraham and
you have been chosen to become witnesses of the Truth before mankind. Therefore
you should establish salat and pay the zakat dues in order to become the best models
of righteous life and perform Jihad for propagating the Word of Allah." (vv. 41,77, 78.) It
will be worth while to keep in view the introductions to Chapters II (Al-Baqarah) and VIII
(AlAnfal).
