And when He informed them, glorified and exalted is He, of the obligation of fighting upon them, sent in all times, and He had previously commanded them regarding killing them wherever they found them. Then He restricted it upon them in fighting in the Sacred Mosque. The question arose here: Is the matter in the Sacred Mosque and the sacred months as it was before or not? The polytheists had attributed to them in the secret mission of Abdullah ibn Jahsh, in which they killed some of the polytheists, Amr ibn al-Hadhrami, to the transgression of fighting in the sacred month. Their reproach against them intensified because of this. So the place of the question was: Did they ask about what the disbelievers reproached them with regarding that? He said, informing about their question and clarifying their state: ﴿They ask you﴾ meaning, O people of Islam, especially the people of the secret mission of Abdullah ibn Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with them, ﴿about the sacred month﴾. He did not specify the month, which is Rajab, to make it more general. The sacred months were named so due to the sanctity of their prohibition, to the extent that they prohibited fighting in them. The intended meaning of the question was made vague so that the soul would turn towards it, then it was clarified by the alternative inclusion in His saying: ﴿fighting in it﴾. Then He commanded the answer in His saying: ﴿Say, fighting in it﴾, meaning any fighting that occurred, as the justification is the generality.

And when the unrestricted fighting in it, according to their claim, is not permissible, not even for the one deserving to be killed, while in reality, fighting is a greater aggression in it than in other than it, He said: ﴿Great﴾ meaning in general.

And when it is known that the believers are striving to facilitate the path of Allah, they are not among those who turn away from it nor among the disbelievers in anything, it is clear that what follows is a statement that is initiated for the disbelievers, which is His saying: ﴿And turning away﴾ meaning any turning away that occurred ﴿from the path of Allah﴾, the King to whom belongs all command, meaning that which is His religion that leads to His pleasure, or the Sacred House, for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, named Hajj the path of Allah.

Al-Harali said: And turning away is a diversion towards a direction with aversion and reluctance, and the path is the clear way for every traveler. ﴿And disbelief in it﴾ meaning any disbelief that occurred, meaning in the religion, or because of that turning away, meaning due to it, for it is disbelief in their disbelief. The news was omitted for the indication of what follows it with a clear indication for whoever reflects deeply, which is greater, meaning than fighting in the sacred month. The restriction in what will come with His saying: ﴿with Allah﴾ indicates what I understood from the intended meaning of His saying: ﴿Great﴾ in their claim and in general, not that it is among the major sins.

And when there was a prior permission for fighting in the sacred month and in the Sacred Mosque under a condition as has passed, it was something that necessitated questioning about fighting in it in general without that condition or otherwise, expecting the generalization, especially since the secret mission that was the reason for the revelation of this verse is the secret mission of Abdullah ibn Jahsh. The account in it is as narrated by Ibn Ishaq regarding both matters, for he said: They encountered the disbelievers who had killed some of them and captured and took their caravan on the last day of Rajab. They feared them, so they treated them kindly until they calmed down. They consulted among themselves and said: If you leave them tonight, they will surely enter the sanctuary, and if you kill them, you will kill them in the sacred month. So they hesitated, then encouraged themselves and did what they did. The polytheists reproached them for that, and their reproach intensified, and the anxiety of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, especially the people of the secret mission, intensified regarding that. There is no doubt that they informed the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, of all that, and their informing him in this manner is sufficient for several of their questions, in addition to the indication of what has passed regarding their eagerness to ask about it. When that was said, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said: "And they ask you about the Sacred Mosque." That is, they ask you about the mosque, "the Sacred Mosque," which is for prayer and worship with humility, not for anything else. "Fighting in it is great." That is, fighting in it is great in your view, as has passed. Then he began saying: "And expelling," as he began his saying: "And hindering from the path of Allah." And he said: "Its people," that is, the mosque which Allah has ordained for them in ancient times, and they are the most deserving of it. "From it is greater," that is, from fighting in the sacred month is a mistake and based on assumption, and killing in it "with Allah" is with Him, who encompasses everything in power and knowledge. He has omitted from each sentence what is indicated by what is established in the other, so it is from the valley of interlocking. The secret of what He has done in this place of interlocking is that when fighting in the sacred month had occurred from the Muslims at the time of this question in the secret mission of Abdullah ibn Jahsh, it highlighted the question about it and the answer. And when fighting in the Sacred Mosque had not yet occurred and will also occur from the Muslims during the year of the conquest, He concealed it and implied it. And when hindering from the path of Allah, which is the House, and the disbelief occurring because of it had not yet occurred and will occur from the disbelievers during the year of Hudaybiyyah, He concealed its news and estimated it. And when expulsion had occurred from them, He mentioned its news and made it apparent. So He, glorified and exalted is He, made apparent what He highlighted through the events, and concealed what He concealed in the beginning of time, and stated what He stated through the tongue of reality, and hinted at what He hinted at through the decisive opening - and Allah is the guide.

And what is meant by the Sacred Mosque is the entire sanctuary. Al-Mawardi, from our companions, said: Every place where Allah mentioned the Sacred Mosque, what is meant by it is the sanctuary, except for His saying: "So turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque" [Al-Baqarah: 144], for what is meant by it is the Kaaba - this was transmitted from Ibn al-Mulaqqin.

Others said: It is also applied to the city of Mecca itself, like in the saying: "Glorified is He who took His Servant by night from the Sacred Mosque" [Al-Isra: 1]. For in some narrations of Al-Bukhari: "The roof of my house was opened while I was in Mecca, and Gabriel descended and opened my chest, then he washed it with the water of Zamzam, then he brought a basin - until he said: Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the heavens." It is also applied to the mosque itself, similar to His saying: "And they hinder from the path of Allah and the Sacred Mosque, which We have made equal for people, the resident therein and the visitor" [Al-Hajj: 25].

And since all that has preceded regarding the matter of the disbelievers is a trial, it is as if it was said: Greater, because that is a trial: "And the trial" means by disbelief and excommunication, by hindrance and expulsion, and all other types of harm that you commit against the people of Allah in the sanctuary and the sacred months: "is greater than killing," even if it is in the sacred month, because their concern will be lifted and their distress will be prolonged.

And since the implication is: And they have tried you and fought you, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knew that if they relaxed in fighting you to leave disbelief, they would not relax in fighting you to leave Islam. The fiercest of enemies is the one who, if you leave him, will not leave you. Allah, exalted is He, said, continuing what you have implied: "And they will not cease" - meaning the disbelievers - "fighting you" - meaning they will renew their fighting against you whenever an opportunity arises for them.

And since their fighting is only to replace the true religion with falsehood, Allah, exalted is He, explained it with His saying: "Until" - but since they thought it was easy for them due to the fewness of the Muslims and their weakness, they imagined it to be an end to which they must inevitably reach. This was indicated by the expression of the tool of purpose.

﴿He will turn you back﴾ meaning all of you, as long as there remains one among you ﴿from your religion﴾ the truth. And it has been pointed out that ﴿until﴾ is a causal term by His saying, warning against negligence towards them, so that their plot may become firm, igniting the need to be serious in their war against you, even if it implies that they cannot: ﴿if they are able﴾ meaning to that end. (p-232) So you are more deserving of not remaining like that, because you are certain that you are upon the truth and that you are supported, while they are upon falsehood and they are forsaken. And it is inevitable, even if the duration is long, for your reliance on Allah and their reliance on their strength. Whoever is entrusted to himself is lost. So the matter between you and them is more severe than mere words, and it is necessary to prepare for it with its provisions and to be ready for it with its preparations, let alone to be distracted by being affected by their words which the devils inspire in them, casting doubt on the religion and hindering from the path, and their doubts which they have led them astray with regarding their religion, which has no basis. And in the verse, there is a hint at what occurred of apostasy after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, for the fighting for the religion did not cease except after dealing with their matter.

Al-Harali said: The ability is the compliance of the self in action and giving it submission in it. Then he said: It indicates that a group will apostatize from their religion and a group will remain steadfast, because the words of Allah do not come in their judgment and condition except for a meaning that is relevant to a certain direction, and this is clarified by the explicit address in His saying: ﴿And whoever turns back﴾ until the end; and it is from apostasy, and from it is apostasy, and it is a restraint with aversion to what is intended to be embraced in accordance - ended.

And the form of the causative verb indicating effort and treatment is a hint that the religion cannot be turned away from except by coercing the self due to the pain in departing from familiarity. And the consensus of the reciters on the separation here indicates that the loss is conditioned by apparent disbelief with the tongue and hidden disbelief with the heart. So it is permissible to pardon the utterance of the tongue while the heart is assured. And the reading of the merging in Al-Ma'idah indicated that patience is a higher degree than responding with the tongue, even if the heart is assured.

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, protected them by associating the religion with them, because they want to take away what they have chosen for themselves due to its truthfulness and to force them back to what they have turned away from due to its nullity, He warned them against slackness towards them until they reach that. So He said: ﴿And whoever turns back from among you﴾ meaning does what they intend of apostasy ﴿from his religion﴾ and He added to the condition His saying: ﴿then dies﴾ meaning that his apostasy will be followed by his death ﴿while he is﴾ meaning (p-234) and the state is that he ﴿is a disbeliever﴾.

And when He specified the pronoun on the wording explicitly for each individual, it gathered that the disgrace of the plural is disgrace for each individual among them and not the opposite. And He coupled it with the 'fa' of causation, informing that the evil of their deeds is the cause of their ruin. So He said: ﴿Then those﴾ the distant and hated ones ﴿have had their deeds rendered void﴾ meaning their meanings have become invalidated while their forms remain; from 'the wound has healed' if it has recovered and its trace has been removed.

And Al-Harali said: From al-habat, which is corruption in a good thing that comes upon it from a direction by which its goodness is presumed, it is like the batḥ in a standing thing that prevents it from standing. Likewise, al-habat in a good thing corrupts it from the illusion of its goodness. In this world, by the removal of what is in it of the spirit of closeness to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and the subtle connection with Him, and the falling away of its addition to them, except when accompanied by the clarification of its corruption. Thus, what was for it of the inclination towards the truth and the glorification among the creation in the Hereafter is nullified by the cancellation of what it deserved of reward by the truthful promise.

And when apostasy is the ugliest type of disbelief, he repeated the calling for distance from its people, saying: 'And those are the companions of the Fire.' This indicated by the companionship that they are the most deserving of it, for they are not separated from it.

And since they are like this, they are as if they are the exclusive ones to it, without others, due to the extent of what they have in it of degradation to a limit that is unmatched by others. Thus, for this reason, their duration in it is different from others. He said, confirming the statement that preceded it: 'They are therein abiding,' meaning they are remaining in a permanence that has no end. This condition hints at what occurred after the death of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, from apostasy. For Allah, glorified and exalted is He, when He brings something in the manner of a condition, it necessitates that something of it will occur. The meaning is: And whoever apostatizes and repents from his apostasy, Allah will accept his repentance, as occurred for most of them. And the expression with what may imply exclusivity is an indication that the punishment of others is nothing in comparison to their punishment, for their disbelief is the most grievous type of disbelief.