'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, "Those who have believed fight in the cause of Allah, and those who have disbelieved fight in the cause of [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: taghut]. So fight against the allies of Satan. Indeed, the plot of Satan has always been weak." Have you not seen those to whom it was said, 'Hold back your hands and establish prayer and give zakah'? But when fighting was prescribed for them, a party of them feared the people as they should have feared Allah or with greater fear. And they said, 'Our Lord, why have You decreed upon us fighting? If only You would delay us for a short time.' This verse necessitates the strengthening of the hearts of the believers and encouraging them. 'Taghut' is everything that is worshipped and followed besides Allah. The mention of Satan afterwards indicates that what is meant by 'taghut' here is Satan. And His informing that the plot of Satan is weak is a strengthening for the hearts of the believers and a motivation for them to confront the weak plot. For indeed, the determination and resolve that is based on the truths of faith breaks and demolishes it. The word 'was' indicates the necessity of the attribute. And His saying, 'Have you not seen those to whom it was said...' the interpreters have differed regarding who is meant by His saying, 'those to whom it was said.' Ibn Abbas and others said: It was Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi, and a group of others who were averse to humiliation in Mecca before the migration. They asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to permit them to fight the polytheists. So Allah commanded them to hold back their hands and not to act. But when they were in Medina and fighting was prescribed, this was difficult for some of them, and its situation was hard. They experienced what humans experience of weakness and reluctance to confront the enemy, so the verse was revealed concerning them. And a group said: Many of the Arabs had found it pleasing to enter the religion of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, for its obligations which were before fighting, such as prayer and zakah, and similar acts, and to be peaceful and hold back their hands. But when fighting was prescribed, this was difficult for them, and they were distressed by it, so the verse was revealed concerning them. Mujahid and Ibn Abbas also said: The verse is a narration about the Jews that they did this with their prophet in his time. So the meaning of the narration about them is to condemn their action and to prohibit the believers from doing likewise. A group said: What is meant by the verse are the hypocrites from the people of Medina, Abdullah ibn Ubayy and his likes. This is because they had been reluctant to the obligations of Islam with ease and without fighting. But when fighting was prescribed, it became very difficult for them, as they were disbelievers in the reward, as mentioned by al-Mahdawi. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This saying is supported by the mention of the hypocrites that continues in the subsequent verses.

And the meaning of "Kuffu Aydiyakum": Hold back from fighting. And "Al-Fariq": a group of people, as if it has separated from others. And His saying: ﴿They fear the people as they fear Allah﴾ means that they were afraid of Allah in the matter of death, because they do not fear death except from Him. So when fighting people was made obligatory upon them, they saw that they would die by their own hands, so they feared them in the matter of death as they used to fear Allah. Al-Hasan said: His saying: "as the fear of Allah" indicates that it is among the believers, and it is a fear of dread, not a fear of danger. It is possible that the meaning is: they fear the people to the extent of the fear of the believers of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic.

(p-605) Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a preference, not a definitive statement.

And His saying: ﴿Or even greater fear﴾ a group said: "Or" means "and", and a group said: it means "but", and a group said: it is for choice, and a group said: it is in the context of doubt regarding the addressee, and a group said: it is in the context of ambiguity towards the addressee.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I have explained all these statements in [Surah Al-Baqarah] in His saying: ﴿Or even greater hardness﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 74], because the two places are the same.

And their saying: ﴿Why have You prescribed fighting upon us?﴾ is a response to the commands of Allah, the Exalted, and a lack of submission. And the near term they mean by it is their death on their beds, thus said the commentators.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is good if the verse is about the Jews or the hypocrites. However, if it is about a group of the Companions, then they only sought to delay until the time of the appearance of Islam and the increase of their numbers.