His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike the necks until you have inflicted defeat upon them. Then bind the captives tightly. Either [grant] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them. But [He intended] to test some of you by means of others. And those who have been killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds." "He will guide them and amend their condition." "And He will admit them to Paradise, which He has made known to them." "O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet." "And those who have disbelieved - for them is misery, and He has wasted their deeds." "That is for that they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds." Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Ibn Jurayj, Al-Suddi, and Al-Dahhak said: This verse is abrogated by the verse of the sword found in Surah Al-Bara'ah: "So kill the polytheists wherever you find them." [At-Tawbah: 5] And indeed, capturing, favor, and ransom are elevated. So whenever there is capture, it is only accompanied by killing, and there is no alternative. It has been narrated similarly from Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Umar and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with them, and Ata said: What we mean is that this verse is definitive and clarifying for that. Favor and ransom are established. And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, granted favor to Thumamah ibn Uthal and ransomed the captives of Badr. Al-Hasan said: The captive is not to be killed except in war, as a warning to the enemy. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, would ransom a man for a man, and Al-Hasan prohibited ransoming for money. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz ordered the killing of a captive from the Turks, mentioning that he had killed Muslims. A group said: This verse is specified from the other one only for the People of the Book, so among them is favor and ransom, while idol worshippers have nothing but killing. According to the majority of scholars, the two verses are definitive. His saying, exalted and majestic is He, here: "So strike the necks" is equivalent to His saying there: "So kill the polytheists wherever you find them." [At-Tawbah: 5] And here He explicitly mentioned favor and ransom, while He did not mention it there, which is an established matter. This is the strong opinion. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So strike the necks" is a source meaning the action, that is, strike their necks. He specified the types of killing and made it known, so he mentioned it. The intended meaning is: kill them by any means possible. Another verse has added: "And strike from them every fingertip." [Al-Anfal: 12] And it is one of the most severe strikes of war, as it disables the entire body of the struck, since the fingertip is the most significant tool of the fighter and its essence. And "you have inflicted defeat upon them" means: by killing. And "infliction of defeat" among the people means that the killed and wounded among them are many. The meaning is: then bind the captives tightly of those who were not killed and nothing else resulted except for capture. And "favor" and "ransom" are two sources in the accusative case from two implied verbs. The majority of the people read: "ransom," while Shibl from Ibn Kathir read: "feda," in the restricted form.

The leader of the Muslims has a choice regarding his captives in five aspects: execution, enslavement, imposing the jizyah, ransom, or he may consider the captive's situation based on the harm caused to the Muslims or the opposite of that.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Until the war lays down its burdens﴾ means: until its weights go away and are removed. "The burdens" is the plural of weight - the weights in it and the tools for it. From this is the saying of Amr ibn Ma'di Karb al-Zubaidi:

I have prepared for war its burdens ∗∗∗ long spears and stallions.

And Al-Thalabi said: It is said that the burdens in this verse are sins, the plural of weight; because war must have sins on one of the two sides.

The interpreters have differed regarding the end at which the war lays down its burdens. Qatadah said: Until everyone submits, then the war lays down its burdens. The experts of opinion said: Until you defeat them and kill them. Mujahid said: Until Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him, descends.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The apparent meaning of the verse is that it is a metaphor intended to imply the permanence of the matter, and that the war between the believers and the disbelievers does not lay down its burdens. This is as if you say: I will do such and such until the Day of Resurrection, for you intend to do it always.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿That﴾ means: the matter is that, then His saying, the Most High: ﴿And if Allah had willed, He would have taken vengeance on them﴾ means: with a punishment from Him that would destroy them all at once. However, He, glorified and exalted is He, intended to test the believers and to try some people by others. The majority of the reciters read: "Fight," while Asim, the Juhdari, read - with a difference from him -: "Killed" with a فتح on the قاف and the تاء. Abu Amr, Hafs from Asim, Al-A'raj, Qatadah, and Al-Amash read: "Were killed" with a ضم on the قاف and a كسر on the تاء. Zayd ibn Thabit, Al-Hasan, Al-Juhdari, Isa, and Abu Raja read it this way and emphasized the تاء. The first reading is the most comprehensive and clear in meaning.

Qatadah said: This verse was revealed regarding those who were killed on the day of Uhud. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿He will guide them﴾ means: to the path of Paradise. The saying regarding the rectification of the heart has already been mentioned, and Abbas ibn Al-Mufazzal narrated from Abu Amr: "And He will admit them" with the لام being silent, and in Al-Taghabun ﴿On the Day He gathers you﴾ [Al-Taghabun: 9], and in Surah Al-Insan ﴿Indeed, we feed you﴾ [Al-Insan: 9] with the طاء and ميم being silent.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿He made it known to them﴾, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Qatadah, and Mujahid said: Its meaning is: He clarified it to them, meaning: He made them recognize their places in it. In this meaning is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "One of you knows his place in Paradise better than he knows his place in this world." And a group said: Its meaning is: He named it for them and marked it, every place with the name of its owner. This is a kind of identification. Another group said: Its meaning is: He honored it for them and elevated it. This is from the 'A'raf, which are the mountains and similar things, and from it are the 'A'raf of horses. And Mu'arrij and others said: Its meaning is: He made it pleasant, taken from 'urf, and from it is food that is 'uraf', meaning: made pleasant. And I recognized the pot, meaning: I made it pleasant with salt and spices.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿If you support Allah﴾, there is an omitted addition, meaning: the religion of Allah and His Messenger. The meaning is: You support Him with your diligence, following, and belief, He will support you by creating strength for you, courage, and other forms of knowledge. The majority of people read: "And He will strengthen" with the opening of the three dots and the emphasis of the letter 'b'. Al-Mufaddal read from Asim: "And He will strengthen" with the consonant of the letter 't' and the lightening of the letter 'b'. This strengthening is in the places of war for Islam, and it was said: on the Sirat on the Day of Resurrection.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So woe to them﴾ means: a fall for them and destruction, and it is a term said for the disbeliever. From it is the saying of the poet:

O my master, if I stumble, take my hand ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ and do not say: no, and do not say woe.

And Al-A'sha said in this meaning:

With a woman who would have made us fall if she stumbled ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ then woe is closer to her than I say: no.

And from it is the saying of the mother of Mistah when she stumbled in her garment: Mistah is doomed. Ibn al-Sikkit said: Doom is to fall on one's face, and "woe" is a source that has been made accusative by an implied verb.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿They hated what Allah revealed﴾ refers to the Qur'an, and His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿So He nullified their deeds﴾ implies that their deeds in their disbelief, which are righteous deeds that are restricted and preserved, are not in dispute. Certainly, the disbeliever has guardians who write down their misdeeds. People have differed regarding their good deeds. A group said: They are nullified, and they are rewarded for them only with the blessings of this world. Another group said: They are recorded for the reward of this world, and for the fact that the disbeliever may convert to Islam, and that would be added to his good deeds in Islam. This is one of the interpretations of the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to Hakim ibn Hizam: "You have converted to Islam for what has preceded of good for you." A group said: Its interpretation is: You have converted to Islam so that what has preceded of good for you is counted. And this is the interpretation we referred to. Another group said: Its meaning is: You have converted to Islam with the cancellation of what has preceded of good for you, since you have been rewarded for it with the blessings of your world. Al-Tabari mentioned that their deeds which he informed of in this verse regarding their nullification are their worship of idols and their disbelief. And the meaning of "nullified": He made it from the deeds that do not purify or are not considered, so it is like that which is nullified.