Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 40

(Ayah 40) ➊ { الَّذِيْنَ اُخْرِجُوْا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ …:} This verse is evidence that this part of the Surah was revealed in Madinah.

➋ In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned two injustices of the polytheists: first, that they expelled the Muslims from their homes, whereas it is a universally accepted rule that whoever resides somewhere has an equal right to live there and benefit from all its facilities along with all the people of that place, and no one has the right to expel him from his home. The second injustice is that they expelled the Muslims from their homes solely for the "crime" that they said, "Our Lord is only Allah." Clearly, this is not a crime at all; rather, it is pure justice, and it is not a reason for expulsion from homes but a guarantee of peaceful residence in one's home. In fact, in this, Allah Almighty has praised the Muslims in such a way that, by negating every crime from them, He has mentioned as their "crime" that which in reality is not a crime but a virtue, just as an Arab poet, while praising some people, said:

{وَلَا عَيْبَ فِيْهِمْ غَيْرَ أَنَّ سُيُوْفَهُمْ ¤ بِهِنَّ فُلُوْلٌ مِنْ قِرَاعِ الْكَتَائِبِ}

"They have no fault except that their swords have become notched due to clashing with the enemy armies."

It is obvious that what he is calling a fault is in fact a great virtue. Allah Almighty, in other places as well, has reminded the Muslims of this injustice of the disbelievers and forbidden them from befriending them, saying: « يُخْرِجُوْنَ الرَّسُوْلَ وَ اِيَّاكُمْ اَنْ تُؤْمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ رَبِّكُمْ » [ الممتحنۃ : ۱ ] "They expel the Messenger and yourselves only because you believe in Allah."

➌ {وَ لَوْ لَا دَفْعُ اللّٰهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ … : ’’ صَوَامِعُ ‘‘ ’’صَوْمَعَةٌ‘‘} is the plural of that worship place which Christian monks used to build in the form of high towers away from settlements, in the upper floor of which they would worship Allah Almighty alone, and usually at the top of the tower they would light a lamp at night so that travelers could find their way and could stay on the lower floor. Imru’ al-Qais has said:

{تُضِيْءُ الظَّلَامَ بِالْعَشِيِّ كَأَنَّهَا ¤ مَنَارَةُ مُمْسَي رَاهِبٍ مُتَبَتِّلٖ}

{’’ بِيَعٌ ‘‘ ’’بِيْعَةٌ‘‘} is the plural, the churches of the Christians in the settlements. {’’ صَلَوٰتٌ ‘‘} are the worship places of the Jews, this is the plural of {’’ صَلَاةٌ ‘‘}. Perhaps their name {’’ صَلَوٰتٌ ‘‘} was given because it was obligatory for the Jews to pray only in their worship places. Some say this is the plural of {’’صلوتا‘‘}, which is a non-Arabic word and is used for the Jewish worship place. {’’ لَهُدِّمَتْ ‘‘} due to the form of "bab taf‘il" will be translated as "demolished badly," meaning Allah Almighty has set the system of the world in such a way that everything, every person, and every group continues to fight against another thing, person, or group to maintain its existence. If this were not so, and if Allah Almighty did not support goodness against evil, then not even a trace of goodness would remain on earth. The irreligious and wicked people, who have always been in the majority, would have wiped out all sacred places and symbols of Allah from the face of the earth forever. Therefore, it became necessary that no matter how much the forces of evil gather, there comes a time from Allah Almighty when the attacks of evil are defended by the hands of goodness, and the Lord Himself helps those who help His religion and makes them prevail over the enemies of truth. In any case, at that time, granting Muslims permission for jihad and fighting against the oppressive disbelievers was under this very law of nature, and this is a universal law that no intelligent person can deny. If this law of defense and protection did not exist, then in their respective times, neither the monasteries of Christian monks would have remained, nor the churches of the Christians, nor the worship places of the Jews, nor the mosques of the Muslims in which Allah's name is mentioned abundantly; all these places of worship would have been demolished and utterly destroyed. So, under this universal law, there is no reason why Muslims should not be allowed to fight their enemies at an appropriate time. For another verse on this subject, see Surah Al-Baqarah (2:251).

➍ From this verse, it is understood that the worship places of non-Muslims should be protected and not demolished, because Allah's name is mentioned in them. However, temples and fire temples will only be preserved if their preservation is included in a treaty with a nation.

➎ {وَ لَيَنْصُرَنَّ اللّٰهُ مَنْ يَّنْصُرُهٗ :} By Allah's help is meant the help of Allah's religion, because He Himself has said: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ اِلَى اللّٰهِ وَ اللّٰهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيْدُ» [ فاطر : ۱۵] "O people! You are the ones in need of Allah, and Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy." From this verse, it is understood that in order to obtain Allah's help, it is necessary that a person himself strives to promote His religion. Helping the religion is both with proof and argument and with sword and spear; likewise, it is with life and with wealth, then with hands and with tongue—in short, in every way, helping Allah's religion is necessary, and whoever fulfills this duty, Allah Almighty will surely help him, whether He provides worldly means of victory or helps with one of His unseen armies, as He said: « وَ مَا یَعْلَمُ جُنُوْدَ رَبِّکَ اَلَّا ھُوَ » [ المدثر : ۳۱ ] "And none knows the armies of your Lord except Him." Just as He helped at Badr through the angels (Al-Anfal: 9) and at Khandaq through the wind and those armies which you did not see. (Al-Ahzab: 9)

➏ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيْزٌ :} Surely Allah is indeed Most Powerful, All-Prevailing. Whoever He helps will surely be victorious, and his opponent will be defeated. Allah Almighty fulfilled His promise and, through the hands of the Ansar and Muhajirun and their followers who helped His religion, subdued the tyrant and dominant kings of the earth and made Islam prevail from east to west. «{ وَ مَنْ اَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ حَدِيْثًا }» [ النساء : ۸۷ ] "And who is truer in statement than Allah?"

1. Ṣawāmi‘ is the plural of ṣawmi‘ah, meaning small churches, and bī‘ (the plural of bī‘ah) refers to large churches. Ṣalawāt refers to the worship places of the Jews, and masājid refers to the worship places of the Muslims.

40. Those who have been unjustly expelled from their homes only because they said, "Our Lord is Allah" [67]. And if Allah did not repel some people by means of others [68], monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques—where Allah's name is much remembered—would have been demolished. And Allah will surely help those who help His (cause). Indeed, Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.

[67] Muslims had to endure all these afflictions, and they continued to be punished for the crime of innocence, that they were only worshippers of one Allah. The extent of the atrocities committed in Makkah is such a long and bloody tale that it cannot be recounted here, and a separate book would be required for it. Some small idea of this can be gathered from the fact that during the Makkan period, even the blessed person of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was subjected to several assassination attempts and conspiracies were hatched. A brief mention of these has already passed in the footnote of verse 67 of Surah Al-Ma'idah.

[68]
Why Does Allah Help the People of Truth in the Battle Between Truth and Falsehood?

In this verse, ﴿الناس﴾ refers to the polytheists and those who create obstacles in the path of Allah. And the law of Allah is that when evil begins to prevail, Allah supports the people of truth—no matter how few or weak they may be—and breaks the power of evil. That force, which could not even imagine its own defeat, Allah brings it into the battlefield of truth and falsehood, and by aiding the people of truth, wipes it from the face of existence. If this law of Allah were not in effect, the polytheists and forces of falsehood would never allow the people of truth to live, nor would they let their places of worship remain, in which Allah is remembered; instead, only idol houses and shrines would be seen in the world. In this verse, the word "sawmi‘ah" is used for the places of worship of monk-like people, "biya‘" (singular: bi‘ah) for the churches or places of worship of Christians, "salawat" for the places of worship of Jews, and "masajid" for the places of worship of Muslims. And now that Muslims are being permitted to engage in jihad and fighting, it is in accordance with this very law of Allah, that by aiding the people of truth, Allah crushes falsehood. In fact, in this verse, a very great glad tidings has been given to the Muslims. According to this law, Allah has, in every era, prevented the dominance of the polytheists and protected the people of truth from them. In the time of Musa ؑ, Allah protected the Israelites from the evil of the polytheists, and in the time of ‘Isa ؑ, He protected the Christians. In the same way, Allah will surely protect the Muslims from the evil of the polytheists and grant them dominance, and Allah has full power to create such circumstances and make them favorable for the believers.