Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 52

(Ayah 52) ➊ { فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكٰفِرِيْنَ:} Since We have not sent a separate warner to each town, but have sent you as a warner for all the worlds, therefore do not obey the disbelievers, whether they demand miracles, or try to prevent the invitation with taunts, mockery, and ridicule, or offer compromise, as He said: «{ وَدُّوْا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُوْنَ}» [ القلم : ۹ ] "They wish that you should be lenient, so they would be lenient (too)."

➋ {وَ جَاهِدْهُمْ بِهٖ جِهَادًا كَبِيْرًا: ’’جَاهَدَ يُجَاهِدُ جِهَادًا وَ مُجَاهَدَةً‘‘} (Mufa‘alah) means to exert one's utmost effort in opposition to someone. By {’’ بِهٖ ‘‘ } is meant the Noble Qur’an, which was mentioned in {’’ وَ لَقَدْ صَرَّفْنٰهُ بَيْنَهُمْ ‘‘} and with the mention of which the surah began, as He said: «{ تَبٰرَكَ الَّذِيْ نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلٰى عَبْدِهٖ }» That is, if a warner had been sent to every town, your burden would have been lessened, but now, due to the responsibility of conveying the message to all people, your burden has become much greater, so strive with this Qur’an a great striving. What is meant by "great striving"? Clearly, it means to exert oneself to the utmost, that is, through invitation (da‘wah) and, when possible, through fighting (qital) as well. Razi writes: "Some commentators have said that here, jihad means to exert all effort in conveying Allah’s message and in invitation, and some have said that jihad with fighting is meant, and some have said that both are meant." Razi said: "The first interpretation is closer, because the surah is Makki and the command for fighting was revealed some time after the migration." But in reality, the closer view is that jihad with both invitation and fighting is meant, because the word jihad (to exert all effort) demands this, as does the word "kabir" (great). As for the fact that this surah is Makki, there is mention of fighting in Makki surahs as well, even though, due to divine wisdom, permission for fighting was not given before the migration, as in Surah al-Muzzammil (which is unanimously Makki), He said: «{ عَلِمَ اَنْ سَيَكُوْنُ مِنْكُمْ مَّرْضٰى وَ اٰخَرُوْنَ يَضْرِبُوْنَ فِي الْاَرْضِ يَبْتَغُوْنَ مِنْ فَضْلِ اللّٰهِ وَ اٰخَرُوْنَ يُقَاتِلُوْنَ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ فَاقْرَءُوْا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهُ }» [ المزمل : ۲۰ ] "He knew that there will be among you those who are ill, and others traveling through the land seeking Allah’s bounty, and others fighting in Allah’s way, so recite what is easy (for you) of it." And ‘Urwah ibn Zubayr asked ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both): "What was the greatest harm that Quraysh inflicted on the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" So he mentioned two days, one of which was the day when ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt put a cloth around the Prophet’s neck and choked him, and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) pushed him away and rescued him, and the other was the day before that, when the Prophet was performing tawaf and whenever he passed by the disbelievers of Quraysh, they would say something hurtful; this happened in three circuits, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ تَسْمَعُوْنَ يَا مَعْشَرَ قُرَيْشٍ ! أَمَا وَالَّذِيْ نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ! لَقَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالذَّبْحِ ] "O Quraysh! Do you hear? By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! I have come to you with (the message of) slaughter." [ مسند أحمد : 218/2، ح : ۷۰۵۴۔ مسند أبی یعلٰی : 425/6، ح : ۷۳۳۹ ] In the research of both Musnad Ahmad and Musnad Abi Ya‘la, this is graded Hasan.

The command of slaughter with which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, when the time for its implementation came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) implemented it and said: [ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أُقَاتِلَ النَّاسَ حَتّٰی يَشْهَدُوْا أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ، وَيُقِيْمُوا الصَّلَاةَ، وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ، فَإِذَا فَعَلُوْا ذٰلِكَ عَصَمُوْا مِنِّيْ دِمَاءَهُمْ وَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِلَّا بِحَقِّ الْإِسْلاَمِ وَ حِسَابُهُمْ عَلَی اللّٰهِ ] [ بخاري، الإیمان، باب : «فإن تابوا و أقاموا الصلاۃ… » : ۲۵، عن ابن عمر رضی اللہ عنھما ] "I have been commanded to fight all people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish prayer, and give zakah. When they do that, they have protected their blood and wealth from me, except for the right of Islam, and their reckoning is with Allah."

➌ The interpretation of "great jihad" as being with both invitation and fighting is also preferred because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: [ أَيُّ الْجِهَادِ أَفْضَلُ؟ ] "Which jihad is best?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ أُهْرِيْقَ دَمُهُ وَ عُقِرَ جَوَادُهُ ] [ ابن ماجہ، الجہاد، باب القتال في سبیل اللہ : ۲۷۹۴، قال الشیخ الألباني صحیح ] "The one whose blood is shed and whose horse is slain." And Tariq ibn Shihab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at the time when he had placed his foot in the stirrup: [ أَيُّ الْجِهَادِ أَفْضَلُ؟ ] "Which jihad is best?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ ] [ نسائي، البیعۃ، باب فضل من تکلم بالحق عند إمام جائر : ۴۲۱۴ ] "To speak a word of truth before a tyrant ruler." Clearly, only the one who goes before a tyrant ruler with his life in his hand can speak the word of truth before him; this is not the work of just anyone. Therefore, there is no contradiction between the previous hadith and this one.

➍ At this point, a narration is mentioned in which the jihad involving sacrifice of wealth and life is called the lesser jihad. Its words are that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ رَجَعْنَا مِنَ الْجِهَادِ الْأَصْغَرِ إِلَی الْجِهَادِ الْأَكْبَرِ قَالُوْا وَمَا الْجِهَادُ الْأَكْبَرُ؟ قَالَ جِهَادُ الْقَلْبِ ] "We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad." The people asked: "So what is the greater jihad?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The jihad of the heart." The author of [’’اَلْمَقُوْلُ مِنْ مَا لَيْسَ بِمَنْقُوْلٍ‘‘], Waleed ibn Rashid al-Sa‘idan, writes: "Hafiz Ibn Hajar said (in Tasdeed al-Qaws), this is the statement of Ibrahim ibn Abi ‘Ablah." This means that it has no basis, and it is also narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), and its chain is weak. (And Allah knows best)

52-1. جَاهِدْهُم بِهِ: In "بِهِ", the pronoun refers to the Quran, meaning "strive against them with this Quran." This verse is Makki, and the command for physical jihad had not yet been given, so the meaning here is to clearly explain the commands and prohibitions of the Quran, and to make clear to the disbelievers the warnings, rebukes, and threats that are for them.

So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with this Qur’an with a mighty striving [64].

[64]
Why and How to Engage in the Great Jihad Against the Disbelievers?

That is, if We had willed, We could have sent a separate prophet to every town, and everywhere the battles between truth and falsehood would have taken place. But Our will is that now only one sun of prophethood has been sent, whose messengership is equally for all people and will remain until the Day of Judgment. Just as one sun is illuminating the whole world and will continue to do so until the Day of Judgment. Now, it is evident that the greater the prophet, the greater will be the battle between truth and falsehood. That is why it has been emphasized that there is no need for any kind of compromise with the disbelievers. Rather, confront these disbelievers with all your strength. Although this address is apparently to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the entire Ummah is included in it. The literal meaning of jihad is to make a full effort to achieve a goal, and in "jihad kabir" (the great jihad), there is even more emphasis, as well as breadth and expansion. That is, every individual of this Ummah should leave no stone unturned in this effort and use all their resources. Secondly, the enemy should be confronted on every front where anti-Islamic forces are active. This includes jihad with the tongue and pen, with wealth, and with weapons and artillery as well. In short, wherever the enemy attacks, he should be confronted with full force on that very front.