سُوْرَةُ التَّوْبَةِ
Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 12
وَإِن نَّكَثُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَهُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَطَعَنُوا۟ فِى دِينِكُمْ فَقَـٰتِلُوٓا۟ أَئِمَّةَ ٱلْكُفْرِ ۙ إِنَّهُمْ لَآ أَيْمَـٰنَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنتَهُونَ ﴿12﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion with disapproval and criticism, then fight (you) the leaders of disbelief (chiefs of Quraish pagans of Makkah) - for surely their oaths are nothing to them - so that they may stop (evil actions).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِن
wa-in
And if
نَّكَثُوٓا۟
nakathū
they break
أَيْمَـٰنَهُم
aymānahum
their oaths
مِّنۢ
min
after
بَعْدِ
baʿdi
after
عَهْدِهِمْ
ʿahdihim
their treaty
وَطَعَنُوا۟
waṭaʿanū
and defame
فِى
fī
[in]
دِينِكُمْ
dīnikum
your religion
فَقَـٰتِلُوٓا۟
faqātilū
then fight
أَئِمَّةَ
a-immata
the leaders
ٱلْكُفْرِ ۙ
l-kuf'ri
(of) [the] disbelief
إِنَّهُمْ
innahum
indeed, they
لَآ
lā
no
أَيْمَـٰنَ
aymāna
oaths
لَهُمْ
lahum
for them
لَعَلَّهُمْ
laʿallahum
so that they may
يَنتَهُونَ
yantahūna
cease
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
12. 1. Ayman is the plural of yamin, which means oath. Aimmah is the plural of imam. It refers to leaders and chiefs. The meaning is that if these people break their covenant and speak ill of the religion, then even if they outwardly swear oaths, these oaths have no value. Fight against these leaders of disbelief; perhaps in this way they will refrain from their disbelief. From this, the Hanafi scholars have deduced that if a dhimmi (a non-Muslim residing in an Islamic state) does not break the covenant but does speak ill of Islam, he will not be killed, because the Quran has mentioned two things as reasons for fighting him. Therefore, until both things occur, he will not be deserving of being fought. However, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi'i, and other scholars consider speaking ill of the religion as also breaking the covenant, so according to them, both things are included in this, thus the killing of such a dhimmi is permissible. Similarly, in the case of breaking the covenant, killing is also permissible. (Fath al-Qadeer)
