Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 36

(Ayah36) ➊ {اِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُوْرِ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا …:} In Surah At-Tawbah, after mentioning disavowal from the polytheists and the command to fight them, from «قَاتِلُوا الَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ » verse (29) to «فَذُوْقُوْا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنِزُوْنَ» verse (35), in seven verses, the command to fight the People of the Book and the mention and condemnation of the corruption of their three prominent classes—the rabbis, monks, and wealthy people—then in the following two verses, some further evils of the polytheists are mentioned.

➋ Like the Jews and Christians, the Arab polytheists also used trickery to alter Allah’s commands. For example, since the creation of the heavens and the earth, it has been the practice in all religions that months and years are reckoned according to the lunar calendar, i.e., by the moon, rather than the solar calendar, i.e., by the sun, and all acts of worship are based on these dates. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also maintained this method, because the daily change in the moon’s phases makes determining the date so clear and easy that even people living in forests, mountains, deserts, and seas can easily know the months and years without needing any calendar. Thus, it is said: «هُوَ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَّ الْقَمَرَ نُوْرًا وَّ قَدَّرَهٗ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوْا عَدَدَ السِّنِيْنَ وَ الْحِسَابَ» [ یونس : ۵ ] “He is the One who made the sun a radiant light and the moon a light, and determined its phases so that you may know the number of years and calculation.” Allah Almighty has set all religious rulings according to the lunar calendar, in which, among countless other wisdoms, is the wisdom that acts of worship do not always fall in the same season every year, but keep changing; otherwise, in some regions, fasting would always fall in summer, and elsewhere always in winter. Due to the lunar calendar, Hajj also comes in different seasons, so that Muslims become accustomed to performing fasting, Hajj, and other commands of Allah in both hardship and ease. A lunar month is of 29 or 30 days, neither less nor more, and a year consists of 354 or 355 days, while the solar year is 365 days and a quarter, and its twelve months are of varying lengths—some thirty, some thirty-one days, and February is 28 days, which is counted as 29 days every fourth year. Each month and day of the solar year always falls in its fixed season.

➌ Among the lunar months, four months were declared sacred in the religion of Ibrahim, in which all kinds of fighting were forbidden, to the extent that if someone saw his father’s killer during these days, he would not kill him. Of these, three were consecutive: Dhu al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram, so that during the days of Hajj, and one month before and after, people from all over Arabia could perform Hajj in safety and peace, and the month of Rajab was kept separate so that people could travel for ‘Umrah in safety.

➍ Allah Almighty has explicitly stated here that the number of months is twelve because the Arab polytheists, in order to perform Hajj every year on the same pleasant day like the solar year, would sometimes add months to the lunar year to make it thirteen or fourteen months, and this was called “Kabīsa.” This was also a form of “Nasī’,” meaning the sacred months would be postponed from their original place, and they would declare lawful months as sacred. The year in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed Hajj, it so happened that Hajj was performed on its original day, i.e., the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah according to the lunar calendar. Since then, according to Allah’s command, Hajj and all other acts of worship in Islam have been performed at their original times according to the lunar dates. This is the meaning of the hadith narrated from Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said (in the Farewell Pilgrimage sermon): “Time has returned to its original state as it was on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months, of which four are sacred: three consecutive—Dhu al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram—and Rajab of the tribe of Mudar, which is between Jumada and Sha‘ban.” [ بخاری، المغازی، باب حجۃ الوداع : ۴۴۰۶ ] The Prophet (peace be upon him) called it the Rajab of Mudar because the Banu Rabi‘ah considered Ramadan as the sacred month, while the Banu Mudar considered the original Rajab, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) specified that it is between Jumada al-Akhirah and Sha‘ban.

➎ { فَلَا تَظْلِمُوْا فِيْهِنَّ اَنْفُسَكُمْ:} This does not mean that in other months you may wrong yourselves as you wish, but rather, there are some places and times that have greater virtue, such as Makkah, Madinah, Bayt al-Maqdis, the mosques of Allah, the month of Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, the sacred months, etc., in which the emphasis on doing good is greater, as He said: «حٰفِظُوْا عَلَى الصَّلَوٰتِ وَ الصَّلٰوةِ الْوُسْطٰى » [ البقرۃ : ۲۳۸ ] “Guard strictly the prayers, especially the middle prayer.” Similarly, the emphasis on refraining from wrongdoing is also greater in these, to the extent that in the Haram of Makkah, even the intention of deviation (ilhad) with wrongdoing brings a warning of painful punishment. See Surah Al-Hajj (25), whereas in other places, there is no accountability for mere intention. Another meaning is that do not wrong yourselves by advancing or delaying the months, making the lawful unlawful and the unlawful lawful.

➏ {وَ قَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ كَآفَّةً … : ’’ كَآفَّةً ‘‘} is a verbal noun and can be a 'haal' (adverbial state) for both the subject and the object. This word comes in this form; it has neither dual nor plural, nor does it take “alif lam,” and it is always feminine, as in {’’ عَامَةٌ ‘‘} or {’’خَاصَةٌ ‘‘}. The meaning of {’’ كَآفَّةً ‘‘} is {’’جَمِيْعًا ‘‘}. Two interpretations have been given: one is that just as the polytheists fight you all together, you too should fight them all together. The second meaning is that although these four months are sacred, since the polytheists do not care for this and do not refrain from fighting you even in the sacred months—as at the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, they were ready to fight in Dhu al-Qa‘dah, and before that, they violated the sanctity of the Haram by expelling the Muslims from there and then preventing them from entering—when oppressing the Muslims, they neither cared for the Haram nor for the sacred months. Therefore, you too should fight them in all months, in every situation, and everywhere, just as they fight you in every situation, everywhere, and in all months. For details, see “Al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir.” Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) translated it: “And fight the polytheists in every situation, just as they fight you in every situation.” Allah Almighty has explicitly stated elsewhere: «اَلشَّهْرُ الْحَرَامُ بِالشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ وَ الْحُرُمٰتُ قِصَاصٌ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۹۴ ] “A sacred month for a sacred month, and all sanctities are subject to retaliation.” From this, it is understood that if the polytheists fully respect the sanctity of the sacred months and the Haram of Makkah and do not undertake any military action in them, then the Muslims should also respect it; otherwise, war will be waged against them at all times and everywhere. He said: «وَ لَا تُقٰتِلُوْهُمْ عِنْدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ حَتّٰى يُقٰتِلُوْكُمْ فِيْهِ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۹۱ ] “And do not fight them near Al-Masjid Al-Haram unless they fight you therein.”