Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 217

217. They ask you about fighting in the sacred month. Say, "Fighting in it is a grave sin." But to prevent others from the way of Allah [286], to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and to expel its people from it are even greater sins in the sight of Allah. And persecution is worse than killing (and you do all these things). And they will not cease fighting you until they turn you away from your religion [287], if they can. And whoever among you turns away from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, their deeds will become worthless in this world and the Hereafter [288], and they will be the companions of the Fire, abiding therein forever.

[286]
Fighting in the Sacred Months:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a group of eight men towards Nakhlah (a place between Makkah and Ta’if) at the end of Jumada al-Thani, 2 AH, in order to gather information about the movements of the disbelievers of Makkah, as there was always a threat of an attack on Madinah from their side. This group encountered a trade caravan of the disbelievers, upon which they attacked, killed one man, and captured the rest along with the goods, bringing them to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Madinah. The Prophet ﷺ was grieved by this, as he had sent them only to gather information, not to fight. According to the Muslims, the day this incident occurred was the 30th of Jumada al-Thani, but in reality, it was the 1st of Rajab, 2 AH. Now, the disbelievers of Makkah, the Jews, and other enemies of Islam raised a storm of protest, saying, “Look at these people who claim to be so pious—they do not even refrain from bloodshed in the sacred month!” In response to this propaganda, Allah the Exalted said that indeed, fighting in the sacred month is a grave sin, but the actions you are committing and have committed are even more severe crimes than this sin. You obstruct the path of Islam and inflict harm upon the Muslims. You deny the signs of Allah. You have imposed restrictions on the Muslims’ entry into the mosque, and you have made life so difficult for the Muslims that they were forced to leave their homes and migrate. All these crimes are greater than fighting in the sacred month. Moreover, the campaign of sedition you have launched is a crime many times greater than killing (note that here, “fitnah” refers to every kind of resistance these people adopted to block the path of Islam). You do not see the beam in your own eye, but if, due to a misunderstanding, the Muslims engaged in this fight, you have raised a great outcry.

[287] That is, in the eyes of these enemies of Islam, your real crime is not that you fought in the sacred month, but that you became Muslims and have remained so until now, and you will continue to be considered criminals until you abandon this religion—and in reality, this is exactly what they want. These are your worst enemies, so beware of them.

[288] That is, just as previous sins are forgiven upon embracing Islam, in the same way, if one turns away from Islam, all the good deeds done previously are also nullified—unless one repents and becomes Muslim again. And when the good deeds are nullified, only sins remain, the consequence of which they will have to bear in the form of the eternal punishment of Hell.