The Majestic Quran

10 Alternative meaning: “God’s purpose cannot be thwarted.” 11 Critics of Islam call this the “Sword Verse”, due to an order to kill the idolaters. It is clear from the verses before and after it, that this doesn’t refer to all the idolaters, but only to those who had no regard for family ties (8, 10), repeatedly broke the treaties they had with the Messenger r , and plotted to undermine the stability that followed the Conquest of Makkah. God specifically orders the Muslims to continue to respect their treaties with the idolaters who had not been hostile towards them (4, 7). What is also clear is that anyone who chose to enter Islam should be allowed to go about their lives free of any threat of attack (5). In fact, they should be treated as brothers in faith (11), and anyone who chose to remain idolaters but asked for safe passage must be granted it (6). Some extremist Muslims also use this Sword Verse as a general licence to kill anybody whom they considered to not be a Muslim, young or old, whether a combatant or not. This indiscriminate approach clearly goes against the teachings of the Quran. 12 In the battle of Badr, Abbas the Prophet's r uncle was taken prisoner, someone condemned him for not embracing Islam. He replied “If you’re so proud of becoming a Muslim and doing Jihad, we are no less than you, we take care of God’s house, and take care of the pilgrims.” This verse was revealed to emphasise the superiority of faith and Jihad over isolated good works. 13 Hunain is a valley twenty-two kilometres east of Makkah. A battle took place there in the eighth year of Hijrah, after the conquest of Makkah. The Muslim army numbered 12,000 and the idolaters were only 4,000. 14 Sakinah means tranquillity and calmness, a mental state of placing one’s trust in God and being content with God. 15 Although it seems to indicate the opposite, this verse shows the tolerance of Islam: even after the Conquest of Makkah, idolaters were not told to convert or be put to the sword, but allowed to practise their religion. It was only when many of them chose to abuse that tolerance and to act with treachery that steps had to be taken to banish them from the sacred sites. 16 Jizya is a tax that non-Muslim citizens living in an Islamic state pay in return for the protection of their lives, property, civic rights and religious freedom. It is a compensation paid to the Muslim community for providing these services to the non-Muslim citizens. 17 Uzair refers to biblical Prophet Ezra. It has to be recognised that, unlike the Christian doctrine about Jesus, few if any Jews today hold this belief, which may have been restricted to relatively small and remote Jewish communities like those of Madinah. 18 The four sacred months mentioned in verse 5 provided a time when the Arabs could travel freely without fear of attack. Even the idolaters respected them on the whole, except that they would sometimes cheat by swapping the sacred month of Rajab around if they thought it would give them an advantage in fighting other tribes. 19 Infirou means to mobilise men, the marching off to war and all the preparations for it. 20 The companion mentioned here was Abu Bakr, who accompanied him in the cave of Thaur, south of Makkah. He became the first Caliph after the Prophet r passed away in 632 ce. 21 Either in victory in the battle, or martyrdom and Paradise in the Hereafter. 22 The commentators are agreed that Sadaqah here refers to Zakat, a pillar of Islam. 23 “He is all ears” means that he believes everything he hears. 24 Literally “kindness”. 25 The Divine pleasure means that God is happy with them, He has approved their worldly achievements and taken them as friends. 26 This refers to Saliba Ibn Hatib, who came to the Messenger r and said “pray to God to give me wealth”. The Messenger r cautioned him “O Saliba, a small amount for which you are thankful is better than a lot which you can’t appreciate.” However Saliba kept insisting that He r pray for him,