16
Clarifying the Meaning of iʿtidāʾ (transgression) according to the scholars
Abū al-Faraj has recorded four opinions on the concept of transgression (1):
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That it refers to killing women and children. This was the view of Ibn ʿAbbās (2) and Mujāhid.
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That its meaning is: “Do not fight those who do not fight you.” This was stated by Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, and Ibn Zayd.
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That it is the perpetration of whatever they have been forbidden. This was the position of al-Ḥasan.
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That it is initiating hostilities during a sacred month.
Some have further reported that the second and fourth opinions were abrogated by the “Verse of the Sword.”
Thus one often hears certain exegetes say, “the Verse of the Sword,” and the verse
(1) See Ibn al-Jawzi, Zad al-Masir, vol. 1, p. 197.
(2) Ibn Jarir al-Tabari relates in his Tafsir (vol. 2, p. 190), through his chain of transmitters, that Ibn Abbas said: “Do not kill women, children, the elderly, or anyone who offers you peace and has laid down his arms; whoever does so has committed aggression.”
[بَيَانُ مَعْنَى الاعْتِدَاءِ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ العِلْمِ]
وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ أَبُو الفَرَجِ فِي الاعْتِدَاءِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَقْوَالٍ (١):
أَحَدُهَا: أَنَّهُ قَتْلُ النِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ. قَالَهُ ابنُ عَبَّاسٍ (٢)، وَمُجَاهِدٍ.
وَالثَّانِي: أَنَّ مَعْنَاهُ: لا تُقَاتِلُوْا مَنْ لَمْ يُقَاتِلْكُمْ، قَالَهُ سَعِيدُ بن جُبَيرٍ، وَأَبُو العَالِيَةَ، وَابْنُ زَيدٍ.
والثَّالِثُ: أَنَّهُ إِتْيَانُ مَا نُهُوْا عَنْهُ، قَالَهُ الحَسَنُ.
والرَّابِعُ: أَنَّهُ ابْتِدَاؤُهُمْ بِالقِتَالِ فِي الشَّهْرِ الحَرَامِ.
وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ عَنْ بَعْضِهِمْ أَنَّ الثَّانِي وَالرَّابِعَ مَنْسُوْخٌ بآيَةِ السَّيفِ.
فَيُقَالُ: كَثِيرًا مَا يَقُوْلُ بَعْضُ [المُفَسِّرِينَ]: "آيَةُ السَّيفِ"، وَآيَةُ
(١) انظر: زاد المسير (١/ ١٩٧).
(٢) أخرج ابن جرير في تفسيره (٢/ ١٩٠) بسنده عن ابن عباس قال: "لا تقتلوا النساء، ولا الصبيان، ولا الشيخ الكبير، ولا من ألقى إليكم السلم، وكف يده، فإن فعلتم هذا فقد اعتديتم".