“Then, after that, Allah turns in mercy to whom He wills; and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (27) O you who believe, the polytheists are impure; so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs. And if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you from His bounty, if He wills. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (28)”

“Then Allah sent down,” after the defeat, “His tranquility”—that is, security and reassurance. The word sakīnah is derived from sukūn, meaning stillness—“upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent down forces you did not see,” that is, the angels. It was said that they did not come to fight, but rather to instill cowardice in the disbelievers and courage in the Muslims, for it is narrated that the angels fought only on the Day of Badr. “And He punished those who disbelieved” through killing, capture, taking their families captive, and seizing their wealth. “That is the recompense of the disbelievers.”

“Then, after that, Allah turns in mercy to whom He wills,” guiding him to Islam. “And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Regarding His saying, “O you who believe, the polytheists are impure,” to the end of the verse: Al-Dahhak and Abu Ubaydah said: najas means filth. It was also said that it means wickedness. It is a verbal noun that applies equally to the masculine, feminine, dual, and plural. As for nijs, with the nun given kasrah and the jim left unvowelled, it is not used independently; rather, one says rijs nijs—“a filthy abomination.” When used on its own, one says najis, with the nun given fathah and the jim kasrah. What is meant is legal impurity, not physical impurity; they were called impure as a condemnation. Qatadah said: They were called impure because they enter a state of major ritual impurity but do not bathe, and incur minor ritual impurity but do not perform ablution.