His words, exalted is He, “Persecution is more grievous than killing”: that is, their associationism with Allah is more grievous and more serious than your killing them in the Sacred Precinct and while in the state of ihram.

“And do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight you there; but if they fight you, then kill them.” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited: “Do not kill them until they kill you; but if they kill you,” without the medial alif in each instance, deriving the words from “killing.” This is understood to mean: do not kill some of them. The Arabs say, “We killed the clan of so-and-so,” even though they killed only some of them. The remaining reciters read them with the alif, deriving them from “fighting.”

At the beginning of Islam, it was not permissible to initiate fighting against them in the Sacred City. This was then abrogated by His words, exalted is He: “Fight them until there is no more persecution.” This is the view of Qatadah. Muqatil ibn Hayyan said that His words, “Kill them wherever you encounter them,” mean: wherever you find them, outside or within the Sacred Precinct. This verse was abrogated by His words, exalted is He: “Do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque.” That latter verse was then abrogated by the Sword Verse in Surah Bara’ah; thus, it is both abrogating and abrogated. Mujahid and a group of others said: This is a clear verse, and it is not permissible to initiate fighting in the Sacred Precinct.

“Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”

“But if they desist,” from fighting and disbelief, “then indeed Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful”: that is, He forgives what has passed and is merciful to His servants.

“And fight them,” meaning the associationists, “until there is no more persecution,” that is, associationism. In other words, fight them until they embrace Islam, for nothing but Islam is accepted from an idolater; if he refuses, he is killed. “And religion is for Allah,” that is, obedience and worship are for Allah alone, so that nothing besides Him is worshipped.

Nafi’ said: During the civil strife involving Ibn al-Zubayr, a man came to Ibn ‘Umar and said, “What prevents you from going out?” He replied, “What prevents me is that Allah, exalted is He, has made my brother’s blood inviolable.” The man said, “Have you not heard what Allah, exalted is He, has mentioned: ‘If two groups of believers fight one another’?” (al-Hujurat 49:9). He replied, “My nephew, I would rather be reproached on account of this verse and not fight than be reproached on account of the verse in which Allah, exalted is He, says: ‘Whoever deliberately kills a believer’” (al-Nisa’ 4:93). The man said, “Did Allah not say, ‘Fight them until there is no more persecution’?” He replied, “We did so in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when Islam was scarce and a man would be persecuted on account of his religion: they would either kill him or torture him. Then Islam became widespread, so there was no longer persecution and all religion was for Allah. Yet you seek to fight until there is persecution and religion is for other than Allah.”

Sa‘id ibn Jubayr reported that a man said to Ibn ‘Umar, “What is your view on fighting amid civil strife?” He replied, “Do you know what persecution is? Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fought the associationists, and confronting them meant persecution; it is not like your fighting over political rule.”

“But if they desist,” from disbelief and embrace Islam, “then there is to be no aggression except against the wrongdoers.” Ibn ‘Abbas said that this means: there is no way against them except against the wrongdoers. This is indicated by His words, exalted is He: “Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no hostility against me” (al-Qasas 28:28). The scholars of meaning said: aggression means injustice. Thus, if they embrace Islam, there is to be no plundering, taking captives, or killing, except against the wrongdoers who remain upon associationism. What is done to the people of associationism in these matters is not injustice; it is called aggression only by way of requital and correspondence, as He said: “Whoever commits aggression against you, then commit aggression against him in the manner he committed aggression against you,” and as in His words, exalted is He: “The recompense of an evil deed is an evil deed like it” (al-Shura 42:40). And the disbeliever is called