People ask you about fighting in the Sacred Months [during which the Arabs were supposed to perform their religious rituals such as the pilgrimage to Mecca in peace.] Say: “Fighting during these months is a great sin. However, turning the believers from the path of God, disbelieving the Lord, not respecting the holiness of Masjid-Al-Haram (the oldest place of worshipping God) and driving people out from it are far greater sins. As a matter of fact persecution/ oppression is worse than murder. Rest assured that The disbelievers will not stop fighting you till you join them in disbelief and whoever chooses the disbelief and die as a disbeliever, has nullified all his good deeds and will end up living in Hellfire forever.