The Quran

217

Preface

يَسأَلونَكَ عَنِ الشَّهرِ الحَرامِ قِتالٍ فيهِ ۖ قُل قِتالٌ فيهِ كَبيرٌ ۖ وَصَدٌّ عَن سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَكُفرٌ بِهِ وَالمَسجِدِ الحَرامِ وَإِخراجُ أَهلِهِ مِنهُ أَكبَرُ عِندَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَالفِتنَةُ أَكبَرُ مِنَ القَتلِ ۗ وَلا يَزالونَ يُقاتِلونَكُم حَتّىٰ يَرُدّوكُم عَن دينِكُم إِنِ استَطاعوا ۚ وَمَن يَرتَدِد مِنكُم عَن دينِهِ فَيَمُت وَهُوَ كافِرٌ فَأُولٰئِكَ حَبِطَت أَعمالُهُم فِي الدُّنيا وَالآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولٰئِكَ أَصحابُ النّارِ ۖ هُم فيها خالِدونَ

Yusuf Ali

They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month¹. Say: “Fighting therein is a grave (offence); but graver is it in the sight of God to prevent access to the path of God, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members².” Tumult and oppression³ are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you Turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fire and will abide therein.

Prohibited Month; See 2:194, n. 209.
The intolerance and persecution of the Pagan clique at Mecca caused untold hardships to the Messenger of Islam and his early disciples. They bore all with meekness and long-suffering patience until the Holy One permitted them to take up arms in self-defence. Then they were twitted with breach of the custom about Prohibited Months, though they were driven to fight during that period against their own feeling in self defence. But their enemies not only forced them to engage in actual warfare, but interfered with their conscience, persecuted them and their families, openly insulted and denied God, kept out the Muslims from the Sacred Mosque, and exiled them. Such violence and intolerance are deservedly called worse than slaughter.
Cf. 2:191, 193, where a similar phrase occurs, Fitnah = trial, temptation, as in 2:102; or tumult, sedition, oppression, as here; M.MA., H.G.S., and M.P. translate “persecution” in this passage, which is also legitimate, seeing that persecution is the suppression of some opinion by violence, force, or threats.