39 Preface أُذِنَ لِلَّذينَ يُقاتَلونَ بِأَنَّهُم ظُلِموا ۚ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلىٰ نَصرِهِم لَقَديرٌYusuf AliTo those against whom1 war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, God is most powerful for their aid;-Several translators have failed to notice that yuqa taluna is in the passive voice, “against whom war is made”-not “who take arms against the unbelievers” as Sale translates it. The clause “and verily... their aid” is parenthetical. Verse 40 connects on with “they are wronged”. The wrong is indicated: 'driven by persecution from their home, for no other reason than that they worshipped the One True God 1 . This was the first occasion on which fighting-in self-defence-was permitted. This passage therefore undoubtedly dates from Medīna.