Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allāh - those expect the mercy of Allāh. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.
The Nakhlah Military Maneuvers, and the Ruling on Fighting during the Sacred Months
Ibn Abu Hatim reported that Jundub bin `Abdullah said: Allah's Messenger ﷺ assembled a group of men under the command of Abu `Ubaydah bin Jarrah. When he was about to march, he started crying for the thought of missing Allah's Messenger ﷺ . Consequently, the Messenger relieved Abu `Ubaydah from command, appointed `Abdullah bin Jahsh instead, gave him some written instructions and commanded him not to read the instructions until he reached such and such area. He also said to `Abdullah:
The injunction relating to fighting in the 'sacred' months:
The second of the three verses under comment here proves that fighting is forbidden in Rajab, Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram, the four 'sacred' months. In the same way, there are several verses of the Holy Qur'an where fighting has been very clearly forbid-den during the sacred months, for instance:' ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ ۚ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ :'Four of them are sacred. That is the right religion' (9:36). Then there is the saying of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the famous address of the Last Hajj: نھا اربعہ حُرم ثلات متوالیات و رجب مضر 'Four (months) from among them are sacred, out of which three are consecutive and the (fourth) is Rajab of Mudar'. These Qur'anic verses and hadith narrations prove that fighting is haram حرام prohibited in the four months mentioned and this forbiddance is good for ever.
When the faithful are persecuted in this way, and forced to leave their homes, they sometimes even have to take to arms in self-defence. So when the believers were debarred from worship by the polytheists, they were repeatedly subjected to aggression, such circumstances compelled them at times to take up arms in self-defence. This was a two-sided process which separated the people of God from the enemies of God. On the one hand, some were exposed as servants only of themselves; for who else but one who has no fear of God—pursuing only his own selfish ends—would persecute God’s servants? On the other hand, out of this persecution came emigration and peaceful missionary struggle—acts of true faith on the part of those who remained devoted to God through all torment and oppression; there were others, of course, who, unable to withstand the pressure, forsook their faith. (That is, such persecution gave the believers the opportunity to show the strength of their faith, and in spite of the adverse atmosphere, their continuing trust in God. This made them stand out from those who, weak in faith, proved unable to withstand the pressure, and lost their trust in God.)
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
