Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah 40

Permission to fight; this is the first Ayah of Jihad

Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "This was revealed about Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions, when they were expelled from Makkah." Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and others among the Salaf, such as Ibn `Abbas, `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, Zayd bin Aslam, Muqatil bin Hayan, Qatadah and others said, "This is the first Ayah which was revealed about Jihad." Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the Prophet was driven out of Makkah, Abu Bakr said, `They have their Prophet. Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return; surely they are doomed."' Ibn `Abbas said, "Then Allah revealed the words:

The philosophy behind Jihad and war against the infidels

وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّـهِ النَّاسَ (And had Allah not repelled some people by means of some others... - 22:40) Had Allah not repelled some people by means of some others, the monasteries, the churches, the synagogues and the mosques where the name of Allah is recited abundantly would have been demolished. The command to take up arms against the unbelievers is nothing new, because the earlier prophets and their followers had received similar orders from Allah Ta’ ala and the philosophy behind this command was that without armed resistance no religion would have felt safe and their places of worship would have been destroyed by the infidels.

There have been many religions which were founded on the worship of one God and built up by means of Wahy (Divine revelations). In course of time their basics were changed and so many alterations were introduced in them that they turned into unbelief and polytheism. But before these things happened, they were true religions and it was the duty of their followers to respect and defend their places of worship. This verse refers to such places of worship only and does not include the sacred places of those religions which were not founded on prophethood and revelation (such as the fire-worshiping Magians, or the idol-worshiping Hindus) because they were at no time considered places deserving of respect.

In this verse صَوَامِعُ is the plural of صَوَمِعُہ ، which means a monastery which is a place of worship meant for Christian monks and hermits بِيَعٌ is the plural of بِیعَۃ ، which means a Christian church, and صَلَوَاتٌ is the plural of صلُوت ، which means a Jewish synagogue. And of course مَسَاجِدُ is the place of worship of the Muslims.

The meaning of this verse is that if at different times the believers had not been permitted to fight the infidels, no true religion would have felt secure and at different times during the periods of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and the Holy Prophet ﷺ the places of worship of their respective religions would have been destroyed. (Qurtubi)

When servants of God opt for the path of God, they are not alone in this world. When heedless, arrogant people make them the target of their persecution, God takes the side of the devotees against the persecutors. Initially God tests the sincerity of his proponents. But then He comes to the help of those who, having undergone this test have proved their sincerity. He creates such circumstances for them as may help them to overcome all kinds of hurdles and continue to adhere to the Truth. The real task of the believers is solely to keep calling people to the truth. Once launched on this course, they remain steadfastly upon it. They sometimes wage war, if necessary, but their war is always defensive, never aggressive. If a group remains in power for a long time, it becomes arrogant and boastful. Therefore, God has devised the law of ‘repelling’ for this world. He manages again and again, to dislodge one group from power through another group. Thus the political balance of power has remained steady throughout history. If God did not resort to this method, then human high-handedness would grow to such an extent that even sacred institutions like places of worship would not remain safe from the depredations of the wicked.