4:75 An-Nisaa (The Women)

هذا حث من الله لعباده المؤمنين وتهييج لهم على القتال في سبيله، وأن ذلك قد تعين عليهم، وتوجه اللوم العظيم عليهم بتركه، فقال: { وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ } والحال أن المستضعفين من الرجال والنساء والولدان الذين لا يستطيعون حيلة ولا يهتدون سبيلاً، ومع هذا فقد نالهم أعظم الظلم من أعدائهم، فهم يدعون الله أن يخرجهم من هذه القرية الظالم أهلها لأنفسهم بالكفر والشرك، وللمؤمنين بالأذى والصد عن سبيل الله، ومنعهم من الدعوة لدينهم والهجرة. ويدعون الله أن يجعل لهم وليًّا ونصيرًا يستنقذهم من هذه القرية الظالم أهلها، فصار جهادكم على هذا الوجه من باب القتال والذب عن عيلاتكم وأولادكم ومحارمكم، لا من باب الجهاد الذي هو الطمع في الكفار، فإنه وإن كان فيه فضل عظيم ويلام المتخلف عنه أعظم اللوم، فالجهاد الذي فيه استنقاذ المستضعفين منكم أعظم أجرًا وأكبر فائدة، بحيث يكون من باب دفع الأعداء.

يحرض تعالى عباده المؤمنين على الجهاد في سبيله وعلى السعي في استنقاذ المستضعفين بمكة من الرجال والنساء والصبيان المتبرمين من المقام بها ولهذا قال تعالى "الذين يقولون ربنا أخرجنا من هذه القرية" يعني مكة كقوله تعالى "وكأين من قرية هي أشد قوة من قريتك التي أخرجتك" ثم وصفها بقوله "الظالم أهلها واجعل لنا من لدنك وليا واجعل لنا من لدنك نصيرا أي سخر لنا من عندك وليا ناصرا. قال البخاري: حدثنا عبدالله بن محمد حدثنا سفيان عن عبيد الله قال: سمعت ابن عباس قال: كنت أنا وأمي من المستضعفين. حدثنا سليمان بن حرب حدثنا حماد بن زيد عن أيوب عن ابن أبي مليكة أن ابن عباس تلا إلا المستضعفين من الرجال والنساء والولدان قال: كنت أنا وأمي ممن عذر الله عز وجل.

Encouraging Jihad to Defend the Oppressed

Allah encouraged His believing servants to perform Jihad in His cause and to strive hard to save the oppressed Muslims in Makkah, men, women and children who were restless because of having to remain there. This is why Allah said,

الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ

(whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town), referring to Makkah. In a similar Ayah, Allah said,

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ هِىَ أَشَدُّ قُوَّةً مِّن قَرْيَتِكَ الَّتِى أَخْرَجَتْكَ

(And many a town, stronger than your town which has driven you out) Allah then describes this town,

الظَّـلِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَلْ لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنْكَ وَلِيّاً وَاجْعَلْ لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنْكَ نَصِيراً

(whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help) meaning, send protectors and helpers for us. Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "I and my mother were from the oppressed (in Makkah)." Allah then said,

الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ الطَّـغُوتِ

(Those who believe, fight in the cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of the Taghut. ) Therefore, the believers fight in obedience to Allah and to gain His pleasure, while the disbelievers fight in obedience to Shaytan. Allah then encourages the believers to fight His enemies,

فَقَـتِلُواْ أَوْلِيَاءَ الشَّيْطَـنِ إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَـنِ كَانَ ضَعِيفاً

(So fight against the friends of Shaytan; ever feeble indeed is the plot of Shaytan).

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ قِيلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّواْ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَءَاتُواْ الزَّكَوةَ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ كَخَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ لَوْلا أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ قُلْ مَتَـعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالاٌّخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنِ اتَّقَى وَلاَ تُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلاً - أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُواْ يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِى بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِكَ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ فَمَا لِهَـؤُلاءِ الْقَوْمِ لاَ يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثاً

What is wrong with you that you do not fight this is an interrogative of rebuke in other words there is nothing to prevent you from fighting in the way of God and for the deliverance of the oppressed men women and children whom the disbelievers persecuted and prevented from emigrating. Ibn ‘Abbās may God be pleased with him and his father said ‘My mother and I were among them’; who say supplicating ‘O our Lord bring us forth from this town Mecca whose people are evildoers through unbelief and appoint for us a protector from You to take charge of our affair and appoint for us from You a helper’ to defend us against them. God responded to their supplication and facilitated escape for some of them while others remained behind until Mecca was conquered — in charge of them the Prophet s placed ‘Attāb b. Asīd who proceeded to seek justice for the wronged from those that had wronged them.

Commentary

Answering the call of the oppressed

Left behind in Makkah were Muslims who were unable to migrate because of physical weakness and insufficiency of resources. Later on, the disbelievers themselves stopped them from going and started hurting and harassing them in all sorts of ways so that they turn away from their faith in Islam. The names of some of these are preserved in exegetic works, for example, Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ and his mother, Sulyma ibn Hisham, Walid ibn Walid and Abu Jandal ibn Sahl, may Allah be pleased with them all (Qurtubi). These blessed people kept facing tyranny and torture because of their unflinching faith showing no signs that they would ever surrender their firm stand on Islam. However, they did continue praying to Allah Almighty for deliverance from this hard life which was finally accepted by Him when He commanded Muslims to wage Jihad against the disbelievers and rescue the oppressed from their coercion and persecution.

According to this verse, Muslims had requested Allah Almighty the favour of two things - that they be rescued from that town (meaning Makkah) and that they be blessed with some supporter and helper. The fact is that Allah Almighty granted both these prayers when He provided some of them with the opportunity to move out from there which was the fulfillment of their first wish. However, some of them remained staying right there until the Conquest of Makkah. At that time, the Holy Prophet ﷺ appointed Sayyidna ` Attab ibn Asid as their caretaker and who had the oppressed Muslims delivered from their oppressors. Thus, granted was their second wish as well. It will be noted that the Holy Qur'an, rather than give a straightforward command to fight in this verse, has elected to use the words: وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ ): (What has happened to you that you do not fight in the way of Allah?). Here the hint given is that fighting and Jihad is a natural duty under such conditions,_ not doing which is certainly far from a reasonable man.