206. What it means is, do not sit back and relax, rather prepare yourself against the enemies of Islam (Ruh). Mawdudi writes: “This discourse was revealed after the battle of Uhud, when the tribes living around Madina had been greatly encouraged by the defeat of the Muslims. The dangers seemed to surround the Muslims on all sides. Day in and day out news poured in about the hostile intentions of some tribe after another ... Beyond Madina neither their life nor property was secure. Consequently, the Muslims had to prepare themselves for a fierce struggle for a tremendous all out effort to ensure that the Islamic movement would not be crushed.”

207. The meaning hidden in the words “go forward all together” is that a man must try and take part in every good activity before his appointed term ends (Ruh). Asad writes: “The problem of war as such arises from the principles of ideological statehood postulated in verse 59 of this surah. Since the Muslims are expected to organize their communal life within the framework of a state based on the ideological premises laid down in the Qur’an, they must be ready for hostility on the part of groups or nations opposed to the world-view and the social system of Islam and, conceivably, bent on its destruction: consequently, the concept of a defensive war in God’s cause (jihad) plays a very prominent role in the socio-political scheme of Islam and is frequently alluded to throughout the Qur’an.” Since the concept that Islam sanctions only a defensive war is commonly prevalent, the above requires a slight modification. The words “defensive war,” destroy the objective “in God’s cause” stated in the same sentence. Jihad can only be “in God’s cause,” if it is waged to uphold the Word of God and put down the Word of taghut. Helping the oppressed Muslims, is only subsidiary and an additional cause, and cannot be called “God’s cause” per se. Also see note 212 below. Though of course, this is all theory. In actual fact, Muslims will have to keep conducting the Jihad of self-defence because never will they be spared the enemy-sword (Au.).

208. Such as those who do not prepare themselves - with arms and provisions - for the battles that are anticipated (Ibn Kathir).

209. There was, in fact, no love and affection between the hypocrites and Muslims, but this is what they used to claim (and these words were added to refute their claim) - Zamakhshari.

210. Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Jurayj have said that the allusion is to the hypocrite in this verse (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). Yusuf Ali explains: “The doubter detaches himself in thought and action from the community. If the general body has a reverse, he blesses Allah that he was not among them, instead of being ashamed of himself for desertion. If the general body wins a success, he does not rejoice for the common cause, but only regrets for himself that he was not there to share in the glory and the gains.”

211.

212. So, for a believer fighting in the way of Allah, it is either martyrdom or victory. Defeat is out of the question (based on Majid’s note).

213. Thus, there are two reasons that entail the necessity of jihad: one, to establish the religion of Allah, and the other to help the oppressed Muslims (Shabbir). Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Suddi, Hasan and Ibn Zayd say that the situation refers to the early days after hijrah when weak men, women and children were left back in Makkah and were the target of persecution (Ibn Jarir). Ibn `Abbas has said in a report of Bukhari: “I and my mother were the “oppressed ones" that Allah spoke of in this verse (Ibn Kathir).

214. For explanation of the word taghut see note 172 of this surah and 553 of al-Baqarah.

215. ‘Thus the Qur’an implies that “evil” is not an independent, esoteric factor of life, but rather a result of a man’s succumbing to the temptations arising from his own moral weakness and thereby “denying the truth”. In other words, the “power” of the negative principle symbolized by Satan has no intrinsic reality (“Satan’s guile is weak indeed”): it becomes real only through man’s wilfully choosing a wrong course of action’ (Asad).