206. From the time of Abraham three months - Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah
and Muharram - were consecrated for Hajj, and the month of Rajab was consecrated
for 'Umrah. For the duration of these four months warfare, killing and pillage
were prohibited so that people could perform Pilgrimage and return home safely.
For this reason these months were called the 'sacred months'.
The purpose of the verse is to stress that if the unbelievers respect the sanctity
of the sacred months, the Muslims should do the same. If, however, they violate
this sanctity and subject the Muslims to aggression, then the Muslims are also
entitled to retribution even during the 'sacred months'.
The permission mentioned here was called forth by the introduction of nasi',
a practice which had been introduced by the Arabs in order to have an advantage
over others in their battles and raids. The manner in which the Arabs used nasi'
was such that whenever they wished either to start a conflict in order to satisfy
their vendetta or to loot and plunder they carried out their raid in one of
the sacred months and then later on tried to compensate for this violation by
treating one of the non-sacred months as a sacred month. The Muslims were, therefore,
concerned as to what they should do in case the unbelievers resorted to this
artifice and surprised them by an attack in one of the recognized sacred months.
The verse refers to this problem.