Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | A HIGHER DEGREE OF UNBELIEF`Abd al-Raĥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, another leading commentator on theQur’ān, mentions that this was done in pre-Islamic days by a man from the tribe ofKinānah called al-Qulummus. In those days the Arabs would stop fighting orlaunching raids on one another in the sacred month. A man would meet his father’skiller and he would not lift a hand to harm him. One day this man gave orders to setout for a raid. When he was told that it was the month of al-Muĥarram, he said: “Wewill delay it this year. There are two Şafar months this year. Next year we willcompensate for this by making them two Muĥarrams.” Indeed the following year, hetold them not to launch any raid in Şafar, so that it too was made sacred.These are two interpretations of the verse and two versions of postponement. Inthe first version Şafar is made sacred in place of al-Muĥarram to make the sacredmonths four in number, but not the ones which God has specified since al-Muĥarramis made unsacred. In the other version three months are made sacred one year andfive the next year to make up eight, with an average of four a year. This means ineffect that the sanctity of al-Muĥarram is lost one year and Şafar is made sacred inanother. Both actions represent a violation of God’s law, making lawful what He hasforbidden. Both are, as God says, “an excess of unbelief,” because they involve anassumption of the authority to legislate which is an act of unbelief that is added tothe actual rejection of the faith.In this act which is described as an ‘excess of unbelief,’ “the unbelievers are ledastray.” (Verse 37) They actually deceive themselves with their ploys and tricks. ‘Theevil of their deeds thus seems fair to them.” (Verse 37) They see as fair what is evil andthey think deviation from the truth to be a virtue. They are totally unaware of howfar astray they have gone and to what depths of unbelief they have sunk.“God does not guide those who are unbelievers.” (Verse 37) They have placed a shieldbetween their hearts and divine guidance. Hence God abandons them to theirunbelief in which they live in total darkness, far removed from God’s guidance.126