Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | PROLOGUEagainst him and to maintain peace with those who refrain from fighting him.At a later stage, God ordered him to fight the idolaters until all submission ismade to God alone.After the order was given to the Prophet to strive and fight for God’s cause[i.e. jihād], unbelievers were in three categories with regard to their relationswith him: those with whom he was in peace and truce, combatants fightinghim, and those under his protection [i.e. ahl al-dhimmah]. God ordered him tohonour his treaties with those whom he had a peace treaty, as long as theyhonoured their commitments. If he feared treachery on their part, he was torevoke the treaty but would not fight them until he had informed them of thetermination of their peace treaty. On the other hand, he was to fight thosewho violated their treaties with him.When Sūrah 9, Repentance, was revealed, it outlined the policy towards allthese three categories. The Prophet is ordered there to fight his enemies fromamong the people of earlier faiths until they submit to his authority, payingthe loyalty tax, jizyah, or embrace Islam. He is also ordered in the same sūrahto strive hard against the unbelievers and the idolaters. He strove against theunbelievers with arms, and against the hypocrites with argument and proof.A further order to the Prophet in Sūrah 9 was to terminate all treaties withunbelievers, classifying such people into three groups. The first group he wasordered to fight, because these were the ones who violated their treaties withhim and who were untrue to their commitments. He fought them and wasvictorious. The second group consisted of those with whom he had a peacetreaty which they had honoured fully, and the treaty was to run for a specificterm. They had given no support to any person or group who opposed theProphet. With these he was to honour the peace treaty until it had run itscourse. The third group included those with whom the Prophet had no treatyand no previous fighting engagements, as well as those who had an openendedagreement. The Prophet was instructed to give these four months’notice, after which he was to fight them. The Prophet acted on theseinstructions, fought those who violated their treaties, and gave four-months’notice to those who had no treaty or had one without a specific term. Thosewho honoured their treaty were to have it honoured by the Prophet until theend of its term. All these embraced Islam before the end of their term. As forthose who pledged loyalty to him, they were to pay the loyalty tax, jizyah.Thus, after the revelation of Sūrah 9, the unbelievers were in three differentcategories with regard to the Prophet’s relations with them: combatants, orbound by a specified-term treaty, or loyal. The second category embracedIslam shortly thereafter, leaving the other two groups: combatants who17