Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | THE BASIS OF INTER-COMMUNAL RELATIONSThese verses and the following ones, up to verse 28, provide a frameworkdemarcating relations between the Muslim community, now well established inMadinah and the Arabian Peninsula generally, and the unbelievers in Arabia whochose not to accept Islam. Relations were thus regulated with those Arabs who hadviolated their treaties with the Prophet when they felt that the Muslims were about tomeet their match from the Byzantines at Tabūk. Relations were also put on a properfooting with those Arabs without a treaty but who maintained good relations withthe Muslims, and those who had a treaty which they continued to observe,entertaining no thoughts of treachery.The style employed in these verses takes the form of a general declaration coupledwith high resonance to ensure perfect harmony between the subject matter, thegeneral atmosphere surrounding the whole issue and the mode of expression.Several reports speak of the general conditions prevailing at the time when thisdeclaration was made, as well as the method and the person chosen for itsannouncement. Perhaps the most accurate and more fitting with the prevailingsituation of the Muslim community and the nature of the Islamic approach is the onechosen by Ibn Jarīr al-Ţabarī, an early commentator on the Qur’ān. We will quotehere some of his comments on the various reports which support our view of theevent and how it took place. The following report he attributes to Mujāhid:In the statement, ‘Disavowal by God and His Messenger [is hereby announced] tothose of the idolaters with whom you have made a treaty,’ the reference is made tothe tribe of Mudlij and the Arabs bound by a treaty with the Muslims and allother peoples with similar treaties. It is reported that when the Prophetreturned from Tabūk, he wanted to go on pilgrimage. He then thought, `theKa`bah is visited by idolaters who do the ţawāf naked. I would rather delaymy pilgrimage until such a practice is stopped.’ He sent Abū Bakr and `Alīwho went to see people at Dhu’l-Majāz and other markets, as well as theirencampments in pilgrimage. They gave notice to all peoples who had treatieswith the Prophet that they would have four months of peace. When thosefour consecutive months, beginning with the twenty days remaining ofDhu’l-Hijjah to the tenth day of Rabī` II, were over, the treaties would cometo an end. All people in Arabia would then be in a state of war with theMuslims unless they believed in God and His Messenger. All the populationof Arabia became Muslims and none continued with their old religion. 16Examining the views of other commentators, Imām al-Ţabarī says:As for the notice given by God permitting idolaters with a treaty to ‘go freely16 Al-Tabarī, op.cit., p. 62.47