Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | PROLOGUEfact that the Muhājirīn and the Anşār constituted a solid base that showed no sign ofweakness.We have already mentioned that this state of affairs was due to the fact that afterthe conquest of Makkah large and divergent groups of people declared theiracceptance of Islam, but did not receive the kind of education necessary for fullintegration within the Muslim community. But this general statement cannot be fullyunderstood unless we review the historical situation before and after the conquest ofMakkah, which we will now turn to.A Historical ViewThe Islamic movement in Makkah encountered difficulties right from the timewhen it was born. Jāhiliyyah, represented in this instance by the Quraysh, soon sensedthe danger it was facing from the message declaring that `there is no deity other thanGod, and Muĥammad is God’s Messenger.’ It realized that this new message was anoutright revolution against all authority not derived from God’s own. It was arebellion against all tyranny, seeking God’s protection. Jāhiliyyah also sensed that thenew message, led by God’s Messenger, began to form a new organic groupingpledging sole and complete allegiance to God and His Messenger. Thus, it rebelledagainst the leadership of the Quraysh and the situation prevailing under jāhiliyyah.No sooner did the Quraysh sense this danger than it launched a determined attackon the new message, grouping and its leadership. It utilized in this attack all itspower to inflict physical harm and to sow discord through intrigue and wickeddesigns.In fact this jāhiliyyah society sought every means to defend itself against a dangerit felt to threaten its very existence. This is the normal state of affairs whenever amovement begins to advocate God’s Lordship in a community where Lordship isexercised by some people over others. Whenever such advocacy is undertaken by anorganized movement that has its own leadership, it will be in direct confrontationwith jāhiliyyah society, as the two cannot be accommodated within the samecommunity. 3At this stage, every individual in the new Islamic grouping was subjected tooppression and persecution in every way, to the extent that many were killed. At thetime, only a person who had dedicated himself and his life to God, and who waswilling to endure persecution, hunger and even a ghastly death would join the newgroup, declaring his belief that there is no deity other than God and that Muĥammadis God’s Messenger.3 For a full discussion of this, refer to the commentary of Verses 8: 72-75, in Vol. 7, Chapter 4.5