وَإِنْ نَكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَطَعَنُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ فَقَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ ۙ إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنْتَهُونَ
And if they break their covenant after their pledge and speak mockingly of your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief, for they are not bound by any covenant, so that they may desist.
انهم لا ایمان لهم: The verse does not mean to say that because there is no respect for the covenant in their hearts, fight them, but rather it means that they have broken their covenant and fight them, perhaps they will understand. There is no longer any covenant between you and them, and keeping their covenant is not necessary.
There are several points in this verse that define the scope of the verse. The first point: "Fight," has issued the command to fight those who have raised their tongues to criticize your religion. Is Islam so vindictive that if someone speaks ill of it, it quickly draws its sword? The answer is no, Islam is not vindictive; because we see that the leaders of Islam, at the height of their power and during their rule, endured the most severe hardships. And they responded well to the command[1],
و جادلهم بالتی هی احسن[2]"And argue with them in that which is best."
The meaning of sarcasm in religion is that some people darken the intellectual background in the vast environment of propaganda against Islam and draw a veil and covering around the mirror of people's minds; so that when people encounter Islam, they do not receive the light of Islam. Otherwise, finding fault in itself does not lead to murder; rather, sarcasm, because it prevents the spread of the call to Islam, leads to murder.
Therefore, our understanding of the verse is that any insult that belittles and denigrates Islam, even if it appears to be praising Islam, is tantamount to insulting the religion.
The second point of the Quran is: "So fight the institution of disbelief, and kill the leaders of disbelief." It does not say, "So fight them," or, "So fight disbelief." "The leaders of disbelief" are the leaders, rulers, and leaders of disbelief. If the tribe of Khuza'ah broke their covenant, the grocer and the merchant did not do anything wrong; rather, it was their leaders who broke the covenant and prevented the progress of your religion. "Imam" means "leader" and ruler. There are many narrations that have been issued about "Imam" or in which the word ائمه is used, conveys this content.
"Imam" means the leader and leader of the people and the one who manages the affairs of the people. "Imams of disbelief" is opposite to "Imams of religion". The Imams of religion mean the leaders of the faith and the Imams of disbelief" mean the leaders of the disbelief. Unfortunately, some commentators have been less interested in understanding the Quran and what the Quran says and have often imposed their own views on the Quran; for example, regarding this verse, they have said, "The verse wants to say, That is, if they break their covenant after the covenant and challenge your religion, then fight them.
In fact, these commentators consider the object of "فَقاتِلُوا" to be those to whom the pronoun in "نكثوا" and "طَعَنُوا" refers, and instead of "أَئمَةَ الْكُفْر", they considered the same people to whom the pronoun "هم" refers. This interpretation is not correct.
If it is said in justification of this incorrect interpretation that the use of the noun ائمه الکفر "aemat' al-kufr" instead of the pronoun "hom" is to remind us that these polytheists are covenant breakers, we would respond: First, there is no connection between covenant breakers and the leadership of disbelief.
Secondly, breaking a covenant is not a characteristic for which we should fight the polytheists, because the Jews also broke their covenant when Islam had not yet gained strength, and yet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) treated them with kindness. In fact, the reason for the command to fight the Imams is that they were disbelievers, and therefore this expression has been used in the verse. The Imam of disbelief means the ideologue, theoretician, ruler, and guide of disbelief.” The verse in the Quran does not mean to say to fight every disbeliever who breaks the covenant, but rather it expresses a very important and precise social issue; a ruling on the scale of in fact, it is the world, the Imam of disbelief, who breaks the covenant, not the individual people. The verse wants to say that if they break their covenant, fight their Imams; because they are the festering glands of society that prevent people from becoming Muslims. One Christian orientalist says that the war of Islam was actually a war against the governments, rulers, and leaders of the time, not a war against nations. Who is preventing the acceptance of Islam by finding fault with them? Are the masses of people preventing it? No, but those who have dominion and power over the corners of society and people are obstacles. The third point in the final sentence is “may they be despised”; because It defines the goal of Islamic Jihad and says: Fight the Imams of disbelief, perhaps they will return; meaning that Islam does not seek revenge, but rather wants the polytheists to return to the path. This method also shows the greatness of Islam. Now we must ask how it is possible for the leaders of infidelity to return? Is such a thing possible? Yes, the people of the world are always power-hungry, wherever they are. There is power and consolidation of the situation. Weak souls are attracted to power; like sometimes they gather around amber. This situation is false, but it is a reality that exists. When Islam shows its power and it becomes clear that it can crush the enemy, the enemies of Islam calculate their affairs and the enemy rulers realize that it is no longer possible to fight and struggle with this power. Therefore, the Quran says, fight them, perhaps they will be warned and return. This expression is an expression of attention and consideration to the role of power in attracting souls to the truth. This is the same point that some contemporary thinkers say that if an Islamic power is established in one corner of the world, its effect in attracting souls to Islam is greater than hundreds of missionaries and the like. The fourth point of the verse is about groups of infidels who have a covenant with the Islamic government and do not protect it and break it. Some people think that an infidel is someone who denies God or associates others with God. The word "infidel" comes from the root word "kufr" which means "to cover." The atonement for sin means that which covers the effects of sin. An infidel is someone who covers the truth and blessings of God and the correct understanding of God. Likewise, the one who takes the blessings of God and wastes them and does not spend them in their proper place is also a disbeliever. Therefore, not acting in accordance with the requirements of God's blessings and divine responsibilities is disbelief, and the scope of disbelief is wide. Of course, the disbelievers at the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) were the same disbelievers who were polytheists.
tradition
Hanan ibn Sudayr said: I heard Abu Abdullah (imam Sadeq, peace be upon him) say: He entered upon some people from Basra asked me about Talha and Zubayr. I told them that they were among the people of disbelief. On the day of Basra, Ali, without the horses, said to his companions: Do not rush against the people until I have fulfilled my obligation to God Almighty and to them. He stood up to them and said: O people of Basra, do you find any injustice in God’s judgment? They said: No. He said: Or any injustice in the division? They said: No. He said: So I desired worldly things that I took for myself and my family, excluding you, and you resented me, meaning you? They said: No. He said: So I established the legal punishments among you and withheld them from others? They said: No. He said: So why is my pledge broken while the pledge of others is not broken? I struck its nose and eyes and found nothing but disbelief or a sword. then he turned to his companions. God, Blessed and Exalted is He, says in His Book: “And if they break their oaths after their pledge and deviate from your religion, then fight the stubbornness’ of disbelievers, for they have no oaths [to uphold]; perhaps they will desist.” Then the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: By Him Who split the seed and created the soul and chose Muhammad for prophet hood, you are indeed companions of This verse and they have not been fought since it was revealed.[3]
[1] The meaning of "debate them" is not to debate with those who agree with them; rather, it is to debate with those who disagree with them. That is, debate with the scholars of the Jews, Christians, and your opponents in a good manner; because when you debate with someone with forgiveness and condescension, you will see that even if he had deep enmity with you, he will turn into a kind friend for you: "So then, if there is between you and him enmity as if he were a close friend" (Surah Fussilat, verse (34)). This verse shows that the enemies did not have a loving approach in arguing with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him and his family), otherwise the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him and his family) would not have been addressed with this address. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him and his family) is commanded to debate with love, gentleness, and gentleness in the face of their harshness, because harsh debate
in intellectual debates
[2] Surah An-Nahl, part of verse 125
[3] Tafsir al-Ayyashi, vol. 2, p. 78 and Tafsir al-Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 2, p. 189; Hanan ibn Sudair says: I heard Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) say that a group of people from Basra came to me and asked me about Talha and al-Zubayr. I said that they were two of the leaders of disbelief. When Ali (a.s.) deployed his cavalry in the Battle of Basra, he said to his companions: Do not rush into the battle with these people until I have completed the argument between me and God Almighty and them. So he went to them and said: O people of Basra, do you think that I have committed injustice in governing? They said: No. He said again: Did I commit injustice in dividing the treasury? They said: No. He said: Did I take something from the world for myself and my relatives, and because of this you became angry with me and broke my oath of allegiance? They said: No. He said: Did I enforce the limits and punishments among you but not for others? They said, "No." He said, "Then how is it that you broke my oath while the oaths of others were not broken? I have tried this by striking its nose and eyes and found nothing but disbelief or the sword." Then he went to his companions and said, "Allah says in His Book: If they break their covenant and oaths after making a covenant and mock your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief." The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said, "By Him who split the grain and created mankind, there has never been a war with such a group. He chose Hamad (peace be upon him and his family) to be a prophet. This verse is about you and has been revealed since it was revealed."
