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Fighting during the Sacred Months: Commentary of the Quran (Chapter 2:194)By: Mohammad Sobhanie

Commentary of the Quran

Commentary of the Quran (Chapter 2:194)

By: Mohammad Sobhanie

Fighting during the Sacred Months

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الشَّهْرُ الْحَرَامُ بِالشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ وَالْحُرُمَاتُ قِصَاصٌ ۚ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْتَدَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٩٤

Translation:

2:194 [Fighting in] the sacred month is (permissible) for [defending aggression committed upon you in] the sacred month, and for [all] violations are legal retribution. So, whoever assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you. And fear Allah and know that Allah (is) with those who fear (Him).

Commentary:

The four months of Dhū al-Qa‘dah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram and the month of Ṣafar had been considered sacred since the time of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Fighting and bloodshed were forbidden in these months. Islam endorsed and accepted this tradition as stated in Chapter 9:3:

إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِندَ اللَّـهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّـهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ۚ … ﴿٣٦

9:36 Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred.

Within this background, the disbelievers were tempted to ambush the Muslims during these sacred months. They thought that the Muslims will not rise and defend themselves if they are ambushed in the sacred months.

The verse revealed the disbelievers’ evil thoughts and asked the Muslims to fight back and defend themselves in case they were assaulted at any time during these sacred months:

الشَّهْرُ الْحَرَامُ بِالشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ … ﴿١٩٤

2:194 [Fighting in] the sacred month is for [aggression committed in] the sacred month,

That is, the Prophet and his followers would observe the sanctity of the sacred months if the disbelievers observed it also (الشَّهْرُ الْحَرَامُ بِالشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ). Otherwise, the Muslims would fight back, if they were assaulted, and punish the aggressors for violating the sanctity of the sacred months. In general, such a violation calls for a fair retribution (وَالْحُرُمَاتُ قِصَاصٌ).

The word (الْحُرُمَاتُ) is plural of (الْحُرُمه) and it refers to something that should be respected. The word (حَرَم) means a place of respect. Similarly, breaking a divine rule is called haram (حرام) in Islamic jurisprudence.

The verse asserts “…whoever transgressed upon you then you transgress on him in (the) same manner (as) he transgressed upon you.”:

…. فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْتَدَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ … ﴿١٩٤

The phrase “the same manner” in the verse should be understood within Islamic jurisprudential law. In some instances, “(the) same manner” means equal in values. For example, if one destroys another person’s property, the victim cannot take revenge by destroying the perpetrator’s property in return. Rather, the victim is entitled to be compensated equal to his loss. In another instance, if an assailant kills someone’s child, the victim cannot take vengeance by killing the murderer’s son. However, in some instance retribution is implied to be taken in the same manner, see verse 5:45:

وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالْأَنفَ بِالْأَنفِ وَالْأُذُنَ بِالْأُذُنِ وَالسِّنَّ بِالسِّنِّ وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ …. ﴿٤٥

5:45 And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution.

In the end, the verse advises that legal retribution should not be confused with personal vengeance that goes beyond the divine limits:

…. وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٩٤

And fear Allah (and don’t transgresses the divine limits) and know that Allah (is) with those who fear (Him).

Word-for-Word Translation:

2:193 [الشَّهْرُ] The month [الْحَرَامُ] the sacred [بِالشَّهْرِ] is for the month [الْحَرَامِ] the sacred [وَالْحُرُمَاتُ] and for all the violations [قِصَاصٌ] is legal retribution [فَمَنِ] Then whoever [اعْتَدَىٰ] transgressed [عَلَيْكُمْ] upon you [فَاعْتَدُوا] then you transgress [عَلَيْهِ] on him [بِمِثْلِ] in the same manner [مَا] as [اعْتَدَىٰ] he transgressed [عَلَيْكُمْ] upon you [وَاتَّقُوا] And fear [اللَّـهَ] Allah [وَاعْلَمُوا] and know [أَنَّ] that [اللَّـهَ] Allah [مَعَ] is with [الْمُتَّقِينَ] the righteous

 

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