Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:190

(And fight in the way of Allah) means: strive for the glorification of the religion of Allah Almighty and the elevation of His word. The word sabil (way) is used metaphorically for the religion of Allah and His word, because the believer attains the pleasure of Allah through it. The container-like sense (dharfiyyah) implied by the preposition fi (in) serves as an enhancement of the metaphor.

(Those who fight you), meaning: those who engage you in combat from among the disbelievers. According to what is narrated from Abu al-Aliyah, this was before they were commanded to fight all the polytheists—both those who actively engaged in combat and those who refrained. Thus, it would be a generalization after the specification derived from this command, establishing its explicit meaning (mantuq) while abrogating its implicit meaning (mafhum); meaning: do not fight those who refrain. The same applies to the explicit meaning of the prohibition that follows, for in this interpretation, it also includes the prohibition of fighting them.

It is also said: The meaning is those who set themselves up against you in battle, and from whom such is expected, unlike the elderly, children, women, and monks. Thus, the verse would be a specification of the generality of that command, excluding those from whom such action is not expected.

Others have said: The intended meaning encompasses all disbelievers, as they are inherently inclined toward fighting Muslims and intending it; therefore, they are in the status of combatants regardless of whether they have fought or not.

The first view is supported by what Abu Salih recorded from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the polytheists obstructed the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) from the House in the year of al-Hudaybiyyah and made a peace treaty with him that he would return the following year, and they would vacate Mecca for him for three days so he could circumambulate the House and do as he wished. When the following year arrived, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his companions prepared for the Umrat al-Qada (the compensatory Umrah). They feared that Quraysh might not fulfill their agreement, that they might turn them away from the Sacred Mosque, or that they might fight them. His companions disliked fighting them in the Sacred Month within the Sacred Sanctuary, so Allah Almighty revealed this verse.

Making what is understood from this narration a fourth interpretation of the intended meaning of the relative pronoun (alladhina—those who) by saying: "The intent is those among the polytheists who prepare for combat in the Sacred Sanctuary and the Sacred Month, as some have done," is far-fetched, as it is a specification without evidence. Moreover, the specificity of a cause (sabab) does not necessitate the specificity of the ruling.

(And do not transgress) means: do not kill women, children, the very old, nor those who offer you peace and withhold their hands. If you do so, you have transgressed. This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn Abbas. It may also mean: do not transgress in any way, such as by initiating combat, fighting those with whom there is a covenant, launching a surprise attack without prior invitation [to Islam], or killing those whom you have been forbidden to kill. Some have stated this, and it is supported by the fact that a negated verb implies generality.

(Indeed, Allah does not like the transgressors) means: those who exceed the limits set for them. This serves as a justification for what preceded it. His Almighty's love for His servants, in the well-known view, is an expression of willing good and reward for them. There is no intermediate state between love and hatred regarding Him, the Exalted in Majesty, unlike the love and hatred of humans, for there is an intermediate state between them, which is the absence of both.