Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:40

[39] A promise of victory to them, an affirmation of what preceded of the promise, and a clear statement that the intended meaning is not merely their rescue from the hands of the polytheists, but rather granting them supremacy and victory over them. The speech is delivered in accordance with the traditions of majesty, for a gesture and a smile from a great king are sufficient to guarantee the certainty of attaining the desired objective. It has been confirmed with emphatic certainty as an increase in steadying the souls of the believers.

{ الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِم } is in the position of genitive case as an attribute of the [previously mentioned] relative pronoun, or an explanation of it, or a substitute for it. It may be in the accusative case as a form of praise, or in the nominative case by implying a subject, with the sentence being in the nominative for praise. The intended meaning is: "Those whom the polytheists drove out of Mecca."

{ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ } is connected to the act of driving out (the expulsion), meaning they were driven out without anything that would necessitate their expulsion. It is permissible that it be an attribute of an omitted verbal noun, meaning: "They were expelled with an expulsion that possessed this quality." Al-Tabarsi chose the view that it is in the position of a state (hal), meaning: "They were in a state of not having any right (cause) placed upon them that would necessitate their expulsion."

His saying, the Exalted: { إِلَّا أَن يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ } is a connected exception from { حَقٍّ }. The particle an and what follows it are in the interpretation of a verbal noun acting as a substitute for it, due to the meaning of negation present in the word ghayr. The sum of the meaning is: "There is no cause for their expulsion except monotheism." This is if the 'cause' refers to the state of affairs itself, similar to the saying of Al-Nabigha: "There is no flaw in them, except that their swords have notches from the clashing of battalions." It is permitted that the substitution be from ghayr, and ukhriju (were driven out) carries the meaning of negation, meaning: "They were not settled in their homes except by their saying 'Our Lord is Allah', etc." And that is as you see.

It is also permitted that the exception be disconnected, which Abu Hayyan deemed necessary, meaning: "But they were driven out by their saying 'Our Lord is Allah'." He also required the accusative case for what follows illa, just as they required it in their saying: "It did not increase except by what it decreased" and "It did not benefit except by what it harmed." He refuted the view that it is connected and that what follows illa is a substitute for haqq with what is most similar to sophistry. It is understood from their speech that it is permissible for illa to mean "except for" (siwa), acting as an attribute to haqq, meaning: "They were driven out without a right except for monotheism," the essence of which is: "They were driven out due to their being monotheists."

{ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ } This is an incitement to the authorized fighting, conveying that the Exalted has established a tradition regarding this among the past nations so that matters may be organized, laws upheld, and places of worship protected from destruction. It is as if, when it was said: { أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ } [etc.], it was said: "Let the believers fight." For if not for fighting and Allah’s empowering the believers against the polytheists in every era and time, their places of worship would have been destroyed and they would have been scattered to the winds.

It is said: The meaning is that if not for Allah driving back some people by others by empowering the believers of this nation against its disbelievers, the aforementioned places of worship would have been destroyed. However, the Exalted empowered the believers against the disbelievers, so these places of worship remained—some for the believers and some for those under their protection among the People of the Covenant (Dhimmah). But this is not as strong.

Mujahid said: "Meaning, if not for the repelling of the injustice of a people through the testimony of the upright and the like, then [these places] would have been destroyed." A group said: "Meaning, if not for the repelling of the injustice of the oppressors by the justice of the rulers." A party said: "Meaning, if not for the repelling of the punishment from the wicked through the supplication of the righteous." Qutrub said: "Meaning, if not for the repulsion by way of Qisas (retaliation) for souls." It is also said: "By way of the Prophets (peace be upon them) against the believers." All of these are interpretations the context does not necessitate, and those of understanding do not approve of.

Sawami' is the plural of sawma'ah, on the scale of fu'ulah, which is a high structure with a sharp top. Asma' (plural of asma') in men is one who is sharp in speech. Al-Raghib said: "It is every structure whose top is converged (mutasami'), i.e., joined together, and asma' is that whose ear is stuck to its head." This is close to the matter. Before Islam, as Qatada said, it was specific to the monks of the Christians and the worshippers of the Sabians, then it was used for the minarets of the Muslims. The intended meaning here is the place of worship of the monks, according to Abu al-'Aliyah, and the place of worship of the Sabians, according to Qatada. It is not hidden that it is not appropriate to desire this, since the Sabians were not a religion of truth at any time.

Biya' is plural of bi'ah, on the scale of fi'lah, which is the prayer place of the Christians, not restricted to their monks like the sawma'ah. Al-Raghib said: "If this is originally Arabic, the reason for naming it so is what the Glorious said: { إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ } [the verse]." It is also said it is the synagogue of the Jews. The people of Medina and Ya'qub read it as { دِفَاع } with an alif. The people of the two Sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina), Ayyub, Qatada, Talha, and Za'idah from Al-A'mash and Al-Za'farani read { لَهُدِّمَت } with light articulation, while others read with doubling, considering the abundance of the places.

{ وَصَلَوَاتٌ } is the plural of salat, which is the synagogue of the Jews; it is said it is a temple for the Christians other than the bi'ah. The former is more famous. The synagogue was named this because prayer is performed in it; thus, it is a metaphor of naming the location by the name of the state (i.e., the action taking place there). It is said: It is in its real meaning, and huddimat (destroyed) means "rendered inoperable." Or there is an implied noun in the speech, but that is not as strong. It is said salawat is an arabization of salutha with a tha' (ث) and shortening, and its meaning in Hebrew is "the place of prayer." It is narrated from Abu Raja', Al-Jahdari, Abu al-'Aliyah, and Mujahid that they read it as such. The apparent meaning is that, according to this view, it is a generic noun, not a proper noun before or after arabization. But what Harun narrated from Abu 'Amr—that it is not tanweened and is diptote due to being a proper noun and foreign—requires it to be a generic proper noun. Since it is a specific place name—as it is said Ba'id—it should have been diptote in the famous reading. Therefore, it is said it is a generic noun due to its resemblance to the plural in form, thus being like 'Arafat. The apparent meaning is that it is indefinite since it was made general when arabized. As for the famous saying that the one who says it does not tanween it, it is a forced explanation, as Al-Khafaji said.

[Then follow various variant readings of the word Salawat by various scholars...]

{ وَمَسَاجِدُ } is the plural of masjid, which is a well-known place of worship for Muslims. It is distinguished by this name out of care for its importance, as the prostration is the state in which the servant is closest to his Lord, the Exalted. It is said: It is because prostration in prayer is specific to the Muslims, though this is refuted by the Exalted’s saying: { يَا مَرْيَمُ اقْنُتِي لِرَبِّكِ وَاسْجُدِي وَارْكَعِي مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ }. Interpreting prostration there in the linguistic sense is far-fetched. Ibn 'Atiyyah said: "The mentioned names are shared by the nations in their referents, except for the bi'ah, for it is specific to the Christians in the convention of every language." The majority are upon the view that sawami' are for monks, biya' for Christians, salawat for Jews, and masajid for Muslims. Perhaps the delay in mentioning [the mosques], even though it is apparent they should be mentioned first for their nobility, is because the existential order is as such, or to place them in the proximity of praising their people, or to distance them from the proximity of destruction. Perhaps the delay of salawat after biya', despite the contradiction to the existential order, is for the affinity between it and the masajid; thus it is said. It is also said that the places of worship were brought in this sequence to move from the noble to the nobler, for the biya' are nobler than the sawami' because of the multitude of worshippers in them—since they are for monks and others, while the sawami' are only for monks. The synagogues of the Jews are nobler than the biya' because their existence is older and the time of worship in them is longer. And the masajid are nobler than all because Allah, the Exalted, is worshipped in them in a way He is not worshipped elsewhere. Perhaps what is meant by the Exalted’s saying: { لَهُدِّمَت } [etc.] is the exaggeration of the appearance of corruption and the occurrence of imbalance in the affairs of the servants if not for Allah, the Exalted, empowering the people of truth over the people of falsehood, not merely the destruction of the places of worship of those two communities.

{ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا } is in the position of an attribute for masajid. Al-Dahhak, Muqatil, and Al-Kalbi said: "It is in the position of an attribute for all of them," and Abu Hayyan deemed this the most likely. The existence of the mention of Allah, the Exalted, in the sawami', biya', and synagogues after the abrogation of their laws is not a matter the context does not permit; it is nothing, for abrogation does not negate their remaining by the blessing of the mention of Allah, the Exalted, in them. Moreover, the meaning of the verse is general to what was before the abrogation, as mentioned.

{ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُ } By Allah, Allah, the Exalted, will surely grant victory to those who support His religion or support His allies. Allah, the Exalted, has fulfilled His promise, as He empowered the Emigrants and the Helpers over the chieftains of the Arabs, the Chosroes of the Persians, and the Caesars of the Romans, and bequeathed to them their lands and their homes. { إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ } regarding what He wills of His desired ends, among which is their victory. { عَزِيزٌ } [40] nothing can obstruct Him, and nothing can resist Him.