| An-Nisa (The Women): (90) Except those who join...

Issues Discussed:

There are two opinions regarding the meaning of {yasilūna}:

1. They join/connect with them: Meaning, whoever is under a covenant with those who were under a covenant with you (Muslims), they too are under your covenant. Al-Qaffal (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that this could include people intending to reach the Prophet (PBUH) but being prevented, so they seek refuge with a group who has a treaty with the Muslims until they find a way to reach the Prophet.
2. They are related by lineage: This is weak because most people in Mecca were related by lineage to the Prophet (PBUH), yet he permitted the shedding of their blood.

There is disagreement on who these people are:

• Some said they were the Aslam tribe, as the Prophet (PBUH) made a pact with Hilal ibn Uwaymir al-Aslami upon leaving for Mecca, agreeing not to disobey or assist against him, and granting anyone who sought refuge with Hilal the same protection.
• Ibn Abbas said they were Banu Bakr ibn Zayd Manāh.
• Muqatil said they were Khuzā'ah and Khuzaymah ibn Abd Manāh.

Note: This verse contains great tidings for the believers. Since Allah exempted those who sought refuge with Muslims from harm, it is more fitting that He exempts those who seek refuge in the love of Allah and His Messenger from punishment in the Hereafter.

The Second Point of Exception:

His saying, the Exalted: {Aw \text{ ḥuṣirat ṣudūruhum an yuqātilūkum aw yuqātilū qawmahum}} (Or if they are restrained from fighting you or fighting their own people...)

The word {Aw} has two possibilities:

1. It is coordinated with the clause following {yadhakkarūna} (those who remember), meaning: Except those who join the covenant-makers OR those whose chests are restrained from fighting you. This is preferred for two reasons:
   • His saying, {Fakhudhūhum waqtulūhum ḥaythu wajadtumūhum} (Then seize them and slay them wherever you find them) (4:89), indicates that the reason for leaving them alone is their cessation of fighting. This aligns with the first interpretation.
   • Making the cessation of fighting the direct cause for leaving them alone is more appropriate than making joining those who ceased fighting a remote cause.

2. It is coordinated with the description of the people (qawm), meaning: Except those who join people with whom you have a covenant, OR those who join people whose chests are restrained from fighting you.

This means their chests are constricted from fighting, as they do not wish to fight you (because you are Muslims), nor do they wish to fight their own people (because they are their relatives).

There are different views on the grammatical position of {ḥuṣirat ṣudūruhum}:

1. It is in the position of a circumstantial clause (ḥāl), with an implied qad (already), as in: "Or they came to you in a state where their chests were already restrained."
2. It is a second predicate following the first predicate (implied: "Or they came to you, and then their chests were restrained"). In this case, it could be a substitute for the implied {jā'ūkum} (they came to you).
3. It is an adjective describing the implied subject of the circumstantial clause (e.g., "Or they came to you as people whose chests were restrained"). In this case, {ḥuṣirat ṣudūruhum} is in the accusative case because it is an adjective for a subject in the accusative case (the circumstantial subject), which has been omitted, and the adjective stands in its place.

The phrase {an yuqātilūkum aw yuqātilū qawmahum} means their hearts are constricted from fighting you and from fighting their own people; they are neither for you nor against you.

The majority opinion is that they are among the disbelievers. This means that killing the disbeliever is obligatory unless he is under a covenant or refrains from fighting. However, this view necessitates that the verse is abrogated, because even if a disbeliever refrains from fighting, killing him is permissible (according to this view).

Abū Muslim al-Iṣfahānī argued that since Allah obligated migration for everyone who embraced Islam, He exempted those with an excuse:

1. {Illā alladhīna yaṣilūna}: These are believers who intended to migrate and support the Prophet, but were blocked by disbelievers on their path. So they stayed with a people who had a treaty with the Muslims until they could escape.
2. Those who reached the Prophet but do not fight him or his companions (out of fear of Allah), nor do they fight the disbelievers (because they are their relatives, or because their children/wives remain among them, fearing reprisal). These two groups of Muslims are not permissible to fight, even if they did not complete the migration or fight the disbelievers.

• Linguistically: Taslīṭ (giving power) is derived from salāṭah (sharpness/boldness).
• Meaning: Allah has favored the Muslims by restraining the aggression of those under covenant. Their restraint from fighting you is because Allah cast terror into their hearts. If Allah had strengthened their hearts to fight the Muslims, they would have overpowered you.
• Our scholars argue this indicates that it is not inherently wrong for Allah to empower a disbeliever over a believer.
• The Mu'tazila offered two rebuttals:
  1. Al-Jubbā'ī argued that the excepted people are believers, not disbelievers. Thus, the meaning is: If Allah had willed, He would have empowered them over you to defend themselves against your aggression, assuming you attacked them unjustly.
  2. Al-Kallābī argued that Allah stating He could have done something only implies His capability to commit injustice, which we affirm, but we maintain that He does not commit injustice, and the verse does not imply He willed or intended that action.

The lām is the response to the conditional law (lām al-jawāb), either as a repetition or a substitute for the implied meaning: "If Allah had willed, He would have given them power over you, and if Allah had willed, they would have fought you."

The author of Al-Kashshāf mentioned that {Falaqātalūkum} is read with both the lightened (un-doubled) and the intensified (doubled) tā' (i.e., laqātalūkum or laqāttalūkum).

Then He said: {Fa'ini i'tazalūkum} (But if they withdraw from you), meaning they do not attack you, wa alqaw ilaykum as-salm (and offer you peace), meaning submission and surrender. (It is also read with a quiescent lām and an open sīn: {fa'in i'tazalūkum wa alqaw ilaykum as-salm}).

{Famā ja'ala Allāhu lakum 'alayhim salīlā} (Then Allah has not made for you a way over them), meaning He has not permitted you to seize or kill them.

Scholarly Views on Abrogation:

• Some commentators say the verse is abrogated by the Verse of the Sword: {Iqtalū al-mushrikīn} (Slay the polytheists) (9:5).
• Others say it is not abrogated.
  • For those who hold the exception refers to believers, the ruling stands clearly.
  • For those who hold the exception refers to disbelievers, Al-Aṣamm argued: If we interpret the verse as referring to covenant-makers, how can it be said to be abrogated?

Verse 91:

{Sa-tajidūna ākharīna yurīdūna an ya'manūkum wa ya'manū qawmahum kullamā ruddū ilā al-fitnati urkisū fīhā fa'in lam ya'tazilūkum wa yulqū ilaykum as-salma wa yakuffū aydiyahum fakhudhūhum waqtulūhum ḥaythu thaqaftumūhum wa ulā'ika ja'alnā lakum 'alayhim sulṭānan mubīnā}$

(You will find others who wish to be safe from you and safe from their own people. Whenever they are returned to sedition, they are plunged into it. So if they do not withdraw from you, and offer you peace, and restrain their hands, then seize them and slay them wherever you find them. And those—We have made for you a clear authority over them.)