Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:36

{In the Book of Allah} In what He has established and ordained of His decree, and what He deemed wise and correct. It is also said: In the Preserved Tablet.

{Four are sacred} Three are consecutive: Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. One is separate: Rajab. From this is his (peace be upon him) statement in his sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage: "Indeed, time has rotated as it was on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months; four of them are sacred: three consecutive—Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram—and Rajab of Mudar, which is between Jumada and Sha'ban."

The meaning is: The months have returned to what they were; Hajj has returned to Dhu al-Hijjah; and the Nasi' (postponement of sacred months) practiced in the Pre-Islamic era has been abolished. The Farewell Pilgrimage coincided with Dhu al-Hijjah, while the pilgrimage of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was before it in Dhu al-Qa'dah.

{That is the correct religion} Meaning: The prohibition of these four months is the upright religion, the religion of Ibrahim and Isma'il. The Arabs had held onto this as an inheritance from them. They used to honor the sacred months and forbid fighting during them, to the extent that if a man met the killer of his father or brother, he would not provoke him. They called Rajab "the Deaf" and "the Spear-Stripper," until they introduced Nasi', and thus changed it.

{So do not wrong yourselves during them} During the sacred months. Meaning: Do not make their forbidden status lawful.

• 'Ata' said: By Allah, it is not lawful for people to raid during the sacred territory or the sacred months unless they are fought first; this has not been abrogated.
• 'Ata' al-Khurasani (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Fighting in the sacred months was made lawful by the Bara'ah (declaration of immunity) from Allah and His Messenger.
• It is also said: The meaning is "do not commit sins during them," highlighting the greatness of their sanctity, just as the months of Hajj were magnified by His saying: {So whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein, there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience...} (Al-Baqarah: 197), even though that is forbidden in all other months.

{Collectively} A state (hal) for the subject or the object.

{With the righteous} He is a supporter of them, urging them toward piety by guaranteeing victory for its people.

{Indeed, the postponing [of restriction] is an increase in disbelief by which those who have disbelieved are led astray, making it lawful one year and unlawful another year to correspond to the number of what Allah has made unlawful and [thus] make lawful what Allah has made unlawful. Made pleasing to them is the evil of their deeds; and Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.}