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KFGQPC HAFS

Mahmoud Khaleel Al-Husary

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

Dr. Mustafa Khattab

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. The first view is that the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions were coming for ‘Umrah in Dhū al-Qaʿdah, bringing sacrificial animals with them. The polytheists prevented them, so the Prophet made a truce with them to return and then come back the following year, staying in Makkah for three nights, entering without weapons, and not taking any of the people of Makkah with them. When the next year arrived, the Prophet and his companions entered Makkah. The polytheists boasted that they had turned him away at Ḥudaybiyyah. So, Allah retaliated against them by allowing the Prophet to enter Makkah during the same month in which they had turned him away, and He revealed: "The sacred month for the sacred month, and for [all] violations is legal retribution". [Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, ʿAṭāʾ, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, Qatādah]
2. The second view is that the polytheists of Arabia said to the Prophet (ﷺ), "Have you been forbidden from fighting us in the sacred month?" He replied, "Yes," and they wanted to exploit this by attacking him during the sacred month. This verse was therefore revealed, meaning: "If they deem some attack lawful on you in the sacred month, then treat responding against them in similar fashion as lawful." [al-Ḥasan, Ibrāhīm b. al-Sarī, al-Zajjāj]

What is the context of revelation for this āyah?