Intermediate
Madani Events
Surah: Al-Baqarah (193)
"Fight Them Until There Is No Fitnah" — Defensive Jihad and Its Wisdom
وَقَٰتِلُوهُمۡ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتۡنَةٞ وَيَكُونَ ٱلدِّينُ لِلَّهِ فَإِنِ ٱنتَهَوۡاْ فَلَا عُدۡوَٰنَ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
— البقرة الآية 193
Verse: "And fight them until there is no more fitnah (oppression) and the religion belongs to Allah." (2:193)
Context: Revealed in the context of the confrontation with the polytheists who prevented Muslims from reaching the Sacred Mosque and persecuted them for their faith. "Fitnah" in the verse: religious persecution and coercing people to abandon Islam or preventing them from embracing it.
Reliability: Quranic text — historical context is established in exegesis and sira literature.
Interpretation of "fitnah": Ibn Kathir said: fitnah here is shirk and coercing people into it and preventing them from believing. It is not fitnah in the sense of disagreement among Muslims — but religious persecution by the disbelievers.
Purpose and wisdom:
Context: Revealed in the context of the confrontation with the polytheists who prevented Muslims from reaching the Sacred Mosque and persecuted them for their faith. "Fitnah" in the verse: religious persecution and coercing people to abandon Islam or preventing them from embracing it.
Reliability: Quranic text — historical context is established in exegesis and sira literature.
Interpretation of "fitnah": Ibn Kathir said: fitnah here is shirk and coercing people into it and preventing them from believing. It is not fitnah in the sense of disagreement among Muslims — but religious persecution by the disbelievers.
Purpose and wisdom:
- "Until there is no fitnah" — the goal is removing persecution, not forcing Islam
- "If they desist, no aggression except against the wrongdoers" — stopping when persecution ends
- Fighting is a means to achieve religious freedom, not to impose the religion
Source: Ibn Kathir (1/526); Al-Tabari (4/160); Al-Sadi
Test Yourself
What does "fitnah" mean in the verse according to Ibn Kathir, and how does that define the purpose of fighting?
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