Thus the Prophet s sent forth the first of his raiding parties under the command of ‘Abd Allāh b. Jahsh. They fought against the idolaters and killed ‘Amr b. ‘Abd Allāh Ibn al-Hadramī in the sacred month of Rajab thinking that it was the last day of Jumādā II. The disbelievers reviled them for making fighting lawful in a sacred month and so God revealed the following They ask you about the sacred the forbidden month and fighting in it qitālin fīhi ‘fighting in it’ is an inclusive substitution for al-shahri l-harāmi ‘the sacred month’. Say to them ‘Fighting qitālun is the subject in it is a grave thing kabīr ‘grave’ is the predicate that is heinous in terms of sin; but to bar saddun is the subject people from God’s way His religion and disbelief in Him in God and to bar from the Sacred Mosque that is Mecca and to expel its people the Prophet s and the believers from it — that is graver the predicate of the last subject that is more heinous in terms of sin than fighting in it in God’s sight; and sedition your idolatry is graver than your slaying’ in it. They the disbelievers will not cease to fight against you O believers until so that they turn you from your religion to unbelief if they are able; and whoever of you turns from his religion and dies disbelieving — their good works have failed that is they are invalid in this world and the Hereafter. Thus they will not count for anything and will not result in any reward. The specification of death as a condition is because if that person were to return to Islam again his original deeds would not be invalidated and he will be rewarded for them and he would not have to repeat them deeds such as performing the Pilgrimage al-Shāfi‘ī is of this opinion. Those are the inhabitants of the Fire abiding therein.
