سورة النساء

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Fadl Abi al-Abbas said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: أَوْ جَآؤُوکُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَن یُقَاتِلُونَکُمْ أَوْ یُقَاتِلُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ [Or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people]. He said: "This verse was revealed about the Banu Mudlij; for they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'We can neither bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah, nor can we support you, nor can we be against you alongside our own people.'" I said: "What did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) do with them?" He said: "He made a peace pact with them until he had finished his affair with the Arabs, and then he would call them to the religion of Islam — either they would agree, or at that time he would fight them."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant by the word of Allah: قَوْمٍ بَیْنَکُمْ وَ بَیْنَهُم مِّیثَاقٌ [a people between whom and you there is an alliance] is Hilal ibn Uwaym al-Sulami, who on behalf of his people made a pact with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and in his peace agreement with him said: "O Muhammad! On this condition, that whoever comes to us, you will not frighten him, and whoever comes to you, we will not frighten him." And Allah forbade that any harm should reach any of them contrary to the covenant.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) before the revelation of Surah al-Tawba was such that he would not fight any people unless they had initiated the fighting, and he would not rise to wage war against anyone unless that person had first taken action to fight and to defeat the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). And regarding this, this verse had been revealed upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): فَإِنِ اعْتَزَلُوکُمْ فَلَمْ یُقاتِلُوکُمْ وَ أَلْقَوْا إِلَیْکُمُ السَّلَمَ فَما جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ عَلَیْهِمْ سَبِیلًا [Therefore if they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them]. Therefore the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) would not continue the war with someone who withdrew from fighting him, and would leave him alone — until Surah al-Tawba was revealed and commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to kill the polytheists, whether they had ceased fighting him or not, except for those polytheists who on the day of the conquest of Makkah had made a covenant with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) for a specified period — among whom were Safwan ibn Umayya and Suhayl ibn Amr.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sayf ibn Umayra said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: أَن یُقَاتِلُونَکُمْ أَوْ یُقَاتِلُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاء اللهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ علَیْکُمْ فَلَقَاتَلُوکُمْ [that they should fight you or fight their own people; and if Allah had willed, He would have given them power over you, so they would have certainly fought you]. He said: "My father used to say: This verse was revealed about the Banu Mudlij, who withdrew [from the war] and did not fight against them alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and they were also not with their own people." I said: "What did the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) do with them?" He said: "He did not fight them until he had finished the affair of his enemy, and then he declared war on all of them (he broke the pact with them and informed them that he was no longer bound by the pact)." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ means the very state of being constrained."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): He made an exception for the tribe of Ashja‘: إِلاَّ الَّذِینَ یَصِلُونَ إِلَی قَوْمٍ بَیْنَکُمْ وَبَیْنَهُم مِّیثَاقٌ أَوْ جَآؤُوکُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَن یُقَاتِلُونَکُمْ أَوْ یُقَاتِلُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاء اللهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَیْکُمْ فَلَقَاتَلُوکُمْ فَإِنِ اعْتَزَلُوکُمْ فَلَمْ یُقَاتِلُوکُمْ وَأَلْقَوْاْ إِلَیْکُمُ السَّلَمَ فَمَا جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ عَلَیْهِمْ سَبِیلاً [Except those who reach a people between whom and you there is an alliance, or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people; and if Allah had pleased, He would have given them power over you, so that they should have certainly fought you; therefore if they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them]. The dwelling places of the tribe of Ashja‘ were regions called al-Bayda, Jil, and al-Mustabah. They had drawn close to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and because of this closeness they were afraid that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) might send an army to fight them; and from his side, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) also feared that they might cause some trouble from their direction. His Holiness decided to go towards them. At the very time when he had made this decision and was preparing to set out, the chief of the tribe of Ashja‘, that is, Mas‘ud ibn Rujaylah, together with the members of the tribe, who were seven hundred men, settled in the valley of Sal‘, and this event took place in the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal in the sixth year of the Hijra. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) summoned Usayd ibn Husayn and said to him: 'Go with a few of your companions towards them and see what has driven them to this action.' Usayd went out with three of his companions and stood before them and said: 'What has driven you to this action?' Mas‘ud ibn Rujaylah, who was their chief, stood before him and greeted Usayd and his companions and said: 'We have come to make a treaty of peace and reconciliation with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).' Usayd returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to inform him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'These people feared that we would fight them, and so they have asked for peace and reconciliation.' The Prophet sent ten camel-loads of dates to them, which were delivered to their leader. And he said: 'The best thing, when we have a matter to attend to, is a gift.' And he came to them and said: 'O gathering of Ashja‘! What has driven you to this action?' They said: 'Our dwelling place is near you, and among our people there is none fewer in number than us. Because of the nearness of our dwelling place, we are afraid of war with you, and because of our small number we are unable to fight our own people; therefore we have come to make peace and reconciliation with you.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) accepted their request and made peace with them, and they spent that day with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and then returned to their land. And this verse: إِلاَّ الَّذِینَ یَصِلُونَ إِلَیَ قَوْمٍ بَیْنَکُمْ وَبَیْنَهُم مِّیثَاقٌ أَوْ جَآؤُوکُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ أَن یُقَاتِلُونَکُمْ أَوْ یُقَاتِلُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاء اللهُ لَسَلَّطَهُمْ عَلَیْکُمْ فَلَقَاتَلُوکُمْ فَإِنِ اعْتَزَلُوکُمْ فَلَمْ یُقَاتِلُوکُمْ وَأَلْقَوْاْ إِلَیْکُمُ السَّلَمَ فَمَا جَعَلَ اللهُ لَکُمْ عَلَیْهِمْ سَبِیلاً [Except those who reach a people between whom and you there is an alliance...] was revealed concerning them.