At-Tahrim (The Prohibition)

9. O Prophet! Struggle hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be severe against them. Their abode will be Hell and worst is that abode.

The Islamic faith is comprehensive and reflects compassion and severity in their proper places. The point is that disbelief and hypocrisy lead man to a state in which the compassionate Prophet (S) and censures him.

Since hypocrites were indubitable gladdened by the disclosure of his domestic secrets and the quarrels amongst his wives as mentioned above in the preceding Verses and even fanned the flames of the rumors, the blessed Verse in question includes severe Injunctions against their vices, saying:

“O Prophet! Struggle hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be severe against them. Their abode will be Hell and worst is that abode.”

Such jihad against the disbelievers may emerge in the forms of armed and unarmed struggles, though the struggle against hypocrites is indubitably unarmed, since it is quite unprecedented in the histories of the Islam.

Thus, it is narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) as saying:

“Allah’s Messenger never waged war against hypocrites, but he strove at all times to soften their hearts.”1

Therefore, struggling against them implies censure, warning, threatening, disgracing and at times softening their hearts, since jihad encompasses a broad semantic scope embracing any kind of struggling and striving toward the fulfillment of goals.

The imperative form wa ’ghluth ‘alayhim literally denoting

“be severe against them”

reflects severity in words, disclosure of their secrets, warning them against their hypocrisy, and the like. Such particular stance against the hypocrites who posed the most perilous threat against the Islamic faith was owing to the fact that they claimed to be Muslims and associated with the Muslims as a consequence of which they could not be treated like disbelievers.

Such policy was taken as long as they do not take arms against Muslims as if they embarked upon armed struggle against Muslims, they were treated likewise since they were termed as 'belligerent' (muharib).

Although the hypocrites did not take up arms in the Noble Prophet’s (S) lifetime, but after his sad demise, particularly under the caliphate of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali (as), they took up arms against Muslims and the Noble Imam embarked upon waging war against them.

Some have said that jihad against the hypocrites attested in the blessed Verse in question connotes their being chastised according to the religious law, since those who were chastised were hypocrites.

Nonetheless, the majority of Qur’an exegetes have opted for the former exegesis. It is worthy of note, however, that the blessed Verse is exactly reiterated elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an¹ .