أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا۟ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ
Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory.
Introduction
This is āyah 39 of Sūrat Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage), the 103rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 17. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 103 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Hajj (22)
(Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged�) [22:39]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �The idolaters from among the people of Mecca were in the habit of harming the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. These Companions used to come always either beaten or with their skulls bashed in. They complained to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this situation and he persistently told them: �Be steadfast, for I have not been commanded to fight�. This continued until the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated, upon which Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Ibn �Abbas said: �When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was taken out of Mecca, Abu Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him, said about him: �We are unto Allah, and unto Him we shall return; we shall surely perish�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and Allah is indeed Able to give them victory). Abu Bakr said: �I knew at that point that there will be fighting� �.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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