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dhālika wa-man ʿāqaba bi-mithli mā ʿūqiba bihī thumma bughiya ʿalayhi la-yanṣurannahu llāhu ʾinna llāha la-ʿafuwwun ghafūrun
So will it be; and whoever retaliates with the like of what he has been made to suffer, and is aggressed against [again] thereafter, Allah will surely help him. Indeed Allah is all-excusing, all-forgiving.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Hajj – Verse 60
60. “That (is so); and whoever retaliates with the like of that with which he has been wronged, and again he has been aggressed, most certainly Allah will aid him; verily Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving.”
The Occasion of Revelation
Some Islamic traditions indicate that once some of the pagans of Mecca faced with Muslims on a day when there remained only two nights from the month of Muharram. The pagans told each other that the followers of Muhammad (S) would not fight in the month of Muharram, because they believed fighting was unlawful for them in that month, and that was why the pagans started their invasion. The Muslims persistently asked them not to start fighting in that month, Muharram, but they did not accept it. Then they could not help it but taking action to defend them, and they fought bravely when Allah helped them to win the battle. (Then the above-mentioned verse was revealed).2
Defence is the natural right of every person, and Allah is the helper of the oppressed. In the former verses, the words were about the immigrants in the way of Allah and the great rewards that they had been promised to be given by Allah on the Day of Hereafter. In order not to be supposed that the Divine promise is particular only to the Hereafter, concerning their victory under the light of the Divine Grace in this life, it says:
This means that defence and standing against injustice and cruelty is a natural right and everybody is allowed to act; yet the word /mil/ (the like of), used in this verse, is an emphasis on the fact that, in this course, he should not transgress the limits. The Qur’anic phrase: /umma buqiya ‘alayhi/
refers to this point that if a person has to defend himself under the pressure of injustice, Allah has promised him to help him. Thus, the one who keeps silent from the beginning and accepts to be unjustly treated and takes no action alongside his defence, Allah has not promised to help such a one. Allah’s promise is particular to those who do their best by using their power to defend themselves against the oppressors and tyrants and that they are still under unjust treatment of the enemy.
And since due retaliation and punishment must always be accompanied with forgiveness and mercy, so that those who have become regretful from their own wrong action and have submitted the truth can come under its cover, at the end of the verse, the Qur’an says:
This status is just like the state of the verses of retaliation which, from one side, let the avenger of blood to retaliate and, on the other side, the noble Qur’an suggests the command of forgiveness beside it as a virtue, (in the case of those who are eligible to be forgiven). However, aiding the oppressed is not always accompanied by the annihilation of the oppressor. Allah helps the oppressed, but because of some reasons the oppressor may be forgiven by Him, too.
There is a narration cited in Burhan, the Commentary, from Imam Sadiq (as) who has said that the purpose of the sentence:
is Hadrat Mahdi (as), the still-living one from Muhammad’s progeny, who, by the aid of Allah, will take vengeance of the blood of his ancestor, Imam Husayn (as), and the rest of the oppressed of the world.3
Footnotes