فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ وَجَـٰهِدْهُم بِهِۦ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا 52
Translations
So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with it [i.e., the Qur’ān] a great striving.
Transliteration
Fala tuti'i al-kafirina wa jahidhum bihi jihadan kabira
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah commands the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to reject the demands and opposition of the disbelievers and to strive against them with the Qur'an in a great struggle. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret 'jihad by it' (bihi) to mean spreading and establishing the message of the Qur'an as the primary weapon against disbelief, whether through preaching, teaching, or rational argumentation. The 'great jihad' refers to the comprehensive spiritual and intellectual struggle to uphold Islamic truth rather than compromise with falsehood.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period when the Prophet faced significant opposition from Quraysh and other disbelievers who attempted to discourage his mission. The broader context of Surah Al-Furqan emphasizes the Qur'an as the criterion (furqan) between truth and falsehood, and this specific verse reinforces that the believers' primary tool of resistance is adherence to and propagation of the Divine message.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet said, 'The best jihad is a word of truth spoken to a tyrannical ruler' (Sunan Ibn Majah and others). Additionally, the hadith emphasizing the superiority of the 'greater jihad' (struggle against one's self) complements this verse's call to intellectual and spiritual striving.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers are called to remain firm in their convictions without compromising truth for worldly acceptance, and to combat falsehood primarily through wisdom, knowledge, and the word of God rather than violence or capitulation. In modern contexts, this teaches the importance of intellectual integrity and principled da'wah in defending Islamic values against secular or materialistic ideologies.