The Pilgrimage
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[22:39]
PERMISSION [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged – and, verily, God has indeed the power to succour them

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* v.39 : Lit., “inasmuch as they have been wronged.” Connecting with the promise, in the preceding verse, that “God will ward off [all evil] from those who attain to faith,” the present verse enunciates the permission to fight physically in self-defence. All relevant Traditions (quoted, in particular, by Tabarī and Ibn Kathīr) show that this is the earliest Qur’anic reference to the problem of war as such. According to ‘Abd Allāh Ibn ‘Abbās, it was revealed immediately after the Prophet left Mecca for Medina, i.e., at the beginning of the year 1 H. The principle of war in self-defence – and only in self-defence – has been further elaborated in Al-Baqarah, which was revealed about a year later (see 2:190-193 and the corresponding notes).