And slay them wherever you come upon them It means “It is incumbent on you to show enmity toward My enemies just as it is incumbent on you to establish friendship walāya and assistance muwālā with My friends awliyāÌ. So do not spare them even if there are bonds of kinship or close relation between you.” and expel them from where they expelled you; “First expel [your] love and mutual assistance with them from your hearts and then drive them from the regions of Islam so that they will be diminished.” sedition is more grievous than slaying. Here the allusion is to the ordeal that comes to hearts qulūb from the misfortunes of veiling; this is more grievous than that which comes to the bodily selves nufūs from the exertion of the spirit rūḥ because the pass- ing away of the life of the heart is more grievous than the passing away of the life of the bodily self. The bodily selves live through what is fitting and familiar to them but the heart can only live through God. It is said that sedition is more grievous than slaying means that remain- ing apart from God is much worse than letting go of your spirit ruḥ and your life ḥayāt. But fight them not by the sacred mosque until they should fight you there; then if they fight you slay them-such is the requital of disbelievers. The allusion in it: Do not disturb your time waqt with God [do not] let in the attributes that characterize the bodily and lower self even if these involve supererogatory acts of obedience. If a noisy preoccupation distracts you from God remove that matter from yourself by every means possible so that no attachment remains to block you from God.
