﴿ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلشَّهْرِ ٱلْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍۢ فِيهِ ۖ قُلْ قِتَالٌۭ فِيهِ كَبِيرٌۭ ۖ وَصَدٌّ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَكُفْرٌۢ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ وَإِخْرَاجُ أَهْلِهِۦ مِنْهُ أَكْبَرُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَٱلْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ ٱلْقَتْلِ ۗ وَلَا يَزَالُونَ يُقَٰتِلُونَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَن دِينِكُمْ إِنِ ٱسْتَطَٰعُوا۟ ۚ وَمَن يَرْتَدِدْ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌۭ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ ﴾

“They will ask thee about fighting in the sacred month. Say: "Fighting in it is an awesome thing (grave transgression); but turning men away from the path of God and denying Him, and [turning them away from] the Inviolable House of Worship and expelling its people there from - [all this] is yet more awesome (greater transgression) in the sight of God, since oppression is more awesome (greater transgression) than killing." [Your enemies] will not cease to fight against you till they have turned you away from your faith, if they can. But if any of you should turn away from his faith and die as a denier of the truth - these it is whose works will go for nought in this world and in the life to come; and these it is who are destined for the fire, therein to abide.”

Thus the Prophet s sent forth the first of his raiding parties under the command of ‘Abd Allāh b. Jahsh. They fought against the idolaters and killed ‘Amr b. ‘Abd Allāh Ibn al-Hadramī in the sacred month of Rajab thinking that it was the last day of Jumādā II. The disbelievers reviled them for making fighting lawful in a sacred month and so God revealed the following They ask you about the sacred the forbidden month and fighting in it qitālin fīhi ‘fighting in it’ is an inclusive substitution for al-shahri l-harāmi ‘the sacred month’. Say to them ‘Fighting qitālun is the subject in it is a grave thing kabīr ‘grave’ is the predicate that is heinous in terms of sin; but to bar saddun is the subject people from God’s way His religion and disbelief in Him in God and to bar from the Sacred Mosque that is Mecca and to expel its people the Prophet s and the believers from it — that is graver the predicate of the last subject that is more heinous in terms of sin than fighting in it in God’s sight; and sedition your idolatry is graver than your slaying’ in it. They the disbelievers will not cease to fight against you O believers until so that they turn you from your religion to unbelief if they are able; and whoever of you turns from his religion and dies disbelieving — their good works have failed that is they are invalid in this world and the Hereafter. Thus they will not count for anything and will not result in any reward. The specification of death as a condition is because if that person were to return to Islam again his original deeds would not be invalidated and he will be rewarded for them and he would not have to repeat them deeds such as performing the Pilgrimage al-Shāfi‘ī is of this opinion. Those are the inhabitants of the Fire abiding therein.