These two verses form a short passage that continues the process of removing obstacles that impeded the fight against the Byzantines and their Christian Arab allies in the northern parts of Arabia. Mobilization for this expedition took place in the month of Rajab, which is one of the four sacred months. However, due to a certain ploy, Rajab in that year did not fall at its right time because of postponement, which is denounced in the second verse of this passage. According to reports, the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah that year was also out of place, and it was meant to fall in the preceding month of Dhu’l-Qa`dah, which meant that Rajab was actually in Jumādā II. This mess was due to the fact that the jāhiliyyah society had played about with its traditions and only outwardly honoured sanctities. There will always be interpretations and views to support any transgression as long as the question of permissibility and prohibition is assigned to human beings, as is the case in all jāhiliyyah societies.

It may be useful to give a more detailed account of how this situation arose. God has made four months in the year sacred: three consecutive ones which are Dhu’l- Qa`dah, Dhu’l-Hijjah and al-Muĥarram and a single one occurring later, which is the month of Rajab. It is clear that this sanctity started when the pilgrimage was ordained as a duty at its appointed time every year since the time of Abraham and Ishmael. Much as the Arabs have distorted the faith of Abraham and wide as their deviation from its teachings was, they continued to treat these months as sacred because their sanctity related to the pilgrimage which was a season so vital to the livelihood of the Arabs of Hijaz, particularly the people of Makkah. In these sacred months Arabia was free from all fighting. Peace was observed and this allowed pilgrims to travel and conduct useful business during the season.

However, at times certain needs were so important to some Arab tribes and these could not be met while observing the sanctity of these sacred months. Here personal needs came into play, and there would have been no shortage of advocates for making one of the sacred months unsacred by postponing it one year or putting it forward in another. In this way they kept the sacred months as four in number, although their identity changed, in order to keep the numbers as God had ordained.

However, this process meant in effect making lawful what God had forbidden. In the ninth year of the Islamic calendar, the true month of Rajab and the true month of Dhu’l-Hijjah did not fall at their respective times. Rajab was observed when the month was that of Jumādā II and Dhu’l-Hijjah was in Dhu’l-Qa`dah. Thus mobilization for this expedition truly took place in Jumādā II which was nominally declared to be Rajab because of the practice of postponing months.

These verses outlaw the practice of postponement and show it, in essence, to be a violation of the divine faith which assigns the authority to make things lawful or forbidden to God alone. For human beings to practise this authority in any way which is not sanctioned by God is actually an act of unbelief, and indeed “an excess of unbelief” as God describes. Thus this passage in the sūrah removes any reluctance to mobilize felt by some Muslims because it gave the impression of violating the sanctity of Rajab. At the same time, the passage establishes a basic principle of Islam which gives the authority to legislate and make things lawful or forbidden to God alone. It also relates this principle to the basic truth on which the whole structure of the universe is founded ever since God created the heavens and the earth. What God legislates for mankind is only part of His overall legislation for the universe and all His creation. Deviating from it is, then, a violation of the basic principle on which the universe is founded. Hence it is “an excess of unbelief in which the unbelievers are led astray.” (Verse 37)

Another fundamental fact stated here relates to what has been explained in the preceding passage which made it clear that the people of earlier revelations are unbelievers. They are grouped together with the idolaters as hostile people whom the Muslims should fight as one united community, as they themselves do fight the Muslims all together. This assertion is borne out by historical events exactly as it is stated by God. It shows that they are all united by their goals of suppressing Islam and crushing its followers. It also shows that they all stand in the same camp when the battle is against Islam and the Muslims. They find it easy to overlook their differences and work together to stem Islamic jihād and destroy the Muslim community.

These two verses express two basic facts. The first is that the people of earlier revelations have sunk into idolatry and have joined the idolaters in fighting the Muslims so as to form one united front. Hence all Muslims must fight them together.

The second fact is that the postponement of sacred months is an excess of unbelief because it involves legislating for mankind things that God has not legislated. Hence it adds a practical aspect to unbelief. It is by these two basic facts that this passage is linked to what precedes it and what follows it in this sūrah which addresses various factors impeding a general mobilization to confront all opponents, be they idolaters or people of earlier revelations.

The number of months, in God’s sight, is twelve as set by God’s decree on the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these, four are sacred, according to the ever-true law [of God]. (Verse 36).

This Qur’ānic statement refers the origin of time and the way it runs to the nature of the universe and how God created it, and to the origin of creation of both the heavens and the earth. It tells us that there is a permanent cycle of time consisting of twelve months. That it is permanent is evident from the fact that in every cycle there are twelve months. This is included in God’s decree, which means that it is part of the divine law for the universe. Hence, the cycle is permanent and the months are twelve, without any possibility of increase or decrease. Its movement is in accordance with the divine law set into operation when God created the heavens and the earth.

The reference to the fact that this time cycle is permanent serves as a prelude to making certain months sacred. Their selection and sanctity is part of God’s decree or His law which cannot be changed at will. It simply cannot be made subject to people’s desires who may wish to bring one month forward and put another back. Its permanence is similar to that of the seasons which follow one another according to a constant law: ‘according to the ever-true law of God.” (Verse 36) This religion is, then, in perfect harmony with the law which governs the creation of the heavens and the earth and their functions.

This short passage refers to a series of important aspects that follow and strengthen one another. It includes certain universal facts which contemporary scientific research tries hard to explain through its own experiments. It establishes a firm link between the laws of nature and the requirements and obligations of this religion of Islam, so that people truly appreciate its solid foundation and deep roots.

In the Arabic text of the Qur’ān, all this takes no more than 21 simple words which are easy to understand.

All this about the number of months and those of them which are sacred is “according to the ever-true law [of God]. Therefore do not wrong yourselves by violating them.” (Verse 36) You should not wrong yourselves in these four sacred months, the sanctity of which relates to a law of nature which applies to the whole universe. This law makes it clear that God is the Legislator in human life and in the universe at large. Do not wrong yourselves by violating the sanctity of these months which God has willed to be a period of peace and security for all. Whenever human beings violate God’s rules they wrong themselves because they actually expose themselves to punishment in the life to come and to fear and worry in this life when all months become a period of war without intermission.

“But fight against the idolaters all together as they fight against you all together.” (Verse 36) This obviously applies throughout the rest of the year, not in the sacred months, except when the unbelievers launch an attack, in which case the Muslims must repel the aggression in these months. To take a unilateral decision not to fight will weaken the forces of goodness which are required to defend sanctities and repel aggression by forces of evil. It will also lead to the spread of corruption in the land and the disruption of the laws of nature. Repelling aggression in the sacred months is a means to preserve their sanctity and prevent their violation.

The postponement [of sacred months] is only an excess of unbelief in which the unbelievers are led astray. They declare it permissible one year and forbidden another year, so that they may make up the number of the months which God has sanctified, and thus they make lawful what God has forbidden. The evil of their deeds thus seems fair to them. God does not guide those who are unbelievers. (Verse 37)

Mujāhid, an authoritative commentator on the Qur’ān, says that a man from the tribe of Kinānah used to come every year to the pilgrimage riding his donkey and say: “I am not one who may be criticised or return with failure. No one may reject what I say. We have made al-Muĥarram sacred and let Şafar come later.” The following year he would come again and say: “We have made Şafar sacred and let al- Muĥarram come later.” This is the reference in God’s statement to their making up the number of months God has sanctified, which are four. When they delay a sacred month they actually make lawful what God has forbidden. `Abd al-Raĥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, another leading commentator on the Qur’ān, mentions that this was done in pre-Islamic days by a man from the tribe of Kinānah called al-Qulummus. In those days the Arabs would stop fighting or launching raids on one another in the sacred month. A man would meet his father’s killer and he would not lift a hand to harm him. One day this man gave orders to set out for a raid. When he was told that it was the month of al-Muĥarram, he said: “We will delay it this year. There are two Şafar months this year. Next year we will compensate for this by making them two Muĥarrams.” Indeed the following year, he told them not to launch any raid in Şafar, so that it too was made sacred.

These are two interpretations of the verse and two versions of postponement. In the first version Şafar is made sacred in place of al-Muĥarram to make the sacred months four in number, but not the ones which God has specified since al-Muĥarram is made unsacred. In the other version three months are made sacred one year and five the next year to make up eight, with an average of four a year. This means in effect that the sanctity of al-Muĥarram is lost one year and Şafar is made sacred in another. Both actions represent a violation of God’s law, making lawful what He has forbidden. Both are, as God says, “an excess of unbelief,” because they involve an assumption of the authority to legislate which is an act of unbelief that is added to the actual rejection of the faith.

In this act which is described as an ‘excess of unbelief,’ “the unbelievers are led astray.” (Verse 37) They actually deceive themselves with their ploys and tricks. ‘The evil of their deeds thus seems fair to them.” (Verse 37) They see as fair what is evil and they think deviation from the truth to be a virtue. They are totally unaware of how far astray they have gone and to what depths of unbelief they have sunk.

“God does not guide those who are unbelievers.” (Verse 37) They have placed a shield between their hearts and divine guidance. Hence God abandons them to their unbelief in which they live in total darkness, far removed from God’s guidance.