Transliteration:( Allazeena ukhrijoo min diyaarihim bighairi haqqin illaaa any yaqooloo rabbunallaah; wa law laa daf'ul laahin naasa ba'dahum biba'dil lahuddimat sawaami'u wa biya'unw wa salawaatunw wa masaajidu yuzkaru feehasmul laahi kaseeraa; wa layansurannal laahu mai yansuruh; innal laaha la qawiyyun 'Azeez )
40. Those who were driven out from their homes without right only on this pretext that they said, "Our Lord is Allah" [90]. And if Allah had not removed some men by means of others, then necessarily the cloisters and churches [91] and synagogues and mosques wherein the name [92] of Allah is mentioned much would have been pulled down. And indeed, Allah will certainly help him who helps His religion. Verily, Allah is Powerful and dominant.
The tafsir of Surah Al-Hajj verse 40 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Hajj ayat 39 which provides the complete commentary from verse 39 through 40.
(22:40) those who were unjustly expelled from their homes[80] for no other reason than their saying: “Allah is Our Lord.”[81] If Allah were not to repel some through others, monasteries and churches and synagogues[82] and mosques wherein the name of Allah is much mentioned, would certainly have been pulled down.[83] Allah will most certainly help those who will help Him. Verily Allah is Immensely Strong, Overwhelmingly Mighty.
80. The mention of their expulsion from their homes in (Surah Al-Hajj, ayat 40) is a clear proof that this portion of Surah Al-Hajj was revealed at Al-Madinah.
81. In order to have an idea of the severe persecution of the Muslims, a few instances of this are cited.
(1) Suhaib Rumi was deprived of everything, when he was about to migrate to Al-Madinah. When he reached there, he had nothing with him except the clothes he was wearing. Though he had earned all that through his own labors, he was deprived of everything by the disbelievers of Makkah.
(2) When Abu Salmah was about to leave Makkah with his wife and a suckling child, his in laws forcibly separated his wife from him, and then the people of his own family took away the child from them. Thus the poor woman had to pass one whole year in sorrow and grief. After a year, she secured the child somehow and journeyed from Makkah to Al-Madinah with it all alone on a dangerous route.
(3) Ayyash bin Rabiah was a half brother of Abu Jahl. When he migrated to Al-Madinah, he was followed by Abu Jahl and another brother of his, and they told him the lie: Your mother has taken the oath that she will not move from the sun to the shade nor comb her hair until she should see you (Ayyash). You should therefore go back with us to Makkah, show her your face and then come back. He was taken in by this trick. When they were journeying back the two brothers made him a prisoner, took him to Makkah with his hands and feet tied, and proclaimed: O people of Makkah, this is how these lads should be treated and set right. He remained in that state for a long time and was at last rescued by a brave Muslim.
82. Saumah (pl. Swami), Biya and Salawat in the original text are the places of worship of the monks who have left the world, the Christians and the Jews respectively. Salawat was Salauta in Aramaic, which might be the origin of the English words salute and salutation.
83. In this sentence, a divine principle has been stated:
Allah does not let a group of people or a community have authority forever. Every now and then He repels one group by means of another.
If this had not been the case, the permanent dominator would have created chaos not only in the political and economic spheres, but would have encroached upon the places of worship as well. This principle has also been stated in Ayat 251 of Surah Al-Baqarah.
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