The Infamous Surah at-Tauba
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
The Issue
This surah is one of the most popular surahs of the Noble Qur’an among the non-Muslim propagandists. One of the first verses they will quote, in their attempt to prove violence against non-Muslims in the Qur’an, is from Surah Tauba. The verse quoted is the 5th verse and is as follows:
فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُواْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُواْ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ فَإِن تَابُواْ وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَوُاْ الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّواْ سَبِيلَهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Faitha insalakha alashhuru alhurumu faoqtuloo almushrikeena haythu wajadtumoohum wakhuthoohum waohsuroohum waoqAAudoo lahum kulla marsadin fain taboo waaqamoo alssalata waatawoo alzzakata fakhalloo sabeelahum inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun
So, when the sacred months expire, kill the Mushriks wherever you find them, and catch them and besiege them and sit in ambush for them everywhere. Then, if they repent and establish Salah and pay Zakah, leave their way. Surely, Allah is most Forgiving, Very-Merciful. – [Qur’an 9:5]
After quoting this verse the non-Muslim propagandist claims that the Qur’an commands Muslims to kill all mushriks (polytheists) wherever they can find them. They try to imply that Muslims are to carry out some sort of a seek and destroy mission against the polytheists. Unfortunately honest non-Muslims who are sincere to knowledge fall prey to this propaganda.
In this article we will go through a little about Surah Tauba, its historical context and reason for revelation to establish why the Qur’an says “kill the mushriks wherever you find them” and whether the Muslims are really required to carry out a seek and destroy mission against the polytheists.
Two of our Christian brothers Sam Shamoun and Jochen Katz in their article found 
The Claim
