At-Tawbah Verse 12

But if they break their oaths after making a pledge and attack your faith, then fight the champions of disbelief—who never honour their oaths—so perhaps they will desist.

But if they break their oaths after making a pledge and revile your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief – whose oaths mean nothing to them – so that they may desist.

But if they break their oaths after their covenant and thrust at your religion, then fight the leaders of unbelief; they have no sacred oaths; haply they will give over.

But if they break their oath after having made an agreement with you, if they revile your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief- oaths mean nothing to them- so that they may stop.

And if they violate their oaths after their covenant and revile your religion, fight those leaders of infidelity-verily no oaths will hold in their case that haply they may desist.

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for your Faith,- fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith; for their oaths are nothing to them; that thus they may be restrained.

But if they break their pledges after making them and attack your faith, make war on the leaders of unbelief that they may desist, for they have no regard for their pledged words.

If they break their pledge after giving their word and revile your faith, fight these specimens of faithlessness, for surely their oaths have no sanctity: They may haply desist.

And if they break their promises after making a treaty and malign your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief – indeed their promises are nothing – in the hope that they may desist.

But if they break their pledges after their having made a treaty and revile your religion, then fight the leaders of unfaith—indeed, they have no [commitment to] pledges,—maybe they will desist.

But if they break their pledges after their treaty (with you) and assail your religion, then fight with those leaders of unbelief – surely they have no trustworthy pledges – so that they may desist (from aggression).

If they break their oaths after (they have ratified) their pledge and revile and commit aggression against your Faith, then fight such leaders of disbelief that they may desist. Indeed, solemn (binding) oaths have no value with them.

And if they broke/violated their oaths from after their promise and they defamed/stabbed in yourreligion so fight/kill (the) leaders/examples (of) the disbelief, that they truly (have) no oaths/swearings for them, maybe/perhaps they terminate/stop.

And if they break their promises after making a treaty and malign your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief - indeed their promises are nothing - in the hope that they may desist.

But if they break faith with you after their treaty, and assail (taunt or attack) your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief - verily, they have no faith - in order that they may desist.

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion with disapproval and criticism then fight (you) the leaders of disbelief (chiefs of Quraish - pagans of Makkah) - for surely their oaths are nothing to them - so that they may stop (evil actions).

But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith. And We make the messages clear for a people who know.

And if they break their oaths after their agreement and (openly) revile your religion, then fight the leaders of unbelief-- surely their oaths are nothing-- so that they may desist.

And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist.

Fight against the leaders of the unbelievers if they violate their established peace treaty with you and revile your faith, to force them to stop their aggression against you. You do not have to bind yourselves to such a treaty.

But if, after coming to terms with you, they break their oaths and revile your belief, fight the leaders of the disbelief for they have no oaths in order that they will desist.

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion with disapproval and criticism, then fight (you) against the leaders of disbelief -- for surely, their oaths are nothing to them -- so that they may stop (evil actions).

But if they break faith after pledging it and revile your religion, then fight these leaders of unbelief, so that they may desist, for they have no regard for their pledged word.

But if they violate their oaths after their pledge, and attack your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief—they have no faith—so that they may desist.

But if they break, [if] they violate, their oaths, their covenants, after [making] their pact and assail your religion, slander it, then fight the leaders of unbelief, its heads (here an overt noun [`the leaders of unbelief'] has replaced the [third person] pronominalisation) -- verily they have no [binding] oaths, [no] pacts (a variant reading [for aymn, `oaths'] has the kasra inflection [for the alif, sc. mn, `[no] faith']) -- so that they might desist, from unbelief.

The Oaths of the Leaders of Disbelief mean nothing to Them

Allah says,

وَإِن نَّكَثُواْ أَيْمَانَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant,

Allah says, if the idolators with whom you conducted peace treaties for an appointed term break

أَيْمَانَهُم
(their oaths),

meaning, terms of their treaties, and covenants.

وَطَعَنُواْ فِي دِينِكُمْ

and attack your religion...

with disapproval and criticism, it is because of this that one who curses the Messenger, peace be upon him, or attacks the religion of Islam by way of criticism and disapproval, they are to be fought.

This is why Allah said afterwards,

فَقَاتِلُواْ أَيِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنتَهُونَ



then fight (you) against the leaders of disbelief -- for surely, their oaths are nothing to them -- so that they may stop.

so that they may refrain from the disbelief, rebellion and the transgression they indulge in.

Qatadah and others said that;

the leaders of disbelief were Abu Jahl, Utbah and Shaybah, Umayyah bin Khalaf, and he went on to mention several others.

Al-A`mash narrated from Zayd bin Wahb from Hudhayfah;

"The people of this Ayah were never fought again."

A similar statement was reported from Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.

However, this Ayah is general, even though the specific reason behind revealing it was the idolators of Quraysh. So this Ayah generally applies to them and others as well, Allah knows best.

Al-Walid bin Muslim said that Safwan bin `Amr narrated that Abdur-Rahman bin Jubayr bin Nufayr said that when Abu Bakr sent an army to Ash-Sham, he advised them,

"You will find some people with shaved heads. Therefore, strike the swords upon the parts that contain the devil, for by Allah, it is better to me to kill one of these people than to kill seventy other men. This is because Allah said,
فَقَاتِلُواْ أَيِمَّةَ الْكُفْر
(then fight (you) against the leaders of disbelief)."

Ibn Abi Hatim collected it