Understanding ‘Deen’

for the war is this, then logically, the war should end on the same basis. In other words, the war should cease when the People of the Book accept the religion of truth or are defeated in battle. If the initial basis for the war is this, the final basis should naturally be the same. However, the verse states that if they pay the jizyah and accept political authority, the war will be halted. In other words, the war will commence due to the crime of the People of the Book in not accepting the religion of Islam, but afterward, it will cease solely on the basis that they have agreed to pay the jizyah. Therefore, the correct interpretation of the verse is that the phrase “ ” يدينون دين احلق refers to accepting the political authority of the Prophet. The phrases “ ال یومنون ” ابهلل وال ابلیوم االخر وال حیرمون ما حرم هللا ورسوله address their lack of faith, while the subsequent phrase “ وال یدینون دین ” احلق refers to their failure to accept political authority. For the People of the Book, the correct stance would have been to believe in the final Prophet, who had long been prophesied to them. However, since they did not do this, the alternative was that they should agree to the political authority of the Prophet (as stated in the discussion on the obligation to fight the polytheists and the obligation regarding the People of the Book: to fight them until they accept Islam or pay the jizyah (Tafsir al-Razi, Vol. 16, p. 25). Yet, they were not open