Transliteration:( Falyuqaatil fee sabeelil laahil lazeena yashroonal hayaatad dunyaa bil Aakhirah; wa may-yuqaatil fee sabeelil laahi fa yuqtal aw yaghlib fasawfa nu'teehi ajran 'azeemaa )
“So let those fight in the way of Allah [236] who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter [237]. And whoever fights in the way of Allah and is slain or overcomes, We will surely grant him a great reward [238].”
By “fight in the way of Allah”, it is meant to fight for the glory of Islam and to break the strength of the disbelievers, so that they no longer obstruct Muslims from worshipping Allah Almighty freely.
This is the true meaning of waging war in the cause of Allah—not for territorial conquest or personal revenge, but to remove the barriers to divine worship and truth.
From this part of the verse, two essential principles emerge:
Jihad should never be fought for personal gain. Any territory or spoils attained must serve the interests of Islam.
The Muslim soldier must enter the battlefield with fearlessness and a firm resolve to sacrifice his life for the cause of Allah, as illustrated by the phrase:
“sell their worldly life for the Hereafter.”
When these two traits—purity of intention and readiness for sacrifice—are present, victory is promised by Allah.
As Allah says elsewhere:
“You are the very same who shall overcome if you have faith.” (Surah Aal-e-Imran, 3:13)
By “a great reward”, Allah promises:
For the victorious fighter: booty and reward in this world, along with Paradise in the Hereafter.
For the martyr or defeated fighter: immense reward in the Hereafter, especially entry into Paradise.
In all cases, this is a divine transaction in which no one loses. Whether victory or martyrdom, the outcome is honor and eternal success.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 74 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 71 which provides the complete commentary from verse 71 through 74.
(4:74) Let those who seek the life of the Next World in exchange for the life of this world fight in the way of Allah.[103] We shall grant a mighty reward to whoever fights in the way of Allah, whether he is slain or comes out victorious.
103. The point stressed here is that fighting in the cause of God cannot be conducted by people engrossed in the pursuit of worldly benefits. This is the task of those who seek to please God, who have complete faith in Him and in the Hereafter, who are prepared to sacrifice all opportunities of worldly success and prosperity, and of all worldly interests, hoping thereby to win God’s good pleasure. Irrespective of what happens in the present world such sacrifices will not be wasted in the Hereafter. Jihad (struggle in the cause of God) is not for those who mainly care for worldly benefits.
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