Eight Commandments in ‘Verse of Cooperation’ in Quran
In this verse, some important Islamic commands that are among the last commands revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are stated, most of which are related to Hajj and pilgrimage to the House of God.
According to this verse, respect for all divine rites and signs is obligatory and violation of their sanctity is forbidden, and it specifically mentions several rites and signs such as the sacred months, sacrifice, the ban on hunting while in the state of Ihram, and pilgrims to the House of God:
“Believers, do not violate the rites of Allah.”
The verse continues by emphasizing that now that Mecca has been conquered, past hostilities (such as preventing Muslims from performing Hajj in the sixth year of the Hijri) should not cause Muslims to commit aggression:
“Do not let the hostility of a group of people keep you away from the Sacred Mosque or make you express animosity.”
Although this ruling was revealed regarding the pilgrimage to the House of God, in reality it is used as a general rule that a Muslim should not be vindictive, relive events that occurred in the past, and seek revenge. Given that this is one of the causes of hypocrisy and division in any society, the importance of this Islamic command to prevent the fire of hypocrisy from flaring up among Muslims becomes even more evident on the last days of the Prophet’s (PBUH) life.
To complete this discussion, God says in the next verse: Instead of joining hands to take revenge on your former enemies and current friends, you should join hands in unity in the path of goodness and piety, rather than cooperating and collaborating in sin and transgression:
“And cooperate in righteousness and warding off (evil), and do not cooperate in sinfulness and transgression.”
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At the end of the verse, to reinforce the previous rulings, it emphasizes that with piety, avoid opposing God’s command, as God’s punishments and retributions are severe:
“Have fear of Allah, for Allah is Stern in retribution.”
