They are the ones who disbelieved and barred you from the Sacred Mosque that is barred you from reaching it and prevented the offering wa’l-hadya is a supplement to the suffixed pronoun –kum ‘you’ of saddūkum ‘they barred you’ which was detained ma‘kūfan is a circumstantial qualifier from reaching its destination that is from the place at which it is customarily sacrificed namely the Sanctuary itself an yablugha mahillahu is an inclusive substitution. And were it not for some of the believing men and believing women being present at Mecca alongside the disbelievers whom you did not know to be believers — lest you should trample them that is to say lest you should slay them together with the disbelievers had you been given permission to embark on the conquest an tata’ūhum is an inclusive substitution for –hum ‘them’ of lam ta‘lamūhum ‘whom you did not know’ and thus incur sin on account of them without your knowing it … the third person pronouns in both groups of people predominantly imply males; the response to lawlā ‘were it not’ has been omitted through ellipsis being something along the lines of la-udhina lakum fī’l-fathi ‘you would have been permitted to embark on the conquest’ but permission for this was not given at the time so that God may admit into His mercy whom He will such as those believers mentioned. Had they been clearly separated had they the believers been distinguishable from the disbelievers We would have surely chastised the disbelievers among them of the people of Mecca immediately thereat by permitting you to go ahead with the conquest thereof with a painful chastisement.
- 48:2525
هُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَالْهَدْيَ مَعْكُوفًا أَنْ يَبْلُغَ مَحِلَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْلَا رِجَالٌ مُؤْمِنُونَ وَنِسَاءٌ مُؤْمِنَاتٌ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوهُمْ أَنْ تَطَئُوهُمْ فَتُصِيبَكُمْ مِنْهُمْ مَعَرَّةٌ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۖ لِيُدْخِلَ اللَّهُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ لَوْ تَزَيَّلُوا لَعَذَّبْنَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
It were those who disbelieved who hindered you from (going to) the Holy Mosque, preventing your offerings from arriving at the place of sacrifice. Had it not been for (the presence of) believers, men and women, (among the unbelievers) of whom you were unaware, and whom you might have trampled and thus incurred guilt unknowingly on account of them, (the matter would have been settled). (But this was not done) so that God may admit into His favour whom He willed. If these (believers) had been separated from them, He would have inflicted a grievous punishment on the unbelievers.
- common.revelation-Medinan
- common.hizb : 205