Fighting in the path of ___
يُقَٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ
yuqātilūna fī sabīli llāhi — fight in the path of Allah
The verb qātala fī sabīli ('fight in the path of') recurs across the verses given with a fixed structure — verb, preposition fī, sabīl in the genitive — while two things vary: the verb's form (person, number, mood) and the genitive noun governed by sabīl, which is filled by 'Allah', the pronoun 'His', or, set in opposition, 'the rebellious tyrant' (4:76).
In the verses given, the frame qātala fī sabīli appears with the genitive slot filled by 'Allah' in most instances (2:244; 2:246, twice — its third occurrence, أَلَّا تُقَٰتِلُوا۟, is the bare verb without the frame; 3:13; 4:74, twice; 4:75; 4:76; 73:20; 9:111), by the pronoun 'His' in (61:4), and by 'the rebellious tyrant' (al-ṭāghūt) in (4:76). The frame's verb shifts in form according to its clause: an imperative addressed to a plural audience in (2:244), first-person jussive and subjunctive forms in the speech of the chiefs in (2:246), a third-feminine-singular imperfect whose subject is 'one group' in (3:13), third-masculine jussives in (4:74), a second-person plural imperfect in the rhetorical question of (4:75), and third-person plural imperfects in (4:76), (61:4), (73:20) and (9:111). The one clear substitution in the slot is (4:76), which places 'those who have attained faith fight in the path of Allah' directly against 'those who have denied (the truth) fight in the path of al-ṭāghūt' — identical frame wording — the same verb and fī sabīl — with only the genitive noun changed (the subjects differ as well). The same verse then issues the imperative 'fight the allies of Satan' without the fī sabīl frame at all. In (61:4) the slot is a pronoun, 'His path', inside a statement that Allah loves those who fight in it arrayed as a row.
Where it occurs
- 2:244 Imperative addressed to a plural audience: 'fight in Allah's path', followed by 'and know that Allah is Hearing, Knowing'.
- 2:246 Three occurrences inside quoted speech: the chiefs' request 'so that we may fight in the path of Allah', the prophet's question whether they will not fight, and their reply 'that we should not fight in the path of Allah'.
- 3:13 Third-feminine-singular form with 'one group' as subject: 'a group fighting in the path of Allah', contrasted with another group described only as 'denying (the truth)'.
- 4:74 Two occurrences: a jussive 'let those who exchange the nearer life for the Hereafter fight in the path of Allah', and 'whoever fights in the path of Allah, then is killed or overcomes'.
- 4:75 Rhetorical question in second-person plural: 'what is [wrong] with you that you do not fight in the path of Allah, and for the ones made weak'.
- 4:76 Two occurrences set against each other: the faithful fight 'in the path of Allah', those who deny fight 'in the path of al-ṭāghūt' — the frame's only lexical substitution in the slot in the verses given.
- 61:4 Slot filled by a pronoun: Allah loves those who fight 'in His path', arrayed as a row like a compactly joined structure.
- 73:20 One of three parallel descriptions of the community: the ill, those striking out in the land seeking bounty, and 'others fighting in the path of Allah'.
- 9:111 Descriptive clause within the purchase: Allah has bought the believers' selves and wealth, 'they engage in mutual fighting in the path of Allah, so they kill and are killed'.
All Qur'anic expressions