وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِ فَإِنِ انْتَهَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ﴿۳۹﴾ وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَوْلَاكُمْ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ ﴿۴۰﴾

﴾39﴿ Wa qaatiloohum hattaa laa takoona fitnatunw wa yakoonaddeenu kulluhoo lillaah; fainin tahaw fa innallaaha bimaa ya'maloona Baseer
﴾40﴿ Wa in tawallaw fa'lamooo annal laaha mawlaakum; ni'mal mawlaa wa ni'man naseer

﴾39﴿ And fight them until there is no more idolatry left and the religion is all for Allah. But if they desist, then indeed surely Allah is Seer of what they do
﴾40﴿ And if they turn away, then know that Allah, the Exalted, is your Master. He is a good Master and a good Helper

[39] This is the second main claim of the surah, and this verse proves that fighting (qitāl) will continue as long as shirk (polytheism) exists in the world. (وَقَاتِلُوا) — This command connects back to the concept of "sunnat al-awwalīn" (the way of the earlier ones), and it falls under the meaning of “if they return” (يَعُودُوا). (فِتْنَةٌ) — Here, it means turning both disbelievers and believers away from their religion, which is the more fitting meaning in this context. In verse 193 of Surah al-Baqarah, the second meaning is more appropriate. Eliminating shirk requires that tawḥīd (monotheism) be established throughout the entire world. For this reason, (كُلُّهُ) (“all of it”) is mentioned in this verse, while in Surah al-Baqarah, this word was not used. The word (حَتَّى) here means “up to the point that” (ilā), whereas in Surah al-Baqarah, it has the meaning of a causal statement (li-ajl, i.e., “because”).
[40] The message of this verse is that if the disbelievers do not stop their fighting, then you must fight them—and Allah Most High will assist you, because He is your Protector (Mawlā). (مَوْلَاكُمْ) — Mawlā means caretaker or guardian. (نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى) — Allah is the best protector: – Whomever He protects is never ruined. – Whomever He supports is never weakened. This is the intended meaning of ni‘mah (excellence) in both aspects: guardianship and victory. A similar statement appears in verse 78 of Surah Al-Ḥajj, where the context was jihad, meaning a call or invitation to truth. But here, the context is actual fighting (qitāl), which is much more difficult than invitation. That’s why, in this verse, extra emphasis is added with the phrase: (فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ) — “So know that Allah…”