هُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَصَدُّوكُمۡ عَنِ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ وَٱلۡهَدۡيَ مَعۡكُوفًا أَن يَبۡلُغَ مَحِلَّهُۥۚ وَلَوۡلَا رِجَالٞ مُّؤۡمِنُونَ وَنِسَآءٞ مُّؤۡمِنَٰتٞ لَّمۡ تَعۡلَمُوهُمۡ أَن تَطَـُٔوهُمۡ فَتُصِيبَكُم مِّنۡهُم مَّعَرَّةُۢ بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٖۖ لِّيُدۡخِلَ ٱللَّهُ فِي رَحۡمَتِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُۚ لَوۡ تَزَيَّلُواْ لَعَذَّبۡنَا ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنۡهُمۡ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
It is they who disbelieved and prevented you from the Sacred Mosque and detained the sacrificial animals from reaching their place of sacrifice. If it had not been for the believing men and women whom you could not identify, you might have trampled over them, thus incurring guilt unknowingly, [We would have let you march to Makkah]. [This was] so that Allah may admit to His mercy whom He wills. If they had been distinct [from the disbelievers], We would surely have inflicted on those who disbelieved among them a painful punishment.
- i.e., The Prophet (ﷺ) had brought along with him seventy camels to be sacrificed after completing the rituals of ‘Umrah (the minor pilgrimage).
- Thus, not only the Muslims in Makkah who were not known to their fellow believers were safe, but also those pagans who later embraced Islam were safe too.