For it was our master—sublime is his remembrance—who took charge of fighting the disbelievers himself to consolidate the pillars of Islam and establish the foundations of truth.

It is stated in the dictionary: “He waged war against him (harabahu hiraban wa muharabatan): he fought him.” And how could our interpretation be correct if we said that the disbelievers fought Allah, the Unseen who cannot be perceived? And how could they possibly manage to wage war against Him when they neither see Him nor sense Him? And if we were to interpret that metaphorically, saying that their waging war against Him means their hostility toward His Messenger and their opposition to what he brought forth of monotheism and legislation, the meaning still would not be correct.

This is because the verse [already] includes the mention of their waging war against the Messenger and the matter of their spreading corruption in the earth. With that mentioned, there would be no need to mention their waging war against Allah, keeping in mind that "waging war" (al-muharabah) here comes with the meaning of physical combat (al-qital).