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This treatment is extremely valuable, for it helps us to understand the workings of human nature, its propensity to weakness and its predisposition for strength, as seen in the model Muslim community which was educated and raised by the Prophet himself according to the teachings and guidelines of the Qur’ān. It also helps us understand the Qur’ānic approach to education and teaching. We can see how the Qur’ān, gently and caringly, guides people in the real world, and how it arranges and brings into line the ranks of a society made up, as it was, of various qualities and aptitudes.
We can also benefit from this treatment by comparing our condition, and the conditions of other human societies, to the human realities of that select group of people. Our awareness of their weaknesses gives us hope against despairing or abandoning our own endeavours to reform and develop. This social model, with all its merits and virtues, should not live as a mere fleeting vision in our thoughts or as an example that is impossible for us to emulate in our efforts to rise from the depths of ignorance and regression to the heights of enlightenment and progress. Instead, it represents, for us today, a valuable repertoire and benefit. One which we gain from living under the shade of the Qur’ān.
From this passage, we may conclude that the first Muslim community encompassed several groups. There were those who sought excuses for not going out to fight, and who urged others to do likewise. These gloated when the Muslims suffered setbacks but whinged and complained when they triumphed and were themselves excluded from the booty. In other words, these were they who traded the rewards of the life to come for gains in this life.
Then, there were some from among those who had immigrated from Makkah, i.e.
the Muhājirīn, who were eager to fight when they were not obliged to do so in Makkah, but who once in Madinah and required to fight, became apprehensive and stricken with apathy. They wished that God would grant them a period of grace and delay any need for them to fight.
Others would acknowledge God’s favour when things went well, but blame the Prophet for any misfortune. Their attitude was not taken on the basis of strong faith in God but was rather an attempt to undermine and vilify the Prophet’s leadership.
There were also those who showed deference to the Prophet whilst in his presence but who, once they had departed, conspired with others against him. Rumour mongers were also found seeking to sow confusion and discord. Then, there were the sceptics who doubted that Qur’ānic commands and directives originated from God, and who thought instead that some of them were Muĥammad’s own ideas and thoughts.
Lastly, there were those who defended some of the hypocrites, as we shall see in
due course, and whose actions split the community into two camps. Their behaviour indicated deficient harmony and consistency in faith as also in their understanding of the role of leadership and their relationship with it.
All these types can be brought together into a single group of hypocrites, or we can classify them into two groups: the hypocrites and those of weak faith. The latter group consists of those who had not fully developed their new Islamic character, even though some of them belonged to those who had immigrated from Makkah.
However, the existence of these groups within the Muslim community, as it faced hostility from the Jews inside Madinah, the Arab idolaters of Makkah and other enemies lurking all over Arabia, was bound to create cracks in its structure, requiring a prolonged process of education and intensive application.
In the present passage, we learn of aspects of that process and application. We read of the careful, profound and patient treatment of all the ills that may affect individuals as well as the community as a whole. This is manifested in the perseverance of the supreme leader and benefactor of that community, the Prophet Muĥammad, who was teaching and moulding that community according to the guidance of the Qur’ān.
We find precautionary instructions urging the Muslims to go out to fight in groups and squadrons, rather than as single individuals, in view of the risks and the hostile environment surrounding them. They were susceptible to ambush by the hypocrites living in their midst, and their allies among the Jews and other enemy collaborators.
Those who were dithering are portrayed in a dismal light, exposing their broken spirits, their craving for short-term gains, and their shifting loyalties. We find astonishment at those who in Makkah were outspoken in their advocacy of confrontation but who were overcome with anxiety and apprehension the moment they were instructed to take up arms against their enemies after they had settled in Madinah.
We find God’s pledge of a generous reward to those who fight for His cause: “To him who fights in God’s cause, whether he be slain or be victorious, We shall grant a rich reward.” (Verse 74)
The passage also portrays the integrity, magnificence and nobility of the aims and objectives of the cause the Muslims are urged to fight for: “Fight [for] the cause of God and the utterly helpless men, women and children who are crying, ‘Our Lord! Deliver us from this land whose people are oppressors, and send forth to us, out of Your grace, a protector, and send us one that will help us.’“ (Verse 75)
The sūrah also emphasises the morality and sound objective for which the believers are fighting, as well as the fallacy and weakness of the unbelievers’ cause:
“Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject the faith fight in the cause of evil. Fight, then, against the friends of Satan. Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.”
(Verse 76)
We see how the Qur’ān deals with and corrects false beliefs that lead to corrupt thoughts and unhealthy behaviour. At times, it asserts the truth about this life and the life to come: “Say, ‘Brief is the enjoyment of this world, whereas the life to come is the best for all who are God- fearing. None of you shall be wronged by as much as a hair’s breadth.” (Verse 77) At others, it stresses the inevitability of death and the way it is brought about, no matter how much one may guard against it or evade having to fight for God’s cause: “Wherever you may be death will overtake you, even though you be in towers built up strong and high.” (Verse 78) It also asserts the reality of God’s will and of man’s actions: “Yet, when a good thing happens to them, some [people] say, ‘This is from God,’ whereas when evil befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you!’ Say, All is from God.’
What is amiss with these people that they are in no wise near to grasping the truth of what they are told? Whatever good happens to you is from God; and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.” (Verses 78-9)
We witness how the Qur’ān stresses the true nature of the relationship between God Almighty and His Messenger as we are told that obeying God’s Messenger is part of obeying God Himself. It confirms that the whole of the Qur’ān originates with God and that it calls on people to reflect on its unity and integrity, both demonstrating its single origin:
He who obeys the Messenger obeys God thereby. (Verse 80)
Will they not, then, try to understand the Qur’ān? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction! (Verse 82)
Having exposed the rumour-mongers, the Qur’ān goes on to advise the Muslims of the safest and proper way for them to act within the collective conventions of the community. It says: “...If they would only refer it to the Messenger and to those from among them entrusted with authority, those of them who are engaged in obtaining intelligence would know it.” (Verse 83) It warns these elements against pursuing that route, as it reminds them of God’s favour and grace in guiding them to Islam, saying: “Were it not for God’s bounty to you, and His grace, all but few of you would certainly have followed Satan.”
(Verse 83)
One appreciates fully the disruption such phenomena could create within a Muslim community in need of such persistent and varied effort. We hear God Almighty instructing His Messenger to prosecute the jihād, even if he were the only one left in the field, and to press upon the believers to do likewise. The Messenger
shall be accountable only for his own actions, while God Almighty will take personal command of the battle: “Fight, then, in God’s cause, since you are responsible only for your own self and encourage the believers. God may well curb the might of the unbelievers; for God is the strongest in might, and in the ability to deter.” (Verse 84) This approach is clearly inspiring and motivating, raising people’s hopes of victory and their confidence in God’s power and authority.
Just as the Qur’ān was revealed from on high, so it led the Muslims in battle, regardless of which front they had to fight on. Perhaps the most important battle was that against their own selves; against their doubts, fears, misconceptions and the legacy of their pre-Islamic ignorance, as well as their intrinsic human weakness, none of which could be the result of hypocrisy or deviation. It, the Qur’ān, was gently steering them towards a position of power and full internal harmonisation, itself, a much farther and longer lasting goal. No matter how many really powerful members a community has, it is never safe if it has pockets of weakness within its ranks. With diversity of calibre, a community requires harmony and consistency, as it faces up to the mighty challenges awaiting it.
Let us now consider the text in detail.
Taking Proper Precautions
Believers, be fully prepared against danger, and go to war either in small groups or all together. There are indeed among you such as would lag behind, and then, if a calamity befalls you, say, “God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!” But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there had never been any question of love between you and him — “Oh, would that I had been with them; I would surely have had a [share in a] mighty triumph.” (Verses 71-73)
This piece of advice is given to the believers by the “high command”, God Almighty, who sets out the plan and points the way for believers to go. One is always amazed at how often the Qur’ān actually outlines for the Muslims, albeit in a general form, the blueprint, or order of battle, for the task they are about to undertake. Elsewhere, we find the Qur’ān offering the Muslims a general plan, saying: “Believers, fight those unbelievers who are near to you and let them find you adamant.” (9: 123) Here it gives advice on the “tactics” to be employed: “...Be fully prepared against danger, and go to war either in small groups or all together... “ In Sūrah 10, The Spoils of War, there are many instances of this kind (verses 57 ff.).
Thus, the Qur’ān not only teaches the Muslims the rules of worship and religious rites, or moral and ethical principles, as the pathetic view of religion suggests, but it
also deals with their life as a whole, covering all the developments and ramifications of life in the real world. On this basis, Islam rightfully demands full hegemony over human life. It accepts from Muslims, individuals as well as societies, nothing less than total submission and compliance with its way of life and teachings. It specifically rejects the idea that Muslims should, individually or collectively, seek several sources for organising their life: one for their personal life — religious, ethical and moral aspects as well as rituals of worship — based on God’s revelations, and another for economic, social, political and international matters taken from different sources or based purely on human thought. The duty of such thought is nothing more than to derive and deduce from the Qur’ān detailed rules and principles applicable to life’s practical and ever-changing situations and developments, as outlined in the last passage of this sūrah. Otherwise, all claims of true belief in Islam are meaningless. Those who adopt such double standards have not fully absorbed the faith and spirit of Islam or appreciated its fundamental principles. The first among these is the belief that “there is no deity except God”. This is the basis that lays down the principles that God is the only and the ultimate ruling and legislating authority in the world.
Here, one sees the Qur’ān outlining part of the battle plan for the Muslims, appropriate for the prevailing situation when they were surrounded not only by countless external threats but also by the hypocrites and their Jewish allies inside Madinah. It first cautions them: “Believers, be fully prepared against danger.” You should be on the alert, watch all your enemies, especially those within your ranks who discourage you. These will presently be identified.
“And go to war either in small groups or all together...” The advice here is either to fight in small contingents or as a full fighting force, as the battle dictates. Solo fighters are easily targeted and taken by an enemy that is widely deployed, especially within the Muslim community itself, as was the case with the hypocrites and the Jews of Madinah.
An Eye for Gain
There are indeed among you such as would lag behind, and then, if a calamity befalls you, say, “God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!” But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there had never been any question of love between you and him — “Oh, would that I had been with them; I would surely have had a [share in a] mighty triumph.” (Verses 72-73)
The Muslims are advised to mobilise themselves into either small parties or as a fully-fledged fighting force, and not to allow any of their numbers to dither or lag
behind, as often happened in practice. They must be vigilant, not only with respect to their external enemy, but also towards those among them who stayed behind and who discouraged others from joining this jihād.
The Arabic term chosen here to denote the laggards’ position is particularly potent and appropriate. It is a word that gives the impression of slowness, as if one stumbles when it is pronounced. Its sound gives a strong hint of the meaning it conveys. That, itself, is characteristic of the Qur’ān’s powerful and stylistic prose.
The emphatic structure of the sentence also suggests that these foot draggers, and they were only a handful, were persistent and ardent in their pursuit. This indicates the serious effect their actions had had on the community. Hence, the Qur’ān focuses its attention on them and their intentions outlining, in its own uniquely graphic style, their abhorrent characteristics. Their character, intentions, and all their exploits and claims are exposed for all to see, as if being scrutinised under a microscope, revealing their secrets, aims and motives.
They are shown then, during the Prophet’s time, as they are shown today to be hypocritical, weak, two-faced and small-minded. They perceive nothing other than their own immediate self-interests, nor do they ever look farther than their own limited and personal interests. They wish that life should revolve around a single focal point: themselves, which they never overlook.
They dither and prevaricate, but never speak in the open, trying, as it were, to play a balancing game. Their concept of gain and loss has more in common with that of the hypocrites and the small-minded.
They stay behind so that when Muslim fighters suffer a setback, which sometimes occurs, they rejoice and consider the fact that they were able to run away from the battlefield and dodge the test of faith. This is, then, their valuable prize. “If calamity befalls you, [he would] say, `God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!’“ (Verse 72)
As they assess their position, they consider their evading the battle to be a blessing, and they feel no shame in attributing their decision to God whose commands they have neglected. Evading the obligation to fight, in such circumstances, can never be by the grace of God. This is never gained by disobeying Him, even if the eventual outcome is positive.
It can only be considered a prize by those who do not deal directly with God and who do not appreciate why God has created them. Such people do not translate their submission to God into practical obedience or into striving to serve His cause and to establish His order in human life. It is a prize in the eyes of those who do not aspire to higher levels than what is known to them on this earth; those who do not appreciate that sacrifice and striving for the establishment of God’s order is a
privilege and an honour God bestows upon a select few. He, thus, elevates them in this life and liberates them from the shackles of their own weaknesses and the limitations of their world. He raises their sights to a higher life in which they are in, not under, control. Thus, God Almighty helps them to qualify for an abode closer to Him, one which is preserved for martyrs.
All human beings die, but martyrs who give their lives in God’s cause are called upon to testify for God’s faith. This is a great privilege bestowed by the grace of God.
If the situation is reversed and the Muslims, who are happy to fight and accept everything God gives them, are blessed with victory and the spoils of war, those who have stayed behind regret their action.
They look at it, from their narrow, worldly perspective, as a refusal to join a winning battle, according to their narrow and short-term understanding of victory and success. “But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there
They look at it, from their narrow, worldly perspective, as a refusal to join a winning battle, according to their narrow and short-term understanding of victory and success. “But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there