Quran Garden

Session 496

Chapter 3

Verse 165

Why do you say, when a calamity befalls you, even after you have in?icted twice as much damage, "How did this happen?" say, "You brought it upon yourselves." God has power over everything.  (Chapter 3: Verse 165)

Isn't this astonishing?  If God, the Most High, had sent the believers a Messenger from among them to teach them the book, purify every aspect of their lives, and guide them out of the darkness, how could they ever go against his commands?

They asked: "How did this happen?!" "How did the disbelievers defeat us in Uhud?!" The answer is simple: Because you disobeyed your Lord's Messenger, who was there to guide and purify you.  Your behavior did not align with God's great favor, so no wonder you lost.  We learned from Aya 164 that the Almighty began this relationship by showering the Muslims with blessings, and when they responded with disobedience, the bad outcome was perfectly natural. 

God highlights the facts: Recall that in Badr, He granted you a victory twice as big!  You killed seventy of Quraysh's top fighters and took seventy as prisoners of war, while in Uhud, they killed seventy and did not capture any Muslims.  You took spoils in Badr, and they did not in Uhud.  God gave you twice as much as He took. 

"How did this happen?!" How is it possible that we, the believers under the banner of Muhammad, would lose to those idolaters?  God answers: "You brought it upon yourselves." Look in the mirror:  Are your expectations of victory in line with your actions under the leadership of the Prophet?  Were you at the required level of faith?  Of course not!  If you do not listen to God's Messenger, then what kind of faith is this?  You believe in Allah as your Lord and the Messenger as your leader and acknowledge that God is just and has established clear rules that never change or alter.  He will not abandon these rules for your sake, even if you are in the company of His beloved Messenger.  He says,

This has been Allah's precedent with those who passed before, and you will never find any change in Allah's precedent.  (33:62)

And in another chapter,

Growing in arrogance in the land and devising evil schemes.  But an evil plot overwhelms none but its own authors.  Do they expect anything, but what happened to earlier people?  You will never find any change in God's practice; you will never find any deviation there.  (35:43)

If only you remembered your belief in God's fairness.  If only you understood that God would not invalidate any laws for your or anyone else's sake.  If only you recalled that these rules are set for your benefit and that going against them never ends well, you would not have asked, "How did this happen?!" When the Muslims triumphed over Quraysh in Badr, they were few and weak.  In Uhud, the Muslims were far stronger and better prepared, yet they lost.  Expectations and results should be measured on the scale of faith, not that of strength.  

The verse ends with, "God has power over everything."  God set the heavenly laws, and if they are to be enforced at all times, it necessitates that God holds ultimate power over everything.  No other God will come and say, "I nullify these laws."  And as long as no other deity can say that, then He the Almighty is glorified and capable of all things.  His laws are permanent.  That is a great blessing because now you can have peace of mind and plan for your future with complete confidence that there will be no surprises.  You know what you need to do to succeed, and you know how to fail.  Need more proof?  Listen to the following assurance,

Allah: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Ever Watchful.  Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave?  He knows what is before them and behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills.  His seat encompasses the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both.  He is the Most High, the Tremendous. (2:255)