Quran Garden

Session 439

Chapter 3

Verse 111

They will never do you any harm, except for some hurt; and if they fight you, they will turn tail, then they will not be helped.  (Chapter 3: Verse 111)

At the end of verse 110, Allah informed us that some of the people of the book "do believe, while most are transgressors." We explained that the description "transgressors" means that such people knew that Muhammad brought the truth but deliberately went against him.  In other words, the majority of the Jews and Christians at the dawn of Islam chose to oppose the new faith and fight their brothers and sisters who converted to Islam. 

In the verse under study, God reassures the minority of Jews and Christians that embraced Islam –such as Abdullah bin Salam- that the transgressors will not be able to harm them.  They will try but never succeed. 

Here we should take a few moments to understand the difference between harm, translated from the Arabic الضرر, and hurt, translated from 'الأذى.'  To hurt someone is to injure or upset them for a short time.  For example, you may say hurtful words to someone or physically push them away, and such effects are short-lived.  On the other hand, when you hurt someone, you cause long-term damage.  If you punch your enemy, their face may swell for a few days, then bruise for a week or two; you could even break their teeth.   

Allah assures the believers that the disbelievers will only be able to annoy them or hurt their feelings with mockery and ridicule.  "They will never do you any harm, except for some hurt" means that the disbelievers can never do lasting harm to the people of faith.  

The events of history unfolded to prove God's words.  Let's consider what happened to the three Jewish tribes in Medina.  They used to mock Prophet Muhammad and His companions, even after the victory in the battle of Badr.  They said, "Muhammad, do not be fooled by your victory.  You were up against arrogant tribesmen who do not know war.  When you fight us, you will find out how real men of war fight."   

History tells us what happened to all of them and how they were defeated and then kicked out of their homes.  Their goal was to kill Muhammad and defeat the believers, but did they harm the believers except for a little hurt?  God says,

They will never do you any harm, except for some hurt, and if they fight you, they will turn tail, then they will not be helped.  (Chapter 3: Verse 111)

Now let's look into the phrase "if they fight you, they will turn tail, then they will not be helped."  This is a conditional statement.  "If" is a conjunction that assumes a response in the event a condition is met.  In the event the People of the Book decided to fight the believers, they would flee the battlefield.  But in the Arabic origin we notice something interesting.  Grammar dictates the verse to read as follows: "if they fight you, they will turn tail, and they will not be helped."  But God interrupted the sentence's normal flow by adding, "then they will not be helped."  This grammatical change makes us pause and take notice. 

The normal phrasing: "if they fight you, they will turn tail, and they will not be helped," is limited to fighting.  In other words, not receiving any help is a condition of fighting: if you fight the believers, you will not receive support from God.  But by separating the phrase "then they will not be helped" from the flow of the sentence, God informs the People of the Book that they will never receive help from Him against the believers, whether they fight or not, now or in the future.  It is not conditional.  Not receiving support is not related to fighting but results from disbelief.

Another noteworthy word is "then." Allah used "then" instead of "and" because it puts even further distance from the conditional statement "if they fight you, they will turn tail." God reassures the believers that their enemies will not triumph over them, even if they prepare for a long period of time.  It is an everlasting rule that applies at all times. 

We find a similar application that contrasts the timing of the conjunctions "and" and "then" in the following verses.  God says about our life:

Then He causes him to die and be buried; Then, when He wills, He raises him from the dead. (80:20,21)

Take note how, at the beginning of the verse, Allah used the adverb "then" to indicate that there is time between birth and death, and at the end of the verse to indicate that there is a time between death and resurrection.  However, He used "and" between death and burial because these two events are very closely linked. 

This brings us back to the verse.  The phrasing "if they fight you, they will turn tail, then they will not be helped" indicates that there will be no help or victory for the disbelievers over the faithful even after the end of the fighting.  They will not be victorious by themselves or with the help of others.  And this rule is not limited to the era of the Messenger, peace be upon him, but it will remain forever. 

Here you may wonder: history is full of battles in which the disbelievers or the People of the Book won over the Muslims.  One example is the 1967 war in which the Israelis won and took lands from the surrounding Arab states.  How could this be?  We answer that if you see such defeats, then rest assured that the so-called "Muslim" side was not on the path of the Lord.  In 1967, the Arabs preferred nationalism and pan-Arabism over faith, so why would they expect victory from God?  He unequivocally states,

Surely Our soldiers, they will certainly be the victors.  (37:173)

So if you find yourself in defeat, then know that you did follow the teachings and spirit of Islam.  Take a moment to reflect and hold yourself accountable to your Lord because only He can guarantee you victory against all the odds.