Quran Garden

Session 480

Chapter 3

Verse 152

God fulfilled His promise to you: you were routing them, with His permission, but then you faltered, disputed the order, and disobeyed, once He had brought you within sight of your goal- some of you desire the gains of this world and others desire the world to come- and then He prevented you from defeating them in order to test you.  He has now forgiven you: God is most gracious to the believers.  (Chapter 3: Verse 152)

Let's start with, "God fulfilled His promise to you." We understand that Allah made a promise, then reality came in accordance with what he promised.  What was the promise?  God says,

You who believe!  If you help God, He will help you and make your feet stand firm. (47:7)

  And in another chapter,

And that Our soldiers -they indeed- would be the victors. (37:173)

The promises above are theoretical, but we need practical applications.  Did the promise come true or not?  It sure did.  Here are two ways to look at this verse under study: 

The first starts with the Battle of Badr.  "You were routing them" means pushing them back and causing them to flee.  The Arabic origin has its roots in confusing the enemy, making them lose their senses, and, as a result, flee, get killed, or be imprisoned.  It also means to silence both their voice and movement.  Isn't that what happened in Badr?  Didn't the disbelievers, despite their superior number and munitions, lose their senses and flee the battlefield?  God kept His promise.       

Now, we come to the battle of Uhud.  God says, "But then you faltered, disputed the order, and disobeyed, once He had brought you within sight of your goal- some of you desire the gains of this world and others desire the world to come- and then He prevented you from defeating them in order to test you." The archers violated the Messenger's command after they saw the spoils of war, and at that moment, the battle was lost.  So Allah is giving us a lesson from two battles; one in which Allah's promise was fulfilled, and the Muslims won, and another in which His promise was also fulfilled, and the Muslims ended up deep in trouble.  The moment they abandoned God and the Messenger, they were no longer God's soldiers, and victory was no longer guaranteed.   

The second way to look at this verse is exclusively through the prism of Uhud.  At the beginning of the battle, did the Muslims prevail or not?  They did!  They advanced as far as killing the bearer of Quraysh's banner along with twenty-nine of their top fighters.  The flag of disbelief was on the ground, and the disbelievers lost their rallying point.  This was the practical application of God's words, "God fulfilled His promise to you: you were routing them, with His permission." When Quraysh retreated and abandoned their weapons, an argument started among the Muslim archers.  Some considered the battle as finished, focused on the spoils, and left their position.  The others obeyed the command of Prophet Muhammad and encouraged the others to stay.  They argued: "The Messenger was very clear when he said, 'Protect our backs.  If you see us killed, do not help us; if you see us gaining booty, do not join us.  If you see our bodies snatched by birds, do not leave this place until I send for you.  And if you see us defeating the enemy and subduing them, do not leave until I send for you.'"

The inevitable outcome was failure and loss.  God says, "You were routing them, with His permission, but then you faltered, disputed the order, and disobeyed, once He had brought you within sight of your goal- some of you desire the gains of this world, and others desire the world to come- and then He prevented you from defeating them in order to test you." Again, God's promise was fulfilled, and while the Muslims lost, Islam was victorious.  How, you may ask?  We answer that had the Muslims won despite violating the command of their Messenger, faith would have lost all meaning.  If nothing happens when you disobey your Lord, what kind of religion is this? 

Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "By God, I did not know that any of the Companions chased after worldly gain until the events of the day of Uhud." It was unimaginable to Ibn Mas'ud that among the companions were those who would choose this world; He thought that their sole focus was the Hereafter.  So when God's words were revealed, "Some of you desire the gains of this world, and others desire the world to come," Ibn Mas'ud realized that worldly and material desires swayed some companions.  This does not discredit them because humans are in a constant state of change.  They had seen victory and thought the battle was settled; the banner of Quraysh fell, and many of its leaders were killed.  Allah exonerated the believers and forgave them for their disobeying His Messenger. 

The verse continues, "He prevented you from defeating them in order to test you." The test in Uhud was a real-life training exercise.  You were shown and experienced the requirements and the path to victory, and you were also shown and experienced the path to loss.  It was a great test because, as a result, the companions never lost a battle afterward.

This is a life lesson for all of us: defeat is the best teacher.  Let's say a child did not take studying seriously because she was too busy with her phone and friends.  She fails an exam and now has to carry the shame of telling her parents and attending summer school.  Because of this heavy burden, she decides never to feel that way again.  So from then on, she took every exam seriously and removed all distractions until the test results came out.  We can all agree that the pain from a single failure resulted in many great successes afterward.