Quran Garden

Session 362

Chapter 3

Verse 26

a continuation

Say: "O God, Master of all dominion! You give dominion to whom You will and extract dominion from whom You will, and You honor whom You will, and abase whom You will; in Your hand is all good; surely You have full power over everything."

(Chapter 3: Verse 26)

There is a fascinating story behind this verse.  It started when the enemies of Muhammad formed a coalition to defeat Islam once and for all.  They gathered their forces and headed towards Medina.  Moreover, the Jews of Medina –who had signed a defense treaty with the Muslims– engaged in spying and sabotage to weaken the Muslims from within.  When Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, heard of the large army headed his way, he consulted with his companions.  Salman al-Farisi, a companion from Persia, recommended digging a trench around Medina as a defense line to halt the invading army's progress.  Experienced soldiers knew that cavalrymen on horses could jump a maximum of a few meters, and a wide trench was needed to impede their ability to cross.

Let's look at how the Messenger managed this challenging situation.  He, peace upon him, sought advice from the best people around him.  When Salman suggested digging a trench, as the Persians did in battle, the Prophet adopted the idea to be implemented by the Muslims.  We learn not to automatically reject everything that the disbelievers do.  The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, would weigh the matter and see its advantages and disadvantages, and then act accordingly.  On many occasions, Prophet Muhammad initiated and signed fair defense and trade treaties with the non-believers for the benefit of all.  

Now the Muslims were facing the daunting task of manually digging a long trench in the desert heat.  Furthermore, the land allocated to the trench was hard and challenging to manage.  Prophet Muhammad assigned forty cubits of land to every group of ten companions.  A cubit is an ancient measuring unit roughly equal to the length of a forearm.  The Prophet explicitly distributed the work and responsibility and did not leave matters vague.  He assigned a manageable amount of work to a manageable number of people.  The distribution of responsibility means that each group of ten knew exactly what they were expected to do.  Clarity fostered friendly competition between the groups for who could finish first.

Here you may wonder, why didn't the Prophet divide the task further to each person? Rather than giving ten companions forty cubits, he could have given each companion four cubits to dig.  We answer that there is wisdom behind the Prophet's decision.  He, peace be upon him, knew that not all diggers are equal in ability and experience.  Thus, he wanted weak companions to be supported by their strong brethren.  The Prophet did not make the entire task open to all, nor did he make it an individual burden.  Rather, there were clear responsibilities assigned to each small group of individuals: the weak got help, groups competed among each other, and the spirit of affection grew between the companions. 

Amr ibn Auf was among the nine companions in Salman al-Farisi's group.  As they were digging, they encountered a solid piece of rock, which completely halted their progress.  After trying for a while, the group said to Salman, "Go to the Prophet and bring this matter to his attention."  Salman explained the problem to Prophet Muhammad, who then accompanied him back to the location of the rock.  From this incident, we learn that when those assigned a task encounter a problem, they should bring it up the chain of command to get help.  

Our beloved Muhammad took a pickaxe and struck the rock with it causing sparks to fly.  He, peace be upon him, loudly said, "God is the Greatest, the palaces of Bosra in Syria have been conquered."  Then he struck the rock a second time and said, "God is the Greatest, the Roman palaces of Al-Hamra have been conquered."  He struck it a third time and said, "Allahu Akbar, the palaces of Sana'a in Yemen have been conquered."  Each time our beloved Muhammad hit the rock, God showed him a place that would be conquered by the Muslims. 

When the army of Quraish heard of the incident, their leaders laughed and said, "Muhammad promises his followers the palaces of Caesar and Khosrow, but he has to dig a hole in the desert because he is afraid of our army!"  At this juncture, God revealed the following verse to our beloved Muhammad:

Say: "O God, Master of all dominion! You give dominion to whom You will and extract dominion from whom You will, and You honor whom You will, and abase whom You will; in Your hand is all good; surely You have full power over everything."

(Chapter 3: Verse 26)

You should always keep in mind that Allah asks you to do your best first, and then leave the rest to Him.  Do not look at challenges based solely on your ability.  If you are God-conscious and [you] do your best, Allah will be with you.  Is there any matter that is difficult if God, the Greatest of all Helpers, is by your side? It is the Almighty who gives rule and sovereignty.  He is the One true God who takes control away from Persia, Rome, and Sana'a and gives it to Muhammad and his followers.  He takes it away from Quraish and the Jews of Medina and grants the spoils to the Muslims.

The word "extract" should grab your attention because it seems out of place.  The verse starts with "You give dominion to whom You will," then God talks about the opposite.  But the opposite of "give" is "to take," not "to extract." Why did Allah use the verb "extract"? We answer that extracting something means removing it with force against the person's will.  Presidents and kings are happy to assume power, but they often fight to the death before giving it up.  Rule is often a great job that brings in wealth, fame, and countless perks.  Rulers quickly embrace the easy life and forget the heavy responsibility of caring for their people.  When you see a king, president, or ruler clinging to power at all costs, then know that he or she has disregarded their responsibilities to the people and are too busy chasing wealth and power.