Quran Garden

Session 499

Chapter 3

Verses 172 & 173

Those who responded to God and the Messenger after suffering injury, who do good and remain conscious of God, will have a great reward.  (Chapter 3: Verse 172)

It had only been hours since the Battle of Uhud ended, and the lessons learned were already being put into practice.  The earth-shattering events that unfolded at Uhud were a powerful force that realigned faith in the hearts of believers.  Despite their pains and losses, Allah ensured those who repented did not have to endure it for long and that the joy of the disbelievers would not last even a single day.

As soon as the Muslim army returned to Medina, Muhammad, peace be upon him, asked his Muathen, Bilal, to call out to the people to assemble and prepare to chase after Quraysh.  The Prophet added, "None should go out fighting with us except those who participated in the Uhud."  In other words, the force Prophet Muhammad assembled to avenge the loss against Quraysh was smaller than the one that faced them less than 24 hours earlier!  In fact, the count was considerably less because some were killed while others were too injured to march again.  Logically, he, peace be upon him, should have asked for fresh fighters and reinforcements.  However, in His infinite wisdom, God wanted to demonstrate to us that the purification process of Uhud had served its purpose.  The Muslim fighters responded to the Messenger and jumped at the chance to avenge their error; their hearts filled with faith, pure and strong.  God did not want His beloved faithful to dwell over the events of Uhud, so He immediately gave them the chance to answer the call of the Messenger. 

Each fighter had just returned from Uhud, exhausted, in pain, and swollen with wounds.  Nevertheless, when Bilal gave the call, they all answered.  God says, "Those who responded to God and the Messenger after suffering injury, who do good and remain conscious of God, will have a great reward."  Our beloved Muhammad made a notable exception for one person absent from the Battle of Uhud.  His name was Jaber ibn Abdu Allah.  Jaber was excused from Uhud because his father recently died, leaving behind seven daughters under his care.  The force assembled behind Prophet Muhammad was the embodiment of God's words: "Do not weaken or grieve – if you are true believers, you have the upper hand –" 

Sure enough, Allah gave them the upper hand.  A few men who passed by the camp of Quraysh told their leader, Abu Sufyan, "Muhammad is coming back this way with a large army."  Quraysh hastily broke camp and fled to Mecca, leaving their supplies behind.  This swift victory was a direct result of the companions responding to God and the Messenger, just as the setback in Uhud directly resulted from the archers defying the Prophet's command.   They earned an easy victory and "a great reward" because they responded to God's call even "after suffering injury." The injury was physical, as many were exhausted or wounded, and psychological, as they faced the fact their actions caused the defeat. 

God tells us that conditions were even more complicated.  He says in the next aya, 

Those to whom people said, "The people have gathered against you, so fear them." But that merely increased their faith; and they said, "Allah is sufficient for us and the Best of Guardians." (Chapter 3: Verse 173)

While still in Medina, the hypocrites started spreading rumors that Quraysh called for reinforcements from Mecca and the surrounding tribes.  However, not a single believer was intimidated when people told them, "The people have gathered against you, so fear them."

The word "people" in the Quran usually refers to those far from faith.  And as long as they remain detached from their Lord, battles, and conflicts are matters of numbers and strategy.  Whoever has the stronger army under good leadership will win.  But the believers never face the enemy alone; they receive support from their Lord.  So the scare tactic of "The people have gathered against you, so fear them" does not work.

We also understand that the devil was whispering to the believers, trying to dissuade them from following the Prophet.  It is said that the devil may appear in the form of a person or a group of people to terrify the believers.  Devils are from the world of Jinn, and the Jinn can see you from where you cannot see them.  God granted them the ability to transform physically.  A devil can shapeshift into a human, an animal, or whatever he wishes.  But once he takes on a form, he falls under the physical laws of that creature.  If a devil appears as a human, he can be harmed by a knife or a gunshot.  This is why devils change briefly and then disappear, as they are more afraid of you than you of them. 

Regardless of who said, "The people have gathered against you, so fear them," the goal was to instill weakness in the hearts of believers, but we find that the trials of Uhud sharpened their faith beyond any doubt.  No believer paid attention to this rumor.  They understood that going against God's command, regardless of the enemy's condition, weakens the soul and ends badly.  While holding onto the orders of the Messenger, peace be upon him, fills you with strength regardless of the enemy's condition.  How do we know that they understood this?  They said, "Allah is sufficient for us and the Best of Guardians." Faith and God's support are the critical values in this equation, not numbers.  Listen to the following two examples.  God says,

We shall throw terror into the hearts of the faithless because they attribute partners to God, although He has sent no authority for this: their shelter will be the Fire- how miserable is the home of the wrongdoers!  (3:151)

And in another chapter,

It was not you who killed them but God.  And you did not throw when you threw; it was God who threw, that He might test the faithful with a good test from Himself.  Indeed, Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.  (8:17)

Just as victory is from God, so is the enemy's death.  The believer strikes with his weapon, but God is the One who gives life and takes it away.  A poet said,

Glory to my Lord; if He wills something, there is no stopping it

How many wounded thrived, and how many uninjured dropped dead!

Therefore, when the believers fight against the enemies of faith, they only wound them.  Battlegrounds give the appearance of killing, while the reality of killing belongs to the Lord.  He says, "It was not you who killed them but God, and you did not throw when you threw; it was God who threw." Here we ask, how can the verse negate an action and then affirm it in the same sentence?  How can God say, "And you did not throw when you threw"?  We answer that this verse refers to an event in the battle of Badr.  When the armies faced off on the grounds of Badr, the Messenger, peace be upon him, raised his hands in supplication, "My Lord, if this band of believers is destroyed, you will never be worshiped on earth again."  The archangel Gabriel came and said to him, "Allah instructs you to take a fistful of sand and throw it at the faces of Quraysh." So the Messenger, who was standing a far distance from the disbelievers, did.  A moment later, every fighter from Quraysh had sand in his eyes.  Have you had a peck of sand in your eye before?  You cannot do anything until you get it out. 

Our beloved Muhammad tossed a fistful of sand toward Quraysh's army.  He did not –and could not- throw a speck of sand into the eyes of a thousand warriors.  It is an impossible act except for the Almighty.  The Messenger followed the advice of Gabriel and implemented the order of his Lord.  God did the rest.  And you did not throw when you threw; it was God who threw.  Thus, regardless of the odds, every Muslim on God's path should do the required work and then say, "Allah is sufficient for us and the Best of Guardians."