Fruits of Total Dedication to Islam
Those who responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger after misfortune had befallen them, a great reward awaits those among them who continued to do good and feared Allah. When other people told them : “ A big force has gathered against you, so fear them”, that only strengthened their faith and they said: “ Allah is enough for us. He is the best guardian. So they earned Allah’s grace and bounty, suffering no harm. For they had striven to please Allah, whose bounty is limitless. (The House of Imran, “ Aal Imran”: 3:172-174) Commentary by Sayyid Qutb, Translated by A.A. Shamis and Adil Salahi
The Battle of Uhud was a major battle in the history of Islam, especially with the type of lessons it drove home to the Muslim community. In the last issue, the commentary concentrated on the different attitudes to death in battle shown by the hypocrites and true believers. The hypocrites lamented that those Muslims who fell in the battle of Uhud would not have died if only they had listened to their advice of staying at home.
That is a totally unacceptable view to a true believer because Allah tells us that death comes at its appointed time. Those who were destined to die would have died anyway, whether they were fighting or not. As for those true believers who fall in the battle, they are martyrs. This means that they must not be thought of as dead, but they live and they are in the presence of their Lord where they are well-provided for. We discuss the verses which also tell us that martyrs rejoice at the happy news that those believers who are left behind shall enjoy Allah’s pleasure. The verses which we are discussing here describe to us those believers who are the source of the martyrs’ rejoice. They are “Those who responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger after misfortune had befallen them.”
The Prophet (Pbuh) indeed called on those who fought in the battle of Uhud to turn out for battle duty with him the day following that eventful day with its hard fighting. They were heavily wounded and they hardly managed to escape death in the previous day’s battle. They were not only nursing their physical wounds, but they were still living yesterday’s events, the bitter defeat, the affliction, the sadness at the loss of relatives and friends. Nevertheless, Allah’s Messenger called on them to come out to fight, making it clear that they alone were meant by his call. He did not allow anyone who did not witness the battle of Uhud to join them and give them support.
Nevertheless, they responded to the Prophet’s call which was in essence a call by Allah. This, the verse makes absolutely clear. Their response was immediate, positive and favourable despite their misfortune and wounds.
The fact that Allah’s Messenger singled out those who actually fought in Uhud for his new call is particularly significant as we shall try to explain. Perhaps the Prophet (Pbuh) did not wish the feelings of defeat and misfortune to be the last that remained with the Muslims after the battle. He called on them to chase Quraish in order to drive home to them that all that happened was merely a test and an experience which would not be the final end. They remained strong while their victorious enemies were weak. It was a mere experience which was certain to be followed by victory once they had shaken off the elements of weakness and failure and responded to the call issued to them by Allah and His Messenger.
Complementing the same picture, the Prophet (Pbuh) might have wished that Quraish did not leave the battlefield overjoyed and boastful at the victory they achieved.
He followed the Quraish army with the same soldiers who fought the previous day’s battle in order to make it clear to Quraish that they had not caused any permanent damage to the Muslims since there still remained enough people to chase and seek the army of Quraish. Those objectives were fulfilled, according to historical reports. The Prophet (Pbuh) might have also wished to make it clear to Muslims and to all mankind the birth of a new fact on earth, namely that faith meant everything to a certain group of people who had absolutely no aim or objective in their lives other than to serve the cause of their faith. They live for it and they look to nothing beyond it. They spare nothing of themselves. They offer all as a sacrifice for their faith. That was something absolutely new on earth. It was necessary that all mankind realised this after the believers themselves had realised it. Nothing could reflect the birth of this new fact better than the marching of those who responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger after misfortune had befallen them. Their march was both spectacular and awesome. It reflected clearly the fact that they relied totally on Allah and they did not care at all for what people might say in order to scare them with the host of army that the Quraish had gathered to fight them as they were told by the Messengers sent by Abu Sufian, the chief of Quraish. Similarly, the hypocrites depicted Quraish as extremely mighty. But those believers cared nothing for all that.
“ Those who responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger after misfortune had befallen them- a great reward awaits those among them who continued to do good and feared Allah. When other people told them: “ A big force has gathered against you, so fear them” that only strengthened their faith and they said: “ Allah is enough for us. He is the best guardian. In this way, the Muslim community declared in the clearest of terms the birth of this new fact. The wisdom behind the Prophet’s plan is now clearly apparent to us.
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