O You Who Believe

49)

"O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful."

[Al-Anfal 8:45]

Allah instructs His faithful servants in the manners of fighting and methods of courage when meeting the enemy in battle that they should stand firm.

In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that 'Abdullah bin Abi Awfa said that during one battle, Allah's Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) waited until the sun declined, then stood among the people and said,

"O people! Do not wish to face the enemy (in a battle) and ask Allah to save you (from calamities). But if you should face the enemy, then be patient and let it be known to you that Paradise is under the shadows of the swords."

He (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) then stood and said,

"O Allah! Revealer of the (Holy) Book, Mover of the clouds, and Defeater of the Confederates, defeat them and grant us victory over them."

In a battle of life and death, many thoughts can rush into a believer's mind and often times, he may doubt his decisions of fighting for Allah. Thid can lead to cowardice and cause a believer to turn his back during battlefield which is a kabeera gunah (great sin). It can ruin a believer's hereafter and a victory is never a victory if you lose your hereafter which attaining it.

So to save the believers from having such thoughts which could lead to punishment, Allah provided the best solution; to remember Allah much.

By remembering Allah, not only tremendous love for Him in our heart grows but we also find strength of a hundred men. Allah strengthens those who are steadfast and who constantly believe in Him.

Allah says in Qur'an:

"O Prophet! Rouse these believers to the war [you had been directed earlier]. If there are twenty amongst you who are steadfast, they will subdue two hundred: if a hundred, they will subdue a thousand of the disbelievers. This is because these are a people without insight."

[Al-Anfal 8:65]

So the believers will be victors even if they are outnumbered by 1:10.

Hence the true key to success is the constant remembrance of Allah. Afterall, it is Allah to whom all affairs return, hence we must stay steadfast in His remembrance, may it be any matter.

In today's era, Jihad and head-on battle for the sake of Islam is not common as compared to how it used to be. Muslims have forgotten to stand up for themselves. They have forgotten that within one of them lies the strength of ten men and they have forgotten that they have Allah on their side.

Since Qur'an is the eternal Word of Allah, it's significance isn't bound by a certain era or a certain group of people. Qur'an is a book for humans and about humans, by the Supreme God, Allah Almighty. Hence, the question arises that how do we implement the information in Qur'an to our daily lives.

If not a life and death battle, we still face many battles in our life. I'll give an example.

A certain person stole an already vulnerable person's belongings and you happened to be present there. The thief realised and offered you some money to stay quiet otherwise you'll face many issues.

Now here lies your test. Hiding a true shahada (testimony) is a grave sin.

The guide to such a situation is explained by Allah. The two-step solution to this is to stand firm next to the enemy (in this case, it can mean to stand firm with the truth because Allah is Al-Haq (The Truth)) and to remember Allah much. No matter what situation you are faced with, let it be known to you that Allah is on watch and those who raise Allah's flag even in the dark (i.e their efforts are  not seen by people), Allah sees them and Allah is pleased with them.

Remembering Allah doesn't only effect a believer, by calling Allah, Allah remembers His caller as well. Allah says in the Qur'an:

"So remember Me; I will remember you."

[Al-Baqarah 2:152]

A step to success, hence, is the remembrance of Allah.

In a hadith regarding dhikr (remembrance of Allah), Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:

“Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions, the purest in the sight of your Lord, which raises your rank to the highest, which is better for you than spending gold and silver, better than meeting your enemy so that you strike at their necks and they strike at yours?’ They replied: ‘Yes, indeed,’ and he said: ‘It is the remembrance of Allah’”

(Tirmidhi).

Things we learnt:

> In a battle field, no matter how strong he enemy is, a believer should remain firm and never turn his back during the battle.

> In any situation where a believer battles with a disbeliever, may it be Jihad or any other matter, the believer should stand firm and remember Allah so that he may be successful.

May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balghul mubeen.