Overview (Verses 71 - 73)

Taking Proper Precautions
 
Believers, be fully prepared against danger, and go to war either in small groups or all together. There are indeed among you such as would lag behind, and then, if a calamity befalls you, say, “God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!” But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there had never been any question of love between you and him — “Oh, would that I had been with them; I would surely have had a [share in a] mighty triumph.” (Verses 71-73)
 
This piece of advice is given to the believers by the “high command”, God Almighty, who sets out the plan and points the way for believers to go. One is always amazed at how often the Qur’ān actually outlines for the Muslims, albeit in a general form, the blueprint, or order of battle, for the task they are about to undertake. Elsewhere, we find the Qur’ān offering the Muslims a general plan, saying: “Believers, fight those unbelievers who are near to you and let them find you adamant.” (9: 123) Here it gives advice on the “tactics” to be employed: “...Be fully prepared against danger, and go to war either in small groups or all together... “ In Sūrah 10, The Spoils of War, there are many instances of this kind (verses 57 ff.).
 
Thus, the Qur’ān not only teaches the Muslims the rules of worship and religious rites, or moral and ethical principles, as the pathetic view of religion suggests, but it also deals with their life as a whole, covering all the developments and ramifications of life in the real world. On this basis, Islam rightfully demands full hegemony over human life. It accepts from Muslims, individuals as well as societies, nothing less than total submission and compliance with its way of life and teachings. It specifically rejects the idea that Muslims should, individually or collectively, seek several sources for organising their life: one for their personal life — religious, ethical and moral aspects as well as rituals of worship — based on God’s revelations, and another for economic, social, political and international matters taken from different sources or based purely on human thought. The duty of such thought is nothing more than to derive and deduce from the Qur’ān detailed rules and principles applicable to life’s practical and ever-changing situations and developments, as outlined in the last passage of this sūrah. Otherwise, all claims of true belief in Islam are meaningless. Those who adopt such double standards have not fully absorbed the faith and spirit of Islam or appreciated its fundamental principles. The first among these is the belief that “there is no deity except God”. This is the basis that lays down the principles that God is the only and the ultimate ruling and legislating authority in the world.
 
Here, one sees the Qur’ān outlining part of the battle plan for the Muslims, appropriate for the prevailing situation when they were surrounded not only by countless external threats but also by the hypocrites and their Jewish allies inside Madinah. It first cautions them: “Believers, be fully prepared against danger.” You should be on the alert, watch all your enemies, especially those within your ranks who discourage you. These will presently be identified.
 
“And go to war either in small groups or all together...” The advice here is either to fight in small contingents or as a full fighting force, as the battle dictates. Solo fighters are easily targeted and taken by an enemy that is widely deployed, especially within the Muslim community itself, as was the case with the hypocrites and the Jews of Madinah.
 
An Eye for Gain
 
There are indeed among you such as would lag behind, and then, if a calamity befalls you, say, “God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!” But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there had never been any question of love between you and him — “Oh, would that I had been with them; I would surely have had a [share in a] mighty triumph.” (Verses 72-73)
 
The Muslims are advised to mobilise themselves into either small parties or as a fully-fledged fighting force, and not to allow any of their numbers to dither or lag behind, as often happened in practice. They must be vigilant, not only with respect to their external enemy, but also towards those among them who stayed behind and who discouraged others from joining this jihād.
 
The Arabic term chosen here to denote the laggards’ position is particularly potent and appropriate. It is a word that gives the impression of slowness, as if one stumbles when it is pronounced. Its sound gives a strong hint of the meaning it conveys. That, itself, is characteristic of the Qur’ān’s powerful and stylistic prose.
 
The emphatic structure of the sentence also suggests that these foot draggers, and they were only a handful, were persistent and ardent in their pursuit. This indicates the serious effect their actions had had on the community. Hence, the Qur’ān focuses its attention on them and their intentions outlining, in its own uniquely graphic style, their abhorrent characteristics. Their character, intentions, and all their exploits and claims are exposed for all to see, as if being scrutinised under a microscope, revealing their secrets, aims and motives.
 
They are shown then, during the Prophet’s time, as they are shown today to be hypocritical, weak, two-faced and small-minded. They perceive nothing other than their own immediate self-interests, nor do they ever look farther than their own limited and personal interests. They wish that life should revolve around a single focal point: themselves, which they never overlook.
 
They dither and prevaricate, but never speak in the open, trying, as it were, to play a balancing game. Their concept of gain and loss has more in common with that of the hypocrites and the small-minded.
 
They stay behind so that when Muslim fighters suffer a setback, which sometimes occurs, they rejoice and consider the fact that they were able to run away from the battlefield and dodge the test of faith. This is, then, their valuable prize. “If calamity befalls you, [he would] say, `God has bestowed His favours upon me in that I was not present with them!’“ (Verse 72)
 
As they assess their position, they consider their evading the battle to be a blessing, and they feel no shame in attributing their decision to God whose commands they have neglected. Evading the obligation to fight, in such circumstances, can never be by the grace of God. This is never gained by disobeying Him, even if the eventual outcome is positive.
 
It can only be considered a prize by those who do not deal directly with God and who do not appreciate why God has created them. Such people do not translate their submission to God into practical obedience or into striving to serve His cause and to establish His order in human life. It is a prize in the eyes of those who do not aspire to higher levels than what is known to them on this earth; those who do not appreciate that sacrifice and striving for the establishment of God’s order is a privilege and an honour God bestows upon a select few. He, thus, elevates them in this life and liberates them from the shackles of their own weaknesses and the limitations of their world. He raises their sights to a higher life in which they are in, not under, control. Thus, God Almighty helps them to qualify for an abode closer to Him, one which is preserved for martyrs.
 
All human beings die, but martyrs who give their lives in God’s cause are called upon to testify for God’s faith. This is a great privilege bestowed by the grace of God.
 
If the situation is reversed and the Muslims, who are happy to fight and accept everything God gives them, are blessed with victory and the spoils of war, those who have stayed behind regret their action.
 
They look at it, from their narrow, worldly perspective, as a refusal to join a winning battle, according to their narrow and short-term understanding of victory and success. “But if good fortune comes to you from God, he is sure to say — just as if there had never been any question of love between you and him — ‘Oh, would that I had been with them; I would surely have had a [share in a] mighty triumph.” (Verse 73)
 
They describe their wish for trivial loot as a “mighty triumph”. Believers do not look with disdain at victory or reward; indeed they are urged to implore God specifically for them. Nor do believers wish for a hard test. On the contrary, they are encouraged to pray to God to save them from it. But a believer’s overall view of such matters is different from that of a hypocrite’s as depicted in these verses.
 
As already explained, believers do not wish for hardship. On the contrary, they appeal to be spared such hardship. But when called upon to fight for God’s cause, they respond without hesitation, appealing to God to grant them either victory or martyrdom. Either eventuality is a Divine blessing and a great triumph. If granted martyrdom, a believer accepts God’s choice and rejoices in that privilege, and if granted victory and spoils of war, he thanks God for His blessings and rejoices in the victory granted by God, not merely for his being spared.
 
This is the level to which God wishes to raise the Muslims when He cites to them the example of indecisive elements living in their midst aiming only to save themselves, so that they, the Muslims, may beware. From the warning and the motivation provided to the Muslim community, a human model of true Muslims emerges. This model is ever recurring in all communities and all generations. This model is painted in a true to life image, using only a few words. Furthermore, this model is seen in all stages of human history.
 
Therefore, the enduring moral that Muslims have to contemplate is that the existence of such half-hearted people in the community should not lead to despair but should rather make the community more vigilant. With more guidance, education and enlightenment, the community should seek to remedy the deficiency, overcome the weakness and harmonise and integrate its progress and temper.