Ahsan Hanif – Quran Tafseer – Page 70 – Believers Are Advised Not To Be Like Hypocrites
AI: Summary ©
The history of Islam is discussed, including the use of the term "the Great War" in the Bible and the loss of the Prophet sallama. The Prophet's actions have led to people feeling anxiety and fear, causing them to lose their minds and lose their liability. The importance of forgiveness and testing actions is emphasized, as death is not a consequence of a moment or a forward plan. The segment also discusses the importance of forgiveness and mercy in Islam, and the need for people to know their lifespans and hold them accountable for their actions.
AI: Summary ©
Muhammad Welcome to another episode of our tafsir
page by page insha Allah Today we're on
page number 70, which is in the 4th
Joseph Surah Al Imran.
In the previous episode, we're still speaking about
the battle of Uhud. And as you can
see, this is a battle that is extremely
important in this religion. Allah has dedicated a
number of pages and a number of verses
in the Quran
to this particular battle.
In the previous episode, we mentioned,
Allah spoke about one of the main reasons
or the main reason for what took place
on that day and that is when those
companions
who were placed by the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam to be archers upon that mountain
to protect the flank of the Muslims,
they were
swayed or some of them were swayed by
what they saw taking place on the battlefield
and the people taking war booty and so
on, and they left their post. And that
is something which then they that turned the
act of disobedience
turned into the loss that the Muslims suffered
and Allah Azzawajal forgave them as he mentioned
in that verse.
Today we begin
with verse
153 which is the final verse on the
previous page, page 69
and that is the statement of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Allah says you fled without looking back
or what happened to you. Indeed, Allah is
well aware of everything that you do. Allah
says and remember
meaning addressing the companions of the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam who were with him on
in the battlefield of Uhud. He says remember
when you fled.
As we said when the Muslim army was
being attacked from all directions by the Quraysh,
the Muslims dispersed their ranks
and they started to flee. A group of
them or a good number of them fled
from the battlefield,
running in any
direction in order to escape from the killing
and from the fighting. Allah says so when
you fled
without looking back, meaning you weren't looking around
looking to see what's happening or who's where
or what's going on. Everyone was fleeing for
their own lives and for their own safety.
And the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
was calling to you from behind meaning that
he was the one in the middle
of
the battlefield like he was the one in
the middle of that battlefield being surrounded by
those enemies because all of them want to
kill him salallahu alaihi wasalam. You're fleeing away
and he's calling you and saying come back
to me, oh servants of Allah. Come back
to me, oh servants of Allah.
And you're fleeing away from the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam not really listening, not really paying
any attention.
Fatha Baqumwam bin Rahm Allah says, so therefore
you will rewarded
for this action with sorrow upon sorrow.
Sorrow following sorrow. Sorrow that they were unable
to win on that battlefield, the battlefield of
Hudders, sorrow that they lost out on the
war booty that would have come with that,
sorrow that a group of them or a
number of them were were lost in that
battle, that they were martyred, that a group
of the Muslims were injured, and a number
of them were martyred radiAllahu anhu mijbaine and
then agreed to sorrow when you started to
hear the rumors as a number of them
did of the death of the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam because that is as we
said before that Allah
gave, that the the the the one of
the rumors that was being spread on the
day. Wuhad was that the messenger of Allah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
was killed on that day that he had
been killed. And so all of this is
sorrow upon sorrow.
One of the benefits therefore that we take
is that when we turn away from Allah
azza wa Jal or we disobeyed Allah and
his Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
there is much sorrow that takes place as
a result, much harm
that takes place as a result. Those repercussions
and consequences we don't necessarily
understand
but it can be stuff that we don't
even really realize
that Allah
is removing from a certain types of barakah
and blessing that Allah is putting hardship in
our way that certain reward is being missed
that certain opportunities that would have come to
you otherwise
are now missing you by and so on
and so forth. All of these
things happen as a result. Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala says,
however,
Allah
gave to you forgiveness,
Meaning that those sorrows upon sorrows could have
become extremely difficult but rather Allah
helped you
from his mercy from his grace from his
bounty Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that therefore
that you will not grieve for what you
missed meaning that victory that you missed the
war beauty that you missed it wasn't something
which you grieved for. And
even that which happened to you
wouldn't become such a major thing meaning from
the deaths that you suffered from the injuries
that you suffered
from all of these things that you suffered
once you realized that the Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi
wa sallam was still there. It could have
been far far worse essentially is what Allah
is saying. Yes, you suffered in terms of
loss, you suffered in terms of missing out
on victory, you suffered in terms of injuries
but the greatest calamity that would have
befallen you on that day would have been
the death of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
So when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala showed you
that he is still living, that the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was safe upon that day
that then made all of these other sorrows
dissipate and made them become very and extremely
less.
And indeed Allah
is well aware of that which you are
doing.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then in verse 154
which is the first verse on page number
70 Allah says
Allah
says that after sorrow,
He caused calm to descend upon you. A
sleep that overtook some of you. Another group
caring only for themselves entertained
false thoughts about Allah,
thoughts more appropriate to pagan ignorance, and said,
do we get a say in any of
this?'
The Prophet told them, 'O Prophet, everything to
do with this Safa is in Allah's hands.
They conceal in their hearts things that they
will not reveal to you. They say, if
we had our say in this, none of
our brethren would have been killed here. Tell
them even if you had resolved to stay
at home, those who were destined to be
killed would still have gone out to meet
their deaths. Indeed, Allah did this in order
to test everything within you and in order
to prove what is in your heart. Allah
is
telling us that from the mercy of Allah
is that
after
the hardship and calamity that struck the Muslims
on that day, the sorrow that Allah mentions
in the previous verse,
after that sorrow Allah
caused to descend upon you
a sleep and a calm that descended over
some of you. So you can imagine the
sorrow on that day of loss
of calamity, of defeat of so many things
that would have caused hardship upon the believers
and upon their hearts. From the mercy of
Allah azza wa jal is that he caused
them to have a calm descend upon them
and a slumber,
a nap, a no as a no as
is a very light sleep that overcomes a
person that gives to them a sense of
calm
and it gives to them a sense of
steadfastness.
That is from the mercy of Allah azza
wa Jal. And this was given to the
believers who remained
firm and strong with the Prophet
on that day. And Allah mentions this in
a number of battles, he mentions it here
in the Battle of Abuhad and it is
also mentioned in the Battle of Badr that
Allah gave to them Nuas
and that is a calmness that comes over
the Muslims. You can imagine
the terror, the nerves,
the adrenaline that is pushing through a person
if they are standing on a battlefield
ready to fight for their lives. From the
mercy of Allah is that he gave calmness
and tranquility to the believers
by way of this type of sleep.
It is mentioned in a number of ahadith
such as for example the narration of Alisan
radiAllahu an that he says that Abu Talha
Anansari radiAllahu
an says that he saw himself on that
day dozing
on one of those battlefields either Badr Rohad,
I forget which one now, dozing to the
extent that he felt that his sword would
fall from his hand. That is the level
of calmness that came over them so that
they would be able to go and then
fight in a way that was pleasing to
Allah
and that shows to you that therefore that
Allah gave to them security and serenity
because someone who is in a state of
terror, of panic, of fear can't sleep. You
can't sleep if you're terrified. You can't sleep
if you're in a sense of in a
state of panic, in a state of terror.
But if you're calm, if you're someone that
feels secure, if you're someone that has tranquillity,
then it's possible for you to nap and
to sleep in this way. And those are
the people that Allah
favored on that day. But then there was
another group
as Allah
mentions,
and Allah says and then there was another
group that was caring
only for themselves.
They were entertaining thoughts about Allah, thoughts more
appropriate
to the ways
of pagan ignorance, and these are the people
that stayed away from the battlefield. These are
the people that turned away with the 3rd
of the army, the hypocrites, those people who
turned away from supporting Allah and his Messenger
Those are the people
that Allah says that even though they weren't
on the battlefield
they already struck with that type
fear and terror and panic in their hearts.
They are not even there on the battlefield.
They turned away but they are still afraid.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that he said
that
He said do we get a say in
any of this? Do we get a say
in any of this meaning
that if they had listened to us, if
they had followed us, then we wouldn't be
in the situation now where a number of
these people have died, a number of them
have injured, all of these things that took
place on that day. Had we had a
say then things would have been different.
Say to them in response Allah
says to the Prophet
Say to them that all of the affair
is in Allah's
hand. Allah is the one who decreed this
Whether you had been there or not, whether
they had listened to you or not, it
would have only taken place in the way
that Allah had commanded and decreed and so
Allah
decreed on that day that the people amongst
the Muslim ranks, those people that were martyred
would have been martyred.
Hamza,
Musaab ibn Umayl,
Jullayibib,
Hamzala,
these companions and
many more besides and their names are written
today. If you go to the battlefield of
Waha, you will see a list of their
names as recorded
from the books of Sirah. Those companions of
radiAllahu anhu jmaine, they died on the day
because Allah decreed that it would be so.
The Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam was injured
on that day because Allah had decreed that
it would be so. The Muslims suffered what
they suffered because Allah decreed
that that is what it would have been
on that day.
Say to them that indeed all of the
affair
belongs to Allah
He is the one who resides
But these people don't have iman in their
hearts. They don't have faith. They don't have
certainty, they don't have belief and because of
that Allah says
they conceal in their hearts things that they
will not reveal to you. What they have
in their hearts is worse than that which
they say to you. What they truly think
the enmity that they hold for you and
your religion is far worse than that which
they actually say.
Allah
continues.
They say that if we had a say
in this then none of these people would
have been killed here. Meaning had you listened
to
us that we don't go don't fight don't
stay away save yourselves run away
Like we were saved meaning those hypocrites they
didn't fight so therefore they weren't killed then
likewise these people wouldn't have been killed had
you listened to us as well.
And that is the way of the people
of no Iman,
or weak Iman,
or very little Iman. And that is that
they think that they can save themselves from
the decree of Allah subhanhu wa ta'ala by
using the materialistic means at their disposal. Stay
at home, stay away from danger, don't do
it and you'll be saved. But they don't
know the reality of the world around them.
Each and every single one of us can
attest to the fact that there are people
who are extremely healthy, people who are young,
people who exercise every single day and some
of those people still die
and there's no real explanation.
We don't really know a brain aneurysm or
heart attack. Whatever happens, we've seen people, sports
professionals
on the field of sports
that they're playing in and they collapse and
they some of them die or some of
them have major
health issues and scares
and there are people who day in day
out are training, eating healthy, looking
after themselves and living a healthy lifestyle. But
if Allah decrees that someone will die they
will die at whatever time and place Allah
has decreed. So these people are
saying that had they listened to us they
would have been saved. Had they listened to
us they would have been okay but they
don't know the reality of the situation
and that is that death doesn't wait for
anything when Allah's time comes the appointed time
that Allah has placed when that time comes
nothing can save a person nothing can take
away death from the moment that Allah has
decreed that it will come in. And so
that is why Allah says
Tell them that even if you had resolved
to stay at home, then those who were
destined to be killed would still have gone
out to meet their deaths or deaths would
have come to them even upon their own
beds.
That is what Allah is saying that if
you tell these people that even if you
were to remain at home and Allah had
decreed death upon you death would come to
you and find you a way to you
even within your own homes.
As Allah says elsewhere in the Quran,
wherever you are, death will come to you,
even if you are in a fortified castle,
even if you're holding yourself and hiding yourself
in a fortified castle, you're away, you've locked
every single door and window. No one is
allowed to come in, no one is allowed
to leave. You've safeguarded yourself from every physical
danger that you can possibly encounter or imagine.
Death can still come to you. And that
is why you find the stories in the
books of biographies and in the books of
of other of of Zohod and Raqq and
so on. You find within our tradition stories
of how death came to people in certain
ways and in certain places and times that
they never imagined. That is the way that
Allah
decrees.
Sometimes you have a young healthy child
that has no illness, no nothing and Allah
decrees that they will die. Some people die
in their sleep, some people die as they
are walking, some people die as they are
travelling in modes of transportation.
For people different things and then there are
other people who are extremely sick and old
and frail and live for over a 100
years. Allah is the one who decrees this.
As we know the Prophet told us
that when Allah commands the angel to blow
life into the child in the womb,
it is commanded to write number of things
and from those things that it is commanded
to write is the ajal, the lifespan
of that child. Every single one of us
has that lifespan that is written for us,
that lifespan
as Allah Azzawajal
says,
When that appointed time comes, it is not
delayed by a moment nor is it brought
forward by a moment.
If Allah doesn't decree you to die on
this day, you cannot die. And if Allah
decrees that you will die upon this day,
then nothing can save you from that death.
That is what these hypocrites didn't understand and
that is why Allah says that death will
come to you even if you are in
your homes.
Allah says that Allah did this so that
he may test everything within you, meaning in
your hearts, and that he may prove
that he may test what is within you
and prove what is in your hearts.
Allah ajna does this to determine as we
said before and to discern between those who
are true in faith and those who are
not so that the evidence is established upon
them. Allah knows the reality. Allah knows who
is the true believer from the untrue believer
the sincere from the insincere believer but so
that it may be known and that it
may be apparent and that no one can
come on the day of Jisbud and say
oh Allah you oppressed me. O Allah, you
cheated me. O Allah, you didn't give me
a fair chance. O Allah, you don't know.
Maybe I would have done this or done
that. Allah makes it clear. You were in
that situation,
you turned away, you fled, you are part
of the army. This is what you said,
this is what you thought.
And Allah
likewise
purifies the believers in this way as we
have said before, He expats their sins and
raises them in station.
And
indeed Allah knows what is in the hearts
of people.
In the next verse, in verse number 155,
Allah says,
As for those of you who turned away
on the day the 2 armies met in
battle, it was Shaitan who caused them to
step through some of their actions.
Indeed Allah has now pardoned them indeed Allah
is of forgiving most forbearing.
Allah says that on the day that those
2 armies met in battle meaning the day
of Uhud, so you got the Muslim army
and you got the army of the Quraysh.
Some of you turned away, meaning those people
who fled from the battlefield they turned away,
it is Shaitaan who caused them to step
because of their actions and this is what
we said before Shaitaan is waiting for every
moment every opportunity
and Shaitan causes people to skip in different
ways
and often the reason for that is because
of the sins that we have committed
because of that which you earned by yourselves
because of your deeds. And so when we
mentioned a few episodes ago that passage of
this Surah in relation to the battle of
Uhud in which Allah tells us to stay
away from taking Riba.
Usually an interest of Raif and Mudu Raifah
doubled and we doubled
because as we said before some of the
scholars said that the wisdom of that verse
here in the context of the battle of
Uhad is because major sins are one of
the causes of calamity
and major sins are one of the reasons
why Shaitan
comes and he trips us up. So yes
that calamity will come to you because Allah
Azzawajal wants to test you but Allah wants
to see the way that you will react
and the more major sins that you have
the more disobedience that you have the more
likely it is that Shaitan can overpower you,
Shaitan can whisper to you, Shaitan can make
you sit and turn away from Allah and
the less that you have of those sins
the more that you are engaged in Tawbah
seeking Allah's forgiveness and repentance,
then the less power that Shaitaan has over
you because your heart is stronger and more
attached to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Allah
is really saying that those groups of people
that fled, it is because Shaitan overpowered them
because of some of the sins that they
had and Allah forgave them.
Indeed Allah has now pardoned them. Allah is
of forgiving most forbearance.
In verse 156, Allah says:
Allah says, O you who believed do not
be like those who disbelieved and said of
their brothers who went out on a journey
or a raid, if only they had stayed
with us they would not have died or
been killed
for Allah will make such thoughts
a source of anguish in their hearts indeed
it is Allah who gives life and death
Allah sees everything that you do. Allah
forbids in this verse
the believers
from being like the disbelievers and the hypocrites.
Don't be like those people
who when someone goes out on the earth
or they go out they say
when they go out on a journey or
they go out on a way they say
those people had they been with us they
would never have died had they stayed back
with us they would never have died Mean
that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam sent the
companions on a number of expeditions, on a
number of military expeditions
and a number of them were killed they
died upon those expeditions
in a number of battlefields that the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam himself fought in there were
companions who died and they were killed. Even
on the day of the Battle of Badr,
where the Muslims had a resounding victory, there
were some companions who died on that day.
Some companions died on the day of the
Battle of Badr. And so that's something which
took place in the time of the Prophet
The disbelievers are like those people who say
if only if only if only they had
stayed home if only they hadn't fought if
only they hadn't got out they would have
been okay.
But the believers are those people who don't
make those statements. They know that Allah is
the one who will grant them whatever he
pleases that everything is in the decree of
Allah
and that's why you find on the day
of the battle of Uhad companions who went
out knowing that they were going towards Allah
knowing that most likely they want to come
back home. From amongst them was the father
of Jabir, ibn Abdilar radiAllahu an his father's
name is Abdullah ibn Haram radiAllahu
an from the companions of the Ansar.
Jabir says that my father said to me
as he was setting up because Jabir was
too young
to take place or to fight in that
battle.
His father said and Jabir was his only
son. He had a number of daughters, a
wife and a son and he had debt
upon him, Jabir's father. He said, Jabir said
that my father said to me that I
think that I'm not going to return this
stay from the battlefield.
So look after my family, meaning your sisters,
your mother, and look after my debts that
I have left now in your care. And
he went out and he fought and he
was from amongst those 70 that were martyred,
radiAllahu anhu, Ajmai'in.
And so the companions, there were 2 types
of people, those who feared death and those
who thought that they wouldn't be able that
they would be able to escape from them,
Those types of people from the hypocrites and
the disbelievers.
And then you have the people who are
the firm believers in Allah and
the people who believed and trusted their affairs
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Allah
says that Allah will make those thoughts a
source of anguish in the hearts of those
people, those disbelievers,
for indeed it is Allah who gives life
and death. Allah decrees life and death, and
Allah sees everything that you do. In verse
157, Allah
says:
Allah says whether you are killed for the
last cause
or you die then Allah's forgiveness and mercy
are better than anything else that people amass.
Meaning that even if this is to be
your end, this is to be your reality
and you were to go and fight alongside
the prophet
and you were to die upon that battlefield
or you were to be killed upon that
battlefield
then you have Allah's forgiveness
and Allah's mercy and Allah's reward
and those are better than that which other
people amassan gather. People want life because they
want to gather wealth. They want life because
they want land and property. They want life
because they want the luxuries and the beauties
of this world. Allah aasawajal is saying that
those people who want what Allah has in
store for them, his mercy, his forgiveness, his
reward
for them it doesn't make a difference for
them it is equal, it is the same
and they would rather have that which Allah
ajawajal has prepared for them.
In the final verse that we will take
which is actually the first verse of the
next page, page 71
but it's connected so we will take this
insha'Allah ta'ala. Allah Azzawajal says in verse 158
whether you die or you are killed it
is to Allah that you will be gathered.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one
you will go to eventually
And then depending on how you behave, your
beliefs, your actions, your words, your statements, Allah
will hold you to account whether you die
naturally
or die because you are killed in the
cause of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to Allah
you will return and Allah is the one
who will hold you to account. And with
that we come to the end of today's
episode. Ask Allah azza wa Jal that he
keeps us steadfast upon this religion that he
shows his mercy and forgiveness upon us.