Kamil Ahmad – Lessons from the Seerah #81 The Battle of Tabuk P1
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Last week we went through
some
scattered events that took place
after the Battle of Hunayn
and the Siege of Ta'if
after
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam returned from Mecca
to Medina.
We mainly went through some of the Saraiyah,
some of the military expeditions that took place
during this period.
And so we now move on to
Rajab
of 9th year of the Hijra.
So the conquest of Mecca took place in
Ramadan
of 8th year.
And then after that
was the Battle of Hunayn
and the Siege of Aqta'if.
And now after several months
we have
the next major event in the Sira
and that is the Battle
of Tabuk.
We start with a little bit of background
concerning this battle
and
what
led to it.
And that brings us to
the surah that talks about this battle,
which is Surah At Tawba.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
All you who believe
indeed the mushrikoon
are najas. They are impure.
So do not allow them to approach Al
Masjid Al Haram after this year.
For centuries,
the livelihood
of
Quraysh
depended on business.
They had an influx of people coming in
from around Arabia
throughout the year for Hajj, for Umrah.
So
they were involved in trading
and they were businessmen.
And this is all that they knew how
to do.
Because they lived in Mecca,
which was surrounded by mountains,
it was dry. It's not like they had
agriculture
and farms.
So this is what the economy of Mecca
depended on.
On business. On trade.
So now Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala orders the
Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam to make this
announcement.
That no mushrik will be allowed to enter
Mecca
after this year. Meaning, the 9th year of
the hijrah.
But for the people of Mecca,
this was a catastrophe.
Because
until now not all the Arabs had accepted
Islam.
Yes, most of
the surroundings of Madinah and Mecca,
they had accepted Islam by now.
But other areas
of Arabia and these all these other tribes
around Arabia had not.
And these are the people who would be
coming for Hajj and Umrah.
And naturally
Quraysh
depended on them
for trade and to keep their economy running.
And the economy
and
financial resources
has always been a major concern for people
and for nations.
And a lot of the decisions that are
made
by people in power and by politicians,
It's made
for the sake of the economy.
So now the people at Mecca,
they were thinking along economical terms
when they were told
that no mushrik would be able to enter
Mecca anymore.
And so what did they say?
They said, This is
not a wise move.
This would hurt our economy.
And remember that the people of Mecca,
they are now Muslims.
After
Fatim Mecca,
they have all accepted Islam.
So now as a result of that,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says right after that,
Allah says, and if you fear poverty,
then Allah will enrich you out of His
bounty.
If He wills.
For indeed Allah is the All Knowing, the
All Why.
Allah knows best.
And His decisions are based on His hikmah,
His wisdom.
So Allah was telling them here
that if
you fear poverty
as a result
of this,
if you fear that it's gonna hurt your
economy,
then it is Allah who provides.
So
you should have tawakkul in him.
So how did Allah
provide for them?
In the next verse,
Allah
says,
immediately in the next verse, what does Allah
say?
Allah says,
'Fight those who disbelieve in Allah and the
Last Day,
and those who do not comply by what
Allah and His Messenger have forbidden,
nor enjoin, nor embrace
the religion of truth.
Who should you fight from among those who
were given the scripture?
Until they give the jazia
willingly
submitting
fully humbled.
So this verse
in Surah Ta'ba along with another verse
that comes at the end of Surah Ta'ba.
So this verse here is,
in the beginning of Surah
Tauba, verse 29.
There's another verse at the end of Surah
Tauba, verse 123.
Allah
commands
the Muslims now
to fight
to take the fight from the Arabs because
all these years they have been fighting against
the Arabs and the mushrikoon.
Now it's time to fight Ahlul Kitab
and specifically
the Christians
of the Roman Empire.
What does Allah say in verse 123?
All you that believe,
fight
the disbelievers
who border you,
who are adjacent to you.
Yalu nakum,
who are next to you.
And let them find
firmness, harshness
in you.
Who are those who border the Muslims now
in the 9th year of the hijrah?
It is the Romans.
Because
the Roman Empire reached the boundaries of hijabs.
So Allah promised
to provide the people of Mecca
in the form
of jizya.
This tax
that is taken
from that will be taken from the Romans
if the Muslims go and fight them and
they defeat them, and if these
Romans refuse to accept Islam after that. If
they accept Islam,
that's it.
Nothing is taken from them. But if they
want to stay upon their deen,
then we take this tax from them.
So it is in this form that Allah
promised
to enrich
the Muslims.
So this is
the background
of the Battle
of Tabuk.
And so Allah
now wanted the Muslims
to take
the fight elsewhere
because now the majority of the Arab tribes
had accepted Islam.
And
the very
objective
of the dua of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam, or the very objective
of
Allah sending the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi wa sallam
was for him to be a messenger for
all of mankind.
And so now it's time to spread this
dawah
to the world.
And the very first people
who are neighboring
the Muslims
in terms of non Arabs, they are the
Romans.
Now this
is what has been mentioned by many scholars
like
Ibn Qayyim and Ibn Kathir, that this was
the reason for the Battle of Tabuk.
Other writers of Sirah, they mentioned that
the Prophet
got news that the Romans
were gathering a huge force.
And so when he heard this, he started
preparing the Muslims to go out
to Tabuk.
But it seems that the more correct view
is what we have mentioned here and Allah
knows best.
So now,
Rasulullah he salallahu alaihi wa sallam started
the greatest
mobilization
ever in the history of Islam so far.
In the past, whenever the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam
would prepare for a battle,
and we have mentioned this with respect to
many of the battles.
He would maintain secrecy
of who the intended enemy is. Where are
we going?
He wouldn't let everyone know.
So that
their enemy would not find out,
and so that the Muslims could take them
by surprise.
However,
in this battle, the Battle of Tabuk,
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
announced it publicly.
Far and wide.
He wanted everyone
to participate.
The question is why?
And so there were many reasons.
And there are so many things that made
this battle
and the preparation for it to be unique
and different from all the previous battles.
Number 1,
the Muslims were facing a new enemy,
and so these are a different people.
They were not Arab tribes
who the Muslims were used to fighting.
These were the Romans
who had the reputation that they had for
centuries
of being a superpower.
Number 2,
the distance.
This was the first time that the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wa sallam was taking an army
so far out.
A distance of approximately
800 kilometers.
Never has a Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
taken an army
on such a long journey
for battle.
So everyone had to prepare accordingly
for such a long journey.
It couldn't be like all of a sudden,
let's go, we have to leave right now,
as the prophet did in the Battle of
Badr.
Right? Whoever was ready at that time, he
had to come out. Whoever was not ready,
he couldn't come.
But that was because Badr was very close
to Madinah.
Likewise,
in Uhud, etcetera.
Number 3,
the timing.
It was the worst time of the year
to be traveling and leaving home.
It was in the middle
of the heat of the summer.
It was very hot
and it was also close to harvest season
when
the dates were ripening
on the trees.
And as we know, the livelihood of the
people of Madinah
was agriculture,
primarily dates.
So imagine
they're waiting all year
for this time,
for the dates to ripen and to bring
them down,
and that was their main income.
And now when the fruit is ripening on
the trees,
all of a sudden they're being told
that
they have to prepare and leave.
And not just somewhere nearby but somewhere very
far.
So all of this shows us
how the circumstances and the conditions
behind this particular battle
were very difficult.
How
it was very tempting
to stay behind
and not join this army.
And that is why
this battle
was known as
the Battle of Al Usra.
Al Usra means difficulty,
hardship.
And the army was called
Jaish Al Ursra.
The Prophet referred to it as Jaish Al
Ursra. And Uwa Azzawajal
referred to it as Sahatul Ursra.
The hour
of difficulty.
But that is also why this particular battle
would be a major test for the Muslims.
And that is why Allah
revealed so much about this battle,
And focusing
particularly
on the characteristics
of iman
and nifaq,
hypocrisy.
So this battle
was going to represent
the true criteria
between
the true believers
and the fake believers, the munafiqul.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would reveal
verse after verse
exposing the munafiqun
and showing their true colors.
Even though if we think about it,
nifaq and hypocrisy has been around
in Madinah until now for many years.
Right? The munafiqun first emerged after the Battle
of Badr.
And so during this period of
almost 7 years,
the munafiqun have been around.
But nonetheless, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala delayed
exposing
the munafiqun
until the end.
This battle
was also
the last one that Rasulullah Hisallahu Alaihi Wasallam
would participate in.
So this was going to be
the final chapter in the jihad of Rasulullah
Hisallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
And so now,
the final laws and rules pertaining to
fighting
were gonna be revealed.
Abrogating,
cancelling all the previous
laws.
And so all of this shows
us how
the battle of Tabuk
is
a very important event in the Sirah
from so many different angles. From the perspective
of fiqh
and akham,
from the perspective of sira,
also from the perspective of aqeedah,
you know, showing
the characteristics of iman and ifaq, and so
on and so forth.
And so now, Rasulullah he sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam announced a large scale mobilization.
This included
everyone
in Madinah and its surroundings,
as well
as the Muslims of Mecca,
and
all the other tribes in the hijaz
who had accepted Islam.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam wanted
every able-bodied
Muslim
to join this army.
And so in the end,
the army
composed
of 30,000
men.
And this was the largest army that the
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
had led up until now.
We mentioned the very last battle was
the Battle of Hunayn.
And in that battle,
how many
men did the Prophet take out?
12,000.
10,000 that had come with him from Madinah,
and 2,000
of those who had just embraced Islam from
Mecca.
So now in a span of just a
few months,
he has an army of 30,000.
What this shows us
is how quickly
Islam was spreading.
Right? How quickly Islam had spread
after the conquest of Mecca.
But this is not the end. Islam will
continue to rapidly
spread until
the death of the Prophet as
we're gonna see. As we're gonna see.
However,
as we mentioned,
due to
the difficult circumstances
and conditions,
responding
to the call,
it was not easy.
And remaining back
and not joining this army,
it was very tempting.
But how could people
justify
not responding to the call?
They could come up with many excuses.
So that is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
he addressed this issue
and exposed
the main reason
for why
some people did not want to go out.
And so what we're gonna do now,
is we're gonna start going through these ayaats,
from Surah to Tawbah,
which mentions
everything about this battle
and the true colors
of the people. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says
in verse
38
on Surah Tawba,
Allah says, O you who believe,
what is the matter with you?
That when you are asked to come out
to March 4th,
in the cause of Allah, that you cling
and hold on firmly to the earth,
to the ground.
Do you prefer the life of the dunya
over the akhirah?
The enjoyment
of the life of the dunya is insignificant
compared to that of the akhirah.
So this ayah here mentions
the disease
as well as the cure.
The disease is
attachment to the dunya.
Allah says, clinging firmly to the ground,
to the earth.
Because those who are attached to the dunya,
they don't want to separate from it. And
Allah refers to it as the earth.
This worldly
life.
And so you love your life so much
that you don't want to leave it behind.
And what is a cure?
A reminder about the reality
of this dunya,
that it is a temporary enjoyment,
and it is nothing compared to the akhirah.
Allah mentions both in this one ayah. He
mentions the disease
and He mentions
its cure.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us what
will happen
if we don't fight for His sake. In
the next ayah, what does Allah say?
If you do not march forth,
then Allah will afflict you with a painful
punishment,
and He will replace you with other people,
and you will not harm him in the
least, and Allah is able to do everything.
And if we think about it,
our condition today is a testimony to this.
Look at how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
punishing us as an ummah
because
we have abandoned this obligation.
We are at the tail end of all
the nations.
When
our countries
are rich
with natural resources
but yet our countries are the poorest.
We are disunited
even though we should be the most united
Ummah.
We are weak even though we should be
the strongest,
as we were once upon a time.
But what is the root cause of all
of this?
The fact that, or one of the root
causes is that we have abandoned
jihad fee sabiillala. The Prophet
says in a very famous hadith
and this is in Sunan Abu Dawood.
That
when
you enter into a haram kind of transaction.
It's called a ina. It's a type of
riba transaction.
And when you hold on to the tails
of oxen.
And you become pleased with agriculture.
And you abandon fighting jihad
in the cause of
Allah,
Allah
The Prophet The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says,
Allah will make disgrace
to prevail over you. He will make you
humiliated.
And He will not take that away from
you until you return to your deen. Until
you return to your deen.
Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
in the next ayah,
Allah says, March 4th
whether light or heavy.
What does that mean? The scholars of tafsir
they say,
whether light, meaning
whether you're healthy, young, and wealthy,
or heavy,
whether you're ill,
old, and poor.'
So whether it's light and easy,
or whether it's heavy and burdensome,
And strive with your wealth and your lives.
That is best for you, if only
you knew.
And so this ayah
was telling the companions that
everyone needs to come out.
And when this ayah was revealed,
the sahaba viewed this as such a burden.
They said, Then no one has an excuse
this time around.
Everyone has to go out.
And that was when Allah revealed,
and this comes later on
in Surat Al Tawbah. Allah says,
There is no blame on the weak,
nor the sick,
nor those who
are lacking the means. They don't have the
means to go out.
As long as they are true to Allah
and His Messenger.
As long as they are true to Allah
and His Messenger.
Because there was another group
who were making excuses
as we're gonna see, but they were not
true to Allah and His Messenger.
Allah says, there is no blame on the
good doers, on the mercyun,
and Allah is All Forgiving,
the Most Merciful.
So anyways,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says here,
March 4th
whether light or heavy
and strive
in jihad with your wealth and your lives
for the cause
of Allah.
Wajahidu
be amwali kumu and fusikum.
Throughout the Qur'an, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala commands
us
to do jihad with
not just our lives, so it's not just
physical,
go and fight,
but also with money.
And throughout the Qur'an, Allah mentions
money first.
And only one place in the Qur'an does
Allah mention,
lives before
wealth.
This is because
you cannot fight jihad
without money.
Mobilizing an army, preparing an army, preparing weapons,
and all of that,
it requires finances
and it takes up a lot of money.
Wars have always consumed a lot of money
and they are very burdensome
financially.
And this was the case in the past
as well as the present.
Some countries they go bankrupt because they're always
fighting wars.
So now,
Rasulullah He Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam starts
raising funds
for this battle.
But we need to understand
that
the Muslims were not very well off.
Especially
at this time of the year,
we mentioned
that their main source of income was
agriculture and the dates.
And it was time to
collect the dates from the trees and sell
them.
So
they didn't have much money at this time.
But nonetheless,
the Sahaba, they started coming out,
bringing whatever they could, and giving it to
the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
So Abu Bakr radiAllahu Muhammad came and he
gave.
Umar ibn Khattab came and he gave.
Am Durrahman ibn A'uth,
it is said that he came,
and he gave half of his wealth.
But the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
he was still asking for more.
Because you have to understand,
this is a huge army
and it's a long distance that they're gonna
be covering.
So then
Uthman ibn Affan,
he comes forward
with a 100 camels.
But the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was still
asking for more.
So Uthman
radiAllahu anhu comes
and he brings another 100 camels.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was still asking
for more.
Rasma'il ibn Affaan, he comes with another 100
camels.
And so now he comes with 300 camels.
And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was
still asking for more. Finally, Rasma'il ibn Affaan,
he comes
with
a pile of gold, dinars,
and he puts them in the lap of
the Prophet
As
a result, the Prophet
said,
mal duhra Uthman
ma fa'ala baqdayo.
Nothing that Uthman does after today will harm
him.
Meaning that whatever he does after this day,
Allah will forgive him for it.
Why? Because of what he has done on
this day.
In another narration,
and this is
in Sahih al Bukhari,
the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
Whoever prepares this army,
and the Prophet referred to it as
the army of Al Usra, we mentioned.
The army of difficulty
which is referring to the Battle of Tabuk.
He said, Whoever prepares this army, then I
guarantee him Jannah.
And so Uthman radhiyallahu anhu came forward and
he took on
this noble challenge.
And so this shows us the great reward
of
spending. Especially
at a time of need.
Especially
at a time of need. And that's why
the reward for our good deeds,
it fluctuates.
You
know, praying one salah
and praying another,
it may be the same salah, but its
reward is gonna differ
depending on several factors.
Likewise, sadaqa.
You may give the same amount once, and
another time you may give the same amount,
but the rewards gonna vary
depending on the factors and the circumstances.
So for example, when you give at a
time of need, a dire need,
when the Muslims are in desperate need of
money,
obviously the reward is gonna be much greater
than if you give it in normal times.
Then there were those
who were looking for excuses.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
and this is verse 85
of Surah Tawbah. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
Whenever a surah is revealed
stating,
believe in Allah and fight along with His
Messenger.
The rich among them would ask to be
exempt
saying,
'Leave us with those who remain behind.'
Who are these people who are asking to
be excused?
They are the wealthy.
As Allah says here, the rich among them
would ask to be excused.
So the ones
who should be going out
and contributing
at this time
are the same ones who are asking
to be exempt.
And so this shows us the fitna of
wealth, of money.
Money itself is not haram
or evil, but when it hinders 1
from his duty to Allah and his Messenger,
and his duty to Islam,
then it becomes
an evil tool.
Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says in the
next ayah,
Radhu bi aynyakoonummaalqawalifwatubi
aaalaqulu bihimfaumla
yafqahuun.
Allah says,
They were satisfied
to be with those who stayed behind. Who
are those who stayed behind? The women and
children.
Allah says, These
they're
happy
and they're content, they're satisfied
to be with those who stayed behind.
And their hearts have become sealed.
So
they do not comprehend.
They do not understand.
Why? Because Allah has sealed their hearts.
And the heart is what we use to
comprehend things, to understand things.
As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us.
Do they not have hearts with which they
understand?
They don't have hearts with which they understand
and comprehend.
So now we learn
about
the 2 different reactions to the call of
Rasulullah He SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
To not only join this army physically, but
to also
spend.
One group that came out to contribute
and they gave what they could, the sahabah.
And the other group,
the Munafiqun
who made excuses.
But then there was also a third group.
They came to the Surah Alaihi
Wasallam
and they were a group from among the
Sahaba.
They came to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
and said,
O Messenger of Allah, take us with you.
Take us with you.
Give us
a ride.
These
companions were poor
and
they didn't have a ride.
And part of the preparation of this battle
was that you needed to have your own
means of transportation
because it was a long distance.
It's not like in other battles where,
which we have covered,
where the companions would share the same ride.
You know, part of the distance
someone would be riding
and then the other person would be walking
and then they would take turns.
This is different now. This is a very
long distance.
And so you needed your own ride.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told them,
I don't have anything to provide you with.
I'm sorry, but I don't have anything.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala talks about this
group
after the ayah
mentioning
those who were excused.
Laysa 'alaldu'afa
wa laalalalmurdu'a.
There is no blame on the weak
and the sick,
nor those who lack the means. After that,
in the very next ayah, what does Allah
say?
Allah says,
nor is there any blame
on those who came to you,
O Prophet,
for a ride.
They asked for a mount,
a camel, a horse.
Then when you said,
I cannot find you anything. I don't have
anything to put you on.
They left with their eyes overflowing with tears
out of grief
that they had nothing to contribute.
So you can see here the contrast
between
these people
and how
sad
they were
because
they would miss out
on this battle. And on the other hand,
the munafiqoon
who had rides, they had horses, and
they had a means of transportation, and they
had they had the ability to go.
And so one group,
they are
crying and in a state of grief,
and the other group, they're happy, they're rejoicing.
As Allah says, what does Allah say about
the munafiqun who stayed behind?
Allah
says,
Allah says,
Those who remained
behind, they rejoiced.
They were happy
for doing so in defiance
of the Messenger of Allah.
And they hated
to go with, to go for jihad with
their wealth and their lives in the cause
of Allah. And what did they say?
Not only did they not want to go
themselves,
but they were also trying to discourage others.
They said, don't go out in the heat.
We're in the middle of the summer. It's
hot.
Don't go out.
Allah says to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
Say to them, O Muhammad,
the fire of * is far hotter if
only they could comprehend.
And then Allah says,
So let them laugh a little.
They will weep and cry much as a
reward
for what they have done.
So we now go back to the earlier
ayat that we were discussing.
Allah said,
March 4th
whether light or heavy and strive
with
your lie with your wealth and your lives.
Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la talks about
the munafiqoon.
Exposing their lies
and showing their true colors.
Allah says in the next ayah, verse 42,
Allah says
about these hypocrites,
had the gain
been within reach,
meaning,
if there was a ganima involved and it
was,
you know,
close by,
had it been within reach.
And had the journey been shorter,
they would have definitely followed you.
But the distance
seemed too long for them.
And they will swear by Allah.
Had we been able to,
we would have certainly joined you.
Allah says, they are ruining themselves.
And Allah knows
that they are surely lying.
And then Allah says to the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam, 'Aafallahu
Ankh.
May Allah pardon you, O Muhammad.
Why did you give them permission? Meaning to
stay behind
before
those
who told the truth were distinguished from those
who were lying.
Basically,
several of these munafiqun came to the Prophet
giving their excuses.
And the Prophet
accepted it from them.
Without
verifying.
Without waiting
for Allah
to send down ayaat exposing
these liars.
So Allah is telling the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam, may Allah pardon you. May Allah forgive
you.
Why did you give them permission?
Why did you allow them to stay behind?
And then Allah says,
laistadhinu
kalalina yukminoonabilahi
walayawumil
akhili anujahidu
bi amwaliimu wa'infusiam
walaahu aaleemun bin muttaqeen
Allah says, Those who believe in Allah and
the Last Day, they do not ask for
exemption
from waging jihad with their wealth and their
lives. And Allah has perfect knowledge
of those who have taqwa of him.
So the ones who have
iman and taqwa,
they're not gonna try to find excuses.
Rather,
you would find them eager and willing to
support the deen of Allah
by all means necessary.
But then Allah says about those
who were trying to find
excuses.
Allah says,
Allah says,
no one would ask for exemption
except those who do not believe in Allah
or the Last Day, and those whose hearts
are indubt.
So they waver in their doubts.
And this is a fact.
Those who have weak iman,
and they try to get out of the
obligation of jihad.
Why? Because they're attached to the dunya as
we explained.
And their iman is weak.
And those who try to misinterpret
the ayaat of jihad,
trying to find excuses
from among the people of knowledge. Those who
are all who have granted them knowledge,
but
they want to discourage the Muslims
from going out and fighting.
So they try to misinterpret all these ayats.
They, in reality, are in a state of
doubt
as Allah says here. They are always in
a state of hesitation
and unclarity.
Because on the one hand,
they say,
We want to support the deen of Allah.
But on the other hand, when times get
tough,
and when sacrifice is required,
they look for excuses
to get out of it.
So they are wavering
in doubt,
and living
in a contradicting
state.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
Allah says,
Had they really intended
to march forth,
they would have made preparations for it.
But Allah disliked
that they should go out.
So He let them lag behind
and it was said to them,
Stay with those who remain behind.
And so
anything important in our lives,
it needs preparation.
If you want to become something,
if you wanna become a doctor, an engineer,
whatever,
you need to prepare for it.
You need to go to school, you need
to spend years
training.
If someone says, I want to become a
doctor.
But he doesn't go to school, and he
doesn't bother studying.
Then the reality is that he's dishonest to
himself
and he's lying.
Likewise,
if you say you want to contribute
in jihadfi sabi lillah,
but then you don't prepare for it,
and you don't show the willingness for it,
then in reality
you're lying and you're not truthful.
Because those who sincerely
want to do it, then they're gonna prepare
for it as Allah tells us here.
If they truly wanted
to go out
in this battle,
then they would have made preparations for it.
But the reality is that these people are
just making excuses.
Then Allah tells us
that it is actually better
that these people
do not
go out
with the Muslim army.
Allah says,
Allah says,
had they gone forth with you,
had they
joined the Muslim army,
they would have been nothing but trouble for
you.
And they would have scrambled around
seeking
to spread fitna,
chaos,
and disunity
in your midst.
And some among you
would have
eagerly
listened to them
and Allah
has knowledge of
the wrongdoers.
So in the end, the plan of Allah
was the best.
In the end, it was good that these
people remained behind.
Why? Because their presence
in the Muslim army would have been no
good. In fact, it would have been harmful
because of their evil.
And we have seen
what these people have done in the past.
Take the example of
Ghazwat Bani Mustalik
that we covered previously,
And how on the way back,
the munafiqun
started to spread this slander
of the wife of Rasulullah
Because the munafiqul were there.
They were in the army.
But notice how here Allah
tells us
that there are among the Muslims
those who eared eagerly
listen to what the munafiqul
have to say. Wafiqum
sammaroon Allahum Allah
is talking here about who?
He's talking about the generation of the companions.
Wafiqum, among you,
O companions,
are those
who eagerly listen to what the munafiqoon
have to say.
This is because the munafiqoon,
they knew how to talk,
and they were elusive in their speech.
And this is why Allah
has warned us so much
about the munafiqoon
and their danger in the Qur'an.
And so it's important
for us to know
who they are
because
of how deceptive they are.
They could be charismatic.
And they could have a very
appealing and captivating
personality
that attracts
people to listen to
them.
So if this
is what Allah is telling us, adaw,
the best of generations.
Then how about us today?
When we're so far from the deen of
Allah and
we have so little knowledge.
Right?
You find that
the majority of Muslims,
they listen to the munafiqoon
and what they have to say.
Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
laqadaybaytazahuul
fitnataminqabulu.
Maqallaboo
lakalumu
rahitajalhaqq.
Wadhaha rahamruwwahiwahum
karihoon.
Allah says,
they had already sought to spread fitna before
and they devised
every possible plot against you, Muhammad,
until the truth came and Allah's will prevailed
while they disliked it.
When did they seek
to spread fitna before?
On many occasions.
One example was when,
'Abdullah ibn Ubay
ibn Salul, the head of the Munafiqul,
he initially came out with the Muslims, with
the Prophet
for the battle of Uhud.
But then,
when they reached Uhud, when they reached on
the outskirts of Madinah,
he decided not to join the army, not
to continue.
And he withdrew
with 1 third
of
the army.
And so Allah tells us, this is not
the first time they've done this.
They have tried
to cause problems before.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
Allah
says,
'Then there are some among them, among the
munafiqoon who will say,
exempt me
and do not expose me to fitna.
Allow me to stay behind because I don't
want to be exposed to fitna.
Allah says, they have already fallen into fitna
and
* will surely engulf
the disbelievers.'
It is mentioned that this ayah was revealed
concerning one of the munafiqun.
His name was Jad ibn Qais.
The Prophet
asked him,
What have you prepared
for this battle?
So
he said, O Messenger of Allah,
my people know
that I have a reputation
of being a man
who loves women so much.
They are a fitna for me.
And so I fear fitna
for myself.
If I go out with you, I fear
fitna from the women of Bani'al Asfar. Bani'al
Asfar
refers to the Romans, they were white. It
mentions that,
but
They
were white.
It mentions that Banu al Asfar, the those
children of,
the yellow. Basically the Europeans,
they had a fair complexion.
So he was saying that he should be
excused
because he had this weakness for women and
he was afraid that he would be tempted
by the fitna
of
the Roman women.
So you can see
how he was putting up a front and
making it seem as if he was doing
this for the sake of Allah.
Right?
And so what does Allah say?
They have already fallen into fitna.
Meaning,
that by staying behind
and not going out for jihad,
that is a fitna that they have already
fallen into.
And so
if you go out,
then you will be spared fitna.
If you stay behind,
you'll be in fitna.
Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
(731 7) Allah says, If a blessing
befalls
you, they grieve,
they're unhappy.
If something good happens to the Muslims, they
are unhappy.
But if a disaster befalls you,
they say,
we took our precaution in advance.'
And they turn away rejoicing,
being all happy.
And so this
is another quality of the munafiqoon.
They are happy
when something happens
to the Muslims,
when a disaster befalls the Muslims.
As we see today,
when
the Muslim ummah
is bleeding
and suffering,
and the Muslims, the true believers, they feel
it because they are like one body.
The munafiqur
on the other hand,
they are
in line
and in the ranks of the kuffar.
And they have made partnerships
with the enemies
who are waging this war against the Muslims.
And they're celebrating with them
while they inflict
what they are inflicting upon the Muslims.
So
they are happy when something happens to the
Muslims,
and when that happens
and they stayed behind
and did not go out in jihad, what
do they say? They say, See,
we told you.
Why did you go out?
Right? We told you so. You should not
have gone out. You should not have tried
to fight.
You would have suffered
and so on and so forth.
And they think that they're all wise
because they avoided all the trouble.
But it's the it's actually the opposite.
By them staying behind, they are in a
greater trouble as we mentioned.
And so the ayat, they go on and
on
exposing
the munafiqoon
and showing their true colors.
All of these ayat were revealed
concerning the Battle of Tabuk.
And we have only covered a few of
these ayat.
Allah
goes on and on
and He says, Among them, waminhum,
waminhum, waminhum, among
them
are such and such, such and such.
And because of how much Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala exposed
the munafiqoon
in the surah,
ibn Abbas
radiAllahu anhu when he was asked by one
of the Tabireem, Sayyid ibn Jubair.
He asked him about Surat Tawba. Sayyid ibn
Jubair said
to ibn Ambas, he said, Surat Tawba.
What do you say about Surat Tawba? Ibn
Ambas said,
Are you asking about al Farduh?
Are you asking about
al Farduh
which is
the exposer?
So he called it, he referred to Surat
Al Tawbah as the Surah that Exposes. What
does it expose?
It exposes
the true nature
of this group of people
and they are the munafiqoon.
And that's why some of the companions, they
said,
as these ayaat were being revealed one after
the other,
and Allah is saying among them are those
who do such and such, and say such
and such.
It was so much that in the end
we thought that Allah is gonna then start
naming them.
Right? But Allah did not do that.
And so we will suffice
with
this many ayaat that we have covered.
All of
these ayats were revealed
concerning the preparations
for the Battle of Tabuk.
Next after this, we're gonna talk about the
Muslims marching out
and making it to Tabuk.
Before we conclude, we'll go through some of
the lessons that we learned
from what we have covered tonight.
And so the first
lesson that we learned
is the importance
of
following Islamic teachings
concerning
financial matters.
The people of Mecca,
as we mentioned, they thought that it was
unwise
to
prevent
the mushrikoon
from entering Mecca.
They thought that it would hurt their economy.
And Allah
responded
by telling
them that if poverty is what they feared,
then it is Allah who provides.
And Allah will definitely provide if He wills.
If it is poverty that you fear, then
Allah will provide you. He will enrich you
from His bounties if He wills.
So what this teaches us
is the importance of abiding
by the laws of Allah,
the commandments of Allah,
the prohibitions of Allah,
irrespective
of how we feel or how we think.
So if something is haram,
then it is haram and we should not
even think
about approaching it.
If something is halal,
then we do it.
And we encourage the Muslims to do it.
And so this is how we should think.
We should not think
in financial terms.
And in terms of what will bring me
more money
irrespective
of whether it's halal or haram.
And unfortunately,
the vast majority of the Muslims today do
not think like this.
The unfortunate reality that we live in today
is
that Muslims, they don't care
about their source of income. Is it from
halal or is it from haram?
They sell things which are haram and they
don't care.
Someone will open up a grocery store
and will sell things that are haram. If
you come and tell him that this is
haram,
he'll say,
how else am I gonna live?
Right?
I need to make a living.
Likewise, you find Muslims
buying houses on mortgage.
And if you tell them that it is
haram, they will say,
how are we going to live?
How are we gonna survive?
We're gonna lose all our money if we
keep on paying rent.
These are the excuses that they bring forward.
And so the response to such people is,
as Allah
says,
Whoever fears Allah,
whoever fears has a taqwa of Allah,
then Allah will open up for him.
He will make a way for him,
an opening for him from every
difficulty.
And He will provide for him
from ways that he least expected.
And so this
is the promise of Allah.
As long as you fear Him and you
avoid what is haram, and you put your
trust in Allah,
then Allah will definitely
provide for you.
As Allah did for the people of Mecca.
Allah told them that's it.
After this year,
no mushrik will be allowed to enter
Mecca.
Initially, they said, it's gonna be difficult. How
are we gonna survive?
Our economy depends on these people coming and
us doing trade with them.
But they abided by the command of Allah
and His Messenger
and as a result
of the Battle of Tabuk and afterwards, the
battles
after the death of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam, the Muslim Umma became so rich.
And it became so rich that there came
a time when
they would be looking
to give people from the Zakah
and there would be no one to accept
it.
The second lesson that we learned
is the question of why
is
this obligation in Islam of jihad
Why is it so disliked?
Since day 1,
the obligation of jihad. What did Allah mention
regarding it?
What did Allah say in the very beginning
when Allah legislated jihad?
Fighting has
become obligatory upon you
even though you
dislike it.
Why do you dislike it? Because you're putting
your life on the line.
It is the most beloved thing to you,
your life and your dunya.
And now at the end in the bar
of Tabuk, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala again reminds
us of the exact same thing.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala reminds the believers of
the exact same thing.
Oh you who believe,
why is it? What is the matter with
you that when you're told to march forth
in jihad, you hold on to the ground?
Are you satisfied
with the life of the world over the
akhirah?
And so even though jihad is
one of the greatest
of good deeds.
Right? As the Prophet
mentioned, it is the pinnacle.
Right? It is the highest peak of Islam.
And it is one of the most beloved
things to Allah
if someone does it sincerely
and properly?
Why is it
that even though it has its status in
Islam,
you find no one wants to talk about
it,
let alone doing it?
Why? Because
it's an inconvenient
truth
and it threatens
your dunya which you're so attached to.
And this is the reason why no one
wants to talk about it.
And we're talking here about Muslims. We're not
talking about non Muslims.
We're talking about Muslims
who believe in Allah in the last day.
And they believe in the Quran as words
of Allah. And they believe in the master
of Allah salallahu alaihi wa sallam who waged
jihad the way he did
and his companions.
And yet they don't want to talk about
it. Why?
Because their iman is weak and they're attached
to their dunya.
The next lesson that we learn
is that one of the traits of the
that Allah mentions is that,
They do not comprehend.
They do not understand.
Why is it that they don't understand? Why
is it that
they don't comprehend?
Even though
these are people
who sat in front of Rasulullah
for years.
They heard his khutbaas,
his talks directly.
And yet Allah says,
And Allah says,
In more than one place in the Qur'an.
Allah says,
about these people that they don't understand,
and they don't have knowledge, they don't know.
But yet
they sat in front of the Prophet
They heard the Quran coming down fresh from
Allah
And they heard hadith directly from the mouth
of the Prophet
And they lived in the context of these
ayats
and the events
that surrounded these ayats
and
these ahadith.
So no matter how much we read
and try to understand,
we're never gonna reach the understanding of the
first generation
because we were not there.
Right?
And still,
Allah
is saying
that
these people, they do not understand.
They do not comprehend.
Why?
Because
they don't get the point.
They don't understand the reality of Islam.
They don't understand the reality of what Allah
wants from us.
They don't understand the reality of the dunya
and the akhirah.
They don't understand
the wisdom behind
why Allah legislates things. The wisdom behind why
Allah legislates jihad, for example.
They don't understand the importance of
sacrifice.
They just don't get it.
And
unfortunately, many Muslims today, they also
do not get
it. They don't understand what's happening in the
world today.
They don't understand
the importance
of supporting the deen of Allah.
They simply
do not understand.
Finally,
the last lesson
that we'll mention
is the importance of
studying
Surat Al Tawba.
As we have seen, Surat Al Tawba
is unique.
And it is unique in that it exposes
the munafiqun
by mentioning
their qualities and their traits,
not by mentioning their names. Why?
Because
the problem of nifaq and hypocrisy,
it's not something that
was only gonna exist
in that time.
So let us learn who they are.
No. The problem of nifaq is a problem
that is gonna remain in the ummah until
the last day.
So
we need to know the traits of these
people,
their qualities
in order to recognize
who they are.
And so by studying these ayaat from Surat
Al Tawba
which exposed the qualities and the traits of
these people,
we become cautious from 2 things.
Number 1,
that we ourselves
are not among the munafiqul.
And so if we find that we have
these traits and these qualities,
then we need to realize it's danger.
And we need to abandon these qualities.
Right?
Imagine Umar ibn Khattab
being who he was,
yet he feared
that he was among the munafiqur.
He came to Hudayfa
And Hudayfa
The Prophet
had disclosed
to him
many
secrets
that he had not disclosed to many of
the other companions.
And things that would happen in the future
of fitan and different,
you
know,
catastrophes that would occur in the Umnah.
And one of the things that Prophet SAW
disclosed to Hudayfah
was a list of the munafiqoon,
the hypocrites. So
Umar ibn Khabab came and asked
Hudayfa,
tell me,
I asked you by Allah, did Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam
mention on that list?
Radhaifa said, no.
He said, no. And I'm not
gonna answer anyone who comes to me after
this.
Because more people would then come and start
asking him,
and then he would have to release some
of the names. But anyways, the point here
is
that even the Sahaba
and the greatest among them, they feared.
They feared hypocrisy.
So how about us?
The second thing that we become cautious from
is from the munafiqoon
in our midst.
And so
it's difficult
to pinpoint
who a hypocrite is
because he won't say it openly.
But when we know their traits, their characteristics,
and how they behave,
right? Then we know who they are
and therefore we become cautious of them. We
stay away from them.
Right? And that is the point
of why Allah
mentioned all of these qualities and these characteristics
of the munafiqul
in Surat Al Tawba.
And it's all revolving around this battle as
we mentioned,
the Battle of Tabuk.
And that's why
you have
certain Muslim countries
who used to have Surat Al Tawbah and
its tafsir as part of the curriculum
in the schools
and
they got rid of it. When the munafiqun,
they rose to power, they eliminated
this from the curriculum.
Why? Because it exposes them
and they realize
it's danger in exposing the true colors of
the Munafiqun.
And so this is what we learn
from the preparations
for the Battle of Tabuk.
Subhanahu wa ta'alaamunabik,
ashhaduwala ilaha illa and bestowfirukawatubu