Welcome to our weekly programme "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an. We start from where we left you last Friday and here is ayah 22 of Surah Ahzab:

 “But when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, ‘This is what Allah and His Prophet had promised us, and Allah and His Prophet were true.’ And it only increased them in faith and submission.”

Last week, while discussing the Battle of Ahzab, which a 10,000 strong force of Arab and Israelite confederates had imposed upon Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), we referred to the dubious behaviour of the hypocrites who were amongst the Muslims, and because of their lack of faith in Islam, they expressed doubts over divine promises, scheming to run away or wishing that the pagans would prevail over the believers. This ayah means to say that when the true believers who had firm faith in God Almighty and the Prophet, saw the army of the Arab-Israelite enemies, they thanked the Lord Most High for having them informed of the tribulations they would face as a test of their faith, similar to what befell the followers of the prophets of the past when confronted by the enemies. In other words, unlike the hypocrites, the true believers, had total faith in the words of the Prophet when he had told them that because of your firm belief, various Arab tribes and other enemies like the Jews will gang up together in a bid to destroy you, but by the Will of God you will be victorious. Therefore when the true believers saw the mighty enemy force of Arab and Israelites, instead of fleeing or being afraid like the hypocrites, they firmed up their resolve to stand steadfast and submit only to the instruction of God and the Prophet.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The true believers know that their enemies will never leave them in peace, and so they are always preferred to face whatever stratagems the Godless tyrants plot.
2. The enemies of Islam, despite the differences amongst themselves, of ethnicity, ideology, creed, language, and so on, always gang up together, to try to annihilate the true believers and mobilize all resources, but to no avail.
3. The true believers, even if they are few in number, never lose hope in God, and are determined to resist against the threats and military plans of the enemies.

Now we listen to ayah 23 of Surah Ahzab:

“Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah. Of them are some who have fulfilled their pledge, and of them are some who still wait, and they have not changed in the least,”

This ayah means to say that the true believers have pledged to God to stand steadfast in defence of Islam and its dynamic values, even if it means, sacrificing their life. To defend truth and humanitarian values, and attain martyrdom in the process, is the sign of truthfulness of faith. This ayah points to two special groups of the believers who always were before others in following the Prophet, and were steadfast in their covenant with Allah, i.e., in self-sacrifice until their last breath. Some of them kept their words and attained martyrdom in the course of the battles, while those who had come out of the fray alive and victorious, also longed for martyrdom and eagerly waited to achieve this great distinction. It has been narrated from the Prophet’s valiant cousin and son-in-law, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), who almost single-handedly defeated the armies of the Arabs and Israelites, while his cousin Obaidah and uncle Hamzah were martyred in the Battles of Badr and Ohad respectively, that this ayah refers to us. Those who have been martyred have fulfilled their pledge with God, while I am the one who is waiting for martyrdom, and I am still firm upon my covenant.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Readiness for defending Islam till the last breath is indication of honesty and sincerity in faith, and fulfilling the divine pledge.
2. The true believer, on seeing his friends and relatives martyred, does not suffer change of heart and has no intention to be afraid of death, since he is resolved to fulfill his pledge to God of achieving martyrdom.
3. Achieving martyrdom does not mean recklessly throwing away life, but it means, like Imam Ali (AS), risking life and limb to bring victory, yet despite coming alive from the encounter, still awaiting martyrdom in the way of God, as he achieved, when he was struck the fatal blow on his head by a renegade, while in the state of praying to God in the mosque. 

Now we listen to ayahs 24 and 25 of Surah Ahzab:

 “That Allah may reward the true for their truthfulness, and punish the hypocrites, if He wishes, or accept their repentance. Indeed Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.”

“Allah sent back the faithless in their rage, without their attaining any advantage, and Allah spared the faithful of fighting, and Allah is All-strong, All-Mighty.”

These ayahs expresses the result of the Battle of Ahzab. Neither the truthfulness and loyalty of the sincere believers remains without divine recompense, nor will the negligence and hindrances of the hypocrites be left without retribution. But in order that even the way of repentance might not be closed to these obstinate hypocrites, God the All-Merciful leaves the doors of repentance open to them.

The next ayah means to say: You should not be afraid of the unity of the enemies. In the Battle of Ahzab there were three groups who ganged up against the Muslims: the pagan Arabs, the Israelites, and the hypocrites, but they retreated without the intended victory and gained nothing. God taught Muslims not to fear the enemy, while the enemies should know that their plots are useless against divine power. Therefore the enemies who gang up with each other for eradicating Islam, will never be able to achieve their sinister goal.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. Honesty is not merely in words, in practice we should be honest to our pledge with God and do our best in defending Islam.
2. God’s Mercy is All-Encompassing and the door of repentance is left open, even for the hypocrites, so that they rectify their belief and return to the fold of Islam.   
3. The unseen power of God is always at hand to help the true believers.

AS/ME