8. Surah Al-Anfaal

Moving to verse 46, we see that believers have been prompted to follow a third instruction and that أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَرَ‌سُولَهُ (obey Allah and His Messenger) - because, help and support from Allah Ta` ala can be expected to come only through obedience to Him. Negligence and disobedience can only be the causes of the displeasure of Allah and a certain deprivation from whatever grace could come from Him. Thus, we have before us three articles of the Qur'anic code of conduct for the battle-field: (1) Firmness (2) Dhikr of Allah (3) Obedience. After that, it was said: وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِ‌يحُكُمْ ۖ وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and do not dispute, lest you should show weakness and should lose your predominance, and be patient -46). Given here is a warning against negative aspects of conduct which must be avoided. As for the negative conduct which impedes successful war effort, it is nothing but mutual difference and disputation. Therefore, it was said: وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا (and do not dispute - 46) for mutual dissension and discord would breed cowardice among them and they would soon lose their image of dominance. The verse points out to two end-products of this mutual dissension: (1) That you would become personally weak and cowardly and (2) that you would lose your predominance and turn low in the sight of the enemy. The fact that mutual disputation would make disputants appear low in the sight of others is obvious, but how does it affect one's own strength to the limit that it turns into weakness and cowardice? The reason is that, given mutual unity and trust, everyone is backed up by the strength of a whole group. Therefore, one individual feels the relative strength of his whole group in himself and once that mutual unity and trust is gone what remains behind is no more than his own solitary strength - which, obviously, means nothing in a killing field. After that, it was said: وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and be patient - 46). Looking at the context of the statement, this appears to have been suggested as a successful prescription of remaining safe from getting involved in dissension and disputes. To elucidate, it can be said that no matter how united in thinking and objectives a group may be, but physical traits of human individuals remain different after all. Then, the divergence of opinion among the informed and experienced in the process of achieving a certain purpose is also inevitable. Therefore, in order to go along with others and to keep them together, there is no alternative but that one should be used to remaining patient over counter-temperamental matters of concern and being accustomed to ignoring them when necessary. In other words, one should not be so rigid and uncompromising over his personal opinion that, in the event it was not accepted, he would explode and fight. Sabr or patience is just another name for this quality of resilience. These days everyone knows and says that mutual dispute is very bad, but the master stroke of remaining safe from it - that one trains himself to become used to remaining patient over what does not match his physical temperament and that he does not worry about making people say yes to his view and see that they go by it - is something very few people have learnt to employ successfully. As a result, all sermons of unity and harmony are rendered useless. So, it can be conceded that one does not normally have the capability to make the other person surrender to his view, but two things still remain pos-sible: (1) That he himself accepts what the other person has to say (2) and should the dictate of his reason and justice goad him not to accept it, then, the least he could still do is to say nothing for the sake of averting a possible dispute. This much is, after all, within one's power and control. Therefore, along with the instruction to avoid dissension and dispute, the Holy Qur'an has also exhorted every individual of a group to observe patience so that avoiding disputes becomes easy in practice. Also worth pondering at this stage is the statement made in the Qur'an when it has said: لَا تَنَازَعُوا (and do not dispute - 46). Here, it has stopped mutual disputation, not any difference of opinion or its expression. Difference of opinion which is prompted by honesty and sincerity never develops into disputation. Quarrels and disputations are generated when things go beyond ordinary difference of opinion, particularly when gripped by the emotional attitude of making the other person accept what one says and not to accept what the other person does. And this emotional attitude is what the Holy Qur'an has eliminated by saying: وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and be patient - 46). Then, at the end, by pointing out to the most sublime gain to be made from the observance of patience, it removes whatever unpalatable there may be about it. It was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ (Allah is with the patient - 46). That they have the company of Allah Ta` ala all the time and under all conditions is so great a wealth that wealth of the world and beyond, as we do or do not know, are just nothing as compared to that honour. It was to make these very instructions become their ever-present response, the Holy Prophet ﷺ delivered the following sermon right there on the site of combat during many a battles of Islam: "0 my people, do not look forward to fight the enemy in a combat. Rather, pray that Allah keeps you in a state of peace and well-being. However, when the inevitable happens and you have to confront them, then, stand firm and be patient and be assured that Paradise lies under the shade of swords." [ Muslim ]

Another negative and detrimental aspect of conduct against which warning has been given in verse 47 and from which abstinence has been advised is that believers should not wax proud over their strength and numbers nor should they be guilty of nursing some per-sonal interest of theirs rather than remaining sincere to their mission at hand, because these two approaches would usually bring down great powers of the world on their knees. Embedded in this verse, there is an allusion to the circumstances under which the Quraysh of Makkah who had marched off from their city to give military cover to their trade caravan with the heavy backing of men and materials and waxing proud over their number and strength. And even when the trade caravan had passed far beyond the range of any possible attack by Muslims, they elected not to return even then - because, they had other axes to grind by giving a little demonstration of their valour on the site of combat. According to authentic reports, when Abu Sufyan succeeded in getting past the range of Muslim attack with his trade caravan, he sent a courier to Abu Jahl bearing the message that there was no need for him to go any further and that he should better return. Many other Quraysh chiefs had also concurred with this advice. But, driven by his pride, arrogance and the desire for recognition, Abu Jahl declared on oath that they would not return until they reach the site of Badr and celebrate their victory there for a few days. The outcome was that he and his well-known accomplices found themselves dumped there forever. Muslims have been instructed to abstain from the methods adopted by them.

Commentary Since its beginning, Surah al-Anfal has been dealing with the actual events and attending circumstances of the battle of Badr along with subsequent lessons learnt and related injunctions given. One such event from here relates to the Shaitan who misled the disbelievers of Makkah, exhorted them to go to battle against Muslims and then he disengaged, and left them all by themselves right there in the middle of the battlefield. This event has been mentioned at the beginning of verse 48. Did this deception of the Shaitan take the form of scruples put into the hearts of the Quraysh? Or, did the Shaitan come to them in human form and talked to the Quraysh face to face? Both probabilities exist here. But, the words of the Qur'an seem to support the second eventuality - that the Shaitan misled them by appearing in a human form before them. According to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ reported by Imam ibn Jarir, when the army of the Quraysh of Makkah marched out from the city, they were terribly worried about a possible danger from their neighbouring tribe of Banu Bakr, also an enemy. They apprehended that once they went out to confront Muslims, this tribe hostile to them may find an opportunity to attack their homes and hurt their women and children there. No doubt, they had demonstrated their readiness to respond to the plaintive appeal for help made by Aba Sufyan, the leader of their trade caravan, but they were dragging their feet because of this danger. In this perplexing situation, all of a sudden, the Shaitan appeared in the form and guise of Suraqah ibn Malik holding a flag in his hand and flanked by a regiment of tough fighting men. Suraqah ibn Malik was a big chief who controlled the tribal area from where that danger of attack was expected. He stepped forward and addressed the army of Quraysh young men through which he misled them in two ways. First, he said: لَا غَالِبَ لَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ مِنَ النَّاسِ (None of the people is to overpower you today - 48). By this, he meant that he had a good idea of the strength of their adversary and he could also see their own physical and numerical superiority, there-fore, he assured them that they should stop worrying, march ahead and prevail, for no one is going to prevail against them. Then, he said: إِنِّي جَارٌ‌ لَّكُمْ (I am a protector for you - 48). By saying this, he was referring to their apprehensions against the tribe of Banu Bakr who might attack their homes and families in Makkah during their absence. Here, he was taking the responsibility that nothing of this sort was going to happen as he was their supporter and caretaker. The Quraysh of Makkah already knew about Suraqah ibn Malik being a known and influential personality of the area. Hearing this assurance from him, they became emotionally stable. They dismissed the threat from the tribe of Banu Bakr from their hearts and became all set to go and confront Muslims. Thus, by employing this dual deception, the Shaitan drove these people to their killing field and what he did for himself is described by the Holy Qur'an in the following words: فَلَمَّا تَرَ‌اءَتِ الْفِئَتَانِ نَكَصَ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ (So, when the two groups [ the disbelievers of Makkah and Muslims ] saw each other [ at Badr ], he turned back on his heels - 48). Since a force of Shaitans had also assembled in support of the disbelievers of Makkah at the battle of Badr, therefore, Allah Ta` ala sent a force of angels under the command of Jibra'il and Mika'il (علیہما السلام) to meet their challenge. According to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ reported by Imam Ibn Jarir and others, when the Shaitan who was commanding his force in the human guise of Suraqah ibn Malik at that time saw Arch angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) and the force of angels with him, he lost his nerves. At that time, he was standing hand in hand with a Qurayshi warrior, Harith ibn Hisham. All of a sudden, he tried to free his hand clasped into the hand of Harith. When Harith asked him as to why he was doing that, he whacked his chest with a blow and threw him down. Now unchecked, he bolted out from the battlefield. Harith - under the impression that he was Suraqah - shouted at him: 0 Suraqah, chief of Arabia, you had said that you will support us and here you are doing this to us in the middle of a battle! The Shaitan - in the guise of Suraqah - replied: إِنِّي بَرِ‌يءٌ مِّنكُمْ إِنِّي أَرَ‌ىٰ مَا لَا تَرَ‌وْنَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّـهَ (I have nothing to do with you. I am seeing what you do not see. I am scared of Allah - 48). Thus, he disengaged himself from the earlier compact because he was seeing a force of angels and parted ways with the disbelievers on the plea that he feared Allah. When the Shaitan saw the force of angels, he virtually saw trouble for him as he knew their power. As for his statement that he was scared of Allah, says Tafsir authority Qatadah, this was a lie forged by him. Had he feared Allah, why would he disobey Him? But, other Commentators have suggested that his fear is justified in its own place because he is fully aware of the perfect power of Allah Ta` ala and that He is severe at punishment. Therefore, there is no reason for not fearing. However, bland fear without faith and obedience is useless. Abu Jahl, when he noticed signs of weakness showing up in his army because of the withdrawal of Suraqah and his force, he tried to avert the awkward situation by appealing that they should not feel being affected by the sudden retreat of Suraqah for he had a secret understanding with Muhammad to do that. In short, after the retreat of the Shaitan, what was due to happen to them did. It was on their return to Makkah that one of them met Suraqah ibn Malik. This person scolded Suraqah telling him that he was responsible for their defeat in the battle of Badr and certainly for all the losses that followed in its wake because he had broken the backs of their fighting men by retreating from the action on the battlefield. Suraqah said: I never went with you, nor did I ever take part in anything you were doing there. In fact, I heard of your defeat only after you had reached Makkah. After having reported all these narrations in his Tafsir, Imam Ibn Kathir said: It is the customary practice of Shaitan, the accursed, that he would cause man to become involved with evil and then leave him off in the middle of it. The Qur'an has mentioned this habit of the Shaitan repeatedly. One such verse says: كَمَثَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلْإِنسَانِ اكْفُرْ‌ فَلَمَّا كَفَرَ‌ قَالَ إِنِّي بَرِ‌يءٌ مِّنكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّـهَ رَ‌بَّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿16﴾ It is like the Shaitan when he tells man: "Disbelieve." Then, after he becomes a disbeliever, he says: "I have nothing to do with you. I am scared of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds". (59:16)

The Anatomy of Shaitanic Deception and Personal Defence There are some elements of guidance we receive from what has been mentioned in this verse: (1) That the 'Shaitan' is man's enemy who employs all sorts of tricks, guises and stratagems to bring loss to him. There are occasions when he would simply inject a scruple in the heart and harass his victim and there are times when he would deceive man by appearing before him. (2) That Allah Ta` ala has given him the ability to appear before man in various guises. There is a well-known book of Hanaf'i jurisprudence called آکام المرجان فی أحکام الجان : 'Akam al-Marjan fi Ahkam al-Jann where it has been proved in detail. Therefore, authorities among mystic scholars who are recognized as masters in illumination کَشف (kashf) and eye-witness شُہُود (shuhud) have warned people that it is dangerous to start following a person simply by seeing him or hearing him say something without taking the trouble of finding out his antecedents and circumstantial conditions. There could be couched Shaitanic inputs even in what is known as illumination کَشف (kashf) and inspiration اِلھام (ilham). So, the ideal method of remaining safe against Shaitanic deceptions is to follow Divine Revelation faithfully. Success Comes By Actually Being on the Straight Path and Not By Simply Having Sincere Intentions (3) That the most frequent reason why people get involved in disbelief, polytheism or other impermissible doings is no other but that the Shaitan, by making their evil deeds appear handsome, desirable and beneficial, turns their hearts away from truth, as it is, and its consequences, as they would be. Once so brain-washed, they would start taking their false as the epitome of truth and their loss as the ultimate gain, so much so that, very much like the votaries of truth, they would be all set to lay down even their lives for the sake of their false notions. It was for this reason that the army and the chiefs of Quraysh, when they were departing from the Baytullah بَیتُ اللہ ، had already supplicated before it by saying: اللھم انصر اھدی الطایٔفتین (0 Allah, help the better-guided group between the two of us) (See pages 183-184). Such was the level of their unawareness that they simply walked into the snare of the Shaitan and started taking themselves to be the ones better-guided and truth-oriented and, unbelievably enough, they would go to the outer limits of sacrificing their lives and possessions in support of their false stand - and that too with all 'sincerity' at their command! From here we find out that bland sincerity is never sufficient unless the direction of deeds is correct. In the verse which follows (49), mentioned there is a common saying of the hypocrites of Madinah and the polytheists of Makkah. It was almost in a strain of combined sympathy and contempt that it was said about Muslims: غَرَّ‌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ دِينُهُمْ (The belief of these people has deluded them). It means that those handful of Muslims had come all the way to the battlefield of Badr to challenge an army so powerful and well-equipped as if those poor people have been deluded by their faith which seems to have thrown them into the jaws of death. Responding to them, Allah Ta` ala said: وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (And whoever places his trust in Allah, then, Allah is Mighty, Wise). The sense of the statement is that one who places his total trust in Allah never runs into disgrace because Allah is all-dominating and when it comes to wisdom, there is no plan or intelligence or insight into the future which can hold before it. In other words, those who know no more than what is material would only place their trust in nothing but the material. How would they know the secret power which lies in the treasures of the One who has created everything material. This power accompanies those who believe in Allah Ta` ala and place their total trust in Him. Even in our day, there are those religiously observing and innocent-looking Muslims who would become ready targets for those who claim to have advanced rationally and intellectually and who would benignly dismiss them as old-timers who might as well be left alone. But, should such people be armed with perfect faith and trust in Allah, no harm can touch them - even if intended and tried.

Commentary Mentioned in the first two of the verses cited above is the punishment of disbelievers at the time of their death and the warnings given to them by the angels. Here, addressing the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، it has been said that had he seen the condition of the disbelievers at that time when the angels of Allah were beating their faces and backs as they extracted their souls and telling them to have a taste of the punishment of burning in the Fire, then, he would have seen some-thing awesome. Some of the leading Commentators have declared this statement to be about the particular disbelievers from among the Quraysh who had come out to confront Muslims at the site of Badr where Allah Ta` ala had sent an army of angels to help Muslims. Thus, the meaning comes to be that the Quraysh chiefs who were killed in the battle of Badr were killed at the hands of the angels who were hitting them from the front on their faces and from the rear on their backs and were killing them in this manner while giving them the dark tidings of the punishment of Hell in the Hereafter. Then, there are other Commentators who have kept the sense of this verse general in view of the generality of the words used in it. According to them, the verse means: When a disbeliever dies, the angel of death beats his face and back while taking out his soul. In some narrations, it appears that they have lashes of fire and maces of iron in their hands which they use to strike at the disbeliever condemned to death. But, as this punishment is not related to this world of elements, rather, is related to the universe of the grave which is known as Barzakh بَرزَخ (the post-death---pre-ressurrection state), therefore, this punishment is not generally seen optically. Therefore, the modality used to address the Holy Prophet ﷺ was: 'And only if you were to see,' you would have seen a scene full of sobering lessons. This tells us that, after death, punishment is given to disbelievers while they are in the state of Barzakh, but that phenomenon is related to the universe of the Unseen کلام الغیب (` clam al-ghayb), therefore, it is not seen usually. The punishment of the grave finds mention in several other verses of the Holy Qur'an as well, while Hadith narrations on this subject just abound.

Addressing the disbelievers in the second verse (51), it was said that the punishment of this world and that of the Hereafter was nothing but what they had earned with their own hands. Since things done usually take their shape through the work of hands, therefore, mention was made of hands. The sense is that the punishment coming to them was a direct outcome of their own deeds. And as for Allah Ta` ala, He was not the kind of authority who would bring injustice upon His servants and go about subjecting someone to punishment just for no reason.

The third verse (52) tells us that the punishment of Allah visiting these criminals is not something totally unprecedented. In fact, it is nothing but the customary practice of Allah that He would give reason and understanding to His servants so that they could act as guided. Then, all around them, they have countless things they can think about and go on to know Allah Ta` ala and recognize His great power, and then do not stoop to the level of taking the weak ones from among His creation as His partners, associates or equals and, after that, He sends His Books and Messengers for additional warning. When the Messengers of Allah come, they leave no stone unturned in making people understand the message. They even go to the outer limits of demonstrating the manifestations of the inalienable subduing power of Allah Ta` ala in the form of miracles. Now, if a person or a people were to close their eyes to all these things, give no ear to any of these Divine warnings, then, for such people, there is the inevitable practice of Allah Ta` ala: That they are visited by punishment in this world too, and that they are subjected to the everlasting punishment of the Hereafter as well. It was said: كَدَأْبِ آلِ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ ۙ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ' (Their way is) like the way of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them - 52.' The Arabic word: دَأْبِ (da'b) used in the text means habit or way. Thus, the sense is that the world already knows the customary practice of Allah Ta` ala vis-a-vis the haughty and the contumacious like Pharaoh and his people and has seen its manifestation when Pharaoh was made to drown in the sea with all his power and people, and similar was the fate of those before him, the people of ` Ad and Thamud, who were hit by many kinds of punishment which eliminated them totally. Then, it was said: كَفَرُ‌وا (52) which means when these people belied the verses and signs of Allah Ta` ala, He seized them with His punishment because of their sins. After that, the verse ends with the statement: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ (52) which gives the reason why it happened the way it did - that Allah Ta` ala is Strong. No one claiming any kind of strength and valour can, on that basis alone, get away from His punishment. And then, certainly very severe is the punishment which comes from Allah Ta` ala Himself.

Stated in the fourth verse (53) there is a standing rule which spells out the condition under which Allah Ta` ala allows a people to continue enjoying blessings bestowed by Him. It was said: بِأَنَّ اللَّـهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرً‌ا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُ‌وا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ (because Allah is not to change a favour He has conferred on a people unless they change their own selves - 53). The first thing worth pondering about at this place is that Allah Ta` ala has not set forth any rule as to the bestowal of blessing and favour, nor has He put any restriction and condition for it, nor has He made it to be dependent on some good deed - because, had this been so, then, the foremost favour bestowed on us is our very existence. Placed in this marvelous menagerie of the power of Allah are thousands and thousands of additional blessings which, it is all too obvious, were conferred on us at a time when we did not exist nor any of our deed did. If blessings and favours from Allah Ta` ala were to wait for good deeds from His servants, our being itself would have not materialized. The blessing and the mercy of Allah Ta` ala is there all by itself as an outcome of His being the Lord of all the worlds and the One who is All-Merciful and Very-Merciful. However, what has been described in this verse is a rule which governs the continuity of this favour and mercy. According to this rule, when Allah Ta` a1a favours a people with His blessing, He does not take it back until such time that the people themselves bring about changes in their conditions of living and ways of doing things and thus become the very agency which invites the punishment of Allah. The change of conditions referred to here means a shift or change from good deeds to bad deeds and from good 'states of being to bad states of being, or that a person who, at the time of the coming of blessings, was involved in certain sins and evils, then, once he had re-ceived those blessings, he stoops lower and gets involved in deeds far more evil. It becomes evident from the details given above that peoples mentioned in previous verses, that is, the Quraysh disbelievers and the people of Pharaoh, have their relevance to the present verse on the grounds that these people were not all that good in their states of living even at the time the blessings came. They were still the polytheists and disbelievers they were. But, after having been blessed with favours, these people became far more dauntless in their evil deeds and acts of wickedness. The people of Pharaoh started inflicting all sorts of injustices against the Bani Isra'il. Then they rose in hostility against Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) which was a grave addition to their past crimes. Through these doings, they brought changes in their living conditions which led them to more evils and when this happened, Allah Ta` ala too brought a change in His blessing by changing it into retribution and punishment. Similarly, the Quraysh of Makkah were though involved in polytheism and other evil practices, yet they did have a few good deeds to their credit, such as, regard for kinship, hospitality, service of Hajj pil-grims, respect for Baytullah etc. Allah Ta` ala showered on them many material and spiritual blessings. On the material plane, great impetus was given to their trading activities. In a country where no trading caravan belonging to anyone could pass through safely, their trade caravans would go to Syria in the north and Yemen in the south and return in safety and with success - something mentioned by the Qur'an in Surah al-Quraysh (106) under: رِ‌حْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ (they used to make alternate trading visits in winter and summer -106:2). Then, on the spiritual plane in terms of their religion, they were blessed with a favour so great as was never conferred upon any of the past peoples - that the foremost among prophets, the last of the line, sallallahu ` alaihi wa sallam, was destined to rise among them, and Qur'an, the last, the comprehensive Book of Allah Ta` ala was sent to them through him. But, these people, rather than correct themselves through gratitude and appreciation for these blessings of Allah Ta` ala, went on to make a mess of their moral condition, making it far worse than it al-ready was. They stopped treating their near relations well and started inflicting savage injustices against their own brothers and nephews who chose to embrace Islam. Rather than keep to their tradition of hospitality, pledges were written and promulgated that a total boycott of such Muslims be made, even to the limit of holding back the supply of food and water to them. Instead of providing essential services for Hajj pilgrims which they once considered to be their duty, they started preventing Muslims from entering the Haram. These were the standing conditions on the ground which brought about a change in the disbelievers of Quraysh - as a result of which came the counter-change from Allah Ta` ala. He transformed His favours and blessings into retribution and punishment, thus making them have a taste of disgrace in the mortal world too, and then, it was through the noble person sent as mercy for all the worlds that they invited their own destruction. As based on trustworthy books of history, it has been said in Tafsir Mazhari that Kilab ibn Murrah, who is the grandfather of the third grandfather of the Holy Prophet ﷺ genealogically, was a staunch adherent of the faith of Sayyidna Ibrahim and Ismail (علیہما السلام) right from the beginning, and he retained the role of leadership in this faith, generations after generation. It was during the period of Qusayy ibn Kilab that idol-worship started as a practice among people. Before him, Ka'b ibn Lu'aiyy was their religious leader. He used to deliver a sermon before everyone on the day of Jumu'ah which was called ` Arubah in their dialect and tell his audience that the last among prophets I ﷺ would rise from among their progeny. Everyone will be bound to follow him. Whoever fails to have faith in him, no deed of his shall be acceptable with Allah. Well-known are his poetic compositions about the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، as part of pagan poetry. Then, Qusayy ibn Kilab used to make arrangements of food and water for all Hajj pilgrims, so much so, that these things continued to be within the family of the Holy Prophet ﷺ until his blessed period. Given this historical perspective, it could also be said that the change which affected the mass behaviour of the Quraysh may as well mean that they had forsaken the faith of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and taken to idol-worship. However, a return to the subject of the verse tells us that there are occasions when Allah Ta` ala would bestow His favour also on people who do not seem to be deserving of it in view of their deeds. But, should they start, after having received that favour, committing ex-cesses and indulging in evil deeds more frequently, rather than turn the direction of their deeds towards correction and betterment, then, this favour is taken away from them and they become deserving of Divine punishment. At the end of the verse, it was said: وَأَنَّ اللَّـهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (and that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing - 53). It means that Allah Ta` ala is the one who hears everything they say and knows everything they do, there-fore, there is no probability of some error or misunderstanding in the decision He finally takes.

Commentary The words used in the first of the verses cited above are almost the same as have appeared a verse earlier in: كَدَأْبِ آلِ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ ۙ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ' (Their way is) like the way of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them - 52.' But, the purpose behind these two statements differs in both. The purpose in the first verse (52) was to state that the disbelief of those people became the cause of their punishment while, in the present verse (54), the purpose is to state that, according to the common law of Allah Ta` ala - when the blessings of Allah Ta` ala descend upon a people and they fail to recognize their worth and value and refuse to bow down before Him - then, His blessings are transformed into misfortunes and punishments. When the people of Pharaoh and the peoples before them failed to appreciate the blessings of Allah Ta` ala as due, blessings were taken away from them and they were seized 'by punishment instead. Apart from this difference in purpose, changes have also been introduced in words used at some places which serve to release particular hints in the text. For example, in the first verse (52), the words used were: كَفَرُ‌وا بِآيَاتِ اللَّـهِ (They disbelieved the signs of Allah) while here, the words used are: بِآيَاتِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ the signs of their Lord - 54). Thus, by mentioning the attribute: رَبّ (Rabb: Lord) instead of the name, 'Allah,' hint was given that these people were terribly unjust and insensate against truth, people who would just go ahead and start belying the signs of the very Being who was their Rabb رَبّ (sustainer, nourisher, cherisher) under whose blessings they all, from their dawn of existence to their present condition, have been brought up. In addition to that, in the first verse (52), said there was: فَأَخَذَهُمُ اللَّـهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ (so, Allah seized them for their sins) while what has been said here is: فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ (so, We destroyed them for their sins - 54). This explains the brevity in the first statement because, in the first verse, mentioned there was their being seized in punishment which could take different forms. May be, they are overtaken by misfortunes with-in their lifetime on this earth, or that their very existence in eliminated outright. In the present verse (54), by saying: أَهْلَكْنَاهُم (We destroyed them), it was made clear that the punishment all those peoples deserved was the punishment of death, therefore, they were destroyed. The destruction of every set of such people took different forms. Since the Pharaoh from among them claimed godhood and his people attested to his claim, therefore, he was mentioned particularly: وَأَغْرَ‌قْنَا آلَ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ (and drowned the people of Pharaoh - 54). As for the forms in which destruction came upon other peoples, it has not been described here. However, details pertaining to these too have appeared in other verses where it has been said that some of them were overrun by an earthquake, some others were made to sink into the earth, or transformed into animals, or seized by wind storms - and finally, came the punishment for the disbelievers of Makkah at the hands of Muslims in the battle of Badr.

In the verse which follows immediately, it was said about the same disbelievers: إِنَّ شَرَّ‌ الدَّوَابِّ عِندَ اللَّـهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا (Surely, the worst of all the living, in the sight of Allah, are those who reject Faith - 55). Here, the word: دَوَابّ (dawabb) is the plural form of dabbah which literally means creatures who walk on the earth. Therefore, this word covers human beings and whatever of the animals walk on the earth. But, in common usage, this word is used particularly for quadruped animals. Since they were far below animals in their state of insensitiveness, they were identified with that expression in the language. Thus, the meaning of the verse is clear - that these people were the worst of animals from among all animals and human beings. At the end of the verse, it was said: فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (so they do not believe - 55). The sense is that these people have allowed their God-given abilities to go waste by making the satisfaction of their physical needs the very purpose of their life, therefore, having access to the refinements of Faith was just not possible for them. Sa’ id ibn Jubayr said that this verse was revealed about six men from the Jews about whom Allah Ta` ala has declared in advance that they will never enter the fold of Faith. In addition to that, through this word, the aim is to grant an exemption from punishment for people who were though engaged at that time, in tandem with disbelievers, in their struggle against Muslims and Islam but the likelihood was that, in future, a time will come when they will repent their past mistakes and embrace Islam. The fact is that this is how it came to be. A very large group from among them became, by embracing Islam, not only personally pious and righteous, but rose to be - in word and deed alike - leaders among men and women of the world as heralds of moral betterment and paradigms of responsible conduct of life before the Creator.

The third verse (56): الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتَّ مِنْهُمْ ثُمَّ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ مَرَّ‌ةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَتَّقُونَ ﴿56﴾ (those from whom you have taken a pledge, then they break their pledge each time, and they do not fear Allah) is about the Jews of Madinah and those of Banu Qurayzah and Banu Nadir. Mentioned in the previous verses was the descent of Divine punishment on the disbelievers of Makkah in the battle of Badr at the hands of Muslims, as well as their resemblance with disbelievers of past communities. In this verse, mention has been made of the particular group of unjust people who became like serpents in the sleeves of Muslims soon after their migration to Madinah. On the one hand, they claimed to be at peace with Muslims while, on the other, they used to conspire with the disbelievers of Makkah against Muslims. These people were Jews by religion and the way Abu Jahl was the top leader of the disbelievers of Makkah against Islam, similarly, the top anti-Islam leader of the Jews of Madinah was called Ka'b ibn Ashraf. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ graced the blessed city of Madinah after Hijrah, they saw the rise of Muslim power, were impressed, even somewhat overawed by it, but the fire of their anti Muslim feelings kept burning in their hearts all the time. Islamic political wisdom demanded that, as far as possible, the Jews of Madinah should be engaged to go along with Muslims under some sort of bilateral treaty, so that they would not come to the assistance of Makkan disbelievers. Because of their awe of Muslims, the Jews too wished to have this very arrangement. Towards Islamic Nationality: The First Step After reaching Madinah, the Holy Prophet ﷺ dill laid the initial foundation of political theory in Islam. The first step he took was to eliminate prejudices of country and tribe from the Muhajirin (Emigrants: those who had migrated from Makkah) and Ansar (Residents of Madinah who helped the Muhajirin). In its place, he established a new nationality in the name of Islam. This turned different tribes from the Muhajirin and Ansar into brothers to each other. Then, it was through him that Allah Ta` ala helped remove mutual differences among Ansars themselves which had been continuing for centuries. Thus, not only did the Ansars enter a new era of brotherhood among themselves, they became brothers to the Muhajirin as well. Treaty with Jews: The Second Step The background in which the second political step was taken was marked by two adversaries of Muslims. The first were the disbelievers of Makkah whose tortures had compelled them to leave Makkah. The second were the Jews of Madinah who had then become the neighbours of Muslims. Out of these two, a treaty was concluded with the Jews and was duly documented in details. The compliance of this treaty was made incumbent on all Jews living in and around Madinah as well as on all Muhajirin and Ansar. The full text of this treaty can be seen in البدایہ والنھایۃ : Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah of Ibn Kathir and Sirah of Ibn Hisham and elsewhere. The most significant article of this treaty was that, in the event of a mutual difference, the decision of the Holy Prophet ﷺ shall be binding for all. There was another article there which stipulated that the Jews of Madinah shall not provide any assistance to any enemy against Muslims, either overtly or covertly. But, at the time of the battle of Badr, these people committed a breach of trust and supported the disbelievers of Makkah by supplying weapons and other war materials to them. However, when the outcome of the battle of Badr appeared in the form of a clear victory for Muslims and a disgraceful defeat for the disbelievers, they felt cowed down once again. They presented themselves before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and apologized for the mistake they had committed at that time and sought his forgiveness for it on the promise that they would commit no breach of trust in the future. Because Islamic forbearance and generosity was his way, the Holy Prophet ﷺ accepted to renew the treaty once again. But, these people were captives of their peculiar instinctive reflexes. When they heard about the initial defeat and loss of Muslims in the battle of Uhud, their ambitions went high. Their chief, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, himself travelled to Makkah and exhorted the disbelievers of Makkah to mount another attack on Muslims with fresh and full preparation in which the Jews of Madinah will be with them. This was the second breach of trust they committed against Islam. In the present verse, by mentioning this repeated breach of trust, brought into focus is the wickedness of these people, for they were the people who themselves made a treaty with the Holy Prophet ﷺ yet they were the ones who, each time, kept breaking their pledge to abide by the treaty. At the end of the verse, it was said: وَهُمْ لَا يَتَّقُونَ (and they do not fear Allah 56). This could also mean that, since these ill-fated people are drunk with worldly greed having. no concern for the life to come, therefore, they do not fear the punishment of the Hereafter. Then, it could also mean that such characterless people who break pledges do meet their evil end in this world, yet these are the kind of people who, because of their negligence and ignorance, do not fear it. Then, came the time when the whole world saw that these people tasted the punishment for the evil role they played. Like Abu Jahl, the chief of the disbelievers, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, the chief of the Jews, was killed and the rest of the Jews of Madinah were expelled from the city.