Translation
If God helps you, then none can overpower you; but if God abandons you, then who can be there to come to your rescue? The faithful should always rely on God. It is inconceivable for a Prophet of God to deceive, since whoever acts dishonestly will carry such evils with him to the Day of Resurrection, when every soul will face the consequence of its actions, and no wrong will be done to any soul. Hence one who strives to follow God’s guidance cannot be the same as the one who displeases God by his acts. Such a person will end his or her journey from this life in hellfire, a horrifying destination, whereas the former is on a different level in the sight of God, who sees the action of everyone.217
God certainly brought a favor to the faithful when He raised a Prophet from among them, who explains the revelations, helps them grow in purity, confers knowledge from the book of revelation and wisdom (in life), whereas before his arrival, people were lost in ignorance and evil. Now that a calamity has fallen on you while you yourself inflicted twice as much (on your adversaries), you ask the question, where is this coming from? You should know—it comes from the consequence of your own actions. The calamity and misfortune that came to you during the encounter of the two armies came about with God’s permission so that He might find out who is faithful and who is tainted with hypocrisy.
When it was said to those who are hypocrites, “Come and fight to defend God’s causes or defend yourselves,” their response was, “If it was going to be a fight, we would have followed you.” In this instance, they were nearer to disbelief than belief in God, and they said something contrary to what was in their hearts. But God always knows what one conceals.218
Interpretation
217. It is a fundamental part of our faith that adherence to truth and reliance on God will always result in positive outcomes, though such outcomes might come at a time and in a sequence of events that will test our patience, our faith, our commitment to truth, and our reliance on God. Such a process is not necessarily the way God controls the outcome; rather, He allows our own conditions, our aspirations, our actions, and our sense of priorities to influence the outcome of events. God, in His infinite wisdom and compassion and true to His promise to uphold truth and reward faith, favors the faithful only after we have demonstrated our faith and commitment in tangible and sustained ways in good times as well as in adversity.
218. The setback that followers of Prophet Mohammad suffered in their second encounter with the people from Mecca led some of his followers to have doubts about their faith and their commitment. His followers, a group of people whose loyalty was more to the tribal leader Abdullah Bin Obai and not to the Prophet, added further fuel to such misgivings with their hypocritical conduct. This was an appropriate moment and an appropriate juncture in history to remind the newly faithful that God had favored the faithful by having the Prophet appear in their midst to convey revelation and wisdom and to help them grow as human beings. God further clarified that prophets are special beings who are never deceitful and are always loyal to God and loyal to their followers. Such doubts against prophets were also clearly manifest in the case of Jesus Christ, who was put on the cross on false accusations while his disciples stayed on the sidelines, and Moses was blamed by his own people (the children of Israel) for their various misfortunes after the Exodus. In each of these cases, the failings were on the part of the followers and not the prophets, who were steadfast and committed to the cause of God’s guidance and human progress.
REFLECTION
Doubts, lack of conviction, and failure to commit in the presence of calamities, conflicts, and the demise of human beings lead to denial of truth and faith in God. True faith, on the other hand, reinforces the presence of God and the supremacy of truth in the face of such trials, tribulations, and demise of life. Truth and godliness triumph over time against falsehood and evils. Arriving at such convictions and confirming the essence of life over one’s lifetime is the true journey that involves good times and difficult times. Each such period allows us an opportunity to expand our humanity and to bring people together that we see time and again throughout human history and in all communities around the world.
ACTION
We need to seize every opportunity to demonstrate our faith and reinforce our conviction in goodness and godliness. God’s presence and guidance are there to help us along the way, as long as we exert ourselves with true intent and commitment.