Translation
As your Sustainer God led you out of your own home to establish the truth, there were a group of believers who were unwilling participants—they were contending among themselves about the nature of what was about to unfold and they were acting as if they were driven to their death, an outcome they felt certain. 397
God committed to help you overpower one of the two parties while you were more willing to take on the party less armed; but God wished to establish the truth of His word and to root out the deniers of His grace so that He can make faith and goodwill to triumph while falsehood and evil comes to nothing, even though those who sin against God and humanity desire otherwise. 398
When you beseeched God for His help, He answered thus: I will commit a thousand angels to assist you, coming one after another. God announced this as a measure of good news and to comfort your hearts. Help and Victory is only granted by God who is Mighty and Wise. 399
Interpretation
397 As we recall from the life of the Prophet’s teachings in Makkah, the persecution he and his followers faced led to their ultimate expulsion from Makkah, leaving behind all their properties and possessions, families, friends, and tribes. This was due to constant torment and ridicule from the people of Makkah for no reason other than to reconfirm their faith in One God, the God of Abraham, and to establish social justice. He was welcomed in Madinah, where he quickly established tribal harmony with various peace treaties, establishing governance among people and building a tight bond among the people of Madinah, known as Ansar, or helper, who welcomed him and his followers from Makkah, known as Muhajirun or immigrants). It is in this context of thirteen-plus years of persecution and passive resistance, that he, having secured his base in Madinah, inspired his followers for active resistance against falsehood and ungodliness in an opportune moment in the second year of his leadership in Madinah.
398 A trade caravan belonging to traders from Makkah, carrying goods and animals, was to cross near Madinah on their way to Makkah from Syria, and the prophet, after consulting his followers, let the word out that his small group of faithful would intercept the caravan and secure some of the goods, given the total loss of their possessions and properties when they were driven out of Makkah unjustifiably and with no human dignity. While this plan was being made, the leader of the caravan, a wealthy trader named Abu Sufiyan, sent messages to Makkah about the potential danger to his caravan. The leaders of Makkah assembled a well-equipped army of one thousand strong men and marched toward Madinah while the caravan took a detour farther away from Madinah.
399 It is in this overall context that some of his followers were hesitant to face an army as opposed to what was earlier thought of an encounter with a caravan. Prophet consulted his companions—both the immigrants and the helpers—and moved forward with three hundred of his followers to face the advancing army.
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REFLECTION
At the beginning of second year of his presence in Madinah, after thirteen years of constant and painful indignity, harassment, and threats to their lives and property, the prophet with his small group of Makkan and Madinite followers changed their strategy and tactics from passive resistance to an active posture to assert their God-given rights of freedom and human dignity in the face of enormous odds. The following nine years had seen a series of internal and external conflicts and challenges, along with continued refinements of guidance and teaching that led to a decisive victory of Makkah and turning of the entire Arab peninsula into the fold of faith in One God, and the emergence of an unparalleled doctrine of a new world order based on faith, human equality, and social justice for all, especially for those who are least able to demand and sustain such rights.
ACTION
The context, background, and enormity of this first encounter of the Prophet and his followers with their adversaries from their homeland was of enormous consequences for them but also lays out a framework for all of us on how and when one should engage in active resistance against evils and faithlessness in our midst. More will be said as we move along this chapter.