The Life of Muhammadﷺ, The Madinan Period, Volume 1
By Imam Anwar Al_Awlaki,
اَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنَّ الشِّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ ۝ بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيْمَ۝
اَلْحَمْدُ لله ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِنَا محمد وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْراَّ
We all know Uhud(أحَد), to be a defeat,
but the amazing thing is that Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) thinks otherwise.
Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) says that it is a victory for the Muslims.
The reason why it's a victory for the Muslims is
because it's a gold mine of lessons.
It's a treasure trove, Ibbar(عِبَّرْ), historical lessons that could be learned
from this amazing event.
So, In Sha Allah Ta'ala(ان شاءالله تعالى) we will devote this entire session, to lessons from the Battle of Uhud(أحَد).
Number one,
and by the way, these lessons we're going to be driving, mostly from Qur'an from Surat Al-Imran(سورة العمران).
And again to refresh your memories
Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال) was revealed after the Battle of Badr(بدر)
and Surat Al-Imran(سورة العمران) was revealed after the Battle of Uhud(أحَد).
So these two Su'ar(سُوَر) are dealing with these two great battles.
Number one, study history.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ سُنَنٌ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ
فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ۝
Similar conditions as yours have passed on before.
So, proceed throughout the earth and observe,
how was the end of those, who denied.
Go and travel and see what happened to the nation's before
learn history, study the lessons,
look at the conflict between good and evil and the outcome of it.
This Qur'an is a clear statement to all the people
and a guidance and instruction for those conscious of Allah.
Now, we cannot benefit from history.
If we don't believe in the authenticity of the rule of cause and effect.
We have to believe that causes do lead to certain results.
If that wasn't the case, then there's no benefit in studying history.
Because when we study history, what we're looking at,
are the causes that lead to certain results.
So, the cause effect, rule has to be correct.
So, we believe if you do this, the outcome would be that,
this is how we benefit from history.
So, we look at the believers of the early nations and we try to emulate them.
And we look at the disbelievers of the former nations and we try to avoid their practices.
That is how we can benefit from history because this is not storytelling.
Allah is not telling us to study history, to entertain ourselves,
Allah is telling us to study history to learn the lessons.
لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ
You have lessons to learn from their stories.
So, this is the first thing, is to study history.
And that's what we're doing here.
We're talking about the Seerah(سيرة) of Rasool Allah ﷺ and this is the greatest part of history.
We're studying the life of the final prophet,
the one whose message will carry on until the Day of Judgment,
no other prophet had the blessing of being the Nabi(نبي) to all mankind
and to have his message carry on until the Day of Judgment except Muhammadﷺ.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ۝
We have sent you as mercy to all mankind.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says:
وَكَانَ نَبِيُّ بَعْثَه’ اِلَى قَوْمِه خَاصَهْ وَبُعِثْتُ اِلَى النَّاسِ عَامَّهْ
Every prophet before me, was sent to his specific nation
while I am sent to all mankind.
The second lesson,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ۝
So, do not weaken and do not grieve,
and you are superior, if you are true believers.
When was this revealed?
Let's look at the context, this was revealed after the defeat of Uhud(أحَد).
When the spirits were low,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling them;
Do not weaken and do not grieve,
when you are superior.
You are superior, even though you lost.
So, the Muslims should never forget this.
You are superior to every other nation, no matter what.
Even if the Ummah(امة) is defeated, even if the Ummah(امة) is weak, even if it is oppressed.
This Ummah(امة) is still the best Ummah(امة) and the Ayaah(آية) that says:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ
Is an Ayaah(آية) in Surat Al-Imran(سورة العمران),
which was revealed after the defeat of Uhud(أحَد).
You were the best nation brought forth to mankind.
This Ayaah(آية) didn't come after Badr(بدر),
it didn't come after Fatiha Makkah(فتح مكه),
it didn't come when the Islamic Empire was covering two thirds of Earth.
This was revealed after the worst defeat that the Muslims suffered in the time of Rasool Allah ﷺ
and that's the Battle of Uhud(أحَد).
So, Allah is telling them remember who you are, Keep that in mind.
The third lesson
and actually, we have here Seven lessons bundled together in verses 140, 143
so we'll go over them all by reciting the Ayaah(آية).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
إِنْ يَمْسَسْكُمْ قَرْحٌ فَقَدْ مَسَّ الْقَوْمَ قَرْحٌ مِثْلُهُ ۚ
وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ
وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَيَتَّخِذَ مِنْكُمْ شُهَدَاءَ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ۝
وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَيَمْحَقَ الْكَافِرِينَ۝
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّابِرِينَ۝
وَلَقَدْ كُنْتُمْ تَمَنَّوْنَ الْمَوْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَلْقَوْهُ فَقَدْ رَأَيْتُمُوهُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ۝
If a wound should touch you,
there has already, touched the opposing people a wound similar to it.
And these days of varying conditions we alternate among the people,
so that Allah may make evident those who believe
and may take himself from among you Shuhadaa(شهدآء).
And Allah does not like the wrongdoers.
And that Allah may purify the believers through trials
and destroy the disbelievers.
Or do you think that you would enter Paradise, while Allah has not yet made evident,
those of you, who fight in His cause,
and made evident those who are steadfast
and you had certainly wished for death
before you encountered it.
And you have now seen it before you, while you are looking on.
So, there are seven lessons in these four verses.
Number one, if a wound should touch you,
there has already touched the opposing people a wound similar to it.
What does this indicate?
What does Allah telling us?
Again, if a wound should touch you,
there has already touched the opposing people a wound similar to it.
Because Muslims now have lost the battle of Uhud(أحَد).
And again, the spirits were low
and this is a defeated army.
And we know how weak the morale is with a defeated army.
Things are bleak and depressed.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling them;
that, what happened to you has happened to the people of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) in the Battle of Badr(بدر).
If you are suffering wounds now, they suffered wounds a year ago.
If you are suffering defeat now, they suffered the same defeat a year ago.
Now if that did not prevent them from carrying on the fight,
and coming to meet you in Uhud(أحَد),
these wounds should not stop you from carrying on the fight.
So, the Muffassireen(مفسرين) say, what is meant here
is that what happened to you is happening to them
and since you are expecting from Allah what they don't expect
and that is Jannah(جنة) and the rewards from Him.
You should carry on the fight and you should never give up,
and you should never lay down your arms.
You should hit the ground running.
Whatever happened to you should not let you give up,
and should not defeat your souls.
The spirits must remain high.
إِنْ يَمْسَسْكُمْ قَرْحٌ فَقَدْ مَسَّ الْقَوْمَ قَرْحٌ مِثْلُهُ ۚ
So be patient.
You wounded, be patient.
Some of you are killed, be patient,
you lost, be patient,
have perseverance, be steadfast.
Number two,
وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ
And these days of varying conditions, we alternate among the people.
One day you win, the next day you lose.
That's how it is, in this life.
It's the yin and the yang of history.
It's not all on one condition, you're not going to always win.
And also you're not going to always lose.
Now let's look at what Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) said about this.
He said;
اَنَّ حِكْمَة الله وَ سُنَّتَه’ فِيْ رُسُلِهِ وَاَتْبَاعِهِمْ جَرَتْ بِاَنْ يُدَالُوا مَرَّة وَ يُدَالُوا عَلَيْهِمْ اُخْرَى،
لَكِنْ تَكُوْنُ لَهُمُ الْعَاقِبَهْ
He said, it was the wisdom of Allah
and His way with His prophets and their followers that they would once win and once lose,
but in the end, they are the victorious.
So, the end result is that Islam will win.
However, until we reach to that stage,
it's going to be a win and lose situation.
You win once and you lose the next.
And then he said;
فَاِنَّهُمْ لَوْ اِنْتَصَرُوْدَآئِمًا دَخَلَ مَعَه’اَلْمُؤمِنُوْنَ وَغَيْرَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَتَمَيَّزْ اَلصَّادِقْ مِنْ غَيْرَه
He said, If the believers always win, then others will join them.
And then it wouldn't be clear, who are the believers and who are not.
So, to distinguish the believers from the non believers
there must be this alternating conditions of winning and losing
because if the Muslims are winning all the time,
then everybody is gonna recognize that this is the winning party and everybody's gonna join.
And some of them would only join for worldly reasons, not for the sake of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
So, this is the Hikmah(حكمه) behind winning and losing.
And then he says,
وَلَوْ اِنْتَصِرَ عَلَيْهِمْ دَآئِمًا لَمْ يَحْصِلِ الْمَقْصُوْدْ مِنَّ الْبِعْثَة وَالرِّسَالَهْ
And if the Muslims are always losing then,
the objective of sending the prophets would not be fulfilled,
and that is for this religion to spread, and to win, converts and to rule the earth.
So, it is not appropriate for the believers to always win,
and it's not also appropriate for them to always lose.
It's a mixture of both.
And this is for the conditions of the test to be appropriate.
So, the losing phases separate the true believers from the Munafiqeen(منافقين).
And the winning phases are the ones that spread the religion.
So, you have both objectives fulfilled.
The third lesson,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
So, that Allah may make evident, those who believe
and as we mentioned before, the true test of Eeman(ايمان) is Jihad(جهاد) Feesabeel Lillah(في سبيل الله).
That is the true test of men.
That is where the truth comes out.
And that is where the fakeness shows.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is saying that what happened to you in Uhud(أحَد)
is to separate the believers from the Munafiqeen(منافقين).
The fourth lesson,
وَيَتَّخِذَ مِنْكُمْ شُهَدَاءَ
And that Allah may take to himself from among you, Shuhadaa(شهدآء).
Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) says,
اِنَّ اشَّهَادَتَ عِنْدَه’ مِنْ اَعْلَى مَرَاتِ بِاَوْلِيَآْءِ
وَشُّهَدَآءُهُمْ خَوَاصُه’ وَالْمٌقَرَّبُوْنَ عَلَيْه
Shahadah(شهادة), martyrdom is among the highest status in the eyes of Allahعَزّوجَلّ,
it comes right after the Anbiyaa(أنبياء) and the Siddiqeen(صديقين).
And he said;
وَشُّهَدَآءُهُمْ خَوَاصُه’ وَالْمٌقَرَّبُوْنَ إلَيْه
And the martyrs are the ones, whom Allah draws closer to Him.
These are the ones, whom Allahعَزّوجَلّ loves and brings close to Him.
وَلَا سَبِيْلَ اِلَى نَيْلِ هَذِهِ الدَّرَجَة اِلَّا بِتَقْدِيْرِ الْاَسْبَابِ الْمُفْضِيَّةِ اِلَيْهَا مِنْ تَسْلِيْط الْعَدُّوّْ
And how can there be Shuhadaa(شهدآء), if Allahعَزّوجَلّ doesn't allow the enemy to kill some of the Muslims.
So, if Shahadah(شهادة) is such a high status?
How are some people going to achieve it?
The only way for them to achieve it, is through the hands of the enemy.
And this is one of the wisdoms of the Battle of Uhud(أحَد).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ took to himself 70 shuhadaa(شهدآء).
Number five,
وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَيَمْحَقَ الْكَافِرِينَ۝
And that Allah may purify the believers through trials and destroy the disbelievers.
So, number one,
وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
So, that Allah may purify the believers.
Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) has some interesting words, he said;
Allahعَزّوجَلّ loves some of His servants so much,
he reserves for them high places in Jannah(جنة).
So, you have this high place, high level in Jannah(جنة)
reserved for this certain servant of Allah, because Allah loves him.
However, the deeds of this servant are not sufficient enough to take him up to that level.
So, how could he achieve it?
It is by Allah making him, go through trials in Duniyah(دنيا) suffering hardship, pain,
and that is how he can climb up to his high reserve status in paradise.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ loved some of these Sahabah(صحابه) so much,
but because their deeds are not sufficient to take them up to that level reserved for them in Jannah(جنة),
Allahعَزّوجَلّ made them go through the Battle of Uhud(أحَد) and suffer the pain
and hardship and injury and defeat
and suffer the sad feelings of hearing the false news that Rasool Allah ﷺ was killed.
All of this was Gham(غم) all of this was distress that the Muslims had to go through.
وَلِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
It's a purification process, it's a selection process.
These are the trials.
And the next and I'm combining these in one,
even though they could be separated as two different lessons,
وَيَمْحَقَ الْكَافِرِينَ۝
And destroy the disbelievers
and Allahعَزّوجَلّ dislikes some of the Kuffar(كفار), so much
that they have places for them reserved in Hellfire
and Allahعَزّوجَلّ destroys them through their actions in Duniyah(دنيا).
So the fact that the Kuffar(كفار) defeated the Muslims
and killed 70 of them,
and the Muslims had to suffer all of this hardship under the hands of the kuffar(كفار).
This is destruction for the kuffar(كفار), it's not something for them to be happy about.
For Ibn Qamiyah(ابن قميه) to strike Rasool Allah ﷺ,
and Ut'bah Bin Abi Waqas(عتبة بن ابي وقاص) to strike Rasool Allah ﷺ
is that good news for them?
Is that something to be happy about?
That is the worst thing that ever happened to them in their lives.
And they would be condemned to Hellfire for eternity for it.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ dislikes some of the Kuffar(كفار)
and they deserve His damnation and eternal punishment,
because of the actions that they committed in Duniyah(دنيا).
So, when we see that a certain nation of Kuffr(كفر),
it appears that it has free reign to do whatever it wants with the Muslims
to kill some of them in whichever country it wants.
And to round them up, interrogate them, torture them,
throw them in prisons for years at end without any due course of law.
Is that good news for them.
That's a sign that Allahعَزّوجَلّ is angry with this nation or people,
that's a sign that Allahعَزّوجَلّ has His wrath on them,
that's a sign of what will happen to them on the Day of Judgment.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ gives these tyrants chance in Duniyah(دنيا)
so that they could achieve rightfully and claim their places in hellfire.
One should not think this is a sign that Muslims are weak or that this religion will defeated.
No, this is an indication and we could for example, bring up the example of Firauon(فرعون)
how he succeeded in punishing the children of Israel(اسرائيل) for years.
Is that something for Firauon(فرعون) to be happy about?
No, that was because Allahعَزّوجَلّ was building a case against him.
And Allahعَزّوجَلّ was gathering evidence against him to be presented on the Day of Judgment.
And that's exactly what's happening with the enemies of Allah today.
Allah is building a case against them.
Don't think that they will escape justice.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ sees and hears everything.
And on the Day of Judgment, all of what they have done will be presented to them
in the court of justice of the Day of Judgment.
That's why it's called Al-Yaom Ul Qayamah(اليوم القيامة), the day of Judgment,
Yaum Ul Hissaab(يوم الحساب), because Allahعَزّوجَلّ will judge upon them.
And all of this evidence will be presented to them nothing will be hidden,
لاَ تَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ خَافِيَةٌ
Nothing is hidden from the eyes of Allahعَزّوجَلّ, the All knowing.
So, this is a Hikmah(حكمة) that you shouldn't neglect or overlook.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is building a case against the enemies of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
Because Allah knows the evil of their heart,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ makes it manifest through their actions,
so that they wouldn't come on the day of judgment and say,
O Allah, how come you're casting us into Hellfire
when we haven't done any evil,
so even though Allahعَزّوجَلّ already knows what is in their hearts,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ gives them a chance to play it out in the real world,
so that they wouldn't have any excuse on the Day of Judgment.
The sixth lesson,
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّابِرِينَ۝
For those Muslims, who thought that Islam is a free ride,
that Islam is convenient
that Islam will give you paradise, without demanding too much from you,
all what you have to do is give a few Rak'ah(ركعة) here and there, for Allahعَزّوجَلّ, duing the day
and make a few Azkaar(ازكار) and that's it.
You're granted Paradise,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling such people.
Or do you think that you will enter Paradise,
while Allah has not made evident those of you, who fight Jihad(جهاد) in His cause
and made evident, those who are steadfast.
Don't think that you can make it to Jannah(جنه) without Jihad(جهاد) Feesabil Lillah(جهاد في سبيل الله).
وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمْ
Allah is telling the Muslims, you're going to have to go through these stages
you have to go through it.
Because you cannot claim your place in Jannah(جنة),
without going through the test of Jihad Feesabeel Lillah(جهاد في سبيل الله).
And consequently, it will show your steadfastness because that's where Sabar(صبر) is shown.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم, this is the Islamic way.
This is the Islamic way.
This is not a mystic religion, where you could do a few Azkaar(اذكار) here and there
and then think that you have done your part,
No,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is going to test you in the field.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ has some serious demands from you.
Because Allahعَزّوجَلّ is giving you Jannah(جنة).
I mean, you're not gonna get it for free.
You have to earn it, you have to work for it.
When I say, earn it, it's not literal,
because no matter what we do, Jannah(جنة) is more than our deeds.
Even Rasool Allah ﷺ said that I will only get into Jannah(جنة), by the mercy of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
So again, but Allahعَزّوجَلّ wants us to do our best.
He wants us to the utmost effort that we are capable of, humanly in this Duniyah(دنيا).
Seventh lesson,
after the Battle of Badr(بدر), and the outstanding victory of Muslims,
the ones who missed it, they were looking forward to meeting the enemy again.
And they were asking for Shahadah(شهاده) and they were asking for meeting death.
But that was all, desires in the heart.
How it's going to play out in the real world is something else.
So, you could have the intention.
But is that intention real?
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ said;
وَلَقَدْ كُنْتُمْ تَمَنَّوْنَ الْمَوْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَلْقَوْهُ فَقَدْ رَأَيْتُمُوهُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ۝
And you had certainly wished for death, i.e. martyrdom
before you encountered it.
And you have now seen it before you, while you were looking on.
So, in other words, actual fighting was necessary to verify whether their wishes were true or not,
whether their intentions were true or not.
And Subhaan Allah(سبحان الله) maybe even they didn't know about it.
I mean, you could, every one of us could have intentions in their hearts.
But does that mean that
if we are faced with an opportunity to fulfill those intentions, we would really fulfill them.
That is something that only Allahعَزّوجَلّ knows
and that's why Allahعَزّوجَلّ made them face these situations to make evident what was in their hearts.
So, Allah is telling them, You want to face martyrdom.?
Here you go.
Here's your chance.! Go ahead.! Show me.
So, these are seven lessons we can learn from verses 140, 143 of Surat Al-Imran(سورة العمران).
Next, treating mistakes
How did Allahعَزّوجَلّ deal with the mistakes of the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم?
First let me say this.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ has never ever praised the Muslims for their victories, never.
So, after the Battle of Badr(بدر)
Ayaat(آيات) of Qur'an are not coming down, thanking the Muslims and praising them for their efforts in Badr(بدر),
No! It was infact, to the contrary.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ said;
وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۗ
وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ اِنَّ اللهَ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ۝
Victory is from Allah,
so I'm not giving you credit for that victory in Badr(بدر)
and in the Battle of Badr(بدر), if you recall we talked about the dispute over the prisoners of war.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ revealed then,
actually it was about the prisoners of war Allahعَزّوجَلّ revealed.
لَوْلَا كِتَابٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِيمَا أَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ۝
If not for a decree from Allah that preceded,
you would have been touched for, what you took by great punishment.
So, after the Battle of Badr(بدر), Allah told them, that I was going to punish you.
So, to the contrary, one would think that Allah would assume that since they have won,
the Ayaat(آيات) would come praising them, no.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ was threatening them with punishment,
because of what they have done with the prisoners of war.
And Allah said that because you are interested in Duniyah(دنيا),
because you wanted the ransom.
You did not execute the prisoners, when that is the course of action that you have taken.
So, it was because of your love of Duniyah(دنيا),
you have chosen to ransom the prisoners of war and Allah said that I was going to punish you.
If it wasn't in the my book,
that ransom is Halal(حلال) for you, you would have been punished.
While in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد),
let's compare the Ayaat(آيات) of Badr(بدر) with the Ayaat(آيات) of Uhud(أحَد),
here in Badr(بدر), I was going to punish you,
what about in Uhud(أحَد)?
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنْكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ۝
And He has already forgiven you and Allah is the possessor of bounty for the believers.
So, after the Battle of Uhud(أحَد),
when they were at fault, and they lost, Allah said;
And I have forgiven you,
while after the Battle of Badr(بدر), Allah said, I was going to punish you.
This tells us something.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is curing our hearts from any diseases that might linger in it.
After the Battle of Badr(بدر),
to save the Muslims from feelings of pride or arrogance.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ has said that I was going to punish you for what you have done.
And Allahعَزّوجَلّ said that victory that you have achieved is actually from Me,
while after the Battle of Uhud(أحَد),
because they have already suffered in Duniyah(دنيا).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is raising up their spirits again,
and comforting them by telling them that I have forgiven you.
You have committed a mistake on that hill, by coming down
and you have committed a sin by disobeying the Prophet.
And you have committed a sin by being thirsty and hungry for Duniyah(دنيا).
But in the end, I have forgiven you.
Next lesson,
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is turning our attention to the previous Mujahideen(مجاهدين).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says in verses 146 to 148.
وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا
فَمَا وَهَنُوا لِمَا أَصَابَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا وَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا ۗ
وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ۝
وَمَا كَانَ قَوْلَهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ۝
فَآتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا وَحُسْنَ ثَوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ۝
And how many a prophet fought and with him fought many religious scholars,
but they never lost assurance, due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah.
Nor did they weaken or submit
and Allah loves the steadfast.
And their words were not but that they said
O our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess committed in our affairs
and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people.
So, Allah gave them the reward of this world.
And the good reward of the hereafter and Allah loves the doers of good.
What can we learn from these Ayaat(آيات),
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is saying that the prophets before you fought
and alongside them fought religious scholars,
so the scholars should not sit at home,
they should stand with their Prophets and fight.
You know, because scholars tend to develop a tradition, and this is with scholars among every religion,
after a while because of all of the respect that they get from the people,
they kind of develop this special status.
So, they wear special clothes, and they act in a special way.
And it could be superficies, it could be ceremonial,
and they would stay away from the dirt and the that the soldiers have to suffer,
you know, walking in the dirt and sleeping in bunker beds or maybe not even sleeping beds at all
and suffering the pain and you know, being equal to everybody else,
and going through that hard life.
Probably Shaytaan(شيطان) can come to this scholar and say
you know, you don't have to go through all of that you have Ilm(علم), you have knowledge,
just stay at home and teach the people that would be enough.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is saying here that, that's not the way of the righteous scholars,
the righteous scholars stood with their Prophets, they were in the field.
And then Allahعَزّوجَلّ said, but they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them.
So, when they lost when they were faced with hardship,
they never lost assurance.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم, don't be affected by the setback.
Don't let it pull you down.
And then Allahعَزّوجَلّ said, it didn't weaken them.
And they didn't submit, and Allah loves the steadfast, you have to carry on, persist.
And then Allahعَزّوجَلّ says that they said, Our Lord, forgive us our sins,
and the excess committed in our affairs.
This is very important that when you're fighting for the sake of Allah,
you don't depend on your numbers or your preparation,
but you depend on Allah
and you seek forgiveness from Him.
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ
And you admit your sins,
and you humble yourself in front of Allahعَزّوجَلّ, you humiliate yourself under Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
That is something that Allahعَزّوجَلّ loves to see from His servants
and that is what these Mujahideen(مجاهدين) before Muhammadﷺ did.
See Allahعَزّوجَلّ is bringing the story of these early fighters for the Muslims to learn.
So, Allah is saying this was their way.
And then they would say and plant firmly our feet and give us victory, after they admit their sins.
And they ask Allah for forgiveness.
And that is when Allahعَزّوجَلّ has given them reward of this life and the reward of the afterlife.
And Allah loves the doers of good.
And since Allahعَزّوجَلّ is telling the Muslims to turn their attention to the fighters of the former nations,
now we have the former nations and also the fighters of this Ummah(امة),
we have twice the lessons that the Sahabah(صحابه) had.
Because now we have their example with us.
The next lesson, the evil of disobedience, the consequences of disobedience.
Disobeying Rasool Allah ﷺ is very dangerous.
That is why they lost in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد),
because of disobeying Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ ۖ
فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۚ
ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا۝
O, you have believed obey Allah and obey the messenger and those in authority among you.
So, after the Messenger of Allah, we obey the Ameer(امير).
And if you disagree over anything referred to Allah and the messenger,
if you should believe in Allah and the last day, that is the best way and the best result,
if we have a dispute on any affair, we take it back to Qur'an and Sunnah(سنة),
that is our reference.
The next lesson, the danger of preferring Duniya(دنيا) over Aaakhirah(آخرة).
You know, the story of this Ummah(امة) with the booty war is a sad one.
It started in the Battle of Badr(بدر),
that's when Allahعَزّوجَلّ revealed the Aayaat(آيات) of Al-Anfaal(الانفال).
Ubadah Bin Samit(عبادة بن سامت) said these Ayaat(آيات) were revealed,
because we the Sahabah(صحابه) of Rasool Allah ﷺ disputed over the booty,
and our manners were not appropriate
وَسَاءتْ فِيْه اَخْلَاقُنَا
And in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد).
That was what brought down the archers.
It was because they were eager to participate in collecting the booty.
And Subhaan Allah(سبحان الله) this problem carried on.
And yes, they were Muslims, who learn the lessons.
But there were others who didn't.
What stopped, the Muslim conquest, in Western Europe was booty.
The Muslims, when they entered into Spain,
Abdur Rahmaan Al-Ghafiqi(عبد الرحمن الغافقي), was the Ameer(امير) of the Muslims.
And he was leading them into France now.
And they succeeded in conquering almost two thirds of France.
And they were 100 kilometers away from Paris, the capital
and they were almost going to run over France.
But by the time they reached to the outskirts of Paris,
they were loaded with booties,
loaded with spoils of war.
So, now the soldier is fighting the enemy in front of him,
but his mind is behind him.
He's thinking about his share of the booties of war, all of this stuff that we're carrying with us,
and it was pulling down the army.
So, they ended up losing in the battle called Balaat Ush-Shuhadaah(بلاط الشهدآء),
the court of martyrs
and it was given this name because of the huge number of Muslims, who were killed in that battle.
Among them, one of the greatest leaders of the Muslim armies, Abdur Rahmaan Al-Ghafiqi رحمه الله,
he was killed in that battle,
and that marked the end of the Muslim advanced in Western Europe.
They never reach there again. From there on, it was retreat, retreat, retreat.
Even though it was a bit slow, it took about 800 years,
but it was slowly but surely.
So, the turning point was due to booty.
Abdullah Bin Masood رضي الله عنه said,
I did not know that there was among us, the companions of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
people who preferred Duniyah(دنيا) over Aakhirah(آخرة).
You know this is not talking about Al-Munafiqeen(المنافقين),
this is talking about some of the Mo'mineen(مؤمنين).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says, among you are some, who desire this world
and among you are some who desire the hereafter.
So, Allahعَزّوجَلّ is saying that in the hearts of some of you there's the desire of Duniyah(دنيا).
Abdullah Bin Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) said;
I never knew that existed among some of the Sahabah(صحابه), until then.
And this again shows you,
how Jihad(جهاد) Fee-Sabeel-Lillah(فِي سَبيل الله) brought out something that possibly could have never showed up to the surface.
Abdullah Bin Masood(عبدالله بن مسعود) said: I didn't know that it existed.
Next lesson, we should hold on fast to our religion.
When the rumors spread that Muhammadﷺ was killed
some of the Muslims were trying to find a way to meet with Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبدالله بن ابيئ)
to have him intercede with the Kuffar(كفار) of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ), to give them truce.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ taught us a lesson, Allahعَزّوجَلّ said;
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ ۚ
أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰ أعْقَابِكُمْ ۚ
وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ
وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ۝
Muhammad(محمد) is not but a messenger.
Other messengers have passed on before him.
Muhammadﷺ is a messenger and there are other messengers before him and where are they now?
They're dead.
So, the same thing, death, should be expected to happen to Muhammadﷺ, if all of the other prophets are dead.
Why do you think or assume that Muhammadﷺ wouldn't die as they did?
And then Allah said, so if he was to die or to be killed?
Would you then turn back on your heels to unbelief?
Is that how you're going to react his death
just because Muhammadﷺ died you're going to give up your religion.
And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all,
you are the ones who need Allah, Allah doesn't need you.
But Allah will reward the Grateful.
This is Al-Imran(العمران) One (hundred) fouty four(144).
Therefore Allah telling us that this religion does not depend on personalities.
The fate of this religion is not hinged to any person
even if that person is the great and noble person of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, if that's the case with Rasool Allah ﷺ,
we should never think or believe if such and such person is killed,
that this religion the advance of this religion will stop,
we should never assume that the victory is dependent on a particular leader.
And that's why Umar Bin Khattab(عمر بن خطاب) fired Khalid Ibn Waleed رضي الله عنه from his post of the general of the Muslim armies.
He wanted people to know that victory is not because of Khalid Ibn Waleed(خالد ابن وليد),
victory is because of Allah.
It is Allah, Who brought us victory, it is not Khalid Ibn Waleed(خالد ابن وليد).
So, Muslims who are waiting now for a particular leader or are depending on a particular leader,
you should depend on Allah.
Allah did not allow the Muslims to depend on Muhammadﷺ,
Allah told them if Muhammad(محمد) dies, you need to carry on, being Muslims,
carry on spreading the message as if nothing changed.
You should not retreat and fall back on your heels.
Because this religion is dependent on, No One
and that's why when Abu Bakr Siddique رضي الله عنه came to Madina after the death of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
What did he say to the people.
مَنْ كَانَ يَعْبُدُوْ مُحَمَّدً فَاِنَّ مُحَمَّدً قَدْ مَاتْ
، وَمَنْ كَانَ يَعْبُدُالله فَاِنَّ الله حَيُّ الَّا يَمُوْتْ
Whoever worships Muhammad(محمد), Muhammad(محمد) is dead.
But whoever worships Allah, Allah is alive and never dies.
How did the Prophet deal with the archers and the hypocrites,
the archers disobeyed him and the hypocrites also disobeyed him.
So, how did he deal with them?
He dealt with him differently.
Let's look at how he dealt with the archers.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ ۖ
وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ
فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ
فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ۝
So, by mercy from Allah, O Muhammad(محمد),
you were lenient with them.
And if you had been rude in speech and harsh in heart,
they would have disbanded from about you.
So, Allah is saying Muhammadﷺ,
your method of Da'wah(دعوة) has been based on being lenient, being soft,
not being harsh in word or speech,
not being rude in speech or harsh in heart.
That is how, you were able to bring these hearts together.
So, how do you deal with the archers.?
Allah said: So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them.
Subhaan Allah(سبحان الله),
we lost because of them,
Rasool Allah ﷺ was injured because of them,
70 Muslims were killed because of them
and then you pardon them and not only pardon them,
but Allah wants you to ask forgiveness for them.
وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ
You Muhammadﷺ, who suffered
because of their mistake, you ask Allahعَزّوجَلّ to forgive them.
And Subhaan Allah(سبحان الله), we talked about the Shura(شورى),
and we said that some of the Muslims, the youth, especially and the ones, who missed the Battle of Badr(بدر),
were asking Rasool Allah ﷺ to go out and fight outside Madina.
And we said that this wasn't the opinion of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
the opinion of Rasool Ullah that we stay in Madina and fight from within.
And that was the better opinion, it was opinion of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, that is also probably one of the reasons why they lost.
Nevertheless, Allahعَزّوجَلّ said and consult them in the matter,
even if consultation has led to your defeat.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ is saying don't let that prevent you from making Shura(شورى) again.
So, we carry on with Shura(شورى) even if the result of the Shura(شورى) was wrong.
You still carry on with Shura(شورى),
Shura(شورى) is the right way to go.
Look at the lessons, this Ghazwah(غزوة) is loaded with lessons.
Shura(شورى), carry on with Shura(شورى).
And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah.
So, after you make Shura(شورى) and you decide, you go ahead,
you don't waver, you don't change, you don't oscillate.
Allah loves those, who rely upon Him.
Have Tawwakkul(توكل) in Allah.
So, how do you deal with the archers?
Number one, pardon them.
Number two, ask forgiveness for them.
Number three, consult them,
consult the Muslims, even if they have given you a wrong opinion, carry on consulting them.
So, if this was the instruction of Allah to the prophet of Allah, who is receiving Wahii(وحي) from Allah.
Who's infallible.
What about the poor, humble men like us?
How important does that make Shura(شورى) for us.
That's how he dealt with the archers.
How did he deal with the Munafiqoon(منافقون)?
Allah says , Surat Al-Imran(العمران) Verse 166, 167.
وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ فَبِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ۝
وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا ۚ
وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا قَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَوِ ادْفَعُوا ۖ
قَالُوا لَوْ نَعْلَمُ قِتَالًا لَاتَّبَعْنَاكُمْ ۗ
هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ ۚ
يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ مَا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَكْتُمُونَ۝
And what struck you on the day, the two armies met at Uhud(أحَد), was by the permission of Allah,
that He might make evident the true believers,
and that He might make evident those who are hypocrites,
for it was said to them come fight in the way of Allah, or at least defend.
They said, if we had known there would be fighting we would have followed you.
They were nearer to disbelieve that day then to faith,
saying with their mouths, what was not in their hearts
and Allah is the most knowing of what they conceal, that was it.
It was exposing them,
but they were not punished.
That was it, they were just exposed.
So, I want to bring up an important lesson here
There are some Muslims.
In fact, there are entire movements that are based upon this false hypothesis.
There are some Muslims who say that for the Ummah(امة), to succeed and be victorious.
We have to invite them all to truth,
and they all have to obey Allah and avoid sins.
And as long as there are Muslims who don't pray, Muslims who are committing sins, we're not going to win.
And we're not going to win until the Muslims who pray Fajr(فجر) are equal in number to the Muslims who pray Jum'ah(جمعه),
and then they bring you this saying of that Rabbi,
who went and visited the holy Mosque of Jerusalem and said that Jerusalem will fall in Muslim hands,
when the people, who are praying Fajr(فجر) are equal to the people, who are praying Jum'ah(جمعه),
and we start listening to all of this stuff.
And the Rabbi said, this and Rabbi said this and this Rabbi said that,
as if it's the Rabbi's, who are receiving the Wahee(وحي) of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
That's not a correct hypothesis.
There will always be more Muslims who pray Jum'ah(جمعه) than Muslims who pray Fajr(فجر),
And there will always be Muslims who commit sins,
there will always be Muslims, who commit major sins,
there will always be Muslims who are not fulfilling the obligations,
this will always be the case.
And if you are waiting for victory to come,
when all Muslims are righteous, and all Muslims are Auleaa(إولياء) of Allah, that will never happen.
And to prove to you that this hypothesis is wrong,
is the fact that one third of the Muslim army defected.
Those were the Munafiqoon(منافقون)
and this did not affect the outcome of the battle of Uhud(أحَد).
The Munafiqoon(منافقون), who left with Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبدالله بن أبي), were not the reason for the Muslim defeat.
This wasn't mentioned as a reason in Sunnah(سنة) and it's not mentioned as a reason in Qur'an,
therefore it's not one of the reasons,
it's not the reason, it's not even one of the reasons, why the Muslims lost.
The joining of the Munafiqeen(منافقين) or their defection wouldn't have made a difference.
And since there will always be Munafiqoon(منافقون) living among the Muslim Ummah(امة),
they will not affect the outcome of the battle between good and evil.
The outcome is affected by the core group of Muslims.
The Taifah Al-Mansourah(الطائفة المنصوره),
Rasool Allah ﷺ has talk about a core group of Muslims called Taifah Al-Mansourah(الطائفة المنصوره).
This is the saved group,
it is these, who have to be on the straight path.
If they start sinning, then the Muslims will lose.
So, the outcome depends on them.
It doesn't depend on all of the Ummah(امة),
see, the Ummah(امة) contains within its ranks, the righteous and the sinners,
it contains the believers and the Munafiqeen(منافقين).
And it's always going to be like that, until the day of judgment.
But the ones, whom we should make sure that they are united
and they are one and they are not disobeying Allahعَزّوجَلّ, are the Taifah Al-Mansourah(الطائفة المنصوره),
this core group of Muslims, they are the ones who need to be united.
Because their disobeying of Rasool Allah ﷺ, on that hill,
was what brought defeat to the Muslims.
It was the action of those 40 men on the mountain that brought defeat to the Muslims.
It wasn't the 300 who left with Andullah Bin Obaey(عبدالله بن أبي)
because Allahعَزّوجَلّ said;
وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُمْ بِإِذْنِهِ ۖ
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ
مِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ ۚ
ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنْكُمْ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ۝
It was when, you disunited and you failed,
and you disobeyed the messenger of Allah, that is when you lost.
Next lesson,
you know, you would expect that
the sight of the mountain of Uhud(أحَد), would bring back bad memories to Rasool Allah ﷺ, sad memories,
the defeat, in fact the first defeat of Muslims,
the loss of Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib(حمزه بن عبد المطلب), the dear uncle of Rasool Allah ﷺ, loss of 70 Shahadaa(شهدآء),
the injury of Rasool Allah ﷺ, so it's all bad memories
but Rasool Allah ﷺ was optimistic.
And he hated pessimism.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
اُحَدْ جَبَلٌ يُحِبُّنَا وَنُحِبُّهُ
Uhud(أحَد) is or a mountain that loves us, and we love it.
So, this mountain rather than bringing sad memories,
no, it's a mountain that loves us and we love it.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ says;
اُحَدْ جَبَلٌ فِيْ الْجَنَّةْ
Uhud(أحَد) is a mountain in paradise.
So, throw away pessimism, throw away associating the mountain of Uhud(أحَد) with sad memories,
No,
whenever we see it, we will be we optimistic, whenever we see it, we will remember love.
We're not going to remember defeat and hardship and pain we're going to remember love.
This is a mountain that we love and it loves us.
This is an important lesson that the Muslim should always look at the bright side,
and the Muslims should always be optimistic.
Next, the rules of victory and defeat in Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال) and Al-Imran (العمران).
There are many rules of victory and defeat.
But we'll stick to those mentioned in Al Imran(العمران) and Al-Anfaal(الانفال)
because these are the two Sura's(سُوَر) revealed after Badr(بَدر) and Uhud(اُحَد)
and these are the two battles that we have talked about.
So, what are the rules of victory in Qur'an, specifically in Al-Imran(العمران) Al-Anfaal(الانفال).
Number one, first and foremost, victory is from Allah.
It belongs to Allah.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says,
وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۚ
وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ۝
And victory is not but from Allah.
verse 10 Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال).
So it belongs to Him,
It doesn't belong to your arms, it doesn't belong to your preparation.
It doesn't belong to a particular King or leader, it belongs to Allah.
Number two, if Allah wants to give you victory,
no one, no power on earth can stop that from happening.
So, you should fear no one.
As long as Allah wants to hand you down His victory, it's going to happen.
He gave it to Musa(موسى).
When Musa(موسى) was fighting against Firaun(فرعون).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
إِنْ يَنْصُرْكُمُ اللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ ۖ
وَإِنْ يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَنْصُرُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ۗ
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ۝
Verse 160 Al-Imran(العمران),
if Allah should aid you no one can overcome you.
But if He should forsake you,
who is there that can aid you after Him and upon Allah, the believers rely.
Rely on Allah because victory comes from Him.
And don't rely on anybody else.
Because if you rely on anybody else, Allah will forsake you.
Number three, attachment to this world and preferring it over Aakhira(آخرة) is a reason for defeat.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ said, and Allah has certainly fulfilled His promise to you,
when you were killing them by His permission.
This was the beginning of the battle of Uhud(أحَد), they were winning,
وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُمْ بِإِذْنِهِ ۖ
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُمْ مَا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ
مِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ ۚ
ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنْكُمْ ۗ
وَاللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ۝
Until the time, when you lost courage,
and fell to disputing about the order given by the prophet
and disobeyed him, after he had shown you that which you love,
among you are some who desire this world.
See, because of this desire of this world, you lost.
Also a reason for losing, disobeying Rasool Allah ﷺ,
another reason for losing is disunity
and these are going to come up, obedience to Rasool Allah ﷺ in having unity.
Number four, numbers are not the cause for victory or defeat.
Lack of numbers doesn't bring defeat
and overwhelming numbers do not bring victory.
This is very important to learn, don't depend on your numbers.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ said in Al-Imran(العمران), verse 123,
وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنْتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ ۖ
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ۝
And already had Allah given you victory in the Battle of Badr(بدر), when you were weak.
i.e. few in numbers.
you were few numbers in Badr(بدر) and nevertheless, you won.
While Allahعَزّوجَلّ say is about the Battle of Hunain(حنين).
لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ ۙ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ
وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنْكُمْ شَيْئًا
وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُمْ مُدْبِرِينَ۝
And on the Day of Hunain(حنين), you were impressed by your numbers.
And those numbers didn't do you any good,
they lost the battle of Hunain(حنين).
And Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
And how many small parties have defeated larger parties by the will of Allah.
This did not only happen with you Muhammadﷺ,
it did happen with the righteous people before you,
like the people of Talut(طالوت).
They were small in numbers and they still won.
So, numbers don't have anything to do with victory or defeat.
Number five,
obeying Allahعَزّوجَلّ and His Messenger and we talked about this,
number six unity, unity is important.
Number seven, perseverance.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ۖ
وَاصْبِرُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ۝
And obey Allah and His messenger and do not dispute and thus lose courage.
And then your strength will depart and be patient.
Be patient here it says Was-Biroo(واصبروا),
we could say that that is either patience, or perseverance.
Number eight, preparation.
Be prepared but don't depend on preparation,
but Allahعَزّوجَلّ telling you, be prepared physically,
mentally,
militarily in terms of arms training, you need to be prepared
and prepare against them and this is in Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال) verse 60.
وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ
وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ
وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ۝
And prepare against them whatever you are able of power
and of steals of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah
and your enemy and others besides them,
whom you do not know but whom Allah knows,
and whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaired to you
and you will not be wronged.
So, Muslims need to prepare.
Number nine and number 10, steadfastness
and then remembrance of Allah and these are mentioned in one Ayah(آية),
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةً فَاثْبُتُوا
وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ۝
O you, who have believed,
when you encounter a company from the enemy forces stand firm.
And remember Allah much that you may be successful.
So number one, stand firm.
Don't move from that spot.
Don't turn your back to the enemy.
And remember Allah, Zikr(ذكر) of Allahعَزّوجَلّ all the time.
الله اكبر، سبحان الله ،لا اله الا الله
Connect that heart to Allahعَزّوجَلّ you will win.
And this is verse 45, in Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال).
And another verse, Allahعَزّوجَلّ says,
and this is Surat Al-Anfaal(سورة الانفال) verse 15;
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا زَحْفًا فَلَا تُوَلُّوهُمُ الْأَدْبَارَ۝
O you, who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieved advancing for battle,
do not turn them your backs in fight,
stand firm.
وَثْبُتُوْ
We'll carry on with some other lessons from the Battle of Uhud(أحَد) In Sha Allah ho Ta'ala(ان شاءالله تعالى) tomorrow night.
صَلَّى الله عَلى سَيَّدِنَا محمد وَعَلى اَلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْرًا
وَالسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته