The sūrah has now completed its coverage of the events at Uĥud, but the struggle between the Muslim community and their opponents around Madinah, the Jews in particular, was not over. The debates, the arguments, the intrigues, the rumours, the destructive propaganda, and the controversies raged on unabated. It is this unending struggle that has occupied most of the sūrah.

The Prophet Muĥammad had by that time, in the wake of the Battle of Badr, banished the Jewish tribe of Qaynuqā from Madinah, in response to their seditious and subversive activities. They had reneged on agreements he made with them upon his arrival in Madinah and his establishment of a Muslim state incorporating the Arab tribes of Aws and Khazraj. The Jewish tribes of al-Nađīr and Qurayżah and the smaller Jewish communities in Khaybar and other parts of Arabia continued to work together, forging alliances with pockets of “hypocrites” inside Madinah and with the idolaters in Makkah and around Madinah, hatching plots to subvert and destroy the young Muslim state.

Earlier in the sūrah, the Jews are warned against a fate similar to that of the non- Muslim Arabs, if they underestimated the Muslims’ ability to retaliate. We read: “Say to those who disbelieve: ‘You shall be overcome and gathered unto Hell, an evil resting place.

You have had a sign in the two armies which met in battle. One was fighting for God’s cause, the other an army of unbelievers. They saw with their very eyes that the others were twice their own number. But God strengthens with His succour whom He wills. In this there is surely a lesson for all who have eyes to see.” (Verses 12-13)

When the Prophet conveyed this warning to the Jews of Madinah, in the wake of the Badr campaign, they reacted with insolence and contempt. On one occasion, a group of the Qaynuqā` Jews said to the Prophet: “Muĥammad. Do not let yourself be deluded that you were able to kill a few naïve men from Quraysh who were so inexperienced in combat. By God, if you were to fight us, you would know that we are the real men, the like of whom you have never encountered.” They went on to perpetrate more sedition and subversion, many aspects of which are given in this sūrah, culminating in the revocation of their agreement with Muĥammad.

Consequently, the Prophet lay siege to the Qaynuqā` forts until they yielded to his demands, and, thereafter, he banished them to a place called Adhra`āt. The two other Jewish tribes, Qurayżah and al-Nađīr, remained in Madinah, apparently faithful to their pact, but in practice heavily engaged in clandestine activities of disinformation, rumour and intrigue. Thus, the Qur’ān records for posterity Certain characteristics and patterns of behaviour that have, in many societies, come to be associated with some Jewish communities throughout history.

This section of the sūrah reviews some Jewish activities and claims that reflect an attitude of impertinence and disrespect, not only towards the Muslims, but towards God Almighty Himself. Not only did some of the Jews refuse to honour their financial commitments to the state, but had the impudence to say: “God is poor, we are rich”. (Verse 181)

Let not those who niggardly cling to all that God has bestowed on them of His bounty think that this is good for them. Indeed, it is bad for them. That to which they niggardly cling will hang around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. To God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and God is well aware of all that you do. God has certainly heard the words of those who said: “God is poor, and we are rich.” We shall record what they have said, and also their slaying of prophets against all right, and We shall say: “Taste now the torment of burning. This is on account of what your own hands have wrought. Never does God do the slightest injustice to His servants.” (Verses 180-2)

We do not have any highly authentic report as to whom the reference is directly made in the first verse of this passage; that is, those who are warned against being miserly and the result of their miserliness on the Day of Judgement. The fact that it occurs at this particular point in the sūrah adds relevance to the following verses which speak of the Jews. It is they, confound them, who said, “God is poor and we are rich.” It is also they who claimed that God specifically charged them not to believe in any messenger unless he brought them a burnt offering.

It appears that the whole passage has been revealed when the Jews were called upon to honour their financial commitments under their treaty wits the Prophet.

They were also called upon to believe in the Prophet as God’s Messenger and to give freely for God’s cause.

The stern warning made in these verses and the exposition of the excuses given by the Jews as a justification for their refusal to believe in Muĥammad (pbuh) are revealed as a strong reply to their impudence towards God, their Lord. This is coupled with support given to the Prophet in the face of their rejection of his message. He is reminded of what the messengers before him had to face in the way of hostile reception by their peoples. These included Israelite prophets who were killed after having brought to their people clear evidence of the truthfulness of their prophethood as well as miracles. All this is well known in the history of the Children of Israel.

Let not those who niggardly cling to all that God has bestowed on them of His bounty think that this is good for them. Indeed, it is bad for them. That to which they niggardly cling will hang round their necks on the Day of Resurrection. To God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and God is well aware of all that you do. (Verse 180)

This verse applies to the Jews who refuse to honour their commitments just as much as it applies to any people who refuse to come forward to support God’s message with that which God has bestowed on them of His bounty. They may think that their niggardliness serves their interests by protecting their wealth, keeping it in their hands, rather than spend it for a good purpose.

The Qur’ānic statement warns them against entertaining such false delusions, making it clear that what they hoard up will be lit up as fire and hung around their necks on the Day of Judgement. It is a fearful warning, made all the more so as it reveals that they niggardly cling only to that which “God has bestowed on them of His bounty. “They are not hoarding something they have gained of their own accord.

Here the sūrah addresses the Muslim community, explaining the values it should hold dear, and for which it should make sacrifices. It also speaks of the hardships and the suffering which it is bound to encounter on the way and encourages the Muslims to remain steadfast, show strong resolve and to always maintain fear of God:

Every soul shall taste death, and you shall be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which you have earned. He who shall be drawn away from the Fire and brought into paradise shall indeed have gained a triumph. The lift of this world is nothing but an illusory enjoyment. You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and you shall hear much hurting abuse from those who were given revelations before you and from those who set up partners with God. But if you persevere and continue to fear God — that is indeed a matter requiring strong resolve.” (Verses 185-6)

The fact that this life on earth is limited to a certain date, which will inevitably come must be well established in believers’ hearts. Good people as well as bad people will certainly die. Those who fight a campaign of jihād and those who slacken, those who feel pride in their faith and those who are humbled by others, the brave who accept no injustice and the cowards who will do anything to remain alive, those who have great aspirations and the ones who seek only cheap enjoyment, will all die.

No one will be spared: “Every soul shall taste death.” It is a cup from which every living thing will have to drink. There is no distinction whatsoever between one soul and another when it comes to drinking this cup. What distinction there is concerns a different value: the ultimate result. “You shall be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which you have earned. He who shall be drawn away from the Fire and brought into paradise shall indeed have gained a triumph.” It is with regard to this value that the distinction will be made. It is this destiny which will separate one group of souls from another. The value is one worth striving for and one to be taken very seriously:

“He who shall be drawn away from the Fire and brought into paradise shall indeed have gained a triumph.” (Verse 185)

The Arabic phrase rendered in translation as “shall be drawn away” is much more expressive than its English equivalent. This is because its very sound adds to its meaning and connotation. It gives the listener the sense that the Fire has strong gravity, that it pulls towards it anyone who draws near or enters its orbit. Such a person, then, needs support from someone else who draws him slowly and gradually away from its overpowering gravity. He who can be forced out of its orbit and become free of its pull will enter paradise, and he will have gained a great triumph.

It is a very vivid image, its lines delineated in sharp relief. We see movement, an overpowering force and a strong resistance. The fire beckons those who yield to the overpowering temptation of sin. Is it not true that a human being needs to be gradually drawn away from temptation? This is indeed how he is drawn away from the Fire. Despite the hard work and alertness this requires, man will always be in deficit with regard to the good work he needs to do. His only hope is for God to bestow on him His grace. That is what is being “drawn away” from the fire really means. It is only through God’s grace that man is spared the punishment of hell.

You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and you shall hear much hurting abuse from those who were given revelations before you and from those who set up partners with God. But if you persevere and continue to fear God — that is indeed a matter requiring strong resolve. (Verse 186)

In this verse, God tells the believers in no uncertain terms that they will have to undergo tests and trials which will affect them and their possessions. They have to persevere and remain steadfast in order to prove themselves worthy of God’s trust and His great reward. It is the natural way of things when it comes to the establishment of any faith in real life that its advocates should stand a hard test.

There is no escaping the fact that they will have to demonstrate their patience in adversity, their determined resistance and strong resolve as also their readiness to sacrifice whatever is required of their possessions and their persons. This is the only way to heaven which cannot be attained without sacrifice and hardship. Hell, on the other hand, is surrounded by easy pleasures and temptations. Moreover, there is no other way to mould the community which will become the standard-bearer of Islam and discharge its duties. This community must receive thorough education and cultivation in order to heighten its potentials and strengths. The only way is the practical discharge of the duties imposed by their faith and by their gaining a true and practical knowledge of life and people as they are. The trials are needed so that only the strongest in faith continue to advocate the Islamic call. It is only such people that are worthy of its advocacy since only they are fully equipped to be so entrusted.

Moreover, it is through trial and perseverance that faith becomes dearer to the faithful. The more they have to endure of hardship and the more sacrifice they have to give for their faith the more valuable it becomes to them. They do not turn their backs on it afterwards, not in any circumstances.

Trials strengthen those who are tried. It is resistance which sharpens potentials and consolidates them. A new faith requires that these potentials be heightened so that it can establish its roots deep in the most fertile soil of human nature.

It is also through trials that the advocates of a faith come to know themselves as they are. They will look at themselves as they struggle and fight for their faith. They become more aware of human nature in reality and its latent potentials, and they know the true nature of societies and communities. They observe the struggle between their own principles on the one hand and desires and temptations on the other. They become aware of how Satan works on man leading him astray and causing him to err.

Moreover, it is through the trials endured by the advocates of a certain faith that its opponents come to realise that there is much good in, it; its followers have stuck by it despite all the hardships they have endured for its sake. It is then that those opponents may themselves accept that faith en masse.

The sūrah continues to expose the peoples of earlier revelations who have contravened their covenant with God. God took a pledge from them that when He revealed to them the Scriptures that they would always make them known to people.

They, however, did not honour their pledges and concealed what had been entrusted to them of God’s revelations:

God has made a covenant with those who were granted revelations (when He bade them): ‘Make it known to mankind and do not conceal it.” But they cast it behind their backs and bartered it away for a trifling price. Evil is that which they have taken in exchange for it. Do not think that those who exult in their deeds and love to be praised for what they have not done — do not think that they will escape punishment. A grievous suffering awaits them. To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and He has power over all things. (Verses 187-9)

The sūrah relates many examples of what the people of earlier religions, particularly the Jews, were keen to do or say. Most serious among these was their concealment of the truth and their attempt to confuse that truth with falsehood. They aimed to create doubt and uncertainty in the basic concept of religion as well as in the truthfulness of the message of Islam. They tried hard to conceal the fact that Islam shared with past religions their basic principles to the extent that Islam endorsed them and they confirmed it. The Torah was in their hands telling them that the message of Muĥammad was true and that it originated from the same source.

In spite of their covenant with God to make their revelations known to mankind and never to conceal them, they have deliberately gone against their pledges. The expression given here to their attitude clearly shows their negligence and contravention of their own pledges. It is expressed in the form of an unseemly gesture: “they cast it behind their backs.” It also reveals that they committed this dishonourable act for no more than a trivial gain: “and bartered it away for a trifling price.” Whatever the price, it was nothing more than a small gain by worldly standards. It could only have served the personal interests of the rabbis or the national interest of the Israelites. All this is nothing but a trifling price, even if it did amount to the ownership of all the earth for the rest of time. How trifling this price is for a covenant made with God. How little all this is in comparison with what is stored with God:

“Evil is that which they have taken in exchange for it.” A ĥadīth related by Al-Bukhārī on the authority of Ibn `Abbās states that the Prophet asked some Jews of Madinah about something. They concealed it and deliberately gave him an incorrect answer. They gave him the impression that they were right, and that they deserved to be praised for it. In fact, they rejoiced at their concealment of what he asked them about. According to this ĥadīth, this was the occasion for the revelation of the following verse: ‘Do not think that those who exult in their deeds and love to be praised for what they have not done — do not think that they will escape punishment. A grievous suffering awaits them.” (Verse 188)