The Qur’ān is the Book of Islam. It is the soul and raison d’être of the Islamic mission. It is the backbone and edifice of its existence. It is its guardian and protector; its expression and manifestation; its constitution and way of life. Once all is said and done, the Qur’ān is the fountain, and the reference point, from which Islam and Muslims draw the ways and means of their actions, their systems and approach, and the provisions for their journey in this life.

However, a vast chasm will continue to separate us from the Qur’ān unless we understand deep down in our consciousness that the Qur’ān was addressed to a living community that existed in real life. It dealt with genuine situations in the life of that community and interacted with human life in its true manifestation on this earth. It was the main factor in a tremendous battle within the human soul that took place on a specific part of our planet; a battle that teemed with changes, passions and responses.

This divide between our hearts and the Qur’ān will continue to exist as long as we recite or listen to it as though it were a collection of fanciful religious hymns, totally disassociated from the realities of daily life facing this being we call man, and this community we call Muslims. These verses were revealed to address living souls, actual realities and events, with real meaning. They did indeed guide those souls, realities and events in an effective and vigorous manner, bringing forth a particular tangible situation with particular characteristics in man’s life, in general, and in the life of the Muslim community, in particular.

The Qur’ān’s distinctive miracle lies in the fact that it was revealed to deal with the actual experience of a particular human community, at a specific and finite time in history. It led that community in a momentous battle that was to change the whole history of mankind. That notwithstanding, the Qur’ān continues to provide us with the competence and the capability to live life today, as though it were being revealed at this very moment to organise the affairs of the Muslim community, and its ongoing struggle against pervasive universal ignorance. It continues to lead Muslims in their struggle with their own souls and conscience and with the same vigour and down-to- earth spirit it displayed so long ago.

In order for us, today, to capture the Qur’ān’s penetrating power, appreciate its latent vitality and receive the guidance it conveys to Muslims in every generation, we need to visualise the true nature of the earliest Muslim generation who received the Qur’ān for the first time. We need to perceive the Muslims of that generation as they went about their daily lives, facing up to events and developments in Madinah and the rest of Arabia, dealing with their enemies as well as their allies, and struggling against their own passions and desires. The Qur’ān was being revealed to deal with all that and to follow the progress of the Muslim community in their greatest battle — with their own souls, with those enemies poised to strike in Madinah, Makkah and the surrounding lands, and even beyond.

Indeed, we have to live with that pioneering community of Muslims and picture them in their downright humanity, their actual life and in their human predicaments.

We ought to reflect on how the Qur’ān guided that community directly in their daily affairs as well as in their greater global aspirations. We have to see how the Qur’ān led those Muslims by the hand, step by step, as they stumbled and rose, deviated and returned to the true path, weakened and resisted, as they suffered and endured, as they climbed upwards slowly and painfully, striving and persevering, showing all their human characteristics, their weaknesses and capabilities.

In this way, we can feel that we are being addressed by the Qur’ān in exactly the same manner as that earlier Muslim community. We can realise that the humanity whose attributes we see and know and feel within ourselves is also capable of responding to the Qur’ān and benefiting from its guidance along the same true path.

Thus, we will find the Qur’ān actively working in the life of that Muslim community, but also working in our own lives as well. We will feel that as the Qur’ān is here with us today, so will it be with us tomorrow. It is not merely hymns or hollow rituals, far- removed from our changing reality; nor is it some historic record that has passed and been forgotten, having lost its efficacy and dynamic ability to interact with human life.

The Qur’ān is a reality with a perpetual existence akin to that of the cosmos itself; the cosmos being God’s visual “book” while the Qur’ān is God’s recited “book”.

Each book is a testimony and a witness to the Creator, and a force in the world. The universe continues to move and fulfil the functions ordained for it by its Creator: the sun moves in its orbit and performs its role, as do the moon, the earth and all the stars and planets, unhindered by the passing of time or the changes affecting their role in the universe. Similarly, the Qur’ān has fulfilled its role towards humanity, and continues to exist in its original form. Likewise, as far as his true character and original nature are concerned, man has not changed. The Qur’ān is God’s message to man. It is immutable because, despite the changes that may have taken place around him and despite the mutual effect between him and those changes, man has not changed or become a different being. The Qur’ān addresses man’s basic being and his original nature which have remained the same. It is capable of guiding human life today and in the future because it is destined so to do. That is because it is God’s last and final message and because human nature, like that of the physical universe, is constant and dynamic but never changing.

Would it not be laughable if the sun, for instance, were described as old or “reactionary” and hence it should be replaced by a new and more “progressive” star?

Similarly, is it not also laughable for man to be considered antiquated and “reactionary” and his replacement by some other more “enlightened” being to rule the world be argued for?

It would also be ludicrous to say the same with regard to the Qur’ān, God’s last and final message to mankind.

The sūrah under examination here covers a lively period in the history of the Muslims in Madinah, extending from the end of the famous Battle of Badr, in the second year of Hijrah (622 CE), to the aftermath of the Battle of Uĥud, a year later. It describes the circumstances and the atmosphere surrounding the events of that period, the impact of the Qur’ān on the life of that community, and how it interacted with the prevailing conditions, across all walks of life.

The force and vitality of the Qur’ānic text brings into sharp focus the images of that period, the life of the community, and the interactions and circumstances in which that life was engulfed. It penetrates deep into the Muslims’ consciences, exploring their innermost thoughts, feelings and sensibilities; so much so that the reader feels those events in the same way that members of that community experienced them. If one closes one’s eyes, one may begin to see — as I have seen — those Muslims going about their daily lives, hither and thither, with their smiling faces and serenity, but with enemies lurking all around. Those enemies were conspiring, spreading lies and suspicion, harbouring grudges, and rallying their forces for combat with the Muslims, for them to be defeated initially at Uĥud, but later to re-group and inflict heavy losses upon the Muslims. One can picture every movement and every action that took place on the battlefield, and every inner or outward emotion and reaction that accompanied it. One can see the Qur’ān being revealed to counteract the conspiracy and the intrigue, to refute the lies and the allegations, to strengthen Muslim morale and bolster the Muslim position, to direct Muslim spirit and thoughts, to comment on events and actions and draw appropriate lessons, to establish and clarify concepts, to alert the Muslims to the treachery and deceit of their scheming enemies, and to provide them with an enlightened and judicious lead through the thorns, nettles and traps laid in their path.

Beyond that, the directives and exhortations contained in this sūrah remain eternal and universal, not restricted by time, place, or circumstance. The sūrah addresses the human soul and the Muslim community — today and in the future — and the whole of mankind, as though it is being revealed at this very moment. It deals with contemporary issues and current situations, because it deals with emotional and spiritual issues, events and feelings as though these were already taken into account within the context of the sūrah. Indeed, they would have been taken into account in the overall scheme of God, the omniscient, who has full knowledge of everything.

Thus, it becomes clear that the Qur’ān is the guiding light of Islam everywhere and at all times. It is the life code for every generation of Muslims whoever they may be, and their beacon along the way, century after century. For, it is God’s last and final message to mankind in all ages.

At the time of the revelation of this sūrah, the Muslim community began to settle in their new homeland, Madinah, the city of the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him) and had gone some way into the state of affairs already described in our Introduction to sūrah 2, al-Baqarah, or The Cow (Vol. I, pp 9-16).

The Battle of Badr had already taken place, and the Muslims had been blessed with victory over the Quraysh. The circumstances concomitant with achieving that victory suggested a “miracle”. This forced notable figures such as `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, a grand personality of the Khazraj tribe of Madinah, to suppress his pride, put aside his hatred for Islam, and contain his spite and envy towards the Prophet Muĥammad in order to assimilate into the Muslim community, albeit hypocritically. His only comment was: “This, Islam, is here to stay.” He had come to accept that Islam was firmly established and its progress unstoppable.

This was how the seeds of the phenomenon known as hypocrisy were planted in Madinah, and which began to grow and spread. Before Badr, some people whose relatives had converted to Islam were obliged to pretend not to mind; some of the more prominent of these even pretended to have accepted Islam and joined the Muslim community while, at the same time, they continued to harbour a grudge and animosity. They were ready to scheme against the Muslims and to seek the weaker points in the structure of the new community in order to undermine Muslim ranks and strength, satisfy their own prejudices and await the appropriate moment to strike their final blow, if possible.

The hypocrites found natural allies among the Jews of Madinah who had a similar or even stronger grudge and prejudices of their own towards Islam and the Prophet.

Islam had posed a real and formidable threat to the status of the Jews among the Arabs of Madinah. It deprived them of the one reason they had to cause rancour and division between the two main Arab tribes of Madinah: the Aws and the Khazraj.

Under Islam, people of the two tribes became “brothers and sisters”, belonging to the same united side.

The Jews of Madinah were stifled and choked at the Muslim victory at Badr. From then on, they would use all their powers of intrigue, deceit and scheming to break Muslim ranks and throw doubt and confusion into Muslim hearts and minds; spreading rumours and allegations against Islam and against the Muslims personally.

Then came that episode with the Jewish tribe of Qaynuqā` bringing all that animosity into the open. This they did, despite the agreements and covenants the Prophet Muĥammad had made with the Jews of Madinah following his arrival there in 622 CE.

On the other hand, in the wake of their defeat at Badr, the non- Muslim Arabs were growing increasingly bitter. They could no longer afford to ignore Muhammad’s achievements or those of the Madinah camp; nor could they underestimate the threat posed to their trade, their status and their very existence in Arabia. They were, therefore, keen to eliminate that imminent threat before it was beyond their capacity to do so.

The second part of the sūrah deals exclusively with the Uĥud campaign, but also carries affirmations relating to the principles of Islam and its outlook, together with commands and exhortations on how to build the Muslim community on those principles. It reviews the facts and events of the campaign, and the feelings and thoughts generated by it, in vivid detail. It describes most accurately the state of the Muslim community at the time and its various constituents, as outlined at the beginning of this Prologue.

The link between this section and the preceding one is quite clear. It also attends to the articulation of the Islamic outlook — immediately and decisively in the heat of battle. It guides and counsels the Muslim community how to uphold their faith and to take on their obligations and responsibilities. It instructs the Muslims in the Divine rules and criteria regarding victory and defeat, complementing the lessons they had learned from their practical experience.

It is hardly possible, in this general Prologue, to do justice to this section of the sūrah, but we shall return to it at the appropriate point in the commentary.

The final section of the sūrah provides a summary of its main themes. It begins with a revealing reference to the physical world, God’s observed book, and its inspiring effect on believing hearts. It continues with a serene and flowing invocation on behalf of those faithful hearts, recited with God’s ‘observed book’ as a fitting backdrop. It says: “In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed signs for men endowed with insight, who remember God when they stand, sit and lie down, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain. Limitless are You in Your glory. Guard us, then, against the torment of the fire. Our Lord, him whom You shall commit to the fire, You will have condemned to disgrace. The evildoers shall have none to help them. Our Lord, we have heard the voice of one who calls to faith, [saying], “Believe in your Lord, “and we have believed. Our Lord, forgive us then our sins and efface our bad deeds and let us die with the truly virtuous. Our Lord, grant us what You have promised us through Your Messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Surely, You never fail to fulfil Your promise.’” (Verses 190-4)

God’s response comes next, citing the displacement, struggle and persecution suffered by the believers for the cause of God Almighty:

Their Lord answers them: “I will not suffer the work of any worker among you, male or female, to be lost. Each of you is an issue of the other. Therefore, those who emigrate and are driven out of their homes and suffer persecution in My cause, and fight and are slain [for it] — I shall indeed efface their bad deeds and admit them to gardens through which running waters flow, as a reward from God. With God is the best of rewards.” (Verse 195)

It is clear that these verses directly relate to the events and the aftermath of the Battle of Uĥud.