Overview  (Verses  121-122)

Preparation for Battle
 
Remember when you set out from your home at an early hour to assign the believers to their battle posts. God hears all and knows all. Two of your groups were about to lose heart, but God was their protector. In God shall the believers trust. (Verses 121-122)
 
This is the opening scene, recalled in all its reality and vigour whilst still fresh and clear in the minds of those being so addressed. The sūrah, however, brings into focus other factors that were not visible at the time. First, God’s presence and knowledge of all that was going on. The Qur’ān always impresses this fact upon the Muslims so as to reinforce in their hearts a clearer and deeper faith and understanding. It is the major and most fundamental facet of the Islamic system and no one can claim a full understanding of this religion without it being firmly established in both their conscience and their mind.
 
“Remember when you set out from your home at an early hour to assign the believers to their battle posts. God hears all and knows all.” (Verse 121) This is a reference to the Prophet setting out from `Ā’ishah’s home, having donned his battle dress, consulted with his Companions and all of them having arrived at the consensus that the Muslims should go and meet the enemy outside Madinah. The Prophet went on to organise the Muslim troops, including the archers, assigning them duties and positions around the battlefield. But the sūrah also introduces a new fact: “God hears all and knows all.” What a momentous event. God Almighty was witnessing the proceedings. How awesome! God was witnessing the consultation and was aware of what was going on inside the hearts and minds of all those present.
 
Two of your groups were about to lose heart, but God was their protector. In God shall the believers trust.” (Verse 122) According to authentic reports, the two groups were the tribes of Ĥārithah and Salamah, who were influenced by `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy’s stance. They wavered, struggled with doubt, but, as the sūrah affirms, God came to their rescue and gave them heart to stay and fight.
 
`Umar ibn al-Khatţāb reported that he heard Jābir ibn `Abdullāh say that this verse referred to his people, adding: “But I am not disconcerted about that because God says, ‘God was their protector.”’ (Related by Al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
 
God reveals here some of people’s inner thoughts and feelings, which only they and He know. It is He who steers them away from those negative feelings and gives them the courage to go ahead and fight. The Qur’ān recalls the scene, revives the emotions, and reassures the Muslims that God heard and knew all that had taken place, that He was with them all the way. It demonstrates to them that God is looking after them and helping them in their moments of weakness, so that they learn from where to seek help and support the next time they face a similar situation. It directs them to the only certain way: ‘In God shall the believers trust. “In God alone, and in no one else, should the believers put their trust, for, they shall have no other resort.
 
Hence, in the very first two verses of this section, two major tenets of Islam are established: “God hears all and knows all,” and “In God shall the believers trust.” They are presented at the correct moment and in the right context, blending perfectly together in rhythm and in nuance, at the very moment when hearts are receptive and ready to learn and understand. Here, then, we also have a good example of the way the Qur’ān deals with events while they are still live, fresh and relevant. Here, we can also see the difference between the Qur’ānic method of relating and interpreting events and other methods that do not aim to touch the human heart or direct, educate and guide human beings.

Overview  (Verses  121-122)

Preparation for Battle
 
Remember when you set out from your home at an early hour to assign the believers to their battle posts. God hears all and knows all. Two of your groups were about to lose heart, but God was their protector. In God shall the believers trust. (Verses 121-122)
 
This is the opening scene, recalled in all its reality and vigour whilst still fresh and clear in the minds of those being so addressed. The sūrah, however, brings into focus other factors that were not visible at the time. First, God’s presence and knowledge of all that was going on. The Qur’ān always impresses this fact upon the Muslims so as to reinforce in their hearts a clearer and deeper faith and understanding. It is the major and most fundamental facet of the Islamic system and no one can claim a full understanding of this religion without it being firmly established in both their conscience and their mind.
 
“Remember when you set out from your home at an early hour to assign the believers to their battle posts. God hears all and knows all.” (Verse 121) This is a reference to the Prophet setting out from `Ā’ishah’s home, having donned his battle dress, consulted with his Companions and all of them having arrived at the consensus that the Muslims should go and meet the enemy outside Madinah. The Prophet went on to organise the Muslim troops, including the archers, assigning them duties and positions around the battlefield. But the sūrah also introduces a new fact: “God hears all and knows all.” What a momentous event. God Almighty was witnessing the proceedings. How awesome! God was witnessing the consultation and was aware of what was going on inside the hearts and minds of all those present.
 
Two of your groups were about to lose heart, but God was their protector. In God shall the believers trust.” (Verse 122) According to authentic reports, the two groups were the tribes of Ĥārithah and Salamah, who were influenced by `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy’s stance. They wavered, struggled with doubt, but, as the sūrah affirms, God came to their rescue and gave them heart to stay and fight.
 
`Umar ibn al-Khatţāb reported that he heard Jābir ibn `Abdullāh say that this verse referred to his people, adding: “But I am not disconcerted about that because God says, ‘God was their protector.”’ (Related by Al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
 
God reveals here some of people’s inner thoughts and feelings, which only they and He know. It is He who steers them away from those negative feelings and gives them the courage to go ahead and fight. The Qur’ān recalls the scene, revives the emotions, and reassures the Muslims that God heard and knew all that had taken place, that He was with them all the way. It demonstrates to them that God is looking after them and helping them in their moments of weakness, so that they learn from where to seek help and support the next time they face a similar situation. It directs them to the only certain way: ‘In God shall the believers trust. “In God alone, and in no one else, should the believers put their trust, for, they shall have no other resort.
 
Hence, in the very first two verses of this section, two major tenets of Islam are established: “God hears all and knows all,” and “In God shall the believers trust.” They are presented at the correct moment and in the right context, blending perfectly together in rhythm and in nuance, at the very moment when hearts are receptive and ready to learn and understand. Here, then, we also have a good example of the way the Qur’ān deals with events while they are still live, fresh and relevant. Here, we can also see the difference between the Qur’ānic method of relating and interpreting events and other methods that do not aim to touch the human heart or direct, educate and guide human beings.