2 – “O you who believe! When you meet a contingent, stand firm and remember Allah abundantly so that you may prosper. (45) Obey Allah and His Messenger and do not quarrel with one another, lest you falter and your strength depart; and be patient—for Allah is with the patient. (46) And do not be like those who went forth from their homes in arrogant insolence and to be seen by people, barring others from the path of Allah; Allah encompasses whatever they do. (47)” (Al-Anfal 8:45–47).

These verses contain the command to fight the enemy and direct armies and combatants to the causes they must adopt. The greatest and most important of those causes are two:

• Patience—that is, perfect steadfastness and expending every effort to maintain it;

• Reliance upon Allah, humble entreaty to Him, and abundant remembrance of Him.

When these two qualities are brought together in their fullest form, the fighters have secured the only means to victory and success; let them therefore rejoice in Allah’s help and trust in His promise.

• Included ⦗1⦘ in the injunction to be patient and steadfast are:

• Training the soul for it, for whoever strives to be patient, Allah grants him patience;
• Learning marksmanship, horsemanship, and the military arts suited to the age, for instruction and study in the matters of jihad are among the greatest aids to steadfastness and patience;
• Likewise, encouraging bravery, pursuing its causes, extolling the virtues of jihad and its immediate and future fruits, and warning that abandoning it brings the loss of religion and worldly life, enemy domination, humiliation, and ruin—for noble souls and lofty aspirations do not accept for themselves