(71–74) “O you who believe, take your precautions, then go forth in separate companies or go forth all together. * Indeed, among you is one who will surely lag behind. Then, if a calamity befalls you, he will say, ‘Allah has truly favored me, for I was not present with them.’ * But if bounty from Allah comes to you, he will surely say—as though no affection had ever existed between you and him—‘If only I had been with them, I would have attained a magnificent triumph!’ * So let those who exchange the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the cause of Allah. Whoever fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or is victorious, We shall grant him an immense reward.”
The Exalted commands His believing servants to take precautions against their disbelieving enemies. This includes adopting every means that assists them in fighting the enemy and enables them to repel its schemes and might: using fortifications and trenches; learning archery and horsemanship; mastering the crafts that assist in this; learning the enemy’s approaches, routes of withdrawal, and stratagems; and going forth in the cause of Allah.
Thus He says, “Then go forth in separate companies,” meaning in separate groups, with one detachment or army going forth while others remain behind; “or go forth all together.” All of this depends upon what best serves the Muslims’ interests, inflicts losses upon the enemy, and safeguards the Muslims in their religion. This verse resembles the saying of the Exalted: “Prepare against them whatever strength you are able.”
He then speaks of those whose faith is weak and who are sluggish about jihad, saying, “Indeed, among you”—O believers—“is one who will surely lag behind,” meaning that he holds back from jihad in the cause of Allah out of weakness, faintheartedness, and cowardice. This is the correct interpretation.
It has also been said that it means he will cause others to hold back—that is, he will discourage them from fighting—and that such people are the hypocrites. The first interpretation, however, is preferable for two reasons.
The first is His statement, “among you,” for the address is directed to the believers.
The second is His statement at the end of the verse, “as though no affection had ever existed between you and him.” Allah has severed the affection between the believers and the disbelievers, whether polytheists or hypocrites. Moreover, this accords with reality, for the believers are of two kinds:
Those who are sincere in their faith, which leads them to perfect affirmation and jihad;
and those who entered Islam but possess a weak faith that is not strong enough to impel them to jihad.
As the Exalted says, “The Bedouins say, ‘We believe.’ Say, ‘You have not believed; rather, say, “We have submitted.”’” And so on to the end of the verses.
He then mentions the ultimate aims of those who hold back and the ends they seek, explaining that their chief concern is this world and its fleeting goods. He says, “Then, if a calamity befalls you”—meaning defeat, death, and the enemy prevailing over you on some occasions, in accordance with the wisdom Allah has placed therein—the one who remained behind “will say, ‘Allah has truly favored me, for I was not present with them.’” Because of his feeble understanding and faith, he regards remaining behind from the jihad in which that calamity occurred as a blessing. He does not realize that the true blessing is being enabled to perform this great act of obedience, through which faith is strengthened, the servant is delivered from punishment and loss, and he obtains an immense reward and the pleasure of the Most Generous Bestower.
As for remaining behind, although one may enjoy a little rest, it is followed by prolonged hardship and tremendous pain, while one also misses the reward attained by those who strive in jihad.
He then says, “But if bounty from Allah comes to you”—meaning victory and spoils—“he will surely say—as though no affection had ever existed between you and him—‘If only I had been with them, I would have attained a magnificent triumph!’” That is, he wishes he had been present so that he could have received a share of the spoils, with no desire or aim beyond that. It is as though he were not one of you, O believers, and as though there were no bond of faith between you and him, which (1) requires the believers to share in all that benefits them and in repelling all that harms them. They rejoice when such benefits are attained, even at the hands of other believing brothers (2); they grieve when these benefits are lost; and they all strive together in everything by which they may set right their religious and worldly affairs. The person who desires only worldly gain lacks this aforementioned spirit of faith.
Part of Allah’s kindness toward His servants is that He does not withhold His mercy from them or close its doors to them. Rather, when someone does what is unbecoming, Allah commands him and calls him to remedy his deficiency and perfect himself. ⦗187⦘ Thus, He commanded these people to be sincere and to go forth in His cause, saying, “So let those who exchange the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the cause of Allah.” This is one of the interpretations of the verse, and it is the soundest.
It has also been said that the meaning is: Let the believers whose faith is complete and who are sincere in their faith fight in the cause of Allah—those “who exchange the life of this world for the Hereafter,” meaning that they sell this world because they desire to turn away from it, in return for the Hereafter because they desire it.
These are the people to whom the command is addressed, for they have prepared themselves and resolved to strive against the enemy because they possess the complete faith that necessarily leads to this.
As for those who hold back, no weight is given to them, whether they go forth or remain behind. This would therefore resemble the saying of the Exalted: “Say, ‘Believe in it or do not believe. Indeed, when it is recited to those who were given knowledge before it, they fall upon their faces in prostration.’” And so on to the end of the verses. It also resembles His saying: “If these people disbelieve in it, We have already entrusted it to a people who do not disbelieve in it.”
It has also been said that the verse means: Let the fighter engaged in jihad fight those disbelievers who exchange the Hereafter for the life of this world. According to this interpretation, “those” is in the accusative case as the direct object.
“Whoever fights in the cause of Allah”—provided that it is a jihad commanded by Allah and His Messenger, and that the servant undertakes it sincerely for Allah, seeking His countenance—“and is killed or is victorious, We shall grant him an immense reward”: an increase in his faith and religious commitment, spoils, honorable praise, and the reward of those who strive in the cause of Allah, for whom Allah has prepared in Paradise that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived.