(77, 78) “Have you not seen those who were told, ‘Restrain your hands, establish prayer, and give zakah’? Yet when fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them feared people as much as they feared Allah, or even more. They said, ‘Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us? If only You had deferred it for us a little while!’ Say, ‘The enjoyment of this world is little, while the Hereafter is better for one who fears Allah, and you will not be wronged even by the thread of a date stone. Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in lofty, fortified towers…’”
While the Muslims were in Makkah, they were commanded to establish prayer and give zakah—that is, to support the poor. This was not zakah in its familiar form, with prescribed minimum holdings and conditions, for that was not made obligatory until they were in Madinah. Nor were they commanded to fight their enemies, for several wise purposes.
One was that, in His wisdom, the Exalted Creator prescribes laws for His servants in a manner that does not burden ⦗188⦘ them unduly. He begins with what is most important, then what follows it in importance, and with what is easiest, then what follows it in ease.
Another was that, had fighting been prescribed for them despite their small numbers, meager equipment, and the great number of their enemies, it would have led to the disappearance of Islam. The greater interest was therefore given precedence over the lesser, in addition to other wise purposes.
At that time, some believers wished that fighting had been prescribed for them, although it was not appropriate then. What was appropriate was for them to carry out what they had been commanded at that time: monotheism, prayer, zakah, and the like. As the Exalted says: “Had they done what they were instructed to do, it would have been better for them and more strengthening.”
When they emigrated to Madinah and Islam grew strong, fighting was prescribed for them at the appropriate time. Yet a group of those who had previously been impatient for fighting now said, out of fear of people, weakness, and cowardice: “Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us?” This expressed their discontent and objection to Allah. They should instead have submitted to Allah’s command and patiently obeyed His instructions. They thus did the very opposite of what was required of them and said: “If only You had deferred it for us a little while!” That is, if only You had delayed the obligation to fight until some time after the present.
Such a condition frequently overtakes one who lacks steadiness and rushes into matters before their proper time. Usually, when those matters finally arise, he cannot patiently endure them or shoulder their burden, but proves short on patience.
Allah then admonished them for holding back from fighting, saying: “Say, ‘The enjoyment of this world is little, while the Hereafter is better for one who fears Allah.’” That is, the enjoyment of this world’s pleasures and comforts is brief. Bearing the burdens of obedience to Allah during this short period therefore becomes easy and light for souls, for once they know that the hardship they suffer will not last long, it becomes easier to bear. How much more so when they compare this world with the Hereafter and realize that the Hereafter is better in itself, in its pleasures, and in its duration!
As for its intrinsic excellence, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said in an authentic hadith: “A space in Paradise the size of a whip is better than this world and everything in it.” Its pleasures are free of every disturbance. Indeed, whatever pleasure may occur to the mind or be conceived in thought, the pleasure of Paradise is greater still. As the Exalted says: “No soul knows what delights have been kept hidden for them.” And Allah said through His Prophet: “I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived.”
The pleasures of this world, however, are mingled with every kind of vexation. If its pleasures were weighed against all the pains, anxieties, and sorrows accompanying them, those pleasures would count for nothing whatsoever.
As for its duration, this world is passing away, and a human lifespan is but a brief span even in relation to this world. The Hereafter, however, is everlasting bliss, and its people will remain there forever. When a rational person reflects upon these two abodes and properly grasps their true nature, he recognizes which is more deserving of being preferred, pursued, and diligently sought. Hence He says: “The Hereafter is better for one who fears Allah”—that is, one who guards himself against shirk and all other forbidden things. “And you will not be wronged even by the thread of a date stone.” That is, you will find the reward for your striving toward the abode of the Hereafter paid in full, with nothing whatsoever diminished.
He then informed them that no caution can avail against divine decree and that sitting back offers no protection, saying: “Wherever you may be, death will overtake you”—that is, at any time and in any place—“even if you are in lofty, fortified towers,” meaning impregnable palaces and elevated dwellings.
All of this urges jihad in the cause of Allah: at times by encouraging it through mention of its merit and reward; at times by warning of the punishment for abandoning it; at times by informing those who sit back that their inaction will not benefit them; and at times by showing that the path is easy and brief.