- “Do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you are suffering, they too are suffering just as you are; yet you hope from Allah for what they do not hope. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
That is: Do not grow weak or slacken in pursuing your disbelieving enemies—that is, in fighting them and remaining stationed against them. Weakness of heart leads to weakness of body, which diminishes one’s ability to resist the enemy. Rather, be strong and vigorous in fighting them.
He then mentions two things that strengthen the believers’ hearts.
The first is that whatever pain, fatigue, wounds, and the like afflict you also afflict your enemies. It is beneath human dignity and Islamic valor for you to be weaker than they are when you and they are equally exposed to what causes such hardship. Ordinarily, only one upon whom suffering continually descends and whose enemies constantly prevail grows weak—not one who prevails at one time and is prevailed over at another.
The second is that you hope from Allah for what they do not hope. You hope to attain His reward and escape His punishment. Indeed, the elect among the believers have lofty aims and noble aspirations: securing victory for Allah’s religion, establishing His law, expanding the reach of Islam, guiding those who are astray, and subduing the enemies of the religion. For the believer who possesses true conviction, these aims increase strength and multiply vigor and perfect courage. One who fights and perseveres merely to attain worldly honor—if he attains it at all—is not like one who fights to attain happiness in this world and the Hereafter and to win Allah’s pleasure and Paradise. Glory be to Him who, by His knowledge and wisdom, has made His servants differ and distinguished between them. Hence He says, “And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise”—perfect in knowledge and perfect in wisdom.