and the first.”

“Indeed, in that is a lesson for whoever fears Allah.”

Concerning the encounters of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his enemies at Badr and elsewhere, He said:

“There has already been a sign for you in the two forces that met: one fighting in the cause of Allah and the other disbelieving. They saw them with their own eyes as twice their number. Allah strengthens with His help whomever He wills. Indeed, in that is a lesson for those with insight.”

Concerning the Prophet’s siege of Banū al-Nadīr, Allah Most High said:

“He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But Allah came upon them from where they had not expected and cast terror into their hearts. They destroyed their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take heed, O people of insight.”

He thus commanded us to draw lessons from the circumstances of those who preceded us, both within this nation and among the nations before it.

In several places, He states that His way in this regard follows a consistent pattern and that His manner of dealing with people remains unchanged. Allah Most High said:

“If the hypocrites, those in whose hearts is disease, and those who spread alarming rumors in Medina do not desist, We will surely incite you against them. Then they will remain your neighbors there only a little while. Accursed, wherever they are found, they will be seized and killed mercilessly. Such was Allah’s established way with those who passed before, and you will find no change in Allah’s established way.”

Allah Most High also said:

“If those who disbelieve were to fight you, they would turn their backs in flight; then they would find neither protector nor helper. Such is Allah’s established way, which has prevailed before, and you will find no change in Allah’s established way.”

He, glorified be He, has also stated that the conduct of later disbelievers is like that of earlier disbelievers.