“There is ghulul among you.” So they produced it. Ghulul is the theft of war-booty, that is, to hide something from the spoils. It turned out that they had concealed a piece of gold the size of a bull’s head. When it was brought and placed with the rest of the booty, a fire descended and consumed it—glory be to Allah. This is one of the signs of Allah.

This ḥadith contains several lessons:

1. Jihad was legislated for previous communities just as it is for this nation. The Book of Allah indicates this: “And how many a prophet fought, accompanied by many godly men, yet they never lost heart for what befell them in the path of Allah, nor did they weaken or surrender” (Al-‘Imran 3:146). The same is clear from the story of Saul, Goliath, and David (peace be upon him) in Surah al-Baqarah, verses 246-252.

2. It also testifies to the greatness of Allah, that He alone manages the universe and runs affairs contrary to their usual course—whether to support a messenger, to ward off harm from him, or to secure some benefit for Islam.

The essential point is that the signs granted to the prophets are forms of divine support, whatever shape they take. By its created nature the sun moves continuously; it neither stops, advances, nor retreats except by Allah’s command. Yet here Allah ordered it to slow down, so the span between the ‘Asr prayer and sunset was lengthened until Allah granted victory at the hands of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

This is a rebuttal of the naturalists who claim that the celestial bodies never change. Glory be to Allah—Who created the celestial spheres? Allah. The One who created them is fully capable of altering them. Those people, however, assert that the heavens operate solely by nature and that no one influences them—Allah forbid—because they deny the Creator.