كل
عام وانتم والأمة الى الله اقرب.
God willing, this year
will prove to be a better, stronger year for us all, and one in which we work
even harder to bring ourselves together in the pursuit of Allah’s forgiveness
and acceptance. Since it’s the Hijri Calendar New Year, what better way to
“celebrate” than to write about it.
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There are several verses in the Quran that discuss the Prophet (PBUH)’s
hijra, his migration along with Abu Bakr (RAA), from Meccah to Madinah. The one
I’ve chosen depicts one moment from their journey, and I think that, since not
the entire journey is depicted in the Quran, the choice of this moment marks it
as one from which there’s a lot to learn. It depicts a moment of extreme need,
of helplessness, and the difference between discovery and ultimate death on the
one hand and safety and salvation on the other.
But at the same time, it’s a moment of ultimate power and protection, of
dependence on the All-Powerful, and a moment when all the effort, faith, and perseverance
of the Prophet (PBUH) and his companion culminate. It is not that their efforts
pay off here, since that would negate the concepts of reward throughout life as
well as ultimate reward in the afterlife, but it’s a moment when their belief
and their faith are boosted and made material.
And it’s a moment of love, first from Allah, the basis of His support
and guidance, and between two friends, the Prophet (PBUH) and Abu Bakr (RAA),
the loyal companion.
The Ayah from Surat At-Tawbah reads (in the original Arabic, and
followed by two English interpretations):
(إِلَّا
تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ
اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ
لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ
اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ) (التوبة 40)
“If you do not aid the Prophet - Allah
has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah]
as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion,
"Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his
tranquillity upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made
the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is
the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Sahih Internation) [1]
“If you help him (Muhammad SAW) not
(it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove
him out, the second of two, when they (Muhammad SAW and Abu Bakr) were in the
cave, and he (SAW) said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or
afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakinah
(calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with
forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved
the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost, and
Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” (Muhsin Khan) [1]
Support and Aid from Allah
The beginning of the verse clarifies rather
brusquely and strongly that the Prophet does not need anyone’s support; indeed,
the people who do not support and aid and help the prophet succeed (nasr)
do not hinder the success of the migration. However, at the same time, the
value of a companion is then immediately highlighted when the Hijra, as a
forced migration, is presented in this manner: “when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah]
as one of two.” The fact that the Prophet had a companion, that he too was a
companion on this journey, is set forth matter-of-factly in the statement of
how they exited Madinah.
Why would this companionship be important if, as
the Ayah states, Allah has supported the Prophet (PBUH)and aided him? This verse discusses the
line between what humans can do and the fact that Allah will allow certain
things to happen within His knowledge of their reasons. Everything happens with
Allah’s grace and permission, and whether the “good” or the “bad” have the upper
hand is all within Allah’s will, power, and capability. However, the concept of
working and making an effort is a part of the meaning and purpose of life; it’s
a part of the structure of how the world works.
In the case of this verse, the support of the
Mu’mineen, the believers, who are being addressed at the beginning of the
verse, does not affect Allah’s aid of the Prophet (PBUH) and by proxy His aid
of believers who support the prophet, as is evidenced by the fact that Abu
Bakr, his companion, is given equal share of Allah’s support because he is
supporting the Prophet. (Supporting the Prophet is an act of working to
maintain that Allah’s religion remains and gain power and influence on earth,
meaning it is in the cause of Allah). Indeed, the verb tense shifts from the
first part of the verse when Allah addresses those who might not support the
Prophet, saying in the present tense, “If you do not aid the Prophet,” to the past tense when the verse
states: “Allah has already aided him.” Interestingly, it is not a consequence
of their lack of support that Allah then supported the Prophet. No, the Prophet
has always had Allah’s support.
So why would he need their aid and support? He doesn’t. The fact
of the matter is that it is they who need this support, in that by supporting
him they are helping themselves. By supporting the Prophet, they are working
for the cause of Allah and thereby pleasing Him. Of course, Allah does not
“need” our support as humans, and all the work we do goes back to us, whether in
reward or punishment.
Deserving Allah's Support
This idea as well as that of “nasr” or aid and victory needs a
little bit of background. In Islam, faith in Allah and His ultimate power means
knowing that Allah has the ability to make anything happen. However, it is the
purpose of our lives to work, for both our dunya, our worldly lives, and our
akhira, our afterlife. As such, we do not sit down expecting blessings from
Allah without striving to do anything and relying only on the fact that we have
faith. However, when we do receive things in our lives, we know they are from
Allah, and that we deserve them for having worked for them (and sometimes
getting more than we deserve, let’s be honest).
Therefore, the support of Allah is not without reason, cause, or
deservedness. Allah does not grant his support randomly, and He does not
support people without reason and without actual material causes. Meaning that
a person who has done nothing in life to prepare for something will not
(arguably) gain Allah’s support. It is when a person works and strives that,
ultimately, Allah will support him in His own way and within his wisdom, for
him to reach his goals or have the upper hand or….
In this light, then the aid the believers and followers of the
prophet should have given him should have been for this goal: working to
achieve something in this world. At the same time, Allah’s support for the
Prophet has always been there, and here it is important to note that the
Prophet put in the effort. He and the followers he had had been trying to spread
the message of Allah, of tawheed and belief in one God, among the people of
Meccah for years. The results of their efforts had been torture, ostracism, and
suffering in general from the people pf the city.
What Is Nasr?
As a result, they received Allah’s support, as the rest of the
verse demonstrates. What does it mean to have Allah’s support? According to the
verse, it means, first that “Allah is with us.” How is that translated in a
worldly manner? When Allah “sent down his tranquility upon him and supported
him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the
lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest.”
The “nasr” or
aid mentioned here shows the consequences of this Hijrah, the far-reaching
influence of this victory that the Prophet receives. The verse shows two forms
or levels of “nasr”: the immediate and the eventual.
First, this section of the verse explain that, in
one part of the migration, the prophet and Abu Bakr were hding in the cave,
Ghar Thawr. They could hear their pursuers outside the cave, and all they had
to do was lean forward and they would see them hiding inside. Indeed, Abu Bakr
is reported to have said: “If any of them looks down at his feet, he will see us” [2]. While Abu Bakr
was nervous that any harm should befall the Prophet, the Prophet remained cool
and relaxed, not worried it seemed that they would be caught and, consequently
for sure, killed.
When he turns to Abu Bakr, he explains the reason
for his peace as he consoles him, saying, “Do not grieve [or be sad]; indeed
Allah is with us." What does it mean for Allah to be “with” someone? That
is the support and aid mentioned at the beginning of the verse. In a hadith
sahih, the Prophet is said to have repeated: “O Abu Bakr! What do you think
about two with Allah as their third!” [2]. Here, Allah has aided, provided “nasr,”
in a direct and immediate manner to his Prophet and a believer who have worked to
spread the message of tawheed, the oneness of Allah (which is the word
of Allah mentioned at the end of the verse). Allah gives them “sakeenah” (His
“aid and triumph”) as well as aid from angels [2].
This nasr, however, is not just immediate. One
interpretation of the value and lesson of the Hijra is that it represented a
transition, both from one place to another as well as from one state to
another. Hijra, denotatively, means the act of leaving one thing for another or
the transition from one state to another [3]. Therefore the Prophet’s migration or
Hijra (which was also the migration of a large group of Meccan Muslims)
involved a physical transition from one place to another but, more importantly,
it served, caused, as well as represented a transition from one situation into
another. From weakness to strength, from minority to majority, from lack of
support and even persecution to unity, and from a state of immobility to action
and work.
Therefore, the second level of “nasr” in this
verse is the more far-reaching nasr, that which is closer to the concept of
victory resulting from aid. Because Allah is the “third” member of the party,
the supporter of these two believers, as he is the supporter of all believers
who work for His cause, they received support, not just in the cave, but in
general, and the results of their efforts paid off. Indeed, the Hijra
represents a crucial step in the development of the Islamic Ummah, in the
movement from weakness to strength, from voicelessness to influence, and
ultimately a far-reaching and global unity of Muslims [3]. It is this situation
that the verse looks forward to and clarifies: “made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while
the word of Allah - that is the highest.” Interestingly, the “word” of the
disbelievers was made lowest, while the word of Allah, the word of
tawheed, was not made highest as it is the highest. However, it
became evident on earth that it is the highest.
However, this prophecy comes in parallel,
simultaneously, and even as a part of and continuation of the aid that Allah
sent the Prophet and Abu Bakr in the cave. Picture that moment, though. They
were on the run, fearful of capture, and still the weak party. However, the
Prophet was calm. He knew that Allah supported them and that this support was
much more far-reaching than they could even begin to understand. Even the
verse, with its use of “and” to combine the two levels of nasr, shows that the
fulfillment of Allah’s promise and aid began at once. One did not follow the
other; they were simultaneous and a part of the same nasr, just different
stages of it. Indeed, it is aid and support that continued for centuries after
them, that pushed the spread of Islam even in the hardest of times.
And it’s this aid that allows the word of Allah to
persevere even today, when we are, arguably, back to being at our weakest. The
Prophet, along with his companions, worked not just to bring illumination to
their people. Their goal was much broader and more optimistic. They worked to
maintain the word of Allah, to make sure it continued even after their time, to
the end of times. They worked, and the aid came from Allah. And each person
after them that worked for the cause of Allah gained the aid of Allah, but this
verse shows that the aid does not end with the end of the person, but continues
and far outweighs and outstrips the effort itself. It’s calming, reassuring to
remember that the word of Allah is the highest, that it cannot be made
low, but it is the effort that matters, and it is we that need the work we do
since Allah aids the deen as well as those who work for it with or without our
help. But seeing the reward, the honor that comes with working for the cause of
Allah, knowing full well what the outcome will be, whether we see it in our
lifetimes or not, makes the effort put into this work that much more
fulfilling.
References
[1] "At-Tawbah." Quran.com.
[2] Tafseer Ibn Kathir. Quran 4u. <http://www.quran4u.com/tafsir%20ibn%20kathir/009%20Taubah.htm>
[3] <http://www.yabeyrouth.com/pages/index2483.htm>
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