[909] God, who would not charge a soul with more than it can bear (2: 286), is not tasking them with an augean task such as killing themselves or deserting their homes to test their Faith. Rather, He is asking them to perform a much simpler act of obedience, whereby they resort to the judgement of the Messenger (ﷺ), which is very crucial to affirming his leadership of the community and to their unequivocal approval of it. Yet their Faith is so shaky that they cannot find it in themselves to follow the ordainments of God, no matter or how unburdening they are how much is at stake.
[910] The result of obedience is increase in Faith: Faith (Īmān) increases with obedience and decreases with rebelliousness (cf. al-Jazā’irī).
[911] al-Ṣiddiqīn (the Affirmers of the Truth) are those whose truthfulness and affirmation of Truth are no less than perfect; they realized the Truth and confirmed it with certitude in their hearts, stuck to it and embodied it with their words and actions. al-Shuhadā’ (the martyrs) are those killed in the path of God to make His word stand above everything else. al-Ṣāliḥīn (the pious) are those whose outward actions are a truthful manifestation of their inner Truth (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
When reciting al-Fātiḥah, the opening sura of the Qur’an, in every unit (rakʿah) of their five mandatory daily Prayers, Believers are asking God Almighty to lead them to the way of these on whom He bestowed His Grace. ʿĀ’ishah (i) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “Never was there a Prophet who falls ˹terminally˺ ill without him given the choice to ˹either be healed and given more time in˺ this worldly life or ˹taken by death to˺ the Hereafter”. “During the illness from which he passed away, he (ﷺ) suffered severe hoarseness and I heard him say: “…among the ones on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace—of the Prophets, the Affirmers of Truth, the martyrs and the pious”. I knew then that he had been given the choice ˹between life and death˺”. (al-Bukhārī: 4586)
[912] The rewards of obeying God and His Messenger (ﷺ) are plentiful both in this worldly life and in the Hereafter, not least being raised to the lofty status of Prophets and their worthy companions in Paradise. The virtue of obedience is all too obvious for a community in the making.
[913] The command to rebel against one’s lethargy, prevail over one’s self and engage in the ultimate act of heroism of fighting in the cause of God, the toughest of all commands, which could lead to loss of life and martyrdom, comes just after the ayas that detail the advantages and rewards of obeying the commands of God and His Messenger (ﷺ) (cf. al-Tawḥīdī, al-Rāzī).
[914] The hypocrites. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr)
[915] Yubaṭṭi’anna because of a hidden object (al-mafʿūl al–mustatir) entails both slowing down one’s own pace as well as encouraging others to do the same. (al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt; al-Kafawī, al-Kulliyāt)
[916] Being defeated or killed by your enemies. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr)
[917] Winning victory over your enemies. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī)
[918] Mawaddah (affection) comes as a result of a sense of belonging to a group. In such a scenario, the insincere will speak from their hearts and reveal their innermost thoughts in spite of the outwardly ‘affectionate’ relationship that binds them with Believers. All pretence of affection wonderously abandons them in that moment of truth (cf. al-Zamahksharī, al-Baiḍāwī).
[919] Whatever the result of the fight might be, given that the sincere in heart strove in the cause of God, whether they won or lost, they will surely be handsomely rewarded.