The 67th Call: Who Supports the Religion of Allah, Allah will Support Him
The 67th Call: Who Supports the Religion of Allah, Allah will Support Him
Almighty Allah says (what can be translated as): “O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet. But those who disbelieve - for them is misery, and He will waste their deeds. That is because they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds. Have they not traveled through the land and seen how was the end of those before them? Allah destroyed [everything] over them, and for the disbelievers is something comparable. That is because Allah is the protector of those who have believed and because the disbelievers have no protector.” (Muhammad: 7-11)
Almighty Allah encourages the believers to commit to Jihad, He informs them that He will support them if they have sincere intention to fight their enemies. He tells them if they support the religion of Allah, Allah will support them and give them victory over their enemies and He will affirm their feet and reinforce them in war and in religion.
As for those who disbelieve, they shall have woe and misery. Allah will annul their deeds and they will become aimless and unguided because they were exerted for Satan. Woe and distress shall befall them.
Almighty Allah distressed, humiliated and misguided the deeds of the disbelievers because they disliked what Allah revealed to His Messenger such as the Qur’an, rulings, commands and prohibitions. Do not those disbelievers walk on earth to see how Allah had punished the previous nations, destroyed their villages and houses and perished their children and wealth? Do not they take heed from what had happened to their predecessors who were disbelievers and stop their disbelief, deception and delusion?
Just as Almighty Allah destroyed the former disbelievers and rescued the believers from them, He would do the same to the disbelievers following their footsteps. Indeed, Allah destroyed the disbelievers, rescued the believers and gave them victory on the disbelievers, because Allah is the Supporter of those who have believed and obeyed His Messenger Muhammad, Peace Be upon Him. Allah is His Supporter and Protector while the disbelievers have no supporter or protector from torture and torment.
How would believers support Allah to receive what He has promised them of His support and steadying of their steps? What Allah requires from them is that they should be fully dedicated to Him, associating no partners with Him whatsoever, whether in a subtle or open way. They must love Allah more than they love themselves or their desires. They must refer to His rulings when it comes to anything they desire or wish for, as well as their public and private acts and even their thoughts and feelings. Such is the way to support Allah within ourselves.
Moreover, we know that Allah has laid down a complete code for life, based on certain rules and values; in short, a complete concept of life and the universe. In practical life, supporting Allah is fulfilled when we make this code the arbiter of everything we do, when we implement His way of life in all aspects.
We need to reflect for a moment on the two phrases: “And those who are killed in the cause of Allah…” and “if you support Allah...” In both cases of getting killed in the cause of Allah and supporting Him, the basic condition is dedicating the action to Allah, being sincere and serving His cause. Although this goes without saying, it is often blurred when faith suffers from deviation in one generation or another. In such cases we notice that words like martyrdom and jihad are twisted to serve cheap causes. It should be clear that there is no such thing as jihad, martyrdom or admission into heaven unless such jihad is for Allah’s cause only, death for His sake alone, and the support we give within ourselves and in society is for His sake only.
The objective must be the supremacy of the word of Allah, that His law and code of living should rule over people’s consciences, morality, behavior, laws and systems. Abu Musa al-Ash’ari reports: “The Prophet was asked about a person who fights to prove his bravery, support his people or to show off: which of these could be fighting in Allah’s cause? He answered: ‘Only the one who fights so that Allah’s word remains supreme fights for Allah’s cause.” [Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’I and al-Tirmidhi.]
There can be no other banner or goal under or for which people can fight and fall martyrs to be included in Allah’s promise to enter Paradise other than His banner and His cause. This is true no matter what banner is raised and no matter what goals are defined under the deviant systems and governments.
Advocates of Divine faith are best advised to understand this truth and keep it in their minds pure of any deviant concept. They must never allow thoughts that are alien to the Islamic faith to creep into their minds. If people strive for any purpose other than making Allah’s word supreme, then their striving is not for Him, and when they are killed they do not earn martyr status.
They cannot expect Allah’s help and cannot hope to be in heaven. Advocates of Divine faith must make their vision clear. If they find this hard, the least they can do is to free their thoughts and feelings from the concepts of their environment which are in conflict with the essence of Allah’s conditional statement: “O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet.” (Verse 7)
Such is the condition Allah requires to be fulfilled by believers. What He gives them in return is His support, ensuring victory and making their steps firm. This is Allah’s promise which never fails. If it is delayed at some point, its delay serves another purpose which is accomplished when Allah’s support, victory and firmness of step are fulfilled.
“But those who disbelieve - for them is misery, and He will waste their deeds.” (Verse 8) This is the opposite of granting help and firmness of step. This is an invocation of ill fortune which means that they will inevitably have ill fortune, humiliation and lack of support. Furthermore, their deeds will come to nothing, which means utter loss.
The reason for all this is stated: “That is because they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds.” (Verse 9) This describes what they have of hatred to what Allah has revealed, i.e. the Qur’an containing His law and the code He lays down for human life. This is what prompts them to stubbornly reject the faith and entertain futile argument about it. Many are those with corrupt minds who hate the sound of Divine code and find themselves, by nature, in conflict with it. We often meet such people and we sense their deep hatred of Islam and everything related to it. They are scared by the mere mention of it. In fact, such hatred is easily noticed these days.
Because of their hatred of Allah’s revelations, HE let their deeds go to waste. Again the Qur’an uses its preferred method of drawing imagines. The Arabic word, ahbata, translated here as ‘cause to go to waste’, normally described cattle with swollen bellies as a result of feeding on poisoned grass. This ends in certain death. In the same way, those people who hate Allah’s revelations find their deeds swollen and apparently growing, only to end in waste and utter loss. It is a vivid image that shows motion, and an end corresponding to that of the ones who hate Allah’s revelations and admire their own works that appear to them great. Yet they are only swollen in the same way as the bellies of cattle grazing on poisonous grass.
The unbelievers’ attention is forcibly drawn to the fates of earlier ignorant communities: “Have they not traveled through the land and seen how was the end of those before them? Allah destroyed [everything] over them, and for the disbelievers is something comparable.” (Verse 10)
This is a strong and forceful statement accompanied by loud noises and an image of the earlier communities witnessing the destruction of everything around them. All their possessions are amassed in heaps while they themselves are buried under the debris, it is an image of total destruction. They are told that such a fate awaits all unbelievers; they will reap nothing but devastation and ruin: “…and for the disbelievers is something comparable.” (Verse 10)
This fearful prospect contrasts with that of the believers who will receive support and victory: “That is because Allah is the protector of those who have believed and because the disbelievers have no protector.” (Verse 11) The constant rule being that when Allah is his protector, man need not worry about anything. Whatever happens to him should be seen as a test that heralds something good. It is never a sight of being abandoned by Allah, nor can it be seen as a failure by Allah to fulfill His promise to support His servants. The one who is not so protected by Allah, however, will have no protection, even if all of mankind and the jinn are his patrons and supporters. Ultimately, he will be lost even though all means of protection and all sources of power known to mankind are at his disposal.
