8. Al-Anfaal

Releasing the prisoners at the battle of Badr was a strategic error. But, for the prisoners themselves, this amounted to giving them a new lease of life. This meant that the people who had become liable to be killed due to their opposition of the Truth, were given a further opportunity to re-think the Islamic call and their improper behaviour towards it. This respite opened up for them the door of self-rectification.Now one consequence of this event could have been that the flames of revenge flared up in the hearts of the prisoners due to the defeat they had suffered; they could have become eager to avenge the ignominy and loss they had suffered on the payment of ransom. In this case, they would have repeated the same wrong action as a result of which they had become liable to be seized upon by God. They would have expended their energy in opposing Islam, the result of which action would have been destruction in the world and punishment in the Hereafter. The second possibility was that they could have thought over the extraordinary happenings on the battlefield of Badr, i.e. why did it happen that, in spite of having inferior and fewer armaments, the Muslims were clearly victorious? This clearly indicated that God was in favour of the religion of the Muslims and disfavoured that of the Quraysh. If this second line of thinking developed, it would make them change their previous behaviour and adopt the religion which they had not earlier been able to adopt and in this way become eligible for God’s reward in this world and also in the Hereafter.History shows that there were a number of individuals among the Quraysh in whose hearts this question had arisen and sooner or later they joined Islam. ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib had embraced Islam when he was a prisoner. Some others also joined the Islamic circle later. These people lowered themselves in the eyes of their own prejudiced group, but they honoured themselves in the eyes of God. They suffered worldly harm, but became possessors of the benefit of the Hereafter. On the release of the prisoners, the Muslims had the suspicion that the latter, instead of being grateful for the Muslims’ magnamity, would engage in conspiracies, adopt destructive ways and create impediments in the way of Islam. But the Quran did not give importance to these suspicions, because a movement launched for the cause of pure Truth is not an ordinary movement. It is a Divine affair. God Himself is behind it; and nobody has the power to fight God.

Generally when a man helps another, it is because that other person belongs to his family or group or class. But after the hijrah (migration to Madinah) the Islamic society formed in Madinah was such that those who were householders gave their houses to people with whom their relation was based only on religion. The people who left their hearths and homes and migrated to Madinah had done all this for the sake of God and the Hereafter, and those who allowed these strangers to share their money and property also did so, in order that God should be pleased with them and send them to paradise in the Hereafter. This was a society in which relations of family or race were not important as compared to faith. People used to help each other, not for worldly benefit, but for the sake of the Hereafter. They used to give to each other without expecting any return from the receiver, but only expecting a reward from God. That society is truly Islamic where relations are established not on the basis of family relations or the prejudices of groupism, but on the basis of Truth; where the people are the supporters and helpers of each other for the sole reason that they are brothers in religion and not because some worldly consideration is linked with them.

Having faith in God means deciding to lead one’s life purely for His sake. People who do so, frequently become strangers among those who live for things other than God. This alienation sometimes leads to the decision to migrate due to a wholly inimical atmosphere; one’s whole life thus becomes one of struggle and sacrifice. These migrants are the true believers in the eyes of God—their faith being of the highest order. Next come those who support these migrants in God’s cause. In order to become a real Muslim, at least one of the following courses of action should be entered upon. Either the potential devotee should attach himself to Islam to such an extent that, if required, he will forsake his well-established life. Or he should loosen his purse strings in order to come to the aid of those who choose to migrate. If necessary he should even invite them to share in his earnings and property. True faith will thus become a reality for people on their becoming either muhajirs (migrants in God’s cause) or ansars (helpers or supporters). These are the two kinds of people for whom, before God, there is pardon or forgiveness (maghfirah) and respectable sustenance (rizq karim). The Paradise of the Hereafter is an extremely refined world; it is a perfect world; and the people eligible to be settled in a perfect world should also be perfect. No human being can attain such perfection in view of human weaknesses. However, God has promised that one who fulfils one test out of the two tests mentioned above shall have allowances made for his shortcomings and, by His grace, will be sent to Paradise. Helping and supporting those who become brothers through religion is very important. However, this will not affect the rights of blood relations and the distribution of inheritance among them. Under the influence of personal desire, a man may treat some things as essential for his family members, but this has no importance in the eyes of God. However, God himself has laid down in His Book laws regarding the rights of family members and rules of inheritance applicable to them. These will in any case hold good, and nothing can become an excuse for violating them.

Having faith in God means deciding to lead one’s life purely for His sake. People who do so, frequently become strangers among those who live for things other than God. This alienation sometimes leads to the decision to migrate due to a wholly inimical atmosphere; one’s whole life thus becomes one of struggle and sacrifice. These migrants are the true believers in the eyes of God—their faith being of the highest order. Next come those who support these migrants in God’s cause. In order to become a real Muslim, at least one of the following courses of action should be entered upon. Either the potential devotee should attach himself to Islam to such an extent that, if required, he will forsake his well-established life. Or he should loosen his purse strings in order to come to the aid of those who choose to migrate. If necessary he should even invite them to share in his earnings and property. True faith will thus become a reality for people on their becoming either muhajirs (migrants in God’s cause) or ansars (helpers or supporters). These are the two kinds of people for whom, before God, there is pardon or forgiveness (maghfirah) and respectable sustenance (rizq karim). The Paradise of the Hereafter is an extremely refined world; it is a perfect world; and the people eligible to be settled in a perfect world should also be perfect. No human being can attain such perfection in view of human weaknesses. However, God has promised that one who fulfils one test out of the two tests mentioned above shall have allowances made for his shortcomings and, by His grace, will be sent to Paradise. Helping and supporting those who become brothers through religion is very important. However, this will not affect the rights of blood relations and the distribution of inheritance among them. Under the influence of personal desire, a man may treat some things as essential for his family members, but this has no importance in the eyes of God. However, God himself has laid down in His Book laws regarding the rights of family members and rules of inheritance applicable to them. These will in any case hold good, and nothing can become an excuse for violating them.