Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 151

(Ayah 151) ➊ { سَنُلْقِيْ …:} This verse, in its context, completes the previous statement. In this verse, Allah Almighty has encouraged jihad in various ways and removed the fear of the disbelievers from the hearts. Here it is stated that if you trust in Allah Almighty and seek help only from Him, then Allah Almighty will cast your fear into the hearts of the disbelievers, and thus you will gain dominance over them, because they associate others with Allah. Therefore, in {”بِمَاۤ اَشْرَكُوْا“}, the letter "ba" is for causation. (Qurtubi)

➋ Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "The polytheist is a thief of Allah Almighty, and there is fear in the heart of a thief." (Muwaddih) Thus, Allah Almighty's promise came true, and the disbelievers, despite being dominant at Uhud, quietly left the battlefield and fled. It is mentioned in the books of Seerah that on their way back, they intended to attack Madinah again, but they became overawed. It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been given superiority over the previous prophets in five things, one of which is that I have been helped by instilling fear into the hearts of the enemy from a distance of one month's journey." [ بخاری، التیمم، بابٌ : ۳۳۵۔ مسلم : ۵۲۱، عن جابر بن عبد اللہ رضی اللہ عنھما ] From this hadith, it is understood that the promise of casting fear into the hearts of the disbelievers is not specific to Uhud but is general.

➌ From this verse, it is also understood that along with him (peace and blessings be upon him), your ummah, that is, the Muslims, their awe has also been cast upon the polytheists, and the reason for this is their shirk. It is as if the hearts of those who commit shirk are always afraid and trembling from the awe of others. This is the reason that when a large number of Muslims became involved in polytheistic beliefs and practices, and almost every city and neighborhood had solid graves and shrines of others besides Allah, and they began to seek help and assistance from others besides Allah, then the same awe that was in the hearts of the disbelievers due to shirk, despite being nearly one and a half billion in number, entered the hearts of the Muslims. However, those who uphold tawheed are safe from this awe, and until the Day of Judgment, they will continue to wage jihad against the disbelievers, and their awe will remain in the hearts of the disbelievers due to the polytheistic beliefs and practices of the disbelievers. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَنْ يَّبْرَحَ هٰذَا الدِّيْنُ قَائِمًا يُقَاتِلُ عَلَيْهِ عِصَابَةٌ مِّنَ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ حَتّٰي تَقُوْمَ السَّاعَةُ ] [ مسلم، الأمارۃ، باب قولہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم : لا تزال طائفۃ من أمتی… : ۱۹۲۲، عن جابر بن سمرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] "This religion will always remain established, and a group of Muslims will continue to fight for it until the Day of Judgment is established."

151. 1. Seeing the defeat of the Muslims, some disbelievers thought that this was a great opportunity to eliminate the Muslims. At this moment, Allah placed fear of the Muslims in the hearts of the disbelievers, so they did not have the courage to put this thought into action (Fath al-Qadeer). In the hadith of Sahihain, the Prophet ﷺ said that five things have been given to me which were not given to any prophet before me. Among them is this: "I have been helped by terror (cast) into the hearts of the enemy from a distance of one month's journey." From this hadith, it is known that the terror inspired by the Prophet ﷺ was permanently placed in the hearts of the enemy. And from this verse, it is known that along with the Prophet ﷺ, the awe of his ummah, that is, the Muslims, was also placed upon the polytheists. And the reason for this is their shirk. It is as if the hearts of those who commit shirk remain trembling and fearful of others' awe. Perhaps this is the reason that when a large number of Muslims became involved in polytheistic beliefs and actions, instead of the enemy being fearful of them, they themselves became in awe of the enemy.

151. Soon We shall cast terror [137] into the hearts of the disbelievers, because they associate with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority. Their abode is the Fire, and evil indeed is the abode of the wrongdoers. [138]

[137] After the Prophet ﷺ was wounded and the polytheists surrounded him, the noble Companions ؓ bravely dispersed the polytheists. Then, the Prophet ﷺ, gathering his courage, changed the course of the battle with great wisdom and military skill, and with steadfastness ascended to the top of the mountain. This action of his immediately changed the course of the battle. When Abu Sufyan saw him, he tried to ascend the mountain with his army. The Companions from above pelted stones, so he could not advance. In this way, the defeated Muslims once again came to an equal footing, and Abu Sufyan had to return unsuccessful.

The Role of Ma'bad al-Khuza'i:

Since this battle was not decisive and Abu Sufyan left in this state, he thought that perhaps Abu Sufyan might turn back and attack the Muslims again. Therefore, he ordered the Companions to pursue. Thus, from among the wounded and grieving Muslims, a group of seventy men got ready for pursuit and set out from Madinah, reaching Hamra' al-Asad, eight miles from Madinah. The assumption of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned out to be absolutely correct. When Abu Sufyan reached the place of Rauha, he thought that the task remained incomplete, so he should return to Madinah and attack again. In these circumstances, Allah's help was with the Muslims. The chief of the Khuza'ah tribe, Mu'abbad (this tribe had not yet embraced Islam, but they were certainly allies and well-wishers of the Muslims), upon hearing the news of the Muslims' defeat, came to the service of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to console him. When he learned of the situation, after consulting with him, he went to Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan, considering him a well-wisher, expressed his intention to return and attack. Mu'abbad said, "I am coming from there; Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is coming after you with a huge army, and in this army are also those young men who, for some reason, could not participate in this battle." When Abu Sufyan heard this story, such awe overcame him that he changed his mind and took the road to Makkah.
[138]
Why is a Believer Brave?

The reason for the polytheists being overawed, Allah Almighty has stated, is that they worship things which are created and are not even capable of benefiting or harming themselves, so how can they help others?
﴿ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوْبُ﴾
This is the situation. Whereas a believer worships only one Allah, who has full power to help and certainly helps His servants, provided the believer obeys Him and relies on Him alone. Trust in Allah and belief in divine destiny make him fearless and undaunted by everything except Allah.