Surah As-Saff (61) — Ayah 14

(Ayah 14) ➊ {يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا كُوْنُوْۤا اَنْصَارَ اللّٰهِ …:’’اَلْحَوَارِيُّ‘‘ ’’حَارَ يَحُوْرُ حَوْرًا ‘‘( ن )’’ اَلثَّوْبَ‘‘} To wash the cloth and make it very white. The washerman is called Hawari for this reason, because he washes the cloth and makes it white. {’’ حُوَّارٰي‘‘} refers to pure white flour from which the bran has been sifted out. A sincere friend and selfless helper is called Hawari for this reason, because his heart is free from all kinds of impurity and is pure in goodwill and love. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ حَوَارِيًّا وَ إِنَّ حَوَارِيَّ الزُّبَيْرُ بْنُ الْعَوَّامِ ] [ بخاري، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب مناقب الزبیر بن العوام رضی اللہ عنہ : ۳۷۱۹ ] "Every prophet has a Hawari, and my Hawari is Zubair bin Al-Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him)."

➋ The construction of {كَمَا قَالَ عِيْسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ لِلْحَوَارِيّٖنَ۠ مَنْ اَنْصَارِيْۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ: ’’ اِلَى اللّٰهِ ‘‘} is in two ways: one is {’’مَنْ أَنْصَارِيْ فِي الدَّعْوَةِ إِلَي اللّٰهِ‘‘} "Who are my helpers in calling to Allah?" as Allah Almighty said: « قُلْ هٰذِهٖ سَبِيْلِيْۤ اَدْعُوْۤا اِلَى اللّٰهِ » [ یوسف : ۱۰۸ ] "Say: This is my way, I call to Allah." And the second construction is: {’’مَنْ أَنْصَارِيْ ذَاهِبًا إِلَي اللّٰهِ ‘‘} "Who are my helpers in going towards Allah?" as Allah Almighty said about Ibrahim (peace be upon him): «وَ قَالَ اِنِّيْ ذَاهِبٌ اِلٰى رَبِّيْ سَيَهْدِيْنِ » [الصافات : ۹۹ ] "And he said: I am going to my Lord, He will surely guide me." See also the commentary of Surah Al-Imran (52).

➌ {قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّوْنَ نَحْنُ اَنْصَارُ اللّٰهِ … :} During striving in the way of Allah, there are many stages, of which the last stage is fighting and war with the enemies of Allah, the encouragement and virtue of which has been mentioned from the beginning of the Surah. An even more difficult stage is when the one calling to the truth is alone or has only a few people with him. All other people are his enemies, who try to stop him from calling to the truth by abusing, mocking, beating, and causing all kinds of harm, to the extent that sometimes his companions or even he himself is killed. At such a time, standing with the one calling to the truth, enduring all hardships without caring for one's life and wealth, and remaining steadfast on the truth is the work of people of great determination and courage, as it is said: « لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِيْۤ اَمْوَالِكُمْ وَ اَنْفُسِكُمْ وَ لَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوا الْكِتٰبَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَ مِنَ الَّذِيْنَ اَشْرَكُوْۤا اَذًى كَثِيْرًا وَ اِنْ تَصْبِرُوْا وَ تَتَّقُوْا فَاِنَّ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْاُمُوْرِ » [ آل عمران : ۱۸۶ ] "You will surely be tested in your wealth and your lives, and you will surely hear much hurt from those who were given the Book before you and from those who associate partners with Allah. But if you are patient and fear Allah, then that is of the matters requiring determination." Then, enduring all this, many are imprisoned, many become disabled, many are martyred, and finally comes the stage when there is war with the enemies of Allah, and at that time, those who stand firm in the field despite being few and weak compared to the enemies, Allah grants them special help and grants them victory and dominance over the enemy. In this verse, by presenting the example of the sincere companions of Isa (peace be upon him) before the Muslims, they are commanded to respond to the call of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) «مَنْ اَنْصَارِيْۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ» in the same way, and to support him by sacrificing their lives and wealth while being patient over every hardship.

It is known that Isa (peace be upon him) did not face the stage of fighting with the enemies; the Jews of that time, despite recognizing him, harassed and troubled him so much that even calling to the truth became difficult for him. At that time, he said: Who are my helpers in calling to Allah and in walking on His path? The Hawariyyun said: We are Allah's helpers. At that time, the Children of Israel became two groups: one who believed in him and responded to his command {’’ مَنْ اَنْصَارِيْۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ ‘‘} by saying {’’ نَحْنُ اَنْصَارُ اللّٰهِ ‘‘}, then helped him in every way with their lives and wealth and were patient over the hardships given by the enemies in this path. The other group denied him as a Messenger, called him a liar, slandered his mother, conspired with the government of the time to have him arrested, and, according to their assumption, crucified him, although Allah Almighty refuted their assumption. See Surah Al-Imran (52 to 55) and Surah An-Nisa (58, 57).

Our Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also faced this stage first. So when Allah Almighty honored him with prophethood and he began to call to Islam, there was severe resistance from the disbelievers of Makkah, and he and the men and women who became Muslim with him were given severe hardships, due to which very few people dared to believe. Then many migrated to Abyssinia, and many endured oppression and persecution in Makkah itself. This series of trials and hardships continued for many years, until the Quraysh disbelievers completely stopped him from calling. Every year, he would go to the tribes coming for Hajj and say to each tribe: Who will take me with him and help me in conveying Allah's message? After many years, the time came when Allah Almighty granted some people of Madinah the ability to become the Ansar of Allah at his call. Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَعْرِضُ نَفْسَهُ عَلَی النَّاسِ بِالْمَوْقِفِ فَيَقُوْلُ هَلْ مِنْ رَجُلٍ يَحْمِلُنِيْ إِلٰی قَوْمِهِ، فَإِنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَدْ مَنَعُوْنِيْ أَنْ أُبَلِّغَ كَلاَمَ رَبِّيْ عَزَّوَجَلَّ، فَأَتَاهُ رَجُلٌ مِّنْ هَمْدَانَ فَقَالَ مِمَّنْ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ هَمْدَانَ، قَالَ فَهَلْ عِنْدَ قَوْمِكَ مِنْ مَنَعَةٍ؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ خَشِيَ أَنْ يَخْفِرَهُ قَوْمُهُ ، فَأَتٰي رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ آتِيْهِمْ، فَأُخْبِرُهُمْ، ثُمَّ آتِيْكَ مِنْ عَامٍ قَابِلٍ، قَالَ نَعَمْ، فَانْطَلَقَ وَجَاءَ وَفْدُ الْأَنْصَارِ فِيْ رَجَبٍ ] [ مسند أحمد : 390/3، ح : ۱۵۱۹۲، قال المحقق إسنادہ صحیح علی شرط البخاري ] "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would present himself to the people at the time of Hajj at the standing place and say: 'Is there any man who will take me to his people? For the Quraysh have prevented me from conveying the word of my Lord.' Then a man from Hamdan came to him. He (the Prophet) said: 'From which people are you?' The man said: 'From Hamdan.' He (the Prophet) said: 'Can there be any protection and defense with your people?' He said: 'Yes!' Then the man became afraid that perhaps his people would not fulfill the promise, so he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: 'I will go to them and inform them, then next year I will come to you.' He (the Prophet) said: 'Alright.' So he went away, and the delegation of the Ansar came in Rajab."

➍ {فَاَيَّدْنَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا عَلٰى عَدُوِّهِمْ فَاَصْبَحُوْا ظٰهِرِيْنَ:} That is, a group of the Children of Israel believed in the call of Isa (peace be upon him), and a group denied him as a Messenger. Those who denied were Jews, and those who believed were Christians. The believers were few, and the disbelievers were many. These Jews tried every way to stop the Messiah (peace be upon him) from conveying Allah's message and inflicted the worst atrocities on him and his companions, but neither did Isa (peace be upon him) abandon the call to Allah, nor did his companions fall short in supporting him, until when Allah Almighty raised Isa (peace be upon him) to Himself, even then the steadfastness of the believers did not decrease; they continued to stand firm and continued to call to Islam, until Allah Almighty granted them the ability to fight the disbelievers. Then, when they stood firm in the field despite being few in number, Allah Almighty strengthened them and helped them, so they prevailed over their enemies, and their enemies, the Jews, were subdued, who remain subdued to this day. Then, when the followers of Isa (peace be upon him) fell into shirk and began to call him God or the son of God, at that time Allah Almighty made the Muslim Ummah, who had true faith in Isa (peace be upon him), dominant over them.

➎ Our Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions also endured and were enduring the oppression and persecution of the disbelievers; in this is glad tidings for them that if you become the helpers of Allah like the Hawariyyun of Isa (peace be upon him), Allah Almighty will also make you dominant over your enemies. And so it happened that Allah Almighty granted them dominance over the disbelievers, with the difference that the Messiah (peace be upon him) was raised before seeing the dominance of his companions, whereas our Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was shown that scene with his own eyes, as mentioned in Surah An-Nasr, where it is said: « اِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ اللّٰهِ وَ الْفَتْحُ (1) وَ رَاَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُوْنَ فِيْ دِيْنِ اللّٰهِ اَفْوَاجًا» [ النصر : 2،1 ] "When the help of Allah and the victory comes. And you see the people entering Allah's religion in crowds." Yes, when Isa (peace be upon him) returns, he will personally participate in that victory and dominance which Allah Almighty will grant to his companion Muslims over their enemies and the Dajjal.

14. 1 In all circumstances, through your words and actions as well as through your life and wealth. Whenever, at any time and in any situation, Allah and His Messenger call you for His religion, you should immediately respond to their call, just as the disciples responded to the call of Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام.

14. 2 That is, we are helpers in the propagation and preaching of this religion of yours ﷺ, which Allah has commanded you ﷺ to spread. Similarly, during the days of Hajj, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would say, "Who will give me protection so that I may convey Allah's message to the people, for the Quraysh do not allow me to fulfill the duty of Prophethood?" Until the Aws and Khazraj of Madinah responded to his ﷺ call, pledged allegiance at your ﷺ hand, and promised to help him ﷺ. They also offered that if you ﷺ migrated to Madinah, then according to their promise, they would help him ﷺ and all your companions, until Allah and His Messenger named them the Ansar, and now this became their proper noun. رضي الله عنهم وارضاهم.

14. 3 These were the Jews who not only denied the Prophethood of Isa عليه السلام but also slandered him and his mother. Some say that this disagreement and division occurred when Isa عليه السلام was raised to the heavens. One said that in the form of Isa عليه السلام, Allah Himself appeared on earth, and now He has gone back to the heavens; this sect is called the Jacobites. The Nestorian sect said he was the son of Allah, and the Father has called the Son to the heavens. The third sect said he was Allah's servant and His Messenger; this sect was Sahih.

14. 4 That is, by sending the Prophet ﷺ, We helped this last group against the other false groups. Thus, this group with the correct belief brought faith in the Prophet ﷺ, and so We granted them dominance over all the disbelievers both in terms of arguments and in terms of power and authority. The final manifestation of this dominance will occur again when, near the Day of Judgment, Isa عليه السلام will descend again, as the explicit mention of this descent and dominance has been transmitted in Sahih ahadith with tawatur (continuous narration).

O you who believe! Be helpers [16] of Allah’s (religion), just as Jesus, son of Mary, said to the disciples: “Who are my helpers towards Allah?” The disciples replied, “We are Allah’s helpers.” Then a group from the Children of Israel believed, while another group disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemies, and they became dominant [17].

[16] According to some commentators, these were washermen. Although they were few in number, they were extremely sincere believers. In the propagation of the teachings of the Gospel, these people risked their lives. (For further explanation, see the commentary of Surah Al-Imran, verse 52, and Surah Al-Ma'idah, verses 111 and 112.)
[17] Those who denied Sayyiduna Isa were the Jews. And those who believed in him are the Christians, who, after Sayyiduna Isa, fought among themselves. Eventually, Allah Almighty made the believers victorious over the Jews in these debates, arguments, and civil wars. Then, widespread misguidance of polytheism spread among these Christians. Among them, the few individuals who remained steadfast on monotheism were granted dominance by Allah Almighty through the Last Prophet. In terms of proof and argument, they remained dominant, and politically as well, they were the ones who prevailed.