Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 195

In the previous verse, there is the command of fighting in the way of Allah; this verse is also the completion of that command, meaning continue to spend in jihad and its preparation, and do not neglect it and thereby throw yourselves into destruction, because in that case the disbelievers will overpower you, which is utter destruction. Aslam Tujibi says that we were in Madinah of Rome (Constantinople), and the Romans brought out a very large group against us; in response, an equal or greater number of Muslims came out. ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) was the leader over the people of Egypt, and Fadalah bin ‘Ubaid (may Allah be pleased with him) was the leader over the group. One of the Muslims attacked the ranks of the Romans until he entered among them. The people cried out and said, “Subhan Allah! He is throwing himself into destruction.” So Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said, “Do you understand the meaning of this verse like this? In fact, it was revealed about us, the group of Ansar. When Allah Almighty gave honor to Islam and its supporters became many, some of us secretly said to others, ‘Our wealth (i.e., fields and gardens, etc.) has been lost. Now Allah has honored Islam and its supporters are many, so if we stay with our wealth and repair what has been lost, it would be better.’ So Allah Almighty refuted our statement by revealing this verse: ‘And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw your hands into destruction.’ [ البقرۃ : ۱۹۵ ] So ‘destruction’ was our staying with our wealth, repairing it, and abandoning war.” Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to go out in the way of Allah until he was buried in the land of Rome. [ ترمذی، التفسیر، باب و من سورۃ البقرۃ : ۲۹۷۲ و صححہ الألبانی ] Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that this verse was revealed about spending. [ بخاری، قبل ح : ۴۵۱۶ ] Abu Ishaq Sabi‘i says, “I asked Bara’ bin ‘Azib (may Allah be pleased with them both), ‘If a man attacks the polytheists, has he thrown himself into destruction?’ He replied, ‘No. Allah Almighty said to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): «فَقَاتِلْ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ اِلَّا نَفْسَكَ» [ النساء : ۸۴ ] ‘So fight in the way of Allah; you are not responsible except for yourself.’ [ أحمد : 281/4، ح : ۱۸۴۷۷، وھو حسن ]”

From the explanation of this verse by the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), it is clear that when there is hope of harming the enemy by the attack of a single self-sacrificing Muslim, or the intention is to demoralize the disbelievers by the bravery of the Muslims, or it is not possible to harm the enemy without presenting martyrdom, then such self-sacrificing attacks are absolutely correct. This is not throwing oneself into destruction; rather, abandoning jihad and becoming occupied in business is the real destruction. In the history of Islam, the actions of Mu‘adh and Mu‘awwidh, the killers of Abu Jahl in the Battle of Badr; ‘Abdullah bin Atik, the killer of Abu Rafi‘ the Jew in the Battle of Khaybar; Muhammad bin Maslamah, the killer of Ka‘b bin Ashraf in Madinah; ‘Abdullah bin Unais, the killer of Khalid bin Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them); the pledge of allegiance to death by the Companions at Hudaybiyyah; the martyrdom of Abu ‘Ubayd Thaqafi while attacking the elephant in the Battle of the Bridge; Bara’ bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) saying to his companions in the Battle of Yamamah, “Seat me on a shield, raise the shield with spears, and throw me inside the garden,” and there, after receiving eighty wounds, opening the door and granting victory to the Muslims (Bayhaqi: 18379); the self-sacrificing soldiers prepared by Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi (may Allah have mercy on him) who broke the back of the Crusaders—all these and countless other incidents bear witness to this. At this time, the cause of the destruction and humiliation of the Muslims is that instead of spending in preparation for jihad and fighting the disbelievers, they have preferred luxury and saving their lives, so neither their lives, nor their wealth, nor their honor remained safe at the hands of the disbelievers. Even now, if any honor of Islam remains, it is through those self-sacrificing mujahideen, at whose hands the hearts of the world of disbelief tremble.