Surah Al-Hadid (57) — Ayah 25

(Ayah 25) ➊ {لَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنٰتِ …:} In the above verses, the spending that has been emphasized is related to jihad. When the disbelievers and the People of the Book suffered defeat after defeat at Badr and other places, they started propaganda—which continues to this day—that how can Muhammad (peace be upon him) be Allah’s Messenger and Islam be Allah’s religion? According to them, the greatest virtue is war and bloodshed; how can Allah’s messengers and His righteous servants have anything to do with bloodshed? They are supposed to be people of peace and security, living a life of seclusion and monasticism, away from worldly affairs. Here, in response, Allah Almighty has clarified three things: First, that Allah sent all the messengers with clear proofs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance, so that people may follow the right path and uphold justice and fairness in their mutual dealings. Second, that justice and fairness require the elimination of oppression and tyranny, which is not possible without power and authority. For this purpose, Allah sent down iron along with the Book and the Balance, which, besides countless other benefits, also serves the purpose of jihad, through which justice and fairness are established and the believers are tested to see who are the believers (mumin) who help Allah's religion, and who are the hypocrites (munafiq) who evade it. Third, it is stated that all the messengers who came from among the descendants of Noah and Abraham (peace be upon them) had the same purpose: the establishment of truth and justice. Jesus (peace be upon him) was also on their path; in contrast to the hardness of the Jews, Allah placed special compassion and mercy in the hearts of his followers. Using this gentleness as a pretext, some of their so-called followers adopted monasticism and abandoned jihad, even though this was their own invented innovation and never Allah’s command. Among Muslims, the abandonment of jihad also resulted from imitating the Christians in this monasticism.
➋ { وَ اَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتٰبَ وَ الْمِيْزَانَ …:} For its explanation, see the commentary of Surah Ash-Shura, verse (17).
➌ { وَ اَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيْدَ:} Although iron comes out of the earth, to emphasize the greatness of this blessing, the word {’’ اَنْزَلْنَا ‘‘} has been used, just as it is said about cattle: « وَ اَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْاَنْعَامِ ثَمٰنِيَةَ اَزْوَاجٍ» [ الزمر : ۶ ] “And He sent down for you eight kinds (male and female) of cattle.” This also hints at the reality that the true source of every blessing is the heavens, from where Allah’s command is issued and everything comes into existence, and also points to the knowledge that Allah inspires in the hearts of His servants regarding how to obtain and use iron.
➍ { فِيْهِ بَاْسٌ شَدِيْدٌ وَّ مَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ:} It is noteworthy that the other “benefits” of iron are mentioned later, while the mention of fierce fighting comes first. This shows the importance of jihad and weaponry. The benefits refer to the countless machines, tools, and vehicles that have been invented and will be invented in the future.
➎ { وَ لِيَعْلَمَ اللّٰهُ مَنْ يَّنْصُرُهٗ وَ رُسُلَهٗ بِالْغَيْبِ:} One of the wisdoms of jihad is that Allah Almighty, if He wills, can destroy the disbelievers in a moment, but He tests His servants through jihad to see who fights for His sake and helps His religion without seeing Him, and who lags behind. For {’’ وَ لِيَعْلَمَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘}, see the commentary of Surah Al-Imran (140–142) and Surah Al-Ankabut (3).
➏ {اِنَّ اللّٰهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيْزٌ:} That is, Allah Almighty did not command His servants to perform jihad due to any weakness of His own, but for their own benefit and as a test, because He is the Possessor of great strength and is dominant over all.