seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 33:21. You have an excellent example in the Messenger of God; for anyone who seeks God and the Last Day, and remembers God frequently.
22. And when the believers saw the confederates, they said, “This is what God and His messenger have promised us; and God and His messenger have told the truth.” And it only increased them in faith and submission.
23. Of the believers are men who are true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vows; and some are still waiting, and never wavering.
24. That God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness; and punish the hypocrites, if He wills, or pardon them. God is Forgiving and Merciful.
25. God repelled the disbelievers in their rage; they gained no advantage. God thus spared the believers combat. God is Strong and Mighty.
26. And He brought down from their strongholds those of the People of the Book who backed them, and He threw terror into their hearts. Some of them you killed, and others you took captive.
27. And He made you inherit their land, and their homes, and their possessions, and a region you have never stepped on. God has power over all things.
There is a ton of commentary this morning.
This verse points to a most significant truth and a distinguishing characteristic of the Holy Prophet, viz., that he is the best exemplar and the highest model of virtue for the faithful under all circumstances. If he had not led armies, he could not have served as a model for a general leading armies into battle; if he had not fought personally, he could not have been an exemplar for a soldier laying down his life in the cause of truth, justice, and freedom; if he had not made laws for the guidance of his followers, he could never have been regarded as an outstanding example to a legislator; if he had not decided cases, he could not have served as a light to judges and magistrates; if he had not married, he would have left men unguided in practically half of their everyday duties and could not have shown how to be a kind and affectionate husband and a loving father; if he had not taken revenge on tyrants for the wrongs inflicted on innocent persons, if he had not overcome his persecuting enemies and forgiven them, if he had not overlooked the faults of those attached to him, he could not have been an excellent exemplar and a perfect model, as he is here pronounced to be. Indeed, it is the distinguishing characteristic of his life that he not only gave practical rules of guidance in all walks of life, but gave by his life a practical illustration of all those rules.
Two more points are worth noting here. In the first place, the Prophet’s being an exemplar is a sufficient answer to all those who carp at him, because the very necessity of guiding men under varying mundane circumstances and conditions led him through all those circumstances. Secondly, the moral qualities which are latent within man remain in a dormant condition unless they are called into action. Hence no one can claim the possession of a high moral quality unless he has had occasion to display it, acquitting himself creditably.
The occasion on which the Prophet’s being an exemplar for the faithful is pointed out is one on which he showed the greatest firmness in utmost danger, confidence in Divine assistance, and steadfastness in the hardest trials, and the believers are told that they must not lose heart, but follow the example of the Holy Prophet.
The reference here is to the Divine promise that a time would come when the combined forces of Arabia would be put to flight. This promise was given long before, and at a time when the Holy Prophet and his few followers were being severely persecuted at Makkah. Here are the words of one prophecy: “What an army of the allies is here put to flight”; “Soon shall the hosts be routed and they will show their back", says another. So when the combined forces attacked Madßnah, the words of the prophecy were in the heart of every true Muslim. They rejoiced because they were certain that the combined forces of the enemy would be put to flight. It was only the hypocrites who had misgivings, as the last section shows. The battle had, in fact, inspired greater faith in the ultimate triumph of Islåm, not only by bringing earlier prophecies to fulfilment but also because it was here that, when the Holy Prophet smashed a big stone with a hammer (a stone which had proved an obstacle in the digging of the ditch) and a flash of light followed, he announced the mighty prophecy that the flash of light had revealed to him the palaces of the Chosroes and the Caesars, and that he had been informed that his followers would be triumphant over both the empires.
Some of the believers had become martyrs in the cause of truth; others yet waited, anxious to lay down their lives in the same cause.
It is clearly stated here, as also in v. 17, that all the hypocrites would not be punished, but that Allåh would be merciful to them, punishing only such as deserved to be punished. Thus it happened that most of them became afterwards sincere converts to Islåm.
The Banß Qurai˚ah were in alliance with the Holy Prophet, and when the enemy laid siege to Madßnah, they were bound to repel the attack. Instead of this they sided with the invading army. Muir admits that “it was agreed that the Qurai˚ah would assist the Quraish”, and though he doubts whether “they entered on active hostilities”, there is the surest testimony that they had made an agreement with the Quraish to attack the Muslims from within. Therefore, when the besieging army took to flight and the Qurai˚ah returned to their fortress, it was besieged by the Holy Prophet, for to leave such an internal enemy unpunished would have been a source of ever-present danger to the safety of the Muslim community. They remained besieged for twenty-five days, and then expressed their willingness to surrender, on condition that they should submit to the sentence of punishment pronounced by Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ådh. Had they trusted the Prophet, he would probably have given them the same punishment as he gave to the Qainuqå’, viz., emigration, but Sa‘d was exasperated by their treachery and his judgment was that the fighting men should be put to death and the rest made captives . This was in accordance with the Jewish Law: “And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself” (Deut. 20:12 – 14). Three hundred men suffered death under this sentence, and their lands fell into the hands of the Muslims.
The land which you have not yet trodden refers to the foreign lands which are here promised to the Muslims and which they conquered later.
I guess there have been a lot of battles.... and I don't see them as battles with enemies but I see them as internal struggles dealing with God's rules and human life. One of the first things I read in this book was how the Profit dealt with the enemy after his surrender. In the very beginning of this book... the enemy laid down their swords... they surrendered..... and the Prophet told them to just go home. One minute they were at war and the next... all was forgiven.
In this battle though..... that didn't happen. In this battle he jailed those who survived. He slaughtered until they cried "uncle" and then he took prisoners.
He wasn't going to turn his back on these guys again. The difference????? Well, those he took prisoner.... they made an alliance with him and then went over to the other side.
Geeze.... that sounds like someone on these forums.... apparently that person was once Baptized and then... for an unknown reason.... decided he was wrong.... and now he thinks he's doomed to hell. See he once had an alliance with God.... and then denounced it. He thinks God will not accept him back. Fact is... God is waiting on him to return. Check out verse 24.... God can take him back.
God can do anything He so desires. If you are that guy.... or if you are like that guy.... Go have a talk with God.
God can punish.... or He can forgive.
