Āl `Imrān (The House of `Imrān) - Verse 144\145
آل عمران - آية 144\145
"Muĥammad is only a messenger: all messengers have passed away before him. If then,
he dies or is slain, will you turn about on your heels? He that turns about on his heels
will not harm God in any way. God will reward those who are grateful [to Him]."
"وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ. أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ. وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ"
This verse refers to a particular incident which took place during the Battle of
Uĥud. The Prophet had stationed a detachment of soldiers on top of the mountain
behind the Muslim army. They were the rearguard, equipped with bows and arrows
to repel any attack launched against the Muslim army from behind. When the battle
appeared to be all over, most of them left their positions, against the express orders
of the Prophet. A battalion of the enemy forces were thus able to go round the
mountain and attack the Muslims from the rear. The Prophet himself was injured: his
front teeth were broken, and his face was bleeding.
The situation became chaotic and the Muslim army was in disarray. At this
moment, someone cried out: “Muĥammad is killed!” Such a great shock was this to
the Muslims, that many of them turned round to return to Madinah. They went up
into the mountain, shattered, defeated, in despair. However, the Prophet himself,
with a small group of his Companions, stood firm. He called to his Companions as
they began to retreat. When they heard him, they began to rally. God helped them
regain their moral strength and allowed them to be overtaken by a momentary
slumber so as to give them strength, security and reassurance, as will be explained later.
This sequence of events is used in the Qur’ān to drive home to the Muslims certain
fundamental principles about life and death and the history of Divine faith:
“Muĥammad is only a messenger: all messengers have passed away before him. If then, he
dies or is slain, will you turn about on your heels?” Muĥammad (pbuh) is simply a
messenger, having been preceded by all other messengers. He will die as other
messengers have died before him. This is an elementary fact. How is it then that the
Muslims show themselves to be oblivious of this fact when it stared them in the face
during the battle?
Muĥammad (pbuh) is a messenger of God, entrusted with the task of conveying
His message. God is Eternal and His word never dies. Believers should never turn on
their heels if the messenger who has come to convey God’s word to them dies or is
killed. This is also an elementary fact which the Muslims, in their great confusion,
overlooked.
Human beings die and perish, while the faith survives. The way of life God has
designed for mankind has its own entity; it is independent of those who convey it to
people, be they messengers or believers. Every Muslim loves God’s Messenger
(pbuh). His Companions loved him as no one had ever been loved before. They were
ready to sacrifice their lives in order to spare him the slightest pain. One of his
Companions, Abū Dujānah, stood as a shield to protect the Prophet, was hit by
numerous arrows in the back and yet he never stirred. Only nine of his Companions
were close to him when he was targeted by a determined attack by the unbelievers,
and those nine defended him most courageously, until they were all killed. Many
others in every generation and in all places continue to love him with all their hearts.
Every Muslim who loves Muĥammad (pbuh) in such a way is required to distinguish
between the Prophet as a person, and the faith he has conveyed to mankind and left
intact for all people to accept and implement. It derives its continuity from God, Who
never dies.
The message is much older than its advocates: “Muĥammad is only a messenger: all
messengers have passed away before him.” They all preached the same message, the roots
of which go back to the beginning of history. It starts with the beginning of human
life, providing mankind with guidance and peace from the very first day of its
existence.
The message is also greater than its advocates and lasts longer. Many of its
advocates have come and gone, while it continues to serve as guidance to succeeding
generations. Its followers maintain their link with God Almighty, its originator, Who
has sent messengers to convey it to mankind. He is Everlasting and believers address
their prayers to Him. None of them may turn about on their heels or turn their back on God’s guidance. This explains the stern warning implicit in this verse: “If then, he
dies or is slain, will you turn about on your heels? He that turns about on his heels will not
harm God in any way. God will reward those who are grateful [to Him].” (Verse 144)
The vivid description of turning back is here to be noted: “Will you turn about on
your heels?” The physical movement depicted here brings alive the meaning of
abandoning faith as if we see it with our own eyes. The verse does not refer to the
physical turning away as a result of defeat in battle. It is more concerned with the
psychological turning about when a voice cried out that Muĥammad was killed.
Some Muslims felt that there was no point in continuing the fight against the
idolaters, since the death of Muĥammad (pbuh) signalled the end of this faith and
the end of combat against idolatry. This psychological effect is delineated in terms of
turning about on one’s heels, which was a movement that actually took place during
the battle. It is this very attitude which Al-Nađīr ibn Anas, a Companion of the
Prophet, warned his fellow Muslims against when he saw that many of them had
lain down their arms. His retort to their excuse that Muĥammad was dead, was:
“What use is life to you after he has died? Get up and die for the cause God’s
Messenger (pbuh) has sacrificed his life for.”
“He that turns about on his heels will not harm God in any way.” It is indeed he who is
the loser. He who deviates from the path of faith harms himself and causes God no
harm. God is in no need of mankind or their worship. It is out of His grace that He
has given His servants this constitution for their own good and happiness. Everyone
who turns his back on it suffers from confusion and misery. Everything is thus set on
the wrong footing. Life itself becomes deviant. People suffer the evil consequences of
turning away from the only constitution which provides harmony in life and which
achieves harmony between man, his nature and the universe around him.
“God will reward those who are grateful to Him.” They know the great bounty God
has given His servants by establishing for them this code of living. They show their
gratitude to Him by following this code and praising Him. They reap the benefits of
this way of life and achieve total happiness. This is good reward for their gratitude.
But they also have an increase of happiness with the reward they receive from God
in the hereafter. That is a much greater reward and, unlike everything enjoyed in this
world, it is everlasting.
“God will reward those who are grateful to Him.” Those who appreciate God’s bounty
and show their gratitude to Him by following His guidance and by glorifying Him
find happiness in their lives. Thus are they rewarded for their gratitude, and they
will receive an even better reward in the life to come.
Apparently God wanted to wean the Companions of the Prophet from their overenthusiastic
attachment to him in person while he was alive among them. Their attachment should be, in the first place, with Islam itself. Their covenants should be
made with God directly and they should be made to feel that they are responsible to
Him directly. Thus they would feel that their responsibilities continue after the death
of the Prophet. Perhaps God also wanted to prepare the Muslim community for the
inevitable shock which they were bound to receive when the Prophet died. He
certainly knew that his death would be a stunning blow to them. Hence, if they were
made to feel that their direct relationship was with Him and His message then they
would be able to overcome their shock.
When the Prophet actually died his Companions were stunned, so much so that
`Umar drew his sword and threatened anyone who claimed that Muĥammad was
dead. Only Abū Bakr, the best example of a true believer in God, was able to take the
event in its proper perspective. He read out this verse to the Muslims and it was
enough to make them realise that it was only a natural event. With this they were
able to turn to God. The Qur’ān in this verse touches on man’s fear of death. It
dispels that fear by stating the ever-correct principle of life and death and also of
what comes after
life.
"No one can die except by God’s leave, at a term appointed. He who desires the reward
of this world, We shall give him thereof and to him who desires the reward of the life to
come, We shall give thereof. We shall reward those who are grateful to Us." (Verse
145)
"وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَن تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ كِتَابًا مُّؤَجَّلًا ۗ وَمَن يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَن يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الْآخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا ۚ وَسَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ"
Every human soul, then, lives up to its appointed time. No one dies before his
time. Neither fear, nor the desire to live longer can postpone anyone’s appointed
time. Courage and adventure, on the other hand, will not shorten one’s life. As this
idea sinks into the minds of the believers they simply do not think of death as they
go about fulfilling their responsibilities and carrying out their religious duties. This is
the reason why people, throughout the ages, have seen that those who believe in God
are not encumbered by their desire to prolong their time on earth or by their fear of
what lies ahead. They simply rely on God as they carry out their duties with patience
and reassurance.
Since everybody dies at his or her appointed time then everyone should think of
the life to come and should work hard in order to achieve the greater happiness of
that life: “He who desires the reward of this world, We shall give him thereof and to him who
desires the reward of the life to come, We shall give thereof” (Verse 145)
The gulf between the two types of life is as wide as the gulf between the concerns
of those who desire the reward of either one or the other. The length of one’s life on this earth is not affected by the choice one makes. So, he who makes this life his
ultimate goal and seeks only its rewards leads a life which is not greatly different
from the life of animals, before he dies at the appointed time. On the other hand, he
who looks up to the wider horizon leads the life of a true human being whom God
has ennobled, to whom He has assigned the mission of building a happy human life
on earth. Such a person also dies at his appointed time.
“We shall reward those who are grateful to Us.” Those who appreciate how God has
ennobled man and lift themselves above the standard of animals and show their
gratitude to God will certainly be richly rewarded by Him.
This is how the Qur’ān views the essence of life and death, and the end of human
beings as they choose for themselves and determine their preoccupations which can
be either petty like those of worms or great like those of man. In this way, the Qur’ān
turns our attention from fear of death and worry about duties because we have no
say with regard to our life and death. It thus enables us to concentrate on what is of
much better use, namely, the life to come. Whichever choice he makes, he will receive
from God the reward most appropriate for that choice.
Rahma Fateen
