Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 24
Essence of the Holy Qur’ ā n 24 the liar. Such a determined enemy would not easily admit defeat. The S u rah exposes their false pretensions. It further says that the discrepancy between the words and deeds of disbelievers shows that their faith is a mere slave of their intellect and has no firm roots in their hearts. The Muslims are buoyed up with the Divine promise that the war in which they are engaged will end in a victory for them and success also will continue to attend their endeavours in future engagements. To achieve this, obedience to authority and endurance of hardships and unity of action are enjoined upon them. The S u rah further deals with the sanctity of treaty obligations and Muslims are told that disbelievers will repeatedly violate their agreements but this should not incite them to a breach of their own obligations. They should disabuse their minds of the misconception that their cause would suffer in any way if they did not avenge a breach of agreements on the disbelievers’ part by a corresponding violation of an obligation by themselves. On the contrary, they should continue scrupulously to observe treaties; but agreements they have made should cause no mitigation of suitable preparations for war on their part. They are, however, enjoined that if during hostilities disbelievers sue for peace, such an offer should not be rejected, because if disbelievers violate terms of peace and restart hostilities, Muslims will not suffer on account of this fresh breach of trust by them. This injunction implied a reference to the treaty of H udaibiyah when a breach of treaty obligations by the disbelievers led to the Fall of Mecca. Muslims are further told that captives will fall into their hands and they should treat them with kindness. The promise of victory given to Muslims in Al- Anf a l is declared to have been fulfilled in the opening verses of Bar a ’at where it is stated that Muslims have become masters of the whole of Arabia, so the idolaters should go about in the land and see for themselves whether or not the whole country has come under Muslim domination. In verses that follow disbelievers are reprimanded for their repeated breach of solemn treaties and covenants and Muslims are warned not to enter into any fresh agreement with them and should not fear that the severance of ties with them would, in any way, adversely affect the prosperity of Mecca, because God Himself would provide for them. Next, they are told that they should not think that after they have conquered Arabia war would come to an end and they would have peace. On account of the intrigues and secret plots of Christians a new series of wars would start, and because they are idolatrous people they would not bear to see perfect Unity of God established in the earth. Moreover, they have become morally depraved while Islam seeks to establish true equality and freedom. How could then a Christian government view with equanimity the establishment by its side of another government based on equality and freedom, whose proximity would incline its subjects to rebellion? So having proper regard for the things which God has declared sacred, Muslims are told to make suitable preparations for the impending war with them.