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وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ
أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَنْ
يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي
اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ
(3:144) Muhammad is no more than a Messenger, and Messengers have
passed away before him. If, then, he were to die or be slain will you
turn about on your heels?*103 Whoever turns about on his heels
can in no way harm Allah. As for the grateful ones, Allah will soon
reward them.
*103. When the rumour of the Prophet's martyrdom spread during the
battle, it disheartened most of the Companions. The hypocrites who were
in the Muslim camp began to advise the believers to approach 'Abd Allah
b. Ubayy so that he might secure protection for them from Abu Sufyan.
Some went so far as to say that had Muhammad really been the Messenger
of God he would not have been put to death, and for that reason they
counselled people to revert to their ancestral faith. It is in this
context that the Muslims are now told that if their devotion to the
truth is wholly bound up with the person of Muhammad (peace be on him),
and if their submission to God is so lukewarm that his demise would
cause them to plunge back into the disbelief they had cast off, then
they should bear in mind the fact that Islam does not need them.
وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ كِتَابًا
مُؤَجَّلًا وَمَنْ يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَنْ
يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الْآَخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَسَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ
(145) It is not
given to any soul to die except with the leave of Allah, and at an
appointed time.*104 And he who desires his
reward in this world, We shall grant him the reward of this world; and he
who desires the reward of the Other World,*105 We shall grant him
the reward of the Other World. And soon shall We reward the ones who are
grateful.*106
*104. The purpose of this directive is
to bring home to the Muslims that it would be futile for them to try to
flee from death. No one can either die before or survive the moment
determined for death by God. Hence one should not waste one's time
thinking how to escape death. Instead, one should take stock of one's
activities and see whether one's efforts have either been directed merely
to one's well-being in this world or to well-being in the Hereafter.
*105. The word thawab denotes recompense and reward. The 'reward of this
world' signifies the totality of benefits and advantages which a man
receives as a consequence of his actions and efforts within the confines
of this world. The 'reward of the Other World' denotes the benefits that a
man will receive in the lasting World to Come as the fruits of his actions
and efforts. From the Islamic point of view, the crucial question bearing
upon human morals is whether a man keeps his attention focused on the
worldly results of his endeavours or on the results which will acrue to
him in the Next World.
*106. The 'ones who are grateful' are those who fully appreciate God's
favour in making the true religion available to them, and thereby
intimating to them knowledge of a realm that is infinitely vaster than
this world. Such people appreciate that God has graciously informed them
of the truth so that the consequences of human endeavour are not confined
to the brief span of earthly life but cover a vast expanse, embracing both
the present life and the much more important life of the Hereafter.
A grateful man is he who, having gained this breadth of outlook and having
developed this long-range perception of the ultimate consequences of
things, persists in acts of righteousness out of his faith in God and his
confidence in God's assurance that they will bear fruit in the Hereafter.
He does so even though he may sometimes find that, far from bearing fruit,
righteousness leads to privation and suffering in this world. The
ungrateful ones are those who persist in a narrow preoccupation with
earthly matters. They are those who disregard the evil consequences of
unrighteousness in the Hereafter, seizing everything which appears to
yield benefits and advantages in this world, and who are not prepared to
devote their time and energy to those acts of goodness which promise to
bear fruit in the Hereafter and which are either unlikely to yield earthly
advantages or are fraught with risks. Such people are ungrateful and lack
appreciation of the valuable knowledge vouchsafed to them by God.
Surah 3. Aal 'Imran Ruku 15 Verse [ 144 to 148 ]
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