Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 16

Among the Wisdom of Jihad is to test the Muslims

Allah said,

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ

(Do you think), O believers that We will leave you untested with matters that make apparent those who have pure, good intent from those who have false intent This is why Allah said next,

وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَـهَدُواْ مِنكُمْ وَلَمْ يَتَّخِذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلاَ رَسُولِهِ وَلاَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلِيجَةً

(while Allah has not yet tested those among you who have striven hard and fought and have not taken Walijah besides Allah and His Messenger, and the believers...), meaning, supporters and confidants. Rather, they are sincere for Allah and His Messenger inwardly and outwardly. Allah also said;

الم - ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ - الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلوةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

(Alif-Lam-Mim. Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make known those who are true, and will certainly make known those who are liars...) 29:1-3,

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَـهَدُواْ مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّـبِرِينَ

(Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who fought (in His cause) and (also) tests those who are patient)3: 142, and,

مَّا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ

(Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good)3:179. In summary, since Allah legislated Jihad for His servants, He explained that the wisdom behind doing so includes testing His servants, distinguishing between those who obey Him and those who disobey Him. Allah, the Exalted, is the All-Knower of what occurred, what will occur, and the true essence of what might occur had He decided it. Therefore, Allah knows everything before it occurs and how it will occur, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, nor a Lord except Him. Truly, there is none who can avert Allah's judgment and decision.

1\. Finally, it was said: وَيَتُوبُ اللَّـهُ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَاءُ (And Allah relents to whomsoever He wills -15). This tells us that there will be an added gain as a result of this Jihad. There will be many from among the enemies who will have the taufiq of Islam. They will become Muslims. So, there were many arrogant ones at the time of the Conquest of Makkah who were put to disgrace while there were many others who embraced Islam.

History proves that the circumstances and events predicted in these verses were witnessed one by one as pointed out by the Holy Qur'an. Therefore, these verses contain many miracles.

In the present world, when a man makes something the purpose of his life, he encounters many problems and demands in his efforts to achieve it. If the man is bent upon his purpose, he utilizes all his strength in overcoming these problems and fulfilling these demands. This is called jihad. In this world everyone has to face this jihad. Everyone has to prove how ardent he is about his purpose at the level of jihad; only then is it possible for him to succeed in achieving it. It is this struggle in the path of God which indicates to what extent the individual is serious about his purpose. To one who claims to have faith, events which test his faith occur again and again. Sometimes his heart becomes influenced by feelings of ill-will and jealousy towards somebody but his faith urges him to rid himself of all such feelings. Sometimes unpleasant words are on the tip of his tongue but his faith requires that he should hold his tongue at that time. Sometimes, in the course of his dealings, a right has to be honoured which is unpleasant to him, but faith exhorts him to fulfil all entitlements as a matter of justice, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Moreover, the call for truth sometimes reaches the stage when faith commands him to sacrifice his life and property to ensure its success. Going on fulfilling the requirements of faith at any cost, is known as jihad. In the present world, when a man adopts a broad-based purpose, he has necessarily to focus on the centralism of his purpose; he has to be loyal to his leader; and he should completely identify himself with the fellow-travellers on the same path. These things are fraught with a sense of purposefulness. Without these, the claim to lead a purposeful life would be false. Similarly, when a man seriously introduces religion into his life, it will necessarily happen that God, His Prophet and the faithful will become his friends and supporters (walijah); he will be at one with them in every respect. This matter becomes more critical when it is kept in view that its Assessor has full knowledge of its open and the hidden aspects. He will, therefore, deal with every individual in accordance with inner reality and not in accordance with his apparent outward aspect.