The Fighters Who Came Before This Ummah

Allah (swt) is turning attention to the earlier mujāhidīn:

How many a prophet fought, and with him fought many religious scholars, and they never lost assurance because of what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit — and Allah loves the steadfast. And their words were not but that they said, "Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excess in our affairs, and plant firmly our feet, and give us victory over the disbelieving people." So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the good reward of the Hereafter, and Allah loves the doers of good. What can be learned from this ayah is that the prophets before this Ummah fought, and religious scholars fought alongside them — the scholars should not sit at home, they should stand with their prophets and fight. Scholars, it happens, tend to develop a tradition — and this is so among the scholars of every religion — where, after a while, because of all the respect they receive from people, they develop a certain special status: they come to wear special clothes and act in a special way, which can become superstitious or ceremonial, and they stay away from the hardship that ordinary people bear — walking in the dirt, sleeping in bunker beds or not sleeping in beds at all, suffering pain, being equal to everybody else, going through that hard life. There is the whisper that comes to such a caller: none of that is necessary — staying at home and teaching the people would be enough. But that is not the way of the righteous scholars. The righteous scholars stood with their prophets; they were in the field. And they never lost assurance because of what afflicted them: when they lost, when they were faced with hardship, they never lost assurance; it did not weaken them, and they did not submit, for Allah loves the steadfast. Perseverance was called for. And then it is said that they prayed, "Our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess committed in our affairs" — this is very important: when fighting for the sake of Allah, reliance is not placed on numbers or preparation but on Allah, and forgiveness is sought from Him, sins are admitted, and the self is humbled before Him. That is something Allah loves to see from His servants, and that is what these earlier fighters did before the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — an account brought forward for the believers to learn from. And they would say, "and plant firmly our feet and give us victory," after admitting their sins and asking Allah for forgiveness, and Allah gave them the reward of this life and the reward of the Hereafter, and Allah loves the doers of good. And since Allah is turning attention here to the fighters of the former nations, and this Ummah now has its own fighters too, there is a double lesson — their example stands with the believers' own.