The Madinan Period, Part 4: Permission to Fight
Section 3 of 19 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Preparing the Believers in Spirit
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was preparing them spiritually, and āyāt of the Qur'an were also preparing them for that. Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, says in Sūrat al-Tawbah, verses 111 and 112:
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلْجَنَّةَ ۚ يُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ ۖ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ۚ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِۦ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَٱسْتَبْشِرُوا۟ بِبَيْعِكُمُ ٱلَّذِى بَايَعْتُم بِهِۦ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ٱلتَّـٰٓئِبُونَ ٱلْعَـٰبِدُونَ ٱلْحَـٰمِدُونَ ٱلسَّـٰٓئِحُونَ ٱلرَّٰكِعُونَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدُونَ ٱلْـَٔامِرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱلنَّاهُونَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْحَـٰفِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Surely, Allah has bought their lives and their wealth from the believers, in exchange of (a promise) that Paradise shall be theirs. They fight in the way of Allah, and kill and are killed, on which there is a true promise (as made) in the Torah and the Injīl and the Qur’ān. And who can be more faithful to his covenant than Allah? So, rejoice in the deal you have made, and that is the great achievement. (They are) those who repent, those who worship, those who praise (Allah), those who journey (in Allah’s way), those who bow in Rukū‘, those who prostrate in sajdah, those who bid the Fair and forbid the Unfair and those who preserve the limits prescribed by Allah. And give the good news to the believers.” (9:111–112)
Indeed Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise: they fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. Allah was teaching them to be patient also:
إِن يَمْسَسْكُمْ قَرْحٌ فَقَدْ مَسَّ ٱلْقَوْمَ قَرْحٌ مِّثْلُهُۥ ۚ وَتِلْكَ ٱلْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَيَتَّخِذَ مِنكُمْ شُهَدَآءَ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ وَلِيُمَحِّصَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَيَمْحَقَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ وَلَقَدْ كُنتُمْ تَمَنَّوْنَ ٱلْمَوْتَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَلْقَوْهُ فَقَدْ رَأَيْتُمُوهُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ
“If you have received a wound, they have received a similar wound. Such days We rotate among the people, so that Allah may know those who believe and let some of you be martyrs - and Allah does not like the unjust - and so that Allah may purify those who believe and eradicate the disbelievers. Do you think that you shall enter Paradise even before Allah knows those of you who carry out Jihād and those who are steadfast. You had longed for death before you faced it. Now, you have seen it with your eyes wide open.” (3:140–143)
These are examples of āyāt in which Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, was preparing the Muslims. There are also examples of aḥādīth. In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, narrated by Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, direct me to a deed equal to jihad." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "I cannot find one." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told the man: when the mujāhid goes out in the path of Allah, can you enter your mosque and pray continuously without any rest, and fast continuously without breaking your fast? So the man said, "And who could do that?" — meaning that the reward of the mujāhid is greater than fasting continuously and praying continuously. So fighting the disbelievers is more virtuous than jihād al-nafs, because praying and fasting is part of jihād al-nafs, and what is being said here is that if a person is praying continuously and fasting continuously, they still cannot receive the reward of somebody who went out to fight in the path of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
When they were coming back from the Ghazwah of Tabūk, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told Muʿādh ibn Jabal: "If you want, I will tell you about the head of the affair, its pillar, and its peak. The head of the affair is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its peak is jihad in the path of Allah." So the most virtuous act, the peak of Islam, is fighting in the path of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says in a hadith in al-Bukhārī and Muslim: wa-ʿlamū anna al-jannata taḥta ẓilāli al-suyūf — realise that Paradise is under the shade of swords. And in a hadith in al-Bukhārī and Muslim: man jahhaza ghāziyan fī sabīli Allāhi fa-qad ghazā, wa-man khalafa ghāziyan fī ahlihi bi-khayrin fa-qad ghazā — whoever finances a fighter in the path of Allah has fought, and whoever takes care of the family of a fighter has fought. There is the reward of ribāṭ, being stationed in the path of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic: ribāṭu yawmin wa laylatin khayrun min ṣiyāmi shahrin wa qiyāmihi — this is in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim — ribāṭ for one day in the path of Allah is better than fasting an entire month and praying that month. And in al-Ḥākim's collection, ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥasan relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, maqāmu al-rajuli fī al-ṣaffi afḍalu min ʿibādati al-rajuli sittīna ʿāman: standing in the ranks before the battle starts is better than worshipping Allah for sixty years.