Overview  (Verses 111 -112)

The Fate of Deserters
 
They cannot harm you beyond causing you some trifling hurt; and if they fight against you, they will turn their backs upon you in flight. Then they will receive no help. Ignominy shall be pitched over them wherever they may be, save when they have a bond with God and a bond with men. They have incurred the wrath of God and humiliation shall overshadow them. That is because they persisted in denying God’s revelations and killing the Prophets against all right. That is because they persisted in their disobedience and transgression. (Verses 111-112)
 
This serves as an encouragement to the people of earlier revelations to accept the faith of Islam, because such acceptance works for their own good in this life and in the life to come. By accepting the faith they overcome their division over ideological concepts, which has robbed them of any chance to establish their own distinctive character. Their concepts cannot serve as the basis for a social system. Hence, their social systems have no firm foundation. This is indeed true of any social system which is not based on an ideology that provides an overall view of existence, of the purpose of human existence, as well as man’s position in the universe. To believe in God works for their own good in the life to come, since it is the only means to spare them the fate of the unbelievers.
 
The same verse describes their attitude, giving the good ones among them due credit: “Few of them are believers, while most of them are evildoers.“ A number of the people of earlier revelations accepted Islam at the time of the Prophet and became good Muslims. Among them were `Abdullāh ibn Sallām, Asad ibn `Ubayd, Tha`labah ibn Shu`bah and Ka`b ibn Mālik. This verse makes a general reference to them whilst a more detailed reference is given later. Most of them, however, chose the evil way of not fulfilling the covenant God made with all prophets, which stated that every one of them would believe in and support the prophet God sent after him.
 
They also chose evil when they refused to submit to His will that the last of His messengers would not be from among the Israelites. They rejected this messenger and declined to submit to God’s law embodied in His last message, which He has made applicable to all mankind.
 
Since some of the Muslims at that time retained various links with the Jews in Madinah, and since the Jews still possessed military and economic power which some Muslims felt to be considerable, the Qur’ān deliberately sets out to belittle those evildoers. The Qur’ān shows their true weakness which results from their disbelief, their repeated crimes and disobedience, their division, and the consequent ignominy and humiliation imposed on them by God. It also states God’s guarantee to the believers that they will be victorious over these enemies, provided that they themselves hold fast to their faith and believe in God.
 
They cannot harm you beyond causing you some trifling hurt: and if they fight against you they will turn their backs upon you in flight. Then they will receive no help. (Verse 111)
 
The harm they may inflict will never be enough to trouble the Islamic message. It will never affect the basic structure of the Muslim community or wipe it out. The most they can inflict on the Muslims is the sort of trifling hurt which is bound to happen in any open conflict. It is nothing more than a superficial pain which disappears with time. When they fight against the Muslims, defeat is their ultimate outcome. They can never be triumphant over the believers. Moreover, they will have no help against, nor protection from the believers. The reason is that ignominy has been imposed on them as their fate. They are humiliated everywhere in the world. The only protection they have is that which they receive when they seek refuge with God and with the Muslims.
 
When they choose to come under the protection of the Muslims, their lives and their property become immune, except under the normal working of the law, and they enjoy peace and security. Since that time, the Jews have never enjoyed true security except when they have enjoyed the protection of the Muslims. Yet they themselves have shown their utmost hostility to the Muslims. “They have incurred the wrath of God,” as if they have returned from their journey burdened with this wrath. “And humiliation shall overshadow them,” remaining forever in their hearts and feelings.
 
All this took place after this verse was sent down. Whenever a battle flared up between the Muslims and people of earlier revelations, victory was always achieved by the Muslims, provided that they held fast to their faith and implemented God’s law in their lives. Their enemies always suffered ignominy and humiliation except when they were able to establish a bond with the Muslims or when the Muslims abandoned their religion.
 
The Qur’ān states the reason for the fate so imposed on the Jews. It is a general reason, the effect of which may be applicable to every nation, no matter how strongly it professes to be religious. The simple reason is their disobedience and transgression: “That is because they persisted in denying God’s revelations and killing the prophets against all right. That is because they persisted in their disobedience and transgression.” (Verse 112)
 
Denying God’s revelation, whether it is an attitude adopted outright or a refusal to implement it practically, the killing of prophets without any justification and the killing of people who enjoin fairness and justice (as mentioned in another verse of the sūrah), as well as disobedience and transgression, are all reasons for incurring God’s wrath and bringing about defeat, ignominy and humiliation upon oneself. These reasons are still present today among the lost offspring of the Muslims who call themselves, without justification, Muslims. They present these very qualifications to their Lord and they get their fair reward: they receive all that God has imposed on the Jews of defeat, ignominy and humiliation. Some of them may well ask: why do we suffer defeat when we are Muslims? Let those who pose such a question first reflect on what the true nature of Islam is, and who are the true Muslims?

Overview  (Verses 111 -112)

The Fate of Deserters
 
They cannot harm you beyond causing you some trifling hurt; and if they fight against you, they will turn their backs upon you in flight. Then they will receive no help. Ignominy shall be pitched over them wherever they may be, save when they have a bond with God and a bond with men. They have incurred the wrath of God and humiliation shall overshadow them. That is because they persisted in denying God’s revelations and killing the Prophets against all right. That is because they persisted in their disobedience and transgression. (Verses 111-112)
 
This serves as an encouragement to the people of earlier revelations to accept the faith of Islam, because such acceptance works for their own good in this life and in the life to come. By accepting the faith they overcome their division over ideological concepts, which has robbed them of any chance to establish their own distinctive character. Their concepts cannot serve as the basis for a social system. Hence, their social systems have no firm foundation. This is indeed true of any social system which is not based on an ideology that provides an overall view of existence, of the purpose of human existence, as well as man’s position in the universe. To believe in God works for their own good in the life to come, since it is the only means to spare them the fate of the unbelievers.
 
The same verse describes their attitude, giving the good ones among them due credit: “Few of them are believers, while most of them are evildoers.“ A number of the people of earlier revelations accepted Islam at the time of the Prophet and became good Muslims. Among them were `Abdullāh ibn Sallām, Asad ibn `Ubayd, Tha`labah ibn Shu`bah and Ka`b ibn Mālik. This verse makes a general reference to them whilst a more detailed reference is given later. Most of them, however, chose the evil way of not fulfilling the covenant God made with all prophets, which stated that every one of them would believe in and support the prophet God sent after him.
 
They also chose evil when they refused to submit to His will that the last of His messengers would not be from among the Israelites. They rejected this messenger and declined to submit to God’s law embodied in His last message, which He has made applicable to all mankind.
 
Since some of the Muslims at that time retained various links with the Jews in Madinah, and since the Jews still possessed military and economic power which some Muslims felt to be considerable, the Qur’ān deliberately sets out to belittle those evildoers. The Qur’ān shows their true weakness which results from their disbelief, their repeated crimes and disobedience, their division, and the consequent ignominy and humiliation imposed on them by God. It also states God’s guarantee to the believers that they will be victorious over these enemies, provided that they themselves hold fast to their faith and believe in God.
 
They cannot harm you beyond causing you some trifling hurt: and if they fight against you they will turn their backs upon you in flight. Then they will receive no help. (Verse 111)
 
The harm they may inflict will never be enough to trouble the Islamic message. It will never affect the basic structure of the Muslim community or wipe it out. The most they can inflict on the Muslims is the sort of trifling hurt which is bound to happen in any open conflict. It is nothing more than a superficial pain which disappears with time. When they fight against the Muslims, defeat is their ultimate outcome. They can never be triumphant over the believers. Moreover, they will have no help against, nor protection from the believers. The reason is that ignominy has been imposed on them as their fate. They are humiliated everywhere in the world. The only protection they have is that which they receive when they seek refuge with God and with the Muslims.
 
When they choose to come under the protection of the Muslims, their lives and their property become immune, except under the normal working of the law, and they enjoy peace and security. Since that time, the Jews have never enjoyed true security except when they have enjoyed the protection of the Muslims. Yet they themselves have shown their utmost hostility to the Muslims. “They have incurred the wrath of God,” as if they have returned from their journey burdened with this wrath. “And humiliation shall overshadow them,” remaining forever in their hearts and feelings.
 
All this took place after this verse was sent down. Whenever a battle flared up between the Muslims and people of earlier revelations, victory was always achieved by the Muslims, provided that they held fast to their faith and implemented God’s law in their lives. Their enemies always suffered ignominy and humiliation except when they were able to establish a bond with the Muslims or when the Muslims abandoned their religion.
 
The Qur’ān states the reason for the fate so imposed on the Jews. It is a general reason, the effect of which may be applicable to every nation, no matter how strongly it professes to be religious. The simple reason is their disobedience and transgression: “That is because they persisted in denying God’s revelations and killing the prophets against all right. That is because they persisted in their disobedience and transgression.” (Verse 112)
 
Denying God’s revelation, whether it is an attitude adopted outright or a refusal to implement it practically, the killing of prophets without any justification and the killing of people who enjoin fairness and justice (as mentioned in another verse of the sūrah), as well as disobedience and transgression, are all reasons for incurring God’s wrath and bringing about defeat, ignominy and humiliation upon oneself. These reasons are still present today among the lost offspring of the Muslims who call themselves, without justification, Muslims. They present these very qualifications to their Lord and they get their fair reward: they receive all that God has imposed on the Jews of defeat, ignominy and humiliation. Some of them may well ask: why do we suffer defeat when we are Muslims? Let those who pose such a question first reflect on what the true nature of Islam is, and who are the true Muslims?