Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

392 The Life of Muhammad
verses in 'The Family of Imran'I which God sent down concerning the
day of UI:lUd in which there is a description of what happened on that day
and the blame of those who merited His rebuke.
God said to His prophet: 'And when you went forth early from your
family you assigned to the believers positions for the fighting, God hearing
(and) knowing' (619). 'Hearing' what you said; 'knowing' about what you
were concealing.
'When two parties of you thought they would fail,' i.e. of deserting; and
the two parties were the B. Salima b. Iusham b. al-Khazraj and the B.
I:Iilritha b. al-Nabit of al-Aus, they being the two wings.
593 God said: 'And God was their friend,' i.e. God protected them from the
cowardice they meditated because it was only the result of weakness and
feebleness which overcame them, not doubt in their religion, so He thrust
that from them in His mercy and pardon so that they were saved from
their weakness and feebleness and stuck to their prophet (620).
God said: 'Upon God let the believers rely,' i.e. the believer who is
weak let him rely on Me and ask My help. I will help him in his affair and
protect him until I bring him to his appointed time of life and ward off evil
from him and strengthen him in his purpose.
'God helped you at Badr when you were contemptible, so fear God that
you may be thankful,' i.e. fear Me, for that is gratitude for My kind.ness,.
'God helped you at Badr' when your numbers and strength \vere mfenor
'when thou didst say to the believers: "Is it not enough for you that your
Lord reinforced you with three thousand angels sent down? Nay, if you
are steadfast and fear God and they come on you suddenly your Lord will
reinforce you with five thousand angels eIearlymarkcd,'" i.e. ifyou are steadfast
against My enemy and obey My command and they come on you recklessly
I will reinforce you with five thousand angels clearly marked (621).
59+ 'God did this only as good news for you that your hearts mIght be at
rest therein. Victory comes only from God, the Mighty the 'Vise/ i.e. I
mentioned the armies of My angels only as good news for you and that
your hearts might be at rest therein, because I know your weakness and
victory comes only from rvIe because of My sovereignty and power for the
reason that power and authority belong to Me, not to anyone of my
creatures.
Then He said: 'that He may cut off a part of those who disbelieve or
overtur~ them so that they retire disappointed,' i.e. to cut off a part of the
polytheists in a fight in which He will take vengeance on them or drive
them back in chagrin, i.e. that those who survive may retreat as frustrated
fugitives having achieved nothing that they hoped to attain (622).
Then He said to Muhammad the apostle of God: 'It is not your affair
whether He changes His attitude to them or punishes them, for they·are
evil doers,' i.e. you have no concern with My judgement ofMy slaves except
in so far as I give you orders concerning them or I change towards them
1 Siira 3. 117 f.
The LIfe of Muhammad 393
in my mercy, for if I wish I shall do so; or I shall punish them for their
sms for that is my prerogative; 'for they are evil-doers,' i.e. they have
deserved that for their disobedience to l\fe. 'And God is forgiving, merciful,'
i.e. He forgives sins and has mercy on His slaves according tal what is
in them.
Then,He said: '0 ye who believe, Take not' usury, doubling and quad- 595
fuplmg, I.e. Do not devour In Islam, to whIch God has now guided you,
what you used to devour when you followed another religion; such is not
permit~e~l to you in yo~r religion. 'And fear God, haply you may be prosperou~
, l.e. So obey God, perhaps you may escape from His punishment
of whIch He has 'Yarned you, and attain His re,vard which He has made
yo~ desire. 'And fear the fire which is prepared for the disbelievers,' i.e.
whIch has been made a dwelling for those who disbelieve in Me.
Then He said: 'And obey God and the apostle, haply you will attain
mercy' reproaching those \vho disobeyed the apostle in the orders he gave
them that day and at other times. Then He said; 'And vie ,vith one
another for forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the
heavens and the earth prepared for those who fear (God),' i.e. a dwelling
for those who obey Me and obey My apostle. 'Those who spend (their
money) in ease and adversity and ,vho control their wrath and are forgiVing
to men, for God loves those who do well,' i.e. that is ,veIl doing and I love
those who act thus. 'And those who when they act unseemly or wrong
themselves, remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins~and ,vho
!org.ivcs sins but God ?-and have not persisted in their actions knowingly,'
I.e. If they have acted unseemly or wronged themselves by disobedience,
they remember God's prohibition and what He has declared evil and ask
forgiveness, knowing that none can forgive sins but He. 'And have not
persisted in their actions knowingly,' i.e. have not continued to disobey Me
like those who associate others with IVIe in the extravagance of thei; disbelief
while they know that I have prohibited the worship of any but
Myself. 'The reward of such is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens
beneath which run rivers, in which they wiII abide for ever-a fine reward
for workers,' i.e. the reward of the obedient.
.Then He mentioned the catastrophe which befell them and the misfortune
whieh came upon them and the trial (of the faith) that was in them
and His. choice of martyrs from among them, and He said comforting them
and tellmg them of what they had done and what He was about to do with
them: 'Examples have been made before your time, so go through the land
:m d see the nature of the punishment of those who called (apostles) liars,'
I.e. venge~ncc came fro:n me upon those who gave the lie to 1\'1y apostles
and assoclated others ,vlth l\fe (such as) 'Ad and Thamiid and the people
of Lot and the men of l\fidian and they saw \vhat I did to them and to those 596
in like case with them, for I was forh~aring to them purely for the reason
that they should not think that My vengeance \vas cut otI from your enemy
I Or, 'in spite of'. 2 v. 12 5, lit. 'devour not'.