The lives of true believers are a strongly contested tug of war between them and the machinations of the Satan and the Evil. Although, the Divine Commandments about Satan and its strategy are very clear that warn believers to be on the alert to ward of its evil designs, yet a common believer is generally too weak to fight back the Satan and its tactics. The power of lewdness, greed, dishonesty and arrogance is more often than not too lucrative and leads them into a trap, much cautioned against.
Even one is facing an enemy, Evil tries to attack the heart and mind of the believers that they would be harmed or even killed and their families will be routed by the adversary, so leave fighting in the way of Allah and be safe. The same is true when evil is pitched against goodness wherein a battle of hearts and minds sets into motion to think and weigh to decide between good and bad.
In such eventualities, when a beleiver's mind is polluted and becomes scared of Satanic machination being overwhelming, Allah reassures him that no matter what Satan does, he is an ultimate looser for he is too feeble to face and context the Divine Power.
We share the 76th verse of Surah 4. An Nisa with the same theme. Although, here the mention of fighting between the way of Allah and Satan is mentioned, the same can be read in context of a fight between good and evil. Here, disbelievers could be non-Muslims and also beleivers with weak heart who get scared of Satan's tactics and start to have cold feet to see a large enemy facing them or strength of lewdness for luring them into committing sins and going against the Divine path. For such beleivers, it is being Divinely reassured to stay firm for indeed cunning of Satan is weak and will be defeated in the end.
اَلَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا يُقَاتِلُوۡنَ فِىۡ سَبِيۡلِ اللّٰهِ ۚ وَالَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا يُقَاتِلُوۡنَ فِىۡ سَبِيۡلِ الطَّاغُوۡتِ فَقَاتِلُوۡۤا اَوۡلِيَآءَ الشَّيۡطٰنِۚ اِنَّ كَيۡدَ الشَّيۡطٰنِ كَانَ ضَعِيۡفًا
(4:76) Those who have faith fight in the way of Allah, while those who disbelieve fight in the way of taghut (Satan). Fight, then, against the fellows of Satan. Surely Satan's strategy is weak.
In the sight of Allah, there are two distinct parties of fighters. One party is that of the Believers who fight for the cause of Allah in order to establish his way on His earth, and every sincere Believer is bound to perform this duty. The other party is that of unbelievers who fight in the way of Taghut so as to establish the rule of the rebels against Allah on His earth and no Believer would side with them in this evil work.
106The Believers have been assured that they should not be cowed and terrified by the apparent grand preparations and evil designs of Satan and his companions: because ultimately, they are bound to fail.
Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:
Then follows another psychological touch to inspire enthusiasm and vigour, and to define the values and objectives for which each side is fighting. “Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject the faith fight in the cause of evil. Fight, then, against the friends of Satan. Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.” (Verse 76)
In one stroke, people are set apart, lines are drawn and objectives are clearly identified, as mankind are divided into two distinct and separate camps. “Those who believe fight in the cause of God...” and “... those who reject the faith fight in the cause of evil.” (Verse 76)
Believers fight in order to uphold God’s order and establish His laws and justice “among people” in the name of God Almighty, rather than under any other banner. They acknowledge and attest that God alone is the Lord and, therefore, He is the Ruler.
Unbelievers, however, fight in the cause of evil, advocating various ideologies and legal systems, other than that of God Almighty. They uphold various values and standards that are different from those laid down by God. In this contest, the believers stand supported and protected by God. The unbelievers, with their various beliefs, ideologies, values, and methods, rely on Satan’s protection and support. Collectively, they are his followers and supporters.
God instructs the believers to confront Satan’s supporters and not be afraid of their power or cunning: “Fight, then, against the friends of Satan. Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.” (Verse 76)
Let us then, beleivers, be firm against Satan and should never be scared or overawed by its power for Allah's strategy is much superior and forceful against will Satan will have to lose and perish. Remember, the believers fight in obedience to Allah and to gain His pleasure, while the disbelievers fight in obedience to Shaytan. Or we can also say that a strong believer faces the strategy of Satan rationally using what his mind directs, while a believer with weak faith listens to his heart and becomes emotionally engrossed to lose.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may read this post in our series of posts related to: Al Qur'an guides and helps those who sincerely seek Divine guidance and help.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources:
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Yusuf Ali Translation
- Translation Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Qur'an Wiki
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
- Towards Understanding the Quran
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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