Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | THE EARTH’S SUFFOCATING EXPANSEfalsehood should try to obstruct its march. The true faith revealed by God must setforth to liberate all mankind from submission to other creatures and to return themto serve and submit to God alone. Tyranny is certain to try to stop it and foil itsefforts. The aim of the faith is to reach all corners of the world and liberate allmankind. The truth must set out along its way, without hesitation in order to preventfalsehood from gaining access to it. As long as unbelief and falsehood continue toexist anywhere in the world, and as long as people continue to submit to beings otherthan God, thus causing man to be humiliated, then striving for God’s cause mustcontinue. The deal made by every believer must be fulfilled, or else he is not abeliever. The Prophet is quoted as saying: “Whoever dies without having joined acampaign of jihād, or at least considered joining it, betrays an aspect of hypocrisy.”[Related by Aĥmad, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasā’ī.]“Rejoice, then, in the bargain you have made with Him. That is the supreme triumph.”(Verse 111) Yes, people should rejoice at having dedicated their souls and theirproperty for God’s cause in return for admittance into heaven, as God Himself haspromised. What does a believer miss out on when he honours his part of the deal?He certainly does not miss out on anything. He is certain to die anyway, and hiswealth is certain to go, whether he spends it to serve God’s cause or in any otherway. Being in paradise is a great gain which a believer actually gets for nothing, sincethe price he offers would be gone anyway, whichever course of action he follows.We need not mention the position of honour man attains when he conducts his lifein line with what God requires of him. If he attains victory, then it is a victoryachieved to make God’s word supreme, to establish the faith God has revealed andto liberate God’s servants from subjugation by human beings. If he attainsmartyrdom, then he is a martyr sacrificing his life for God’s cause, making atestimony that he values his faith as more precious than his life. At every momentand at every step he feels himself to be stronger than the shackles and bonds of life,and that the burdens of this earthly life cannot stop his march. His faith triumphsover pain, and over life itself.On its own this is a great victory, because it represents the fulfilment of man’shumanity through his release from the burdens of his needs. When admittance toheaven is added as a reward, then the sale he has made calls for him to rejoice as itrepresents a great triumph indeed: “Rejoice then in the bargain you have made with Him.That is the supreme triumph.” (Verse 111)We need to pause here a little to reflect on God’s statement which says: “This is atrue promise which He has made binding on Himself in the Torah, the Gospel and theQur’ān.” (Verse 111) The promise God has made in the Qur’ān to those who strive forHis cause is well known and is repeated several times. It leaves no room for anydoubt about the fact that striving for God’s cause is an essential part of the Islamic214