| Surah Aal Imran, 153-155
"When you were going away, not even turning to look at anyone, and the Messenger was calling you from behind you. So, He awarded you sorrow for sorrow, so that you should not grieve (in future) on what you lost, nor on what you suffered. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do. [153] Then, after the grief, He sent down tranquility upon you - a drowsiness overtaking a group of you. And another group was worrying about their own selves, cherishing thoughts about Allah which were not true -thoughts of ignorance. They were saying, "Is there anything in our hands?" Say, "The whole thing belongs to Allah." They conceal in their hearts what they do not disclose to you. They say, 'If we had any say in the matter, we would have not been killed here." Say, "If you were in your homes, those destined to be killed would have come out all the way to their (final) lying-places." And (all this was done) so that Allah may test your inner qualities and may purify what is in your hearts. And Allah is All-Aware of what lies in the hearts. [154] Surely, those of you who turned back on the day when the troops faced each other, Satan had but made them slip for some of their deeds. And, of course, Allah has forgiven them. Certainly, Allah is Most-Forgiving, Forbearing."[155] (3:153-155)
These verses form part of the several previous verses relating to the battle of Uhud. The first verse here mentions the sorrows of the sahabah, the noble Companions of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. The long succeeding verse describes the antidote. The third verse reiterates that the form of defeat they faced was no punishment. It was a test to separate the true and sincere Muslims from the hypocrites. Finally comes the repeated proclamation that the mistake made by the noble Companions has been forgiven.
Commentary
In the first verse here, the Holy Qur'an describes the exit of the Companions from the battlefield, their inability to come back even when called by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in person, the consequent grief that afflicted him because of their conduct and, later on, the incidence of the Companions feeling sorry for the sorrow they brought on their master. According to hadith narrations, when Sayyidna Ka'b ibn Malik called out to them, Muslims heard his call and reassembled.
The author of Ruh al-Ma'ani resolves this by saying that the first call came from the Messenger of Allah himself which could not be heard by the Companions and they kept going the way they were going. That was the time when Sayyidna Ka'b ibn Malik called. Everybody heard him and reassembled.
In Bayan al-Qur'an, Maulana Ashraf'Ali Thanavi has said that the real reason for this confusion was the news that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has fallen a martyr on the battlefield. When he called, there was obviously no refutation of the news with the call. Even if his voice can be taken to have reached the retreating Companions, the possibility remains that it was not recognized. Finally, when Sayyidna Ka'b ibn Malik called out, his call included a refutation of this news mentioning the fact that the Messenger of Allah was alive. On hearing this, everybody took a sigh of relief and reassembled. As far as the displeasure of Allah and the sorrow of His Messenger are concerned, these can be explained by saying - if they had stayed unagitated and firm, they could have recognized the calling voice.
The Hardships at Uhud: A Test, not Punishment
The noble Companions as evident from: (154), were actually tested through their sufferings at the battle of Uhud. This was no punishment. The objective was to make true and sincere Muslims distinct from the hypocrites. The mode was a 'test of inner qualities'.
The eloquent Qur'anic expression (He awarded you sorrow), which is suggestive of punishment, can be resolved by saying that the outward form was, no doubt, that of punishment but the real purpose was a sort of affectionate correction, something similar to a well-meaning reprimand from a father to his son or a teacher to his student. In common usage, this can be called a punishment of some sort, but this is, in all reality, a form of training and correction. This is very different from a pure legal punishment.
Why did Muslims suffer at Uhud?
The last part of verse 154 beginning with li-yabtaliya-kum (so that Allah may test) seems to indicate that the cause of hardships faced by Muslims was this wise divine arrangement. But, the statement: in the verse (155) following immediately seems to suggest that some past mistake of theirs is the cause of this Satanic effect.
The answer is that the particular past mistake was the obvious reason which gave Satan the incentive to make them slip once again, an effort in which the Satan incidentally succeeded. But there was much more to it; there were wise arrangements made by the Creator behind this slip and its outcome. These have been covered under the expression li-yabtaliya-kum : 'so that Allah may test'. In Ruh al-Ma'ani, a report from Zajjaj says that the Satan made them recall some of their sins in the presence of which they hesitated to appear before their Lord. So they moved away from Jihad hoping to fight later on following personal correction and thus meet Allah as martyrs in Jihad.
One sin becomes the Cause of another
From the last verse we discover that one sin drags in yet another sin very much like one good deed which pulls in- another good deed. In other words, all deeds - good and bad - have a sort of magnetic pull of their own. When a person accomplishes a good deed, experience shows that other good deeds become easy on him. His very heart starts desiring to do what is good and righteous. Similarly, a person who commits a sin finds that it has cleared the way for other sins. His very heart starts desiring to do what is sinful. Therefore, some elders say: 'the ready reward of a good deed is another good deed which a person is enabled to accomplish and the ready punishment of an evil deed is another evil deed the way to which has been cleared by the first.'
In Masa'ilus-Suluk, Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi rahimahullah has said: 'As explained in hadith, sin makes the heart dark and when the heart goes dark, Shaytaan prevails.'
The position of the Noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) in the sight of Allah Almighty
As briefly stated earlier, the mistakes made by some noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) at the battle of Uhud were intrinsically serious. The majority from among the fifty Companions (رضي الله عنهم) who were commanded by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him to guard a hill-top strategic point, with clear instruction not to leave their duty-post, no matter what happens at the battle front underneath, moved away from their assigned place. Granted that the reason for their abandonment of the post of duty was an erroneous independent judgement, as they thought their side had won the battle. The order to guard their post, according to their view, had been carried out, therefore, they thought, they could go down and join in with the rest of Muslims. But, in reality, their action was in clear contravention of definite instructions given by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. This mistake of theirs motivated them to leave the battlefield, no matter how this is explained, as reported earlier from Zajjaj. Moreover, this retreat from the battlefield took place while the Messenger of Allah was with them unmoved from the front line and calling them back from behind them. If this situation is viewed without reference to personalities and circumstances that action would certainly be classed as a very serious breach of conduct in a military encounter. In fact, of the many blames imputed to various Companions under the unfortunate genre of Mush ajarat (the mutual quarrels and armed confrontations between the noble Companions which took place after the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him this would be rated as the most serious.
But, something more worthy of consideration is what Allah Almighty has done in their case inspite of all their mistakes. Stated right here in the present verses, is how their grief was physically changed into tranquility through drowsiness. Then, they were told that their suffering was no punishment; it was a matter of test. Then came the clearly worded proclamation of forgiveness for them. It will be recalled that these have appeared earlier, yet they have been reaffirmed here. There is an element of wisdom behind this repetition. The first time it was said, the purpose was to comfort the noble Companions themselves. Incidentally, here is a refutation of what the hypocrites said to Muslims. They chided them for not acting on their advice, as a result of which they (the Muslims) suffered all those hardships.
In short, all these related verses make it very clear that the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) of the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam hold a unique position of affection in His sight inspite of such serious mistakes made by them. Not only that they have been pardoned and forgiven but actually they have been blessed with much more. They have been made special recipients of Allah's grace and mercy. This is what comes from Allah Almighty Himself through the authentic words of the Holy Qur'an. A similar case, as reported in hadith, relating to Sayyidna Hatib ibn Abi Bilta'ah was brought before the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. He had written a letter to the mushrikin (disbelievers) of Makkah in which he had passed on information about Muslims living in Madinah. When the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him was told about it through a revelation, the letter was intercepted. The noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) were very angry with Sayyidna Hatib ibn Abi Bilta'ah for what he had done. Sayyidna 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, asked for permission to behead that 'hypocrite'. But, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him knew that Hatib was no hypocrite; he was a true, sincere Muslim but he had made a mistake inadvertently. So, he forgave him his mistake and declared that he was was one of the people (veterans) of Badr and, perhaps, Allah Almighty has enforced general pardon for all participants of Badr. (This narration appears in all authentic books of ahadith).
The Noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم): Lesson for Muslims
It is based on this affirmation that the followers of Sunnah and Jama'ah (ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah: Muslims who adhere to the practice of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and that of his blessed Companions (رضي الله عنهم) find the confirmation of their belief and practice. That is, even though the noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) are not above sin, for sins can be and have been committed by them, but despite this, it is not permissible for the Muslim community to ascribe any evil or defect to them in a derogatory manner. When Almighty and His Messenger Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him forgave such serious slips and errors coming from them and dealt with them generously and mercifully and gave them the great station of : 'may Allah be pleased with them and may they be pleased with Allah,' how can anyone claim to have the right to talk about anyone of them in a derogatory manner?
This is why Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him, on hearing somebody satirize Sayyidna 'Uthman al-Ghani and some noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) by saying that they had run away from the battlefield, the reference being to this incidence at Uhud, said, 'Nobody has the right to criticize that which Allah has expressly proclaimed to have been forgiven' (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Therefore, all doctrinal source-books of the ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah unanimously agree that it is wajib or necessary to honour the position of the noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) and to abstain from criticizing, mocking or speaking ill of them.
It appears in al-'Aqa'id an-Nasfiyah:
It is necessary that one should not talk about the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) except in a good manner.
In Sharh al-Musamarah, Ibn Humam rahimahullah has said:
The belief of the followers of the Sunnah is that all Companions (رضي الله عنهم) were purified and that they be remembered with praise.
This is what appears in Sharh Muwaqif:
It is obligatory to honour the Companions (رضي الله عنهم), all of them; and avoiding satire or criticism against them is equally mandatory.
Abridged below is what Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullahhas said in al-'Aqidatul Wasitiyah:
"It is a cardinal belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah that Muslims must refrain from accusing or criticizing any Companion of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in the matter of disagreements or armed conflicts which may have come up among them. There is a reason for this. Most of the narrations imputing drawbacks in them which have creept into history are a pack of lies planted by enemies. They simply have no truth in them. Then, there are others in which the reality has been reversed by additions and alterations.
Even if, there was some truth about something, that has to be taken as the independent judgement of the Companions in which they have no choice. Going a step further, we can assume a situation where they may not be helpless but be capable of using their choice, then, what works there is the Divine Law that is, good deeds make up for the bad ones. And it is more than obvious that nobody can claim equality with them in the matter of good deeds. The good they did cannot be matched by the good done by anybody else. Similarly, nobody else can be more deserving of the mercy and forgiveness of Allah Almighty as compared to them. Therefore, nobody has the right to sit on judgement against them and call their deeds to account and in that process, criticise or speak ill of them." (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
See Also:
The Sahabah (Companions) (رضي الله عنهم) - http://www.muftisays.com/forums/nabi-%28s%29-sahaabah-stories/5863/the-sahaba-%28companions%29-%28radiallaahu-anhum%29.html
Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) And Sahabah (رضي الله عنهم) Stories - http://www.muftisays.com/forums/36-nabi-%28s%29-sahaabah-stories/
» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 18th January 2012
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