In defense of the believers

God will certainly defend those who believe. For certain, God does not love anyone who betrays his trust and is bereft of gratitude.

Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged. Most certainly, God has the power to grant them victory. These are the ones who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying, ‘Our Lord is God!’ Were it not that God repels some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques – in all of which God’s name is abundantly extolled – would surely have been destroyed. God will most certainly succor him who succors God’s cause. God is certainly most powerful, almighty. (The Pilgrimage, Al-Haj: 22: 38-40)

We mentioned last week that it has been the will of God not to let the forces of the truth and divine faith to face up to evil, falsehood and tyranny unarmed, relying only on the appeal of goodness and truth to people’s hearts and nature. That would make the fight totally unbalanced, because the forces of evil could always command great firepower and offer great temptations. As God is certainly aware of the limits of people’s endurance, He permits them to fight after they have completed their necessary preparations and acquired appropriate means.

However, before the believers set out to fight the forces of evil He tells them that they will enjoy His support: "God will certainly defend those who believe." Their enemies will certainly be defeated, since God has no love for them in consequence of their treachery and ingratitude: "For certain, God does not love anyone who betrays his trust and is bereft of gratitude." He has judged their position to be fully justified, because they are the ones who have endured injustice and persecution. They do not resort to aggression against any people: "Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged." Because they are the ones at the receiving end of wrongful aggression, they may be reassured that God will certainly grant them His support and protection: "Most certainly, God has the power to grant them victory."

Furthermore, they have all the justification to go to war. They have been chosen to undertake a great humanitarian task, the benefits of which will not be theirs alone. Indeed these benefits will accrue to all believers. Their fight will ensure that people shall enjoy the freedom of belief and worship. Besides, they are the ones who are wronged, and the ones driven out of their homes without any valid justification: "These are the ones who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying, ‘Our Lord is God!’"

It is the most truthful word any person can say, and the word everyone should say. Yet, it is because of saying this that they are driven out of their homes. That is absolute injustice that can have no semblance of justification. The Qur’anic statement makes it clear that those victims of aggression have no personal objective to fight for; they only fight for their faith. They seek no worldly gains. To them, the personal and national interests that give rise to conflicts, alliances and wars are of no appeal.

Beyond that, we have the general rule that makes clear that faith needs to be defended: "Were it not that God repels some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques – in all of which God’s name is abundantly extolled – would surely have been destroyed."

We note here that the verse mentions monasteries where priests devote all their time for worship, as well as places of public worship for Christians, Jews and Muslims. They are all vulnerable and could be destroyed, despite their sanctity and dedication for worship. Evil will not respect the fact that these places are made for extolling God’s name. They are protected only through people’s efforts, with the advocates of faith standing up to repel the aggression of falsehood. Indeed, falsehood and evil will not stop their aggression unless they realize that the truth has enough power to counter their own. Truth may be valued by people, but such value is not enough to provide it with protection against aggression in man’s world. It requires means of self-defense.

We need to reflect a little on these short statements that reflect profound insight in human nature. The first thing to note is that the permission to fight God grants to those against whom the idolaters had waged a wrongful aggression starts with a statement that God defends the believers and dislikes aggressors: "God will certainly defend those who believe. For certain, God does not love anyone who betrays his trust and is bereft of gratitude."

This is a guarantee given by God to the believers that He is the one to defend them, and whoever is defended by God will certainly come to no harm at the hands of his enemy. He will certainly be victorious. Why would they, then, need a permission to fight? Why are they required to go to war, suffer casualties, endure hardship and give sacrifices, when the result is a forgone conclusion and God is able to ensure it for them without any effort on their part?

The answer is that God’s wisdom is absolutely perfect. We as human beings may discern certain aspects of it. Thus, on the basis of our experience and perception we may say that part of God’s wisdom may be that He does not want the advocates of His cause to be a group of idle and lazy people who sit to relax, waiting for victory to be granted to them without effort. They do not deserve victory merely because they attend to their prayers, recite the Qur’an and appeal to God for help and support whenever they suffer hardship or aggression.

It is true that believers should always attend to their prayers, read the Qur’an and turn to God for help in situations of ease and hardship alike. However, such worship, on its own, does not qualify them to be the advocates and defenders of God’s cause. This worship is merely part of the equipment they need in their fight against the forces of evil. It is their unfailing ammunition in their hard battle. They must face evil with weapons like the ones it uses against them, but they need to add the most effective weaponry of faith, a God-fearing sense, and a solid bond with God.

Brought to you by Arab News. This appears to be the same Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), who was executed by the Egyptian government for his Islamic activities and is viewed as a martyr by many Muslims. His writings have been very influential in the Islamic resurgence that began shortly after his death.

These articles are great. So, Arab News has called for the overthrow of Saddam, said that the Arab street will back us, and now in this article they say that God will defend righteous Christians, Jews, and Muslims, who are prepared to stand together in defense of the faith.

What in the world did GW tell the Sheik when he was visiting out at the ranch?

What in the world did GW tell the Sheik when he was visiting out at the ranch?

I have a feeling that whever he told Abdullah, it didn't include the word "please", if you get my drift!

Don't want to turn this into a Sunday School debate, but I remember the old discussion about how no one can be sure of the extent of God's mercy. You know, Hitler could be in Heaven if God wanted to forgive him ... Hell could be empty ... I think of that lesson and other stuff I have read about how Moslems think Christ was a little soft in the head when he spoke so much about forgiveness when I see the 2nd line in this sermon "For certain, God does not love anyone who betrays his trust and is bereft of gratitude." That may be very Moslem, but for me it is so un-Christian. God does not love? God IS love!

My studies of Islam are revealing a duplicity of concepts that dates back to Mohammed himself. On the one hand, Muslims speak of the mercy of Allah. On the other, they speak of the righteousness of slaughtering the "unbelievers". History is rife with this.

Of course, the history of Christianity is also rife with this. However, there's no record of Jesus going around slaughtering innocent men, women and children, while there is ample record of Mohammed doing exactly that, both with his armies, and personally. I base this on the Islamic texts themselves.

Hence I retain my skepticism of Islam, and reject the false bromide that it is a "religion of peace". For all the talk of peace among Muslims, Islam is definitely not peaceful!

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