This section consists of words of encouragement given shortly after the Battle of Uhud. The Battle of Uhud, as I mentioned already, was a serious defeat in which the heathen Meccans lost 20 men and the Muslims lost 74. Muhammad was wounded and had been very close to getting killed.
Verses 172-174 refers to an incident right after the Battle of Uhud, when Muhammad, assisted by Ali, put his troops back into battle array and made an advance from Medina to Hamra al-Asad. This was done to show the Meccans (indirectly, through the reports of scouts) that the Muslims were still capable of defending Medina. Muslim accounts attribute the Meccans failure to proceed to attack Medina to this -- though I suspect that the Meccans had already decided to return to Mecca. (An Islamic account of this event may be read at www.thewaytotruth.org/prophetmuhammad/uhud.html and a critical amalgamation of various accounts, as sorted out by William Muir, can be accessed at answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Muir/Life3/chap14.htm .)
Those who obeyed Muhammads call are commended: despite the warnings of some who said that the Meccans had assembled an intimidating army, and despite the urgings of Satan [which, in v. 175, may be an allusion not to Satan himself, but to Abu Sufyan], they had gone out to battle and returned "with grace and bounty from Allah" (I think this means that they had recovered from wounds, and had brought back some dates from Hamra al-Asad).
The No-Battle of Hamra al-Asad was pretty much a non-event (except for the death of two Muslim scouts, and the capture and execution of the Meccan poet Abu Ozza, who very unluckily happened to be at Hamra al-Asad when Muhammad and his troops arrived). But when Muhammad returned to Medina, he made it matter: it demonstrated that Muhammad and his soldiers could still get into battle array, and not engage in battle, and not be defeated. It was clear that he and his army could take a hit. The untrustworthiness of those who had turned tail (before the Battle of Uhud) had been exposed. And it was clear to Muhammad that Allah had blessed the courage of the troops who had gone forth (inasmuch as on this occasion, none of them had gotten killed).
Verse 181 is about a little incident which occurred when Muhammad had sent Abu Bakr to the Jewish tribe of Qainuqa, inviting them to become Muslims and contribute monetarily to the cause. One of the Jews, Phineas Ibn Azura, replied that Allah must be poor if He needed to send people to come beg the Jews for money. Abu Bakr gave Phineas a hard smack on the face and said that if not for the truce between Medina and the Qainuqa, he would have cut off his head. When this was reported to Muhammad, this verse was "revealed." (Another comment of Phineas Ibn Azura elicited another "revelation" in surah 5:64.)
Verses 183-188 are a response to Jewish retorts to Muhammads invitations. Some Jews said that if Muhammad were a true prophet, he would be able to call down fire from heaven, like the prophets of old. (This refers to the "fire from heaven" which occurred in the careers of Solomon (in Second Chronicles 7:1) and Elijah (in First Kings 18:38 and Second Kings 1:9-15).) Muhammads reply was that even such a sign had not prevented the Jews from killing previous prophets. Other Jews made the point that Allah was already blessing them with wealth to which Muhammad replied that earthly pleasure is ephemeral and wealth is vain. And some Jews were making fun of Muhammads "revelations" by repeating them, slightly mispronounced, so as to change their meaning. Verses 187-188 comment on that sort of thing.
Verses 189-194 remind the Ummah to contemplate the signs Allah has given. Verses 193-194 constitute a "model prayer" asking for forgiveness and hoping for salvation. There is a reference to the expiation of sins. The term used for "expiate" (erase, or remove) is "kaffara." How can Allah, inasmuch as He is just, cover up sins? I hope to look into that sometime.
Verse 195 has a couple of interesting features. First, the phrase "be he male or female" is supposed to have been revealed after Umm Salma, one of Muhammads wives, said that she had observed that Allah frequently commended the men who had emigrated for the cause, but did not seem to notice the women. Second, the phrase "You are [members] one of another" is similar to the New Testament imagery in Romans 12:5 ("we are members of one another").
Verse 199 mentions (yet again) that some People of the Book have embraced what was revealed to them, and what was revealed to Muhammad, and such People of the Book are okay. This is almost certainly a reference to Coptic Christians in Abyssinia, who had sheltered some Muslims led there by Muhammads relative Jafar ibn Abi Talib who had emigrated there early in Muhammads career. The Abyssinian leader sheltered the Muslim refugees and embraced Islam. This explicit commendation of some of the People of the Book was given at a point before all the contents of the Quran had been delivered. The story of how the king of the Abyssinians accepted Islam after hearing from Jafar that Muhammad taught that "Jesus is the servant of God and His Prophet, His Spirit and His Word which He placed in the Virgin Mary" may be read at www.muslimaccess.com/sunnah/sahabah/JAFAR_IBN_ABI_TALIB.htm . It seems hard to deny that the Quran categorizes some People of the Book who accepted their own Scriptures, and some of the early "revelations" of Muhammad as believers.
The surah closes with a call for the Muslims to endure and trust in Allah (which sums up the theme of this section) and to post guards to watch the frontier against attacks.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Verses 172-174 refers to an incident right after the Battle of Uhud, when Muhammad, assisted by Ali, put his troops back into battle array and made an advance from Medina to Hamra al-Asad. This was done to show the Meccans (indirectly, through the reports of scouts) that the Muslims were still capable of defending Medina. Muslim accounts attribute the Meccans failure to proceed to attack Medina to this -- though I suspect that the Meccans had already decided to return to Mecca. (An Islamic account of this event may be read at www.thewaytotruth.org/prophetmuhammad/uhud.html and a critical amalgamation of various accounts, as sorted out by William Muir, can be accessed at answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Muir/Life3/chap14.htm .)
Those who obeyed Muhammads call are commended: despite the warnings of some who said that the Meccans had assembled an intimidating army, and despite the urgings of Satan [which, in v. 175, may be an allusion not to Satan himself, but to Abu Sufyan], they had gone out to battle and returned "with grace and bounty from Allah" (I think this means that they had recovered from wounds, and had brought back some dates from Hamra al-Asad).
The No-Battle of Hamra al-Asad was pretty much a non-event (except for the death of two Muslim scouts, and the capture and execution of the Meccan poet Abu Ozza, who very unluckily happened to be at Hamra al-Asad when Muhammad and his troops arrived). But when Muhammad returned to Medina, he made it matter: it demonstrated that Muhammad and his soldiers could still get into battle array, and not engage in battle, and not be defeated. It was clear that he and his army could take a hit. The untrustworthiness of those who had turned tail (before the Battle of Uhud) had been exposed. And it was clear to Muhammad that Allah had blessed the courage of the troops who had gone forth (inasmuch as on this occasion, none of them had gotten killed).
Verse 181 is about a little incident which occurred when Muhammad had sent Abu Bakr to the Jewish tribe of Qainuqa, inviting them to become Muslims and contribute monetarily to the cause. One of the Jews, Phineas Ibn Azura, replied that Allah must be poor if He needed to send people to come beg the Jews for money. Abu Bakr gave Phineas a hard smack on the face and said that if not for the truce between Medina and the Qainuqa, he would have cut off his head. When this was reported to Muhammad, this verse was "revealed." (Another comment of Phineas Ibn Azura elicited another "revelation" in surah 5:64.)
Verses 183-188 are a response to Jewish retorts to Muhammads invitations. Some Jews said that if Muhammad were a true prophet, he would be able to call down fire from heaven, like the prophets of old. (This refers to the "fire from heaven" which occurred in the careers of Solomon (in Second Chronicles 7:1) and Elijah (in First Kings 18:38 and Second Kings 1:9-15).) Muhammads reply was that even such a sign had not prevented the Jews from killing previous prophets. Other Jews made the point that Allah was already blessing them with wealth to which Muhammad replied that earthly pleasure is ephemeral and wealth is vain. And some Jews were making fun of Muhammads "revelations" by repeating them, slightly mispronounced, so as to change their meaning. Verses 187-188 comment on that sort of thing.
Verses 189-194 remind the Ummah to contemplate the signs Allah has given. Verses 193-194 constitute a "model prayer" asking for forgiveness and hoping for salvation. There is a reference to the expiation of sins. The term used for "expiate" (erase, or remove) is "kaffara." How can Allah, inasmuch as He is just, cover up sins? I hope to look into that sometime.
Verse 195 has a couple of interesting features. First, the phrase "be he male or female" is supposed to have been revealed after Umm Salma, one of Muhammads wives, said that she had observed that Allah frequently commended the men who had emigrated for the cause, but did not seem to notice the women. Second, the phrase "You are [members] one of another" is similar to the New Testament imagery in Romans 12:5 ("we are members of one another").
Verse 199 mentions (yet again) that some People of the Book have embraced what was revealed to them, and what was revealed to Muhammad, and such People of the Book are okay. This is almost certainly a reference to Coptic Christians in Abyssinia, who had sheltered some Muslims led there by Muhammads relative Jafar ibn Abi Talib who had emigrated there early in Muhammads career. The Abyssinian leader sheltered the Muslim refugees and embraced Islam. This explicit commendation of some of the People of the Book was given at a point before all the contents of the Quran had been delivered. The story of how the king of the Abyssinians accepted Islam after hearing from Jafar that Muhammad taught that "Jesus is the servant of God and His Prophet, His Spirit and His Word which He placed in the Virgin Mary" may be read at www.muslimaccess.com/sunnah/sahabah/JAFAR_IBN_ABI_TALIB.htm . It seems hard to deny that the Quran categorizes some People of the Book who accepted their own Scriptures, and some of the early "revelations" of Muhammad as believers.
The surah closes with a call for the Muslims to endure and trust in Allah (which sums up the theme of this section) and to post guards to watch the frontier against attacks.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
