In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
As for those who leave their homes to serve God’s cause, and are then slain or die, God will most certainly grant them a goodly provision. God is indeed the most munificent provider. He will most certainly admit them to a place with which they shall be well-pleased. God is surely all-knowing, most forbearing.
Thus shall it be. If one retaliates only to the extent of the injury he has received, and then is wronged again, God will certainly succor him. God is certainly the One who absolves sin, much-forgiving.
Thus it is, because God causes the night to pass into the day, and the day to pass into the night; and because God hears all and sees all.
Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth, and all that people invoke beside Him is sheer falsehood, and because God alone is most high, great.
Are you not aware that God sends down water from the skies, whereupon the earth becomes green. God is unfathomable in His wisdom, all aware.
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. God alone is indeed free of all want, worthy of all praise. (The Pilgrimage, Al-Haj: 22: 59-64)
We discussed the opening verse in this passage last week, highlighting the reward God has in store for those who abandon their homes in order to serve God’s cause, and may even risk death in the process.
Those who are the target of human aggression may not be able to tolerate such aggression or bear it with patience. They would rather respond in kind, measure for measure. If the aggressors persist, and continue their oppression, God is certain to support the oppressed and help them against their unjust oppressors: “Thus shall it be. If one retaliates only to the extent of the injury he has received, and then is wronged again, God will certainly succor him. God is certainly the One who absolves sin, much-forgiving.” The condition that must be fulfilled for God’s help to be forthcoming is that the action must be one of retaliation, seeking to repel aggression. No help could be forthcoming for an aggression of any sort. Moreover, retaliation must not be excessive; rather it must be limited in scale, replying, measure for measure, to the original aggression by the enemy.
The comment made in the verse on this permission of retaliation is that “God is certainly the One who absolves sin, much-forgiving.” It is He who forgives and absolves. Human beings have no say in that. Indeed they may prefer to retaliate and to repel aggression. Given their human nature, they are allowed to pursue such retaliatory action. God will help them to achieve victory.
God’s promise of help to victims of aggression is linked to universal laws that testify to God’s power. These laws operate most accurately, without fail, which, in turn, suggests that God’s help to those at the receiving end of aggression is one of the unfailing universal laws God has set in operation. “Thus it is, because God causes the night to pass into the day, and the day to pass into the night; and because God hears all and sees all.”
This refers to a natural phenomenon which people observe morning and evening, day and night, winter and summer. The night passes into the day at sunset, and the day passes into the night at sunrise. And the night takes more of the day as we go into the winter, while the day takes up more of the night as summer approaches. People see both phenomena of the two parts of the daily cycle passing into each other, but long familiarity makes them oblivious of their accuracy and unfailing regularity. Nevertheless, these phenomena are witnesses to God’s power which controls the universe and all its events.
The Surah wants people to open their eyes and hearts to these often overlooked phenomena that are indicative of God’s superior power that controls the movement and length of both day and night, with absolute accuracy. The same may be said about God’s help to those who suffer aggression and try to repel it. It is as accurate and regular as the passing of the day into the night and the passing of the night into the day. God always smites the power of tyrant oppressors and allows justice to triumph. Again, people tend to be oblivious of this phenomenon, just like they overlook signs and pointers indicating God’s power and control of the universe.
All this is related to the essential fact that God is the ultimate and absolute truth. It is the truth that controls the universe and operates its systems. Everything else is false, irregular, and cannot be maintained: “Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth, and all that people invoke beside Him is sheer falsehood, and because God alone is most high, great.”
This is an adequate explanation and a guarantee that truth and justice will inevitably triumph, while falsehood and aggression are certain to be defeated. It is the same guarantee that the laws of the universe will operate without fail. One of these laws and phenomena is that the truth will be victorious and falsehood will suffer a humiliating defeat. God is certainly far superior to any absolute ruler who seeks to show his power over the weak. The verse is concluded with this comment: “God alone is most high, great.” Hence, he will not allow aggression to swell, or injustice to be everlasting.
Further natural phenomena are shown as permanent indications of God’s power: “Are you not aware that God sends down water from the skies, whereupon the earth becomes green. God is unfathomable in His wisdom, all aware.” We see this happening all the time: rain is poured from the skies and the earth becomes green within a very short period, but again long familiarity makes us oblivious of it. However, to people with open minds the scene arouses a host of feelings. At times, you look at a green shoot coming out through the black earth and you feel its freshness and it reminds you of young children happily smiling to the world around them, and almost fly with delight when they see the spreading light.
If we have such feelings, we can properly understand the comment at the end of the verse: “God is unfathomable in His wisdom, all aware.” It is as profound a comment as our feelings when we look at this delightful seen and contemplate its nature. It is part of God’s unfathomable wisdom to have such a subtle movement in the depth of the earth, bringing out a green shoot, fresh but weak and slim. With God’s power, it stretches out into the air, moving against the law of gravity. It is God’s knowledge that determines the amount of rain that comes down from the sky and its timing, so that water mixes with the earth and allows vegetation to grow.
Water comes down from God’s sky to His earth to initiate life there and to provide both nutrition and wealth. But then God owns both heavens and earth and all that they contain, yet He needs nothing of that. He gives provisions to all living things, through water and plants, But He is free of all need. “To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. God alone is indeed free of all want, worthy of all praise.” He is in need of nothing of what lives in the heavens and earth. Indeed all praise is due to Him for the favors He bestows on all His creatures.