App: www.quranclub.org Website: www.otpok.com --- وَعَلَى ٱلثَّلَـٰثَةِ ٱلَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّآ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ١١٨

And (likewise for) the three who lagged behind until, when the earth—vast as it is—closed in on them and their own (inner) selves closed in on them and they thought that there was no refuge from Allah except in Him, He then granted them repentance, so that they may repent. Indeed, Allah is the Granter and Accepter of repentance, the Bestower of mercy. [9:118] --- In this verse, Allah ﷻ gives us a confirmation of His acceptance of the repentance of the 3 companions of the Prophet ﷺ who absconded from the army. In doing so, He gives us a blueprint to follow on how our repentance can also be accepted too. Here is part 2 covering the second 5 points we derive from this verse and story. If you haven’t already, read part 1 to get full context of the verse: 6 – Flee to Allah ﷻ Allah ﷻ states وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّآ إِلَيْهِ They knew there was no refuge from Allah except in Him. True repentance brings a realisation that the only escape from Allah ﷻ is to Allah ﷻ. It is such a profound description of the process; a recognition that you have overstepped His boundaries and warrant punishment, and a turning to Him in recognition that His mercy outweighs His wrath. This balance of hope and fear of Allah ﷻ is the foundation that underpins all of faith. 7 – No Compulsion Once the Prophet ﷺ had returned, those who absconded came before him with their excuses. One by one the Prophet ﷺ accepted their excuses and dismissed them. He did not scold nor punish them, but took their word at face value and prayed to Allah ﷻ for their forgiveness. Allah ﷻ told him the truth of their hearts, and taught him how to interact with them. You see, these people outwardly proclaimed to be Muslim, and here was the Messenger of God ﷺ who had more right than anyone to punish or excommunicate them from the faith. Yet, if he judged by their inward, we could never follow the same example. Instead, he taught us to live and let live, accept people’s choice and judge only by what is presented. So long as no public crime is committed, it is not our business to enforce it.

8 – Make it up Just like how sins harm us, good deeds benefit us. The battle of Tabuk was gruelling. Aside from the psychological hurdles of battling a far bigger and better equipped Roman army, the battle was set at a time of intense heat, in a far away land when all the fruit was just ripening back home. As a result, the companions who returned with the Prophet ﷺ came back different, purified in the cauldron of tribulation to become the great people they became. Allah ﷻ states in the verse before: لَّقَد تَّابَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ وَٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ فِى سَاعَةِ ٱلْعُسْرَةِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِيقٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِهِمْ رَءُوفٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ١١٧ Allah has certainly turned in mercy to the Prophet as well as the Emigrants and the Helpers who stood by him in the time of hardship, after the hearts of a group of them had almost faltered. He then accepted their repentance. Surely He is Ever Gracious and Most Merciful to them. For these 3 companions, as part of their forgiveness, they had to undergo a process similar to the one they missed. It is necessary for their development, and wasn’t something they could forego. When we miss our prayers, break our fasts, skip our zakah or fail in other obligations we have, we are not off the hook. Allah ﷻ knows how important these are in nurturing our spiritual selves, and we must compensate for having missed them by making them up to the best of our ability.

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/quranclub App: www.quranclub.org Website: www.otpok.com --- وَعَلَى ٱلثَّلَـٰثَةِ ٱلَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّآ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ١١٨ And (likewise for) the three who lagged behind until, when the earth—vast as it is—closed in on them and their own (inner) selves closed in on them and they thought that there was no refuge from Allah except in Him, He then granted them repentance, so that they may repent. Indeed, Allah is the Granter and Accepter of repentance, the Bestower of mercy. [9:118] How do you know if your repentance has been accepted? Ultimately, only Allah ﷻ knows, but the Quran hints at some of the signs on how the process work. One example is that of the three companions of the Prophet ﷺ mentioned is surah Tawbah who absconded from the battle of Tabuk; Hilal ibn Umayyah, Murarah ibn Rabi’ah and Ka’b ibn Malik. For context; the Roman empire had assembled an army of 200,000 men to march on Madinah to eliminate the Muslims whom they viewed as a threat. In response, the Prophet ﷺ gathered an army greater than ever before, reported to be up to 30,000 men, yet their numbers, weaponry and experience still paled in comparison to their enemy. The Prophet ﷺ left the believers amongst the companions no excuse; everyone was expected to go with them, as every man was needed. But, in the words of Ka’b, the prospect of battle against such a large army, in severe heat, with a long journey ahead in the desert, led some to find excuses not to go. Moreover, the season which the battle fell in was in the word of Ka’b; “when the fruits had ripened and the shade looked pleasant”, making a journey out not just less appealing, but also an economic sacrifice too. To leave the ripened fruit unpicked is to lose a year of produce and potential income. Finally, with the Muslim army larger than any before, it was possible to sneak away unnoticed from the army, lost in the huge numbers of soldiers. What makes this story fascinating is that Allah's ﷻ forgiveness is explicitly confirmed within the Quran, providing a verified model for our own repentance. The narrative, narrated by Ka’b himself, offers valuable insights into his mindset throughout the incident, and provides specific details from which we can learn. Here are 10 key points from the verse and hadith on the nature of repentance and what we can learn from it 1 – The word order When Allah ﷻ describes the repentance, notice the order in which He describes His forgiveness; ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوٓا۟ ۚ “Then He forgave them so that they might repent.” Allah’s ﷻ forgiveness proceeds the act of repentance! Why? A sign that Allah ﷻ has forgiven you is the fact that you are asking, as His pardon precedes your request! How wonderful it is to know that simply asking for forgiveness is a sign that you have been forgiven! 2 – The harms of sin Sins bring about physical and psychological consequences. For the companions in this story, imagine the guilt they must have felt before Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ for what they did. Imagine the stigma from people knowing they were absent in their time of need. Before Allah ﷻ declares His repentance, He highlights the physical constriction and mental anguish felt as a result of the sin. Specifically, Allah ﷻ uses the word (حَتَّىٰٓ) “until”; a word used to describe the consequence of one thing from another, but carries an ambiguity on precisely when and how much will come. This is why Allah ﷻ prohibits us from sins; to help us avoid their negative effects and bring us back to Allah ﷻ in search of a remedy. Even with repentance, work may still be needed to rid ourselves of the harms caused by the sin we did.

Video: https://youtu.be/vN7DTjnPlVs

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/quranclub

App: www.quranclub.org

Website: www.otpok.com

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فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ بِجُنُودِهِۦ فَغَشِيَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْيَمِّ مَا غَشِيَهُمْ ٧٨

Then Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers—but how overwhelming were the waters that submerged them!

[20:78]

When telling the story of Ashura, our attention is often drawn to the main characters within the narrative, be it Prophet Musa (as) and Pharaoh, or Imam Hussein (ra) and Yazid. But little is ever said about what the NPCs in the story - the Non-Playable Characters. Across various mediums, whether it's a film, a story, or a game, NPCs serve as the underlying foundation upon which the narrative unfolds. Think of the enemies encountered on the way to confronting the ultimate boss in a game, or the soldiers in the background of a great battle in a movie; they play an essential role in crafting the narrative landscape, but individually fade into obscurity within the overarching plot of the story.

Much like this analogy, the NPCs of this story play a critical role within the narrative. What is Pharoah without his armies and minions who propped him up and worked to fulfil his orders? How would the story differ if Musa (as) did not have to lead the Children of Israel? How would Yazid have committed the heinous murder of the Prophet’s grandson without the soldiers obeying his command?

In the verse above, Allah ﷻ does not state Pharoah (و) “and” his soldiers. He uses the letter (ب), here translated to mean “with” his soldiers. Qurtubi explains how in Arabic, this transforms the word “soldiers” into a حال, a word which signifies the state or manner in which Pharoah pursued Prophet Musa (as), akin to the phrase “a man pursued him with his knife”. His army was not simply a companion on the journey; they were the tool which enabled Pharoah to pursue Prophet Musa and his people.

The story of Ashura is as much about these NPCs as it is about the main heroes and villains in the story. Their role enables the story to unfold, giving power and purpose to the characters and narrative. However, there is a subtle difference between the role they play for the heroes and villains. The villains in the story are wholly dependent on these NPCs for their very existence; their authority and position hinge on the support they receive from those who elevate them. On the contrary, figures like Prophet Musa (as) and Imam Hussein (ra) possess inherent greatness. Their significance is not derived from the NPCs; rather, the NPCs themselves find honour in their admiration and allegiance to these exceptional individuals. This dynamic emphasizes that it is the people who are uplifted through their connection with these heroes, not the other way around. This theme is found across the Qur’anic narrative; Allah ﷻ is not in need of us, but our obedience to Him is what ennobles us.

The story of Ashura is a reminder of the role we must play in our own story we see unfolding. Many assume they must play the main characters within a story, but our greater responsibility is to ensure we are simply part of the right side of the narrative. The collective is far more influential than any individual in a story, and each of us bares a responsibility in shaping the narrative of that group.