3:157 Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

ثم أخبر تعالى أن القتل في سبيله أو الموت فيه، ليس فيه نقص ولا محذور، وإنما هو مما ينبغي أن يتنافس فيه المتنافسون، لأنه سبب مفض وموصل إلى مغفرة الله ورحمته، وذلك خير مما يجمع أهل الدنيا من دنياهم، وأن الخلق أيضا إذا ماتوا أو قتلوا بأي حالة كانت، فإنما مرجعهم إلى الله، ومآلهم إليه، فيجازي كلا بعمله، فأين الفرار إلا إلى الله، وما للخلق عاصم إلا الاعتصام بحبل الله؟\"

قوله تعالى "ولئن قتلتم في سبيل الله أو متم لمغفرة من الله ورحمة خير مما يجمعون" تضمن هذا أن القتل في سبيل الله والموت أيضا وسيلة إلى نيل رحمة الله وعفوه ورضوانه وذلك خير من البقاء في الدنيا وجميع حطامها الفاني.

Prohibiting the Ideas of the Disbeleivers about Death and Predestination

Allah forbids His believing servants from the disbelievers' false creed, seen in their statement about those who died in battle and during travel; "Had they abandoned these trips, they would not have met their demise." Allah said,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَقَالُواْ لإِخْوَنِهِمْ

(O you who believe! Be not like those who disbelieve (hypocrites) and who say to their brethren), about their dead brethren,

إِذَا ضَرَبُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(when they travel through the earth) for the purpose of trading and otherwise,

أَوْ كَانُواْ غُزًّى

(or go out to fight), participating in battles,

لَّوْ كَانُواْ عِنْدَنَا

("If they had stayed with us,") in our area,

مَا مَاتُواْ وَمَا قُتِلُواْ

("they would not have died or been killed,") they would not have died while traveling or been killed in battle. Allah's statement,

لِيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ

(so that Allah may make it a cause of regret in their hearts. ) means, Allah creates this evil thought in their hearts so that their sadness and the grief they feel for their loss would increase. Allah refuted them by saying,

وَاللَّهُ يُحْيىِ وَيُمِيتُ

(It is Allah that gives life and causes death.) for the creation is under Allah's power, and the decision is His Alone. No one lives or dies except by Allah's leave, and no one's life is increased or decreased except by His decree.

وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(And Allah is All-Seer of what you do,) for His knowledge and vision encompasses all His creation and none of their affairs ever escapes Him. Allah's statement,

وَلَئِنْ قُتِلْتُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَوْ مُتُّمْ لَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَحْمَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ

(And if you are killed or die in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all that they amass.) 3:157, indicating that death and martyrdom in Allah's cause are a means of earning Allah's mercy, forgiveness and pleasure. This, indeed, is better than remaining in this life with its short lived delights. Furthermore, whoever dies or is killed will return to Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, and He will reward him if he has done good deeds, or will punish him for his evil deeds. Allah said,

وَلَئِنْ مُّتُّمْ أَوْ قُتِلْتُمْ لإِلَى الله تُحْشَرُونَ

(And whether you die or are killed, verily, unto Allah you shall be gathered.) 3:158.

And if wa-la-in the lām is for oaths you are slain in God’s way in holy struggle or die read muttum or mittum from singular form māta yamūtu that is if death comes to you thereat forgiveness that is from God for your sins and mercy therefor from Him for you the clause introduced by the lām of la-maghfiratun ‘forgiveness’ is the response to the oath clause of la’in and occupies the place of the verbal action as a subject the predicate of which is what follows are better than what they amass in this world read tajma‘ūn ‘you amass’ or yajma‘ūn ‘they amass’.

The saying of the hypocrites in verse 156 here is an extension of what was cited in verse 154 earlier: لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَمْرِ‌ شَيْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَاهُنَا :"If we had any say in the matter, we would have not been killed here." Since there were chances that sincere Muslims may be affected by such doubt-creating devices used by hypocrites, Muslims were asked through these verses to remain unconcerned with such sayings and doings and adhere to the belief that the span of life and the time of death are ordained by Allah alone.