Working on our Spirituality - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 28]

Indeed (it does); and if you patiently persevere and guard against evil and they (the enemies) come upon you suddenly and in hot haste of theirs, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand swooping and havoc-making angels. (3:125)     Commentary NUMBER 5,000: This verse was revealed to the Prophet ] as it related to the aftermath of the battle of Uḥud in which the Muslims took heavy losses. However as they were returning to Mecca, the polytheists of Mecca realized that they should have ‘finished off’ the Muslims by attacking the city of Medina and if possible, killing the Prophet. Thus, they would have been able to do away with this religion and the Muslims once and for all. The Meccan army commanders gave the order to turn back and proceed towards Medina. The Muslims who had lost many people in the battle and had countless injured were definitely in no position to defend themselves in another battle however, the polytheists had both strength and numbers and the adrenaline to make the attack all the more lethal. When the Prophet ] received notice that the polytheists were coming back, he ordered the Muslims, including Imam ʿAlī who had over 60 injuries on his body from the Battle of Uḥud, to get ready for a second stage of the battle. The Meccans were informed about the Muslims stand and were shocked at this news and thought that perhaps there were others from neighboring cities and tribes who were going to be assisting the Muslims and that they may end up losing this stage of the war. Thus, they decided that it would be best to return back to Mecca and rejoice in their victory rather than to risk a loss of life and morale. However, the traits which Allah emphasizes in this verse which we need to keep in mind in our daily battles in life and which will help us overcome our adversaries and even result in hidden support from the Most High are two traits that are easy to speak about but difficult to attain and maintain: 1. Ṣabr – patience, fortitude and perseverance; 2. Taqwā – Consciousness and awareness of Allah; If we can maintain these traits in our lives and continuously build upon them, then we will have success in our daily lives and that just as Allah promised the Prophet and the early companions that He will provide hidden assistance, that we too can be the recipients of such support from Him and the guardian angels that He has appointed to look after us. Point of Reflection Many times we fail to succeed due to previous setbacks which may drain our spiritual energies and leave us feeling depressed; we need to pick ourselves up and move forward with life – we must build our ṣabr – the fortitude and perseverance to deal with adversity, and our taqwā our realizing that Allah is ever present and will support us IF we take the first step.