The Quran

Preface

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِذا ضَرَبتُم في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ فَتَبَيَّنوا وَلا تَقولوا لِمَن أَلقىٰ إِلَيكُمُ السَّلامَ لَستَ مُؤمِنًا تَبتَغونَ عَرَضَ الحَياةِ الدُّنيا فَعِندَ اللَّهِ مَغانِمُ كَثيرَةٌ ۚ كَذٰلِكَ كُنتُم مِن قَبلُ فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيكُم فَتَبَيَّنوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ بِما تَعمَلونَ خَبيرًا

Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! When ye go abroad¹ in the cause of God, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: “Thou art none of a believer!” Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with God are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were ye yourselves before, till God conferred on you His favours: Therefore carefully investigate. For God is well aware of all that ye do.

Go abroad: daraba-to travel, to go abroad, either for jihad, or for honest trade or other service, which if done with pure motives, counts as service in the cause of God. The immediate occasion was in connection with jihad, but the words are general, and can be applied to all circumstances in which a man fells through spiritual pride: he thinks he is not as other men are, but forgets that, but for the grace of God, he is himself a sinner! In war (or in peace) we are apt to catch some worldly advantage by pluming ourselves on our superiority in Faith. In war perhaps we want to gain glory or booty by killing a supposed enemy! In peace we make light of other people in order to steal some advantage or material gain! This is wrong. The righteous man, if he is really out in God’s service, has more abundant and richer gifts to think of in the spiritual world.