The Quran

Preface

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا مَن يَرتَدَّ مِنكُم عَن دينِهِ فَسَوفَ يَأتِي اللَّهُ بِقَومٍ يُحِبُّهُم وَيُحِبّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى المُؤمِنينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الكافِرينَ يُجاهِدونَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَلا يَخافونَ لَومَةَ لائِمٍ ۚ ذٰلِكَ فَضلُ اللَّهِ يُؤتيهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ واسِعٌ عَليمٌ

Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! if any from among you turn back from his Faith, soon will God produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him,- lowly with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of God, and never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault.¹ That is the grace of God, which He will bestow on whom He pleaseth. And God encompasseth all, and He knoweth all things.

As “most men are rebellious” (5:49), it is inevitable that there should be apostates even from such a religion of reason and common-sense as Islam. But here is a warning to the Muslim body that they should not repeat the history of the Jews, and become so self-satisfied or arrogant as to depart from the spirit of God’s teaching. If they do, the loss will be their own. God’s bounty is not confined to one group or section of humanity. He can always raise up people who will follow the true spirit of Islam. That spirit is defined in two ways: first in general terms; they will love God and God will love them; and secondly, by specific signs; amongst the Brethren, their attitude will be that of humility, but to wrongdoers they will offer no mealy-mouthed compromises; they will always strive and fight for truth and right: they will know no fear, either physical, or that more insidious form, which says: “What will people say if we act thus?” They are too great in mind to be haunted by any such thought. For, as the next verse says, their friends are God, His Prophet, and His people, the people who judge rightly, without fear or favour.