The Quran

Preface

قُل إِن كانَ آباؤُكُم وَأَبناؤُكُم وَإِخوانُكُم وَأَزواجُكُم وَعَشيرَتُكُم وَأَموالٌ اقتَرَفتُموها وَتِجارَةٌ تَخشَونَ كَسادَها وَمَساكِنُ تَرضَونَها أَحَبَّ إِلَيكُم مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسولِهِ وَجِهادٍ في سَبيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصوا حَتّىٰ يَأتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمرِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لا يَهدِي القَومَ الفاسِقينَ

Yusuf Ali

Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight-¹ are dearer to you than God, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until God brings about² His decision: and God guides not the rebellious.

Man’s heart clings to (1) his own kith and kin-parents, children, brothers and sisters, husbands or wives, or other relatives, (2) wealth and prosperity, (3) commerce or means of profit and gain, or (4) noble buildings, for dignity or comfort. If these are a hindrance in God’s cause, we have to choose which we love most. We must love God even if it involves the sacrifice of all else.
If we love our earthly ties and comforts, profits and pleasures, more than we love God, and therefore fail to respond to God’s cause, it is not God’s cause which will suffer. God’s purpose will be accomplished, I with or without us. But our failure to respond to His will must leave us spiritually poorer, bereft of grace and guidance: “for God guides not the rebellious”. This is of universal application. But it was strikingly illustrated in the case of those faithful ones who obeyed the Prophet’s call, left the comfort of their homes in Mecca and suffered exile in Medīna, gave up their trade and their possessions, strove and fought for God’s cause, sometimes against their own kith and kin or their own tribesmen who were enemies of Islam. They won through. Others were not prepared for such sacrifice, but their failure did not stop the accomplishment of God’s plan and purpose.