Page 54 - The Courage of the Faithful

THE COURAGE OF THE FA I T H F U L

thing that can be imitated. Allah ordains a number of trials for people,
during which it is possible to determine who is telling the truth and
who is lying.
In the Qur'an, Allah frequently refers to the superior morality of
the faithful, and their devotion to Him. In a number of verses, He gives
examples of their courage. The following is one example dating fro m

the time of our Prophet (saas):
When the believers saw the Confederates they said: "This is
what Allah and His Messenger promised us. Allah and His
Messenger told us the truth." It only increased them in faith
and in submission. (Surat al-Ahzab, 22)
As is to be understood from the above verse, the faithful are those
who trust only in Allah, and depend solely on Him. They commit

themselves unconditionally to Him. When their enemies are gathere d
against them, they are not distressed, for they know that it is A l l a h
Who created their enemies, and willed the difficult trials which they
face. They know that Allah's power encompasses all things, and that
their enemies can have no power independent from His. And, there-
f o re, when they encounter situations such as that described in the
above verse, they put their faith in our Lord, the Creator of all. Their re-
fusal to give up when they receive bad news, their turning to A l l a h
under every circumstance, and the fact that their morale is never

weakened, causes unbelievers to despair and become filled with fear.
The people who most demonstrated the courage which is de-
scribed in the Qur'an as an excellent characteristic of believers were
without doubt the prophets. Below we list some of the events in the
Qur'an which happened to the prophets and the pious believers who
set an example of courage.

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