Episode 13 - Fear of Provision

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, our mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) explained the immediate response we see from the Companions to the command of Allah the Almighty. She said, as narrated by Bukhari: ("The first thing that was revealed to him [the Quran] was a chapter from Al-Mufassal, mentioning Paradise and Hellfire, until people embraced Islam. Then, the permissible and impermissible were revealed. If the first thing revealed was 'Do not drink alcohol,' they would have said, 'We will never give up alcohol.' If it was 'Do not commit adultery,' they would have said, 'We will never give up adultery.'")... meaning we would not have seen the immediate response we saw in the previous episodes. So, Allah attached the hearts of His servants to Paradise and warned them of Hellfire... so when certainty settled in their hearts, it became very easy for them to leave their habits upon hearing a verse from the Book of Allah the Almighty.

The economy of Mecca was based on trade... there was no significant agriculture nor was there oil in those days. After the Muslims conquered Mecca, many of the Arabs of the peninsula were still polytheists, and they would come to the Kaaba, which they also revered, to exchange goods with the Muslims. Here comes a command from Allah the Almighty to cut off this source, which was almost the only one for the Meccan economy. Allah the Almighty said: ("O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean; so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs")... so the polytheists no longer had an interest in coming to Mecca... trade would cease... the economy of Mecca would collapse. This is what worldly calculations say. But Allah, in His mercy, reassured them and said: ("And if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you from His bounty")... but notice what Allah said after that: ("if He wills"). If He wills to enrich you, He will enrich you... but you must obey the command regardless of this guarantee that Allah has given you. You cannot condition your obedience on Allah showing you how He will compensate you and how He will provide for you until you respond to His command, but rather you respond, and then Allah enriches you if He wills. How will He enrich them? He did not inform them. The Companions responded, and they did what caused the economy to collapse in the material sense. So, Allah made the jizyah (tax) lawful in the subsequent verse that follows directly in the surah, and Allah opened the regions of the Arabian Peninsula to the Muslims. This was a blessing for the cities and villages that they brought under the rule of Islam, freeing them from the worship of idols and the oppression of religions, and it was a blessing for the Muslims whom Allah compensated for what they lost in trade.

Brother, sister... if we respond to the command of Allah with faith in His wisdom and mercy, He will not let us down. These Quranic texts do not have an expiration date; rather, they are eternal truth. If a job is offered to you that contains prohibitions... remember that the One who provided for the people of Mecca in the middle of the desert without resources is capable of providing for you. He is testing your faith... ("And if you fear poverty, then Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise"). And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.