7th. Dream:
In the seventh dream in the Qur’an Allah Most High recalled the incident,
on the eve of the battle of Badr, when He caused the army of the Quraish
to appear to the Prophet sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam , in a dream, as a small band, i.e.,
smaller in number than they actually were.
“And (remember) when Allah made them appear to you in a dream as
a small band. Had He shown them to you
as a great army, your courage would have failed you and you would have quarreled
over the affair. But this Allah spared
you. He knows what is in the
hearts. And when you met them He made
each appear to the other as few in number, that He might accomplish what He
ordained. To Allah shall all things
return.”
(Qur’an: al-Anfal:- 8:44-6)
The purpose of this dream was clear. Allah Most High
wanted to strengthen the Prophet’s confidence and morale on the eve of the
battle. That increase in confidence and
morale eventually impacted on the Muslim army and contributed towards the
victory which they achieved in the battle of Badr.
During the battle itself each side was given a vision (rather
than a dream) of the other in which Allah Most High made each appear to
the other as few in number. This
preserved the confidence and morale of the Muslims but deceived the Quraish
into a false sense of over-confidence.
They were led to believe that the Muslim army was so small and weak that
their battle with them would be as easy as a ‘walk over’! When they were shocked at the strength,
courage and fighting ability of the Muslims in the actual battle itself, this
created a psychological impact of panic. And that was poison itself for their morale!
Asad interprets the verse differently. He admits of the dream,
but questions the notion of visions during the actual battle:
“Since at the time of the actual encounter the Muslims could no
longer be in doubt as to the great number of the enemy force, the phrase “He
made them appear as few in your eyes”
has obviously a metaphorical meaning: it implies that, by that time, the
Prophet’s followers were so full of courage that the enemy appeared
insignificant to them. The Quraish, on
the other hand, were so conscious of their own power and numerical superiority
that the Muslims appeared but of little account to them - a mistake which
ultimately cost them the battle and a great number of lives.” 15
That visions occurred during the actual encounter of the two
armies is very clear, however, from another verse of the Qur’an which
also refers to the Battle of Badr:
“Indeed there was a sign for you in the two armies which met on
the battlefield. One was fighting in the way of Allah and the other (was) a
host of disbelievers. The faithful saw
with their very eyes that they (the disbelievers) were twice their own number. But Allah strengthens with His aid whom He
will. Surely in that there was a lesson
for the discerning.”
(Qur’an: Ale ‘Imran:-3:12)
Here, then, is a dream which played a strategically
important psychological role in the revolutionary
process. The lesson for the believers is
one of understanding the transcendental dimension to the psychological process
of building confidence and morale for vigorous and enthusiastic participation in the
revolutionary struggle of Islam in the world today.
No comments:
Post a Comment