“O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah stands between a person and their heart, and that to Him you will all be gathered.” (Anfal, 8:24)
In the Battle of Badr, the Muslims won a resounding victory over the polytheists. However, after the battle, they disagreed over the division of the bounty, as there were yet no rules established regarding the matter. The verses revealed on this occasion commanded the believers to be mindful of Allah and to obey the judgment of Allah and His Messenger (Anfal, 8:1-2). Indeed, before the Battle of Badr, they did not want to meet the enemy but rather to reach the caravan; but when they chose obedience to the Messenger of Allah and fought the enemy, they attained the blessing of this obedience and divine help. The importance of obedience to Allah and His Messenger is emphasized on several occasions in Surah al[1]Anfal, one of which is the following verse: “O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah stands between a person and their heart, and that to Him you will all be gathered.” (Anfal, 8:24)
The verse imposes on all Muslims the responsibility to act in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, to act swiftly when they receive the word of Allah or His Messenger on a religious matter, and to abandon any opinion that is contrary to it. The necessity of obedience to what the Prophet invites is expressed in the statement, “Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you.” This emphasis on the call of the Prophet also implies that obedience to him is like obedience to Allah (Nasafi, Madarik al-Tanzil, I, 639). The call of the Prophet includes both coming to him when he summoned while he was alive and responding to and obeying his invitation (Bukhari, Tafsir, 8).
Believers should respond to the call of Allah and His Messenger because it is a call that will give them life. Since it is out of the question to resurrect a person who is alive, it is understood that the expression “giving life” in the verse is used outside its literal meaning. There are various views as to what is “life-giving”. To summarize, the first and foremost of these is faith, as faith is what keeps the heart alive while disbelief leads it to its end. While a heart with disbelief is as good as dead, Allah revives one with faith. According to the second interpretation, it is the Qur’an that will give life. For those who respond to its call, there is salvation, security, eternal life and eternal blessings. It is also the source of knowledge and knowledge is life. According to the third interpretation, what gives life is truth and reality. The interpretation of what gives life as truth and reality is a view that encompasses other views, especially faith and the Qur’an (Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb, XV, 472).
There are also consequences of disobeying the call of the Messenger of Allah, which are stated as follows: “And know that Allah stands between a person and their heart”. Allah’s standing between a person and his heart is interpreted in relation to His attributes. Because Allah is transcendent from space. His (swt) attribute of knowledge pertains to knowing what a person conceals, and His attribute of power pertains to allowing or preventing a person from doing what he is determined to do. Just as an obstacle comes between two things, so the knowledge of Allah comes between a person and his heart. For He is closer to His servant than his jugular vein (Qaf, 50:16). Attention is drawn to the thoughts that come into one’s mind with the emphasis placed on the fact that Allah intervenes between a person and his heart, and with this believers are warned against thoughts such as laxity in responding to the Prophet’s invitation, avoiding the responsibility of obeying him, or concealing their opposition to him. If a person follows the call of the Messenger of Allah, Allah will make him victorious over his nafs and put a barrier between him and what his nafs calls him to. But if he refrains from obeying this call, He will make his nafs a barrier between him and what his heart is calling for (Maturidi, Ta’wilat Ahl al-Sunnah, V, 178; Ibn Ashur, al-Tahrir wa al[1]Tanwir, IX, 315).
The consequence of disobeying the call of the Messenger of Allah is expressed in the next sentence more vehemently, as follows: “And that to Him you will all be gathered.” Indeed, death may arrive unexpectedly, precluding the possibility of heeding this call, therefore, one must act promptly and not delay in fulfilling the command.
There are also worldly consequences to not following the call of the Messenger of Allah, which is mentioned in the following verse (Anfal, 8:25). When Muslims collectively fail to heed the Prophet’s call, they become prone to numerous disagreements and conflicts. As an effect these disagreements, over time, can escalate into full-blown confrontations. The disintegration of social order and a deterioration of conditions follows this. If societal leaders fail to intervene and halt this downward spiral, the flames of discord will spread far and wide, burning all in their path, regardless of virtue or wrongdoing.
Islam is the true religion; it is a call for humanity’s revival. He who responds to this call overcomes the darkness of heedlessness and ignorance and gets rid of laziness and sloth. In this world, he attains a happy life that is enhanced by faith and righteous deeds, and in the Hereafter, he attains an eternal life whose beauty is unimaginable. However, this call for the revival of Islam is not fully echoed in the bosom of the century we live in. Some wrong practices of Muslims, the opportunism of exploitative groups, and the perversions of terrorist organizations can prevent the realities of Islam from being recognized. However, the truth of Islam will be revealed when Muslims get rid of the weight of human weaknesses and worldly ambitions and run to the call of Islam together when they open their hearts, with all their purity, to Allah and His Messenger. And through such a mobilization, they will be able to be key players in the revival of others while elevating their revival. The following description of those who responded to the call of Islam and revived and illuminated their surroundings with the beacon of revival and those who deprived themselves of it is a concise expression of this truth: “Can those who had been dead, to whom We gave life and a light with which they can walk among people, be compared to those in complete darkness from which they can never emerge?” (An’am, 6:122)
