Translation:
O you who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth in parties or go forth all together. 588
O you who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth in parties or go forth all together. 588
Translation:
O YOU who have attained to faith! Be fully prepared against danger, whether you go to war in small groups or all together. 87
O YOU who have attained to faith! Be fully prepared against danger, whether you go to war in small groups or all together. 87
Commentary:
87 Lit., "and then go forth, [be it] in small detachments or all together"- the latter expression applying to what nowadays is called "total war". The term hidhr connotes not merely an effort to guard oneself against imminent danger but also the making of all necessary preparations with regard to (in this context) military organization, equipment, etc. The problem of war as such arises from the principles of ideological statehood postulated in verse 59 of this surah. Since the Muslims are expected to organize their communal life within the framework of a state based on the ideological premises laid down in the Qur’an, they must be prepared for hostility on the part of groups or nations opposed to the world-view and the social system of Islam and, conceivably, bent on its destruction: consequently, the concept of a defensive war in God's cause (jihad) plays a very prominent role in the socio-political scheme of Islam and is frequently alluded to throughout the Qur’an.
87 Lit., "and then go forth, [be it] in small detachments or all together"- the latter expression applying to what nowadays is called "total war". The term hidhr connotes not merely an effort to guard oneself against imminent danger but also the making of all necessary preparations with regard to (in this context) military organization, equipment, etc. The problem of war as such arises from the principles of ideological statehood postulated in verse 59 of this surah. Since the Muslims are expected to organize their communal life within the framework of a state based on the ideological premises laid down in the Qur’an, they must be prepared for hostility on the part of groups or nations opposed to the world-view and the social system of Islam and, conceivably, bent on its destruction: consequently, the concept of a defensive war in God's cause (jihad) plays a very prominent role in the socio-political scheme of Islam and is frequently alluded to throughout the Qur’an.
588 No fight should be undertaken without due preparations and precautions. When these are taken, we must go boldly forward. "Go forth" is therefore repeated for emphasis. But we must go forth in a collective spirit-either in small parries or all together, as our Leader determines. We must not tarry like the doubter in the next two verses.