وَكَأَيِّن مِّن نَّبِىٍّ قَٰتَلَ مَعَهُۥ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا۟ لِمَآ أَصَابَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا۟ وَمَا ٱسْتَكَانُوا۟ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ ﴿١٤٦﴾ وَمَا كَانَ قَوْلَهُمْ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِىٓ أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿١٤٧﴾ فَـَٔاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثَوَابَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَحُسْنَ ثَوَابِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿١٤٨﴾
There have been many Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) with whom many men of Allah Ta‘ala have fought; they did not lose heart for what they suffered in the way of Allah Ta‘ala, nor did they become weak, nor did they give in. Allah Ta‘ala loves the steadfast. They had nothing else to say except that they said, “Our Rabb, forgive our sins and our excesses in our conduct, make our feet firm and help us against the disbelieving people.” So, Allah Ta‘ala gave them the reward of this world and also the better rewards of the Hereafter. Allah Ta‘ala loves those who do good. (Surah Aal ‘Imraan v. 146-148)
In these verses, Allah Ta‘ala mentions that there were many Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) of the past who fought wars and battles, accompanied by their pious followers. In the course of war, they also suffered setbacks and experienced challenges, and from time to time, many of the Muslims would have lost their lives as well. In fact, there may have even been occasions when the Muslims lost a battle.
Despite the adversities, these pious followers of the Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam) never became despondent and depressed, and never lost hope or gave up. Instead, they adopted sabr, remained steadfast and persevered for the sake of Allah Ta‘ala, thus acquiring His divine love.
Thereafter, Allah Ta‘ala explains that these pious people would make four du‘aas to Allah Ta‘ala:
1. Du‘aa for forgiveness for their pasts sins.
2. Du‘aa for Allah Ta‘ala to forgive them for their weaknesses, shortcomings and sins committed while striving in His path.
3. Du‘aa for Allah Ta‘ala to keep them firm and steadfast.
4. Du‘aa to be granted victory against the enemy.
The first du‘aa that they would make was for forgiveness. The reason is that the setbacks and difficulties that a person suffers in life are often (though not always) on account of the sins that he committed. Hence, if the setback was on account of his sins, then through engaging in istighfaar, the obstacle will insha-Allah be removed.
The second du‘aa was for Allah Ta‘ala to forgive them for their shortcomings and weakness in carrying out the righteous action. In other words, even though they were striving with the Nabi in jihaad, carrying out an extremely lofty and virtuous action, they were not overcome by pride. Rather, they remained humble at all times, cognizant of their shortcomings and regarded their actions as unworthy of being presented before Allah Ta‘ala.
The third du‘aa was for steadfastness. Through making this du‘aa, they acknowledged that the tawfeeq (divine ability) to carry out this righteous action was from Allah Ta‘ala alone. Had Allah Ta‘ala not assisted them, they would never have been able to carry out this action. Thus, they do not attribute the action to themselves, or their own effort and hard work, but rather to the grace and mercy of Allah Ta‘ala, and beg Him to bless them with more tawfeeq to continue striving in His path and earning His pleasure.
The final du‘aa was for Allah Ta‘ala to grant them His divine assistance against the disbelievers, as they understood that victory does not lie in superior arms, numbers or strategies. Instead, victory lies in the hand of Allah Ta‘ala alone. Hence, they turned to Him and begged Him to decide in their favour.
Through the barakah and blessing of this du‘aa, where they expressed their weakness and shortcoming to Allah Ta‘ala, and dependency upon him, and begged for forgiveness and divine support, Allah Ta‘ala blessed them with victory in this world as well as the immense rewards of the Hereafter. However, since the reward of victory in this world cannot compare to the rewards of the Hereafter, which are eternal and far superior, Allah Ta‘ala referred to the rewards of the Hereafter as “the better rewards”.
We should all try to recite this du‘aa regularly, pondering over the deep and profound meaning. Furthermore, we should also emulate those pious people in our lives. If we undergo any difficulty, then we should immediately resort to istighfaar. When we carry out any righteous action, then we should not be overcome by pride, but should acknowledge our weakness and ask Allah Ta‘ala to forgive us for our shortcomings. We should bear in mind that He alone gave us the tawfeeq to carry out the righteous action, so we should make du‘aa for istiqaamah (steadfastness). Finally, we should turn to Him for assistance in fulfilling all our needs.
(Extracted from Ma‘aariful Quraan vol. 2, pg. 200)