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mā kāna li-ʾahli l-madīnati wa-man ḥawlahum mina l-ʾaʿrābi ʾan yatakhallafū ʿan rasūli llāhi wa-lā yarghabū bi-ʾanfusihim ʿan nafsihī dhālika bi-ʾannahum lā yuṣībuhum ẓamaʾun wa-lā naṣabun wa-lā makhmaṣatun fī sabīli llāhi wa-lā yaṭaʾūna mawṭiʾan yaghīẓu l-kuffāra wa-lā yanālūna min ʿaduwwin naylan ʾillā kutiba lahum bihī ʿamalun ṣāliḥun ʾinna llāha lā yuḍīʿu ʾajra l-muḥsinīna
It is not fitting for the people of Madinah and the Bedouins around them to hang back behind the Apostle of Allah and prefer their own lives to his life. That is because they neither experience any thirst, nor fatigue, nor hunger, in the way of Allah, nor do they tread any ground enraging the faithless, nor do they gain any ground against an enemy but a righteous deed is written for them on its account. Indeed Allah does not waste the reward of the virtuous.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah At-Tawbah – Verse 120
120 . “It is not for the people of Medina and the Bedouins around them to offend against the (command of) the Messenger of Allah, and to prefer their own lives to his life. That is because there afflicts them neither thirst, nor fatigue, nor hunger in the way of Allah, nor do they receive (any thing) from the enemy but a righteous deed is written for them on its account. Verily Allah does not waste the reward of the good-doers.”
The content of this verse is a kind of proclamation of general mobilization, and encouraging the Muslims toward participation in Holy Struggle and defending the life of the Prophet (S). Through this verse, the Qur’ān warns the Muslims habitated in Medina and around it that they should not offend against the command of going to Holy Struggle beside the Prophet of Islam (S). They must not think of their own lives dearer than the life of the Prophet (S) but they must defend his life before the enemy by their own lives.
It is evident that in battles the protection of the life of the commander is an important duty upon the army, since if the commander be killed the army may be defeated. In the battles that the Prophet (S) participated, he himself undertook the rank of a commander, and then, it was necessary for the Muslims to prefer his life to their own lives and to protect it from any danger. Participation in Holy Struggle, of course, is a sufficient necessity, and when sufficient men, who can afford the defense and war, attend in the scene, it is not necessary for the rest to participate.
But, when the Prophet (S) or the Imam (as) invites a particular person to Holy Struggle, it will become an individual duty for him to obey, and its offense is not permissible. At the advent of Islam, the number of Muslims was small, and when a war happened, the Holy Prophet (S) invited all those Muslims who had the ability of fighting to the battle- field and he proclaimed a general mobilization thereby. Therefore, all of them should take part in the battle and no offending was allowed. This verse, which concerns to that very period, warns the people of Medina and its Bedouins; who were the only power of Islam, not to offend from the Holy Struggle beside the Prophet (S). The holy verse says:
Next to expressing this meaning, in the continuation of the verse, and in relation to the troops of Islam, the Qur’ān points out that Allah gives the strivers in His way some good rewards for the hardships they tolerate. It says: