الَّذِينَ قَالُوا لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ وَقَعَدُوا لَوْ أَطَاعُونَا مَا قُتِلُوا قُلْ فَادْرَءُوا عَنْ أَنْفُسِكُمُ الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۱۶۸﴾ وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ ﴿۱۶۹﴾ فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿۱۷۰﴾ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿۱۷۱﴾
﴾168﴿ Allazeena qaaloo li ikhwaanihim wa qa'adoo law ataa'oonaa maa qutiloo; qul fadra'oo'an anfusikumul mawta in kuntum saadiqeen
﴾169﴿ Wa laa tahsabannal lazeena qutiloo fee sabeelillaahi amwaata; bal ahyaaa'un 'inda Rabbihim yurzaqoon
﴾170﴿ Fariheena bimaaa aataa humul laahu min fadlihee wa yastabshiroona billazeena lam yalhaqoo bihim min khalfihim allaa khawfun 'alaihim wa laa hum yahzanoon
﴾171﴿ Yastabshiroona bini'matim minal laahi wa fad linw wa annal laaha laa yudee'u ajral mu'mineen
﴾168﴿ They are those who said about their brothers while staying back (from striving), “If they had obeyed us, they would not have been killed.” Say: “Then prevent death from yourselves, if you are truthful.”
﴾169﴿ And do not think of those who have been killed in the path of Allah as dead (like ordinary dead); rather, they are alive, receiving provision near their Lord.
﴾170﴿ They rejoice in what Allah has given them of His bounty, and they bring glad tidings regarding those (believers) who have not yet joined them—that there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
﴾171﴿ They rejoice in the favor of Allah and His bounty, and in the fact that Allah does not let the reward of the believers go to waste.
[168] In this verse, one fault is mentioned. (لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ) – here, “brothers” refers to tribal or communal brotherhood.
[169] Since the previous verse showed that the hypocrites regarded martyrdom in the path of Allah as something ordinary, this verse describes the greatness of the martyrs to refute their assumption. That’s why it begins with (وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ) – do not think that these are like ordinary dead who are deprived of pleasures and delights; rather, after death, martyrs enjoy blessings in Barzakh (the intermediate state), and this is the highest level of Barzakh-life for martyrs. For the Prophets, this life is even greater. It is also called a spiritual life, and sometimes it affects the body so that their bodies are preserved from decay.
Further explanation is found in verse (154) of Surah al-Baqarah. (يُرْزَقُونَ) – this means provision in Barzakh, the reality and details of which are only known to Allah. In this verse, four aspects of glad tidings are mentioned.
[170] In this verse, two points of glad tidings are mentioned. The meaning is that the families and relatives of the martyrs—who also have faith and monotheism, though their love and striving were not like those of the martyrs—Allah will also admit them into Paradise. The martyrs receive glad tidings about them with the words (خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ) (“no fear upon them”).
[171] In this verse, three points of glad tidings are mentioned:
Ni‘mah (blessing) is that a full reward is given.
Fadl (bounty) is that they are given even more.
(وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ) means that their reward is never decreased nor lost in any way.