Blame Thyself The Sunday Guardian | May 9, 2010 | Page 10
The prophet of Islam and his companions suffered defeat twice, at the Battle of Uhud (625 AD) and at the Battle of Hunayn (630 AD). On the occasion of Uhud, they suffered total defeat and at Hunayn they suffered partial defeat.
Their opponents were the aggressors and the Muslims were the defenders. This was the case in terms of justice and injustice. But the Quran, reviewing both events, said nothing against the opposite party but gave advice to the Muslims, pointing out their weakness. In the case of Uhud, the Quran pointed out the lack of unity in their fold. The following are the Quranic words: "And God made good His promise to you when by His leave you were about to destroy your foes, until you showed weakness and you disagreed among yourselves (concerning the prophet’s direction) and disobeyed it, after He had brought you within sight of what you wished for." (3:152)
In the case of Hunayn, the Quran pointed out the sense of pride among the Muslims. Referring to his Battle, the Quran says: Indeed, God has helped you on many occasions. On the day of Hunayn, when you took pride in your great numbers, they proved of no avail to you – for the earth, despite all its vastness, became (too) narrow for you and you turned back, in retreat.
According to Quranic teachings, if you face any kinds of undesirable experience from another persons or group, you should not try to protest against others or register your complaint against them. You should rather try to find out your own weakness, your own vulnerable point, that gave the other party the opportunity to overcome you. The only right thing to do is to engage in introspection in order to discover your own weakness and then to reassess your own planning.