Islam Guidance

Verse250

(250) وَلَمَّا بَرَزُواْ لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

250. " So when they encountered Goliath and his troops, they said: ' Our Lord! pour down upon us patience, and make our steps firm, and help us against the disbelieving people '."
Commentary:
In this verse, the incident of those two forces facing each other is pointed out. It says:
" So when they encountered Goliath and his troops, they said: ' Our Lord! pour down upon us patience, and make our steps firm, and help us against the disbelieving people '."
In fact, Saul and his troops asked for three things from their Lord in their prayer, and the prayer is well graded. First, patience and perseverance was prayed for. Their second beseech from Allah was steadfastness in the field.

They asked Him to make their steps firm in order that they would not flee. The first invocation, indeed, had an inward aspect while the second prayer had an apparent and outward aspect; and surely the firmness of step is one of the consequences of the spirit of patience and perseverance.
Their third prayer was that Allah might help them to be victorious against those infidels. That was, of course, the result or the reward of those two qualities: i.e. patience and perseverance, and being firm in the battlefield.
Bible says:
9. " And it was so, that when he (Saul) had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart."
10. " And the spirit or God came upon him and he prophesied. (Samuel 10: 9.10)
* * * *
There is some similar incident mentioned in the Bible (Judges 7: 1-6) of trying the people with thirst, but that is a different incident. It was when Gideon tried his forces by the ' Well of Harod '. The trial of the people under Saul was by the river.
From this verse it becomes clear that the one who leads the people should have inspired knowledge of good and evil for his followers and be able to conduct trials of the people's faith as was Saul who directed his men not to drink more than one handful of water from the river, even though they were dying of thirst. It was only a trial that a few, who were true believers, succeeded and Allah helped them to win Goliath and his troops.

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