The Most Profitable Bargain

By Sayyid Qutb

Allah has bought of the believers their lives and their property, promising them heaven in return: they fight for the cause of Allah, kill and be killed. This is a true promise which He has made binding on Himself in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’ān. Who is more true to his promise than Allah? Rejoice, then, in the bargain you have made with Him. That is the supreme triumph. (Verse 111, Surah Thawbah)

This Verse is an inspiring verse, revealing the nature of the relationship between the believers and Allah, and the nature of the deal they make with Allah when they adopt Islam and which remains in force throughout their lives. Whoever makes this deal and remains true to it is the one who may truly be described as a believer reflecting the nature of faith. Otherwise his claim to be a believer remains short of proof.

The nature of this deal, or this contract of sale, as Allah graciously describes it, is that He has taken for Himself the souls and property of the believers, leaving them nothing of all that. They do not retain any part of that which they would feel too dear to sacrifice for His cause. They no longer have any choice whether to spend it in furthering His cause or not. It is indeed a deal that has been concluded and sealed.

The buyer may do what He likes, as He pleases, with what He has bought. The seller has no option other than to fulfil the terms of the deal. He cannot argue or make any choices. He can only do what the deal specifies. The price given for this purchase is paradise, and the way to be followed by the sellers is that of jihād, fighting and sacrificing their lives, and the end result is either victory or martyrdom.

“Allah has bought of the believers their lives and their property, promising them heaven in return: they fight for the cause of Allah, kill and be killed.” (Verse 111) Whoever is party to this deal, signing the contract, paying the price agreed is a true believer. It is with the believers that Allah has made this deal of purchase. He has bestowed His grace on them by specifying a price. He is, after all, the One who gives life and property to all His creation, and He has also given human beings the ability to make a choice. He then bestowed further grace on human beings by making them able to make contracts, even with Allah Himself, and holding them to their contracts. He makes the honoring of their contract an evidence of their humanity, while going back on it is evidence of sinking back to the level of animals, and the worst of animals: “Indeed, the worst of all creatures in Allah’s sight are the ones who have denied the truth, and therefore will not believe; those with whom you have concluded a treaty, and then they break their treaty at every occasion, entertaining no sense of fearing Allah.” (8: 55-56) He has also made the honoring or violation of such deals the criterion of reckoning and reward.

It is indeed an awesome deal, but it remains binding on every believer who is able to honor its terms. He is not to be exempt from it unless he goes back on his faith. Hence the sense of dread that I feel now as I am writing these words. “Allah has bought of the believers their lives and their property, promising them heaven in return: they fight for the cause of Allah, kill and be killed.” (Verse 111) My Lord, we certainly need Your help.

The deal fills us with awe. Yet those who are claiming to be Muslims everywhere, from the far east to the far west are sitting idle, unwilling to strive hard in order to establish the fundamental truth of Allah’s Lordship on earth, or to remove the tyranny which usurps the qualities of Lordship over human life on earth. They are unwilling to fight, kill and be killed for Allah’s cause, and unwilling to undertake a struggle that does not involve fighting and sacrificing one’s life.

These words touched the hearts of the early Muslims at the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and were transformed into a reality that they would experience in life. They were not mere words carrying certain abstract meanings for contemplation and reflection.

They were meant for immediate implementation. This is how `Abdullah ibn Rawahah felt at the time of the second pledge given by the Ansar to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) at `Aqabah as reported by Muhammad ibn Ka`b al-Qurazi and others: “ `Abdullah ibn Rawahah asked Allah’s Messenger(Peace beupon) to specify Allah’s conditions and his own conditions. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: `As for Allah, the condition is that you worship Him alone, associating no partners with Him. And as for myself, the condition is that you protect me like you protect yourselves and your property.’ He said: ‘What do we get in return if we fulfill these terms?’ The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: ‘Paradise.’ They all said: ‘This is a profitable deal. We accept no going back and we will not go back on it ourselves.’”

That is how they felt about the whole contract: it was a profitable deal that allows no going back by either party. They treated it as a final deal concluded and sealed, with no opting out clause. The price, which is paradise, is paid, not deferred. Is it not a promise made by Allah Himself? Is He not the purchaser? Is He not the One who has made an old promise specifying the price in all His revelations: “This is a true promise which He has made binding on Himself in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’ān.” (Verse 111)

“Who is more true to his promise than Allah?” (Verse 111) Indeed a promise by Allah is certain to be honored. No one fulfills his promises like He does.

Jihad, or striving for Allah’s cause, is a deal made by every believer, ever since the first Messenger was sent to mankind with a religion setting out the principles of faith. It is a course of action that is necessary to put life on a proper footing. Without it human life will not follow its right course. It is as Allah says in the Qur’ān: “Had it not been for the fact that Allah repels one group of people by another, the earth would have been utterly corrupted.” (2: 251) And He also says: “Had it not been for the fact that Allah repels one group of people by another, monasteries, temples, houses of worship and mosques, wherein Allah’s name is often praised, would have been pulled down.” (22: 40)