But when a misfortune or hardship afflicts the whole community...

But when a misfortune or hardship afflicts the whole community, it stuns them all; it numbs their minds, and clouds their vision; it looks as if the whole society has lost its collective wisdom. It disrupts not only the individual, but even the collective life. Fear terrorizes, panic overwhelms, and minds boggle down; courage deserts and dread reigns supreme. A collective misfortune is, in short, much harder to bear and much more bitter in taste. And it is these that the verse point to.

But not every collective affliction, like epidemic or famine. What the verses describe is in all encompassing affliction which shall be brought about as a consequence of the believers' faith itself. They have accepted the belief of monotheism; they have answered the call of the truth. The whole world and especially their own kith and kin are united against them.

The enemies are trying, with all the forces at their command, to extinguish the light of Allah, to erase the word of justice, to nullify the call of truth. The conflict has reached a stage where both parties realize that fighting is the only way out. Both parties have exhausted all other resources they had. The unbelievers first had tried to achieve their goal by arguments and mischief mongering, by whispering campaigns and unsettling rumors. But all was in vain.

All their endeavors failed to give them any satisfaction they did not harm the Muslims in the way they wanted. Now, from their point of view, nothing was left but to wage war against the Muslims and to annihilate them. Only then, the path of truth could be blocked and the bright light of Islam extinguished.

As from the believers' point of view, only the fighting could now help them in their endeavor to propagate the creed of monotheism ' to spread the true religion and just rule, to cut at the root of falsehood. The past experience has proved that truth gains strength only when falsehood is removed and now it cannot be removed except by force.

In short, the verses indicate that the great trial is near at hand it mentions martyrdom in the way of Allah, and praises it laudably, saying that it is not a death, it is life and what a life indeed! Accordingly death in the way of Allah, is a distinction which is desirable not a thing to dislike or fear. The verses encourage the believers to fight for Islam. They are told that there is coming to them a trial, a hardship.