What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And do not throw your own hands into destruction”?
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The questioner : Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says in this verse: [Al-Baqarah 2:195].
The Shaykh : This verse was revealed regarding the abandonment of jihad, and it is not as people think, interpreting this verse as applying to permissible risk-taking. Rather, this verse was revealed when the Ansar relied on their land, their crops, and their planting, and some of them became preoccupied with that instead of jihad in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse, meaning: do not throw your own hands into destruction by becoming occupied with trade and agriculture instead of jihad in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so that love of this world takes control of you, and consequently the enemy gains power over you.
and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]
ولا تلقوا بأيديكم إلى التهلكةThe Shaykh : This verse was revealed regarding the abandonment of jihad, and it is not as people think, interpreting this verse as applying to permissible risk-taking. Rather, this verse was revealed when the Ansar relied on their land, their crops, and their planting, and some of them became preoccupied with that instead of jihad in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse, meaning: do not throw your own hands into destruction by becoming occupied with trade and agriculture instead of jihad in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so that love of this world takes control of you, and consequently the enemy gains power over you.