r tfKlli"ll and Dtftat
a decision, put your truSt in God. For God loves dlOSC who put their trust
in Him.^40127The string o f events leading ( 0 defeat had started with the decision
taken against the Propher's op inion; then, of course, there had been the
archers' diso bedience. The Quran here confirms the principle of s/;ura,
cor:sultatio n, whatever the result; this Revelarior: is o f crucial importance
anc states that the principle of deliberation, of majority decision making,
is not to be negotiated and must be respected beyond historical contin-
gencies and human mistakes in decisions. J\luslims are, therefore, those
who "conduct their affairs by mUNal consultation," and that principle
must remain even though the ways in which it is implemented cannot fail
to change o ver time and from place to place.^41
As far as the archers' disobedience is concerned, Revelation points out
that the Pro phet's qualities of hean were what enabled him to overcome
the SIN atlOn and keep his Companions around him. He was neimer bru-
tal nor stern, and he did no t condemn them for being carried away by the
re[erive g reed stemming from their past cuStoms. His gentleness soothed
their pain and enabled th em to draw many lessons from that setback: God
accompanied their fate insofar as mey themselves feil responsible for it.
Just as there was no room for fatalism in revealed teachings, there was no
room either for the air)' o ptimism that their path would be easy just
because they struggled for God's sake. On the contrary, faith required
additional rigor in terms of respect for principles, additional feeling in
hlLlIan relations, and adclitional cautio n abo ut the risk of complacency.
Ul:ud had been that lesson in fragility. and the v."Ounded Prophet, after the
battle, reminded everyone that anything could happen: his blood
expressed and recalled his blatant humanity.