What Quran Says about Order and Discipline in Military Affairs
According to the Quran, God loves those fighting on His path: “God loves those who fight for His cause in battlefield formations firm as an unbreakable concrete wall.” (Verse 4 of Surah Saff)
Battle field formations are one of the manifestations of order and in this verse it is accompanied by “unbreakable concreate”, which is a characteristics of Muslim soldiers.
With beautiful and precise descriptions, the Holy Quran tell us about the secrets to the victory of the army of the truth and also the factors that lead to defeat.
Lack of discipline and failing to obey the orders of the commander are among the reasons for a defeat of the army of the truth in the Battle of Uhud.
In that battle, a number of sliders disobeyed the commander and left the position they had been ordered to guard and that led to the defeat of the army of Islam.
The Quran says in this regard: “God certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were fighting the unbelievers, by His permission. Even after We showed you what you wanted, you began to lose courage, started quarreling with each other, and disobeyed God's orders. Some of you want worldly gains and others of you want rewards in the hereafter. Then He let you face defeat in order to test you. However, He forgave you. God is Gracious to the believers.” (Verse 152 of Surah Al-Imran)
In another example, the disobedience of the people of Moses (AS) and their lack of discipline caused them to be stranded in the desert for forty years because they did not obey the divine order to enter the holy land: “They said: ‘Moses, we will never go in so long as they are in it. Go, you and your Lord, to fight. We will stay here.’” (Verse 24 of Surah Al-Ma’idah)
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In response to this disobedience, God said: “The land will be prohibited to them for forty years (during all such time) they will wander in the land. Do not feel sad for the evil-doing people.” (Verse 26 of Surah Al-Ma’idah)
Among other verses that underline the need for order and discipline in military affairs is Verse 249 of Surah Al-Baqarah, which is about the military forces of Talut:
“So when Talut departed with the forces, he said: Surely Allah will try you with a river; whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is surely of me, except he who takes with his hand as much of it as fills the hand; but with the exception of a few of them they drank from it. So when he had crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said: We have today no power against Jalut and his forces. Those who were sure that they would meet their Lord said: How often has a small party vanquished a numerous host by Allah's permission, and Allah is with the patient.”
