Peace After Fear
Expounding upon the verse:
وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ خَوۡفِهِمۡ أَمۡنًاۚ
“[…] and that He will, surely, give them in exchange security and peace after their fear”, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:
“The Khulafa never had to face any such trial owing to which they had to experience fear. And if they did, then this was transformed into a state of peace by God Almighty. Undoubtedly, Hazrat Umar (ra) was martyred, but when one ponders over the historical facts, it becomes evident that Hazrat Umar (ra) did not have any fear of him being martyred. In fact, he would repeatedly pray, ‘O Allah! Grant me the station of martyrdom, and that too, in the city of Medina.’
Thus, how could anyone possibly claim that a person who spent his entire life praying to be granted the station of martyrdom in Medina was made to experience fear at the time of his martyrdom and the state of his fear was not transformed into a state of peace? If Hazrat Umar (ra) was fearful of being martyred and was subsequently martyred, then it could have been said that God did not transform the state of fear into peace. However, Hazrat Umar (ra) would pray, ‘O Allah! Grant me the station of martyrdom in Medina.’
“Thus, in light of the incident of his martyrdom, how could anyone claim that he feared being martyred? In fact, since he did not fear being martyred and would pray for it, and God Almighty accepted his prayer, it is therefore evident that according to this verse, he never experienced any kind of fear. And, just as I have mentioned earlier, this verse states that anything which the Khulafa have fear of can never occur. Moreover, it is the promise of Allah the Almighty that He shall give them in exchange security and peace after their fear. However, if one does not even fear something, rather considers it to be a means of his honour and elevating his rank, then it is futile to claim that he experienced fear and to question why was it not transformed into a state of peace.”
This is a point which ought to be understood. Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) further states:
“When I read this prayer of Hazrat Umar (ra), I thought to myself that this means, in other words, that the enemy would have to attack Medina and the attack would be so intense that all the Muslims would be destroyed. Thereafter, the enemy would reach the Khalifa of the time and martyr him as well. However, Allah the Almighty accepted the prayer of Hazrat Umar (ra) but at the same time also created such means whereby the honour of Islam was safeguarded. Thus, instead of an external attack being launched on Medina, a wretched individual from within the city martyred him with a dagger.”
(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 6, 378)