THE REAL FOLLOWERS AND WHO ARE NOT OF THE PATH OF SUBMISSION AND TRUTH,

فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُمْ بِنَهَرٍ فَمَنْ شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَنْ لَمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي إِلَّا مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ ۚ فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْهُمْ ۚ فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ قَالُوا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ ۚ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُو اللَّهِ كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ {2:249}

[Q2:249] Falammaa fasala Taalootu biljunoodi qaala innal laaha mubtaleekum binaharin faman shariba minhu falaisa minnee wa mallam yat'amhu fa innahoo minneee illaa manigh tarafa ghurfatam biyadih; fashariboo minhu illaa qaleelamminhum; falammaa jaawazahoo huwa wallazeena aamanoo ma'ahoo qaaloo laa taaqata lanal yawma bi Jaaloota wa junoodih; qaalallazeena yazunnoona annahum mulaaqul laahi kam min fi'atin qaleelatin ghalabat fi'atan kaseeratam bi iznil laah; wallaahuma'as saabireen.

[Q2:249] So when Talut departed with the forces, he said: Surely ALLAH (SWT) 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 (SWT)'s permission, and ALLAH (SWT) is with the patient.

[Q2:249] Kemudian apabila Talut keluar bersama-sama tenteranya, berkatalah ia: “Sesungguhnya ALLAH (SwT) akan menguji kamu dengan sebatang sungai, oleh itu sesiapa di antara kamu yang meminum airnya maka bukanlah ia dari pengikutku, dan sesiapa yang tidak merasai airnya maka sesungguhnya ia dari pengikutku, kecuali orang yang menceduk satu cedukan dengan tangannya”. (Sesudah diingatkan demikian) mereka meminum juga dari sungai itu (dengan sepuas-puasnya), kecuali sebahagian kecil dari mereka. Setelah Talut bersama-sama orang-orang yang beriman menyeberangi sungai itu, berkatalah orang-orang yang meminum (sepuas-puasnya): “Kami pada hari ini tidak terdaya menentang Jalut dan tenteranya”. Berkata pula orang-orang yang yakin bahawa mereka akan menemui ALLAH (SwT): “Berapa banyak (yang pernah terjadi), golongan yang sedikit berjaya menewaskan golongan yang banyak dengan izin ALLAH (SwT); dan ALLAH (SwT) (sentiasa) bersama-sama orang-orang yang sabar”.

THIS VERSE DEPICTS THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE THE REAL FOLLOWERS OF THE PATH OF SUBMISSION AND TRUTH, AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT. [1] HE WHO LEADS THE PEOPLE must have the knowledge of what is good and what is evil for his followers, AND [2] ALSO should be able to find out ways and means to correctly ascertain the sincerity of their faith.

Talut tests his men by means of the river (saying: whoever then drinks from it, he is not of me, AND whoever does not taste of it, he is certainly of me, except he who takes as much of it as fills his hand), BUT only a few of them are found faithful.

IT MUST BE NOTED that although the men with Talut were aware of their weakness against Jalut, they did not desert him, BUT HISTORY IS A WITNESS TO THE FACT THAT SOME OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) not only ran away from the battlefield (Uhad) BUT ALSO advised their comrades to return to their former state of idolatry, BECAUSE they loudly announced that the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) had been killed.

ò  They did not realise that Ali (the hand of ALLAH (SWT) was there to defend the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) AND disperse the hordes of enemy soldiers single-handedly and turn the impending defeat into a glorious victory.

ò  Ali did the same in every battle that the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) fought against the infidels (see the books of history written by well-known Muslim authors),

BUT AFTER THE DEPARTURE of the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad), the deserters became the heroes of Islam AND Ali was forced to withdraw himself from the public life, ALTHOUGH he continued to guide the sincere followers who came to him to seek guidance and wisdom.

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(2:249) And when Saul marched out with his army, he warned: "Allah is going to put you to a test by the side of a river: whoso drinks of its water shall cease to be my companion: he alone shall be~my companion who does not quench his thirst with its water: one may, however, take except a few, drank their fill of it. *271 Afterwards when Saul, and those who had believed with him, crossed the river and advanced forward, the former said to Saul, "We have no power left this day to fight against Goliath and his hosts." *272  But those who believed that one Day they shall meet Allah, declared, "lt has often been that a small host has, by Allah's grace, overcome a big host: for Allah is with those who show fortitude."

*271. This may refer either to the river Jordan or to some other river or stream in that region. Saul wanted to take the Israelite army across the river. He was aware, however, that there was little moral discipline and restraint left in them. Hence he hit upon this device to distinguish the worthy from the worthyless. Those who could not endure thirst even for a short while, would not be expected to remain steadfast in their confrontation with an enemy at whose hands they had already taken a beating. 
*272. These were presumable the people who had shown their impatience on the bank of the river. (See the preceding note - Ed.