If you were in the same army with Prophet David (pbuh) against Goliath, you would not recognize the prophet, because at the time he was no different than anybody else. So, you would call him David. Regardless of how you called him, however, one thing would be for sure: Commander Saul (referred to as Talut in the Quran), who was endorsed by the prophet Samuel, would pass the entire army through severe challenges before they met the enemy.
"And their prophet said to them, "Indeed, Allah has sent to you Saul as a king." They said, "How can he have kingship over us while we are more worthy of kingship than him and he has not been given any measure of wealth?" He said, "Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah gives His sovereignty to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing [in favor] and Knowing."" (Quran 2/247)
"And when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, "Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand." But they drank from it, except a [very] few of them. Then when he had crossed it along with those who believed with him, they said, "There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers." But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah . And Allah is with the patient."" (Quran 2/249)
"5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”" (Old Testament, Judges 7/5-7)
Having read the brief story, you may ponder whether you would be among those who drank water like a horse and lost the exam or those who drank it like the dogs and won. You may also ponder, given that you passed the exam and waiting for the battle to start, whether you would be among those who expressed despair in the face of grim reality or those who stood firm on the image of an irrational victory. In the following paragraphs, I would like to help you with your pondering by giving some psychological insight to those who stood firm in their faith in God.
But before psychology, first, some philosophy!
It is said that, among the names and attributes of God, Wahid and Ahad both mean "one", but they have different contexts and implications. I am not going to go into too much detail, but will just give a hint on the topic that is linked to our discussion here.
Wahid means one, and its one manifestation on the creation is the fact that all different entities exist and work in a harmony, in unison for the engendering of a result. Taking this name as the paradigm, no human being can claim to be the center of creation, for everything and everyone is there for a purpose destined by God. Whatever happens happens, whether you like it or not. Nevertheless, God's other names such as, Wise and Merciful, ensure that sooner or later there is overall good and justice. In the perspective of this name, we humans need to study and discover the language God communicates with us, i.e. science, and ask for what we need through this rational and non-private language.
Ahad also means one, and its manifestation on the creation is the fact that everything else in the universe and in nature exists and works in order to ensure the life and existence of a single being. In the perspective of this name of God, every human being becomes the star actor in the universe, and anything and everything happens in order for something special to be realized just for you. In this perspective, God communicates directly and privately with you through the life events. Therefore, your communication and presence with God engender calmness and a kind of happiness no matter what happens. Again in this perspective, you can demand from God whatever you need, even if it is irrational or unlikely.
In a previous blog, I had talked about taking risks, i.e. experimenting with your faith, as a way of proving to yourself that what you believe in is the truth. Seen by an outsider, your experiment could seem irrational (similar to Abraham pbuh breaking the idols), which is the perspective due to the name Wahid. But for you, it would be your communication with God through His name Ahad.
Returning to the story of David and others, you can see these two perspectives at work at the same time. Note that both of these perspectives are in line with faith, as people with both perspectives were present among those who passed the initial test. But God tells us in the Quran (2/249) that He wants from the believers both, since He wants us to know Him and submit to Him through all of His names.
"And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names." (7/180)So, we need to look deeper at those who were blessed both with the perspective of Al-Ahad and with the perspective of Al-Wahid. Now, we begin the psychological analysis.
Again in a previous blog on the first believers of the messengers, I had told that it is the messengers themselves who believe in the truth of what they proclaim to people. And for this to happen, God, Himself takes care of these chosen people. That is, He takes them through hard life events and insurmountable challenges so that they can develop a deeper faith in the existence, power and care of one God with all His names, Al-Ahad and Al-Wahid included. However, when you look at the same picture from the perspective of the human, i.e. the messenger, they get into irrational deals and take risks that defy the basic human instinct to survive.
Similarly, the people who are endowed with the perspective of Al-Ahad are those who have been in touch with God through this special and private line. Their lives are filled with minor or major, but continuous, experiences that reveal the hand of God to them, fortifying their faiths and commitment. That is why, when faced with dire situations, they can still expect from God the things that normal people deem unrealistic or dream.
What is strange is the fact that these people would consider their hope of extraordinary things from God as normal, and would reject the state of the "normal" people, who restrict their expectations from God to only what they normally see. A believer believes in the unseen, and the people trained with the manifestations of both Al-Ahad and Al-Wahid have seen elements of both, although the former may be much less. So, the fact that certain things don't normally (frequently) happen does not keep them from expecting such things from the All-Powerful One who does not lose focus on each and every individual whenever and wherever. Such lack of hope from God, hence a subconscious restriction on God's power based on the observed natural phenomena, is what is criticized in the Quran:
And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" Say, "He will give them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all creation, Knowing." (36/78-79)That is why those with David tell others that, with God's accordance, few people can defeat many. Conversely, that is why trust in the numbers can be a disguise of hypocrisy, which only reveals itself in the face of a fear triggered by the unusual.
"Allah would not leave the believers in that [state] you are in [presently] until He separates the evil from the good." (3/179)
