Moving to verse 46, we see that believers have been prompted to follow a third instruction and that أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَرَ‌سُولَهُ (obey Allah and His Messenger) - because, help and support from Allah Ta` ala can be expected to come only through obedience to Him. Negligence and disobedience can only be the causes of the displeasure of Allah and a certain deprivation from whatever grace could come from Him. Thus, we have before us three articles of the Qur'anic code of conduct for the battle-field: (1) Firmness (2) Dhikr of Allah (3) Obedience. After that, it was said: وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِ‌يحُكُمْ ۖ وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and do not dispute, lest you should show weakness and should lose your predominance, and be patient -46).

Given here is a warning against negative aspects of conduct which must be avoided. As for the negative conduct which impedes successful war effort, it is nothing but mutual difference and disputation. Therefore, it was said: وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا (and do not dispute - 46) for mutual dissension and discord would breed cowardice among them and they would soon lose their image of dominance.

The verse points out to two end-products of this mutual dissension: (1) That you would become personally weak and cowardly and (2) that you would lose your predominance and turn low in the sight of the enemy. The fact that mutual disputation would make disputants appear low in the sight of others is obvious, but how does it affect one's own strength to the limit that it turns into weakness and cowardice? The reason is that, given mutual unity and trust, everyone is backed up by the strength of a whole group. Therefore, one individual feels the relative strength of his whole group in himself and once that mutual unity and trust is gone what remains behind is no more than his own solitary strength - which, obviously, means nothing in a killing field.

After that, it was said: وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and be patient - 46). Looking at the context of the statement, this appears to have been suggested as a successful prescription of remaining safe from getting involved in dissension and disputes. To elucidate, it can be said that no matter how united in thinking and objectives a group may be, but physical traits of human individuals remain different after all. Then, the divergence of opinion among the informed and experienced in the process of achieving a certain purpose is also inevitable. Therefore, in order to go along with others and to keep them together, there is no alternative but that one should be used to remaining patient over counter-temperamental matters of concern and being accustomed to ignoring them when necessary. In other words, one should not be so rigid and uncompromising over his personal opinion that, in the event it was not accepted, he would explode and fight. Sabr or patience is just another name for this quality of resilience. These days everyone knows and says that mutual dispute is very bad, but the master stroke of remaining safe from it - that one trains himself to become used to remaining patient over what does not match his physical temperament and that he does not worry about making people say yes to his view and see that they go by it - is something very few people have learnt to employ successfully. As a result, all sermons of unity and harmony are rendered useless. So, it can be conceded that one does not normally have the capability to make the other person surrender to his view, but two things still remain pos-sible: (1) That he himself accepts what the other person has to say (2) and should the dictate of his reason and justice goad him not to accept it, then, the least he could still do is to say nothing for the sake of averting a possible dispute. This much is, after all, within one's power and control. Therefore, along with the instruction to avoid dissension and dispute, the Holy Qur'an has also exhorted every individual of a group to observe patience so that avoiding disputes becomes easy in practice.

Also worth pondering at this stage is the statement made in the Qur'an when it has said: لَا تَنَازَعُوا (and do not dispute - 46). Here, it has stopped mutual disputation, not any difference of opinion or its expression. Difference of opinion which is prompted by honesty and sincerity never develops into disputation. Quarrels and disputations are generated when things go beyond ordinary difference of opinion, particularly when gripped by the emotional attitude of making the other person accept what one says and not to accept what the other person does. And this emotional attitude is what the Holy Qur'an has eliminated by saying: وَاصْبِرُ‌وا (and be patient - 46). Then, at the end, by pointing out to the most sublime gain to be made from the observance of patience, it removes whatever unpalatable there may be about it. It was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ (Allah is with the patient - 46). That they have the company of Allah Ta` ala all the time and under all conditions is so great a wealth that wealth of the world and beyond, as we do or do not know, are just nothing as compared to that honour.

It was to make these very instructions become their ever-present response, the Holy Prophet ﷺ delivered the following sermon right there on the site of combat during many a battles of Islam:

"0 my people, do not look forward to fight the enemy in a combat. Rather, pray that Allah keeps you in a state of peace and well-being. However, when the inevitable happens and you have to confront them, then, stand firm and be patient and be assured that Paradise lies under the shade of swords." [ Muslim ]