And they prepared

There was a fatwa program broadcast on a famous Arab channel after every Friday prayer. We would gather with our family after lunch in front of the TV and watch this program. During one of the episodes, an extremist or someone who sympathized with terrorist extremists called and asked to speak with the sheikh privately and clearly. When the sheikh agreed, the caller recited this holy verse: "And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy." (Surat Al-Anfal, verse 60) justifying the terrorism of terrorist groups and their criminal operations from which no sheikh, woman, child, or security officer was spared, etc. Questions began to mount up on me: Is this the true meaning of the verse? Did they employ the verse correctly? Or: Did they understand the verse and interpret it incorrectly? Did they exploit the verse in a twisted way to serve their criminal goals? What is power? What about (the tethering of horses)? What does (you terrorize) mean? Questions crowded my head, and for each question I found more than one answer, and each answer was radically different from the other answers to the same question.. Then I decided to delve into the most important era in the history of Islam, and I researched how the Noble Messenger applied this important and decisive verse and how he dealt with it, and how the Noble Messenger’s application of this verse resulted in the establishment of a great society that led the world from darkness to light.