I found myself unexpectedly moved by this utterance ولينصرنّ الله من ينصره “God helps whomsoever helps Him” Q22:40. It is one of the most explicit descriptions of the causal relationship between the Creator and His creation via the intimacy between humanity and His attributes; a description the intensity of which is muted in the English rendering. God’s ينصر is doubly stressed in this ayah لـ+ينصر+نّ, compared to man’s ينصر , as if to say “God’s help is immeasurable and unmistakably clear” to those who use their ‘aql.
"Those who have been driven unjustly from their homes only for saying, ‘Our Lord is God.’ If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God’s name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause- God is strong and mighty" Q22:40
The preservation of houses of worship established for knowing Him is indeed something virtuous, a reflection of His Attribute of “Helper”.
When I hear this utterance, I feel the primordial questions implanted in me are suddenly awakened:
“Who put me here? What is my purpose? Who or what is the source of this [attribute of ‘help’] in the world and what is its relationship to me?”
I know of nothing in this world that is inherently a “helper” — nothing owning this quality — rather this quality must be projected onto the members of this creation from some eternal infinite storehouse, as it is shared by myriads of apparent helpers of different forms. The appearance of this attribute — according to the Quranic Message — is a clear sign of my Creator, the Eternal Owner of this quality. The person who helps من ينصر , is thereby miraculously reflecting the sign of God’s attribute “The Helper”. This clear sign is communicated to everyone all the time in the myriad of “helpers” in this world, reaching our faculty of ‘aql which is fashioned to discern and recognize signs of God.
Addendum:
The ayah reaffirmed for me the famous verse in al-Anfal
"So, you did not kill them, but Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw but Allah did throw, so that He may bless the believers with a good favor. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing." Q8:17
That is to say, those who help God (by defending His houses) are in fact fulfilled by God’s Help. This I find in the meaning of ” Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of other” of Q22:40 above. It’s a reminder to me that everywhere I see Nasr/Help in this world – even in my own deeds – it is in fact only a reflective reminder/proof of God’s Attribute from His infinite treasury.
