Tafsir

Threatening the Jews With Defeat and Encouraging Them to Learn a Lesson From the Battle of Badr

Allah commanded the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to proclaim to the disbelievers,سَتُغْلَبُونَ(You will be defeated) in this life,وَتُحْشَرُونَ(And gathered together) on the Day of Resurrection,إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ(to Hell, and worst indeed is that place of rest)Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar recorded that `Asim bin `Umar bin Qatadah said that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gained victory in the battle of Badr and went back to Al-Madinah, he gathered the Jews in the marketplace of Bani Qaynuqa`.

Therefore, Allah said,قَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ ءَايَةٌ(There has already been a sign for you) meaning, O Jews, who said what you said! You have an Ayah, meaning proof, that Allah will make His religion prevail, award victory to His Messenger, make His Word apparent and His religion the highest.فِي فِئَتَيْنِ(In the two armies) meaning, two camps,الْتَقَتَا(that met) in combat (in Badr),فِئَةٌ تُقَـتِلُ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ(One was fighting in the Cause of Allah) the Muslims,وَأُخْرَى كَافِرَةٌ(And as for the other, in disbelief) meaning, the idolators of Quraysh at Badr. Allah's statement,يَرَوْنَهُمْ مِّثْلَيْهِمْ رَأْىَ الْعَيْنِ(They saw them with their own eyes twice their number) means, the idolators thought that the Muslims were twice as many as they were, for Allah made this illusion a factor in the victory that Islam had over them.

It was said that the meaning of Allah's statement,يَرَوْنَهُمْ مِّثْلَيْهِمْ رَأْىَ الْعَيْنِ(They saw them with their own eyes twice their number) is that the Muslims saw twice as many idolators as they were, yet Allah gave them victory over the disbelievers. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "When we looked at the disbelievers' forces, we found that they were twice as many as we were. When we looked at them again, we thought they did not have one man more than we had. So Allah's statement,وَإِذْ يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ إِذِ الْتَقَيْتُمْ فِى أَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيلاً وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِى أَعْيُنِهِمْ(And (remember) when you met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes and He made you appear as few in their eyes.) 8:44".

When the two camps saw each other, the Muslims thought that the idolators were twice as many as they were, so that they would trust in Allah and seek His help. The idolators thought that the believers were twice as many as they were, so that they would feel fear, horror, fright and despair. When the two camps stood in lines and met in battle, Allah made each camp look smaller in the eyes of the other camp, so that they would be encouraged to fight each other,لِّيَقْضِيَ اللَّهُ أَمْراً كَانَ مَفْعُولاً(so that Allah might accomplish a matter already ordained.) 8:42 meaning, so that the truth and falsehood are distinguishable, and thus the word of faith prevails over disbelief and deviation, so that the believers prevail and the disbelievers are humiliated. In a similar statement, Allah said;وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ(And Allah has already made you victorious at Badr, when you were a weak little force) 3:123.

In this Ayah 3:13 Allah said,وَاللَّهُ يُؤَيِّدُ بِنَصْرِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لاوْلِى الاٌّبْصَـرِ(And Allah supports with His victory whom He wills. Verily, in this is a lesson for those who understand.) meaning, this should be an example for those who have intelligence and sound comprehension. They should contemplate about Allah's wisdom, decisions and decree, that He gives victory to His believing servants in this life and on the Day the witnesses stand up to testify.

Sequence

In the previous verses, the disbelievers were informed that they will be overcome. Now, cited in this verse is an example of how the prophecy has been fulfilled.

Commentary

This verse refers to the Battle of Badr in which the disbelievers had about 1000 men, 700 camels and 100 horses, while the Muslim mujahidin were just over 300, having a total of 70 camels, 2 horses, 6 armours and 8 swords. The encounter was certainly strange as each combating group saw the opponent being twice its own numbers. The sighting of so many Muslims inspired awe in the hearts of the disbelievers, while Muslims who saw the disbelievers as twice of them turned to Allah more fervently. They had hopes of Allah's help, and ultimate victory, because they had placed their total trust in Allah, were steadfast and sincerely believed in the promise of Allah revealed to them in the following words:إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّـهِIf there be among you a hundred patient one, they shall over-come two hundred. (8:66)If the actual number of disbelievers which was three times more than their own were to be realized by Muslims, they may have been overawed. This state of sighting the numbers of the other group as twice its own was at a particular time.

At another time each of the two combating groups felt the other one as low in numbers, as it would appear later in Surah al-Anfal.

To sum up, it can be safely said that making a small group of people with very little to fight against a much stronger group and score a victory, as prophesied in Makkah, is an unusual event full of lessons for the observant and the discerning.