Surah 3. Al-i'Imran, Ayah 13
| قَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ آيَةٌ فِي فِئَتَيْنِ الْتَقَتَا ۖ فِئَةٌ تُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَأُخْرَىٰ كَافِرَةٌ يَرَوْنَهُمْ مِثْلَيْهِمْ رَأْيَ الْعَيْنِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُؤَيِّدُ بِنَصْرِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۗ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ |
| Transliteration | : | qad kaana la- -kum 'aayah fe fi'atain iltaqataa fi'ah tuqaatil fe sabel 'allaah wa- 'ukhraa kaafirah yarawn -hum mithlai -him ra'y al- cayn wa- 'allaah yu'ayyid bi- nas.r -hi man yashaa' 'inna fe dhaalika la- cibrah li- 'ole al- abs.aar |
| Pickthall | : | There was a token for you in two hosts which met: one army fighting in the way of Allah, and another disbelieving, whom they saw as twice their number, clearly, with their very eyes. Thus Allah strengtheneth with His succour whom He will. Lo! herein verily is a lesson for those who have eyes. |
| Asad | : | You have already had a sign in the two hosts that met in battle, one host fighting in God's cause and the other denying Him; with their own eyes [the former] saw the others as twice their own number: but God strengthens with His succour whom He wills. In this, behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see.9 |
| Malik | : | Indeed there was a sign (lesson) for you in the two armies which met on the battlefield (of Badr): one was fighting for the cause of Allah and the other had rejected Allah; the believers saw with their own eyes that the unbelievers were twice their number. But the result of the battle proved that Allah strengthens with His own aid whom He pleases. Surely there is a lesson in this for those who have sight. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | "There has already been for you a Sign in the two armies that met (in combat): one was fighting in the cause of Allah the other resisting Allah; these saw with their own eyes twice their number. But Allah doth support with His aid whom He pleaseth. In this is a warning for such as have eyes to see." 352 353 |
Note - 9It is generally assumed that this is an allusion to the
battle of Badr, in the third week of Ramadan, 2 H., in
which three hundred and odd poorly-equipped Muslims, led
by the Prophet, utterly routed a well-armed Meccan force
numbering nearly one thousand men, seven hundred camels
and one hundred horses; it was the first open battle
between the pagan Quraysh and the young Muslim community
of Medina. According to some commentators, however (e.g.,
Manar III, 234), the above Qur'anic passage has a general
import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in
history - namely, the victory of a numerically weak and
ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning
belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a
materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a
similar conviction. The fact that in this Qur'an-verse
the believers are spoken of as being faced by an enemy
"twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the
pagan Quraysh were more than three times the number of
the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation
- and particularly so in view of the allusion, in the
next verse, to material riches and worldly power.
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Note - 352This refers to the battle of Badr in Ramadhan in the
second year of the Hijra. The little exiled community of
Makkan Muslims, with their friends in Madinah had
organised themselves into a God-fearing community, but
were constantly in danger of being attacked by their
Pagan enemies of Makkah in alliance with some of the
disaffected elements (Jews and Hypocrites) in or near
Madinah itself. The design of the Makkans was to gather
all the resources they could, and with an overwhelming
force, to crush and annihilate Muhammad and his party. To
this end Abu Sufyan was leading a richly-laden caravan
from Syria to Makkah. He called for armed aid from
Makkah, The battle was fought in the plain of Badr, about
150 kilometers south-west of Madinah. The Muslim force
consisted of only about 313 men, mostly ill-armed, but
they were led by Muhammad, and they were fighting for
their Faith. The Makkan army, well-armed and
well-equipped, numbered over a thousand and had among its
leaders some of the most experienced warriors of Arabia,
including Abu Jahl, the inveterate foe and persecutor of
Islam. Against all odds the Muslims won a brilliant
victory, and many of the enemy leaders, including Abu
Jahl, were killed.
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Note - 353It was impossible, without the miraculous aid of Allah,
for such a small and ill-equipped force as was the Muslim
band, to defeat the large and well-found force of the
enemy. But their Faith, firmness, zeal, and discipline
won them divine aid. Enemy prisoners stated that the
enemy ranks saw the Muslim force to be many times larger
than it was.
|
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It is generally assumed that this is an allusion to the battle of Badr, in the third week of Ramadan, 2 H., in which three hundred and odd poorly-equipped Muslims, led by the Prophet, utterly routed a well-armed Meccan force numbering nearly one thousand men, seven hundred camels and one hundred horses; it was the first open battle between the pagan Quraysh and the young Muslim community of Medina. According to some commentators, however (e.g., Manar III, 234), the above Qur'anic passage has a general import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in history - namely, the victory of a numerically weak and ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a similar conviction. The fact that in this Qur'an-verse the believers are spoken of as being faced by an enemy "twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the pagan Quraysh were more than three times the number of the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation - and particularly so in view of the allusion, in the next verse, to material riches and worldly power. |
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This refers to the battle of Badr in Ramadhan in the second year of the Hijra. The little exiled community of Makkan Muslims, with their friends in Madinah had organised themselves into a God-fearing community, but were constantly in danger of being attacked by their Pagan enemies of Makkah in alliance with some of the disaffected elements (Jews and Hypocrites) in or near Madinah itself. The design of the Makkans was to gather all the resources they could, and with an overwhelming force, to crush and annihilate Muhammad and his party. To this end Abu Sufyan was leading a richly-laden caravan from Syria to Makkah. He called for armed aid from Makkah, The battle was fought in the plain of Badr, about 150 kilometers south-west of Madinah. The Muslim force consisted of only about 313 men, mostly ill-armed, but they were led by Muhammad, and they were fighting for their Faith. The Makkan army, well-armed and well-equipped, numbered over a thousand and had among its leaders some of the most experienced warriors of Arabia, including Abu Jahl, the inveterate foe and persecutor of Islam. Against all odds the Muslims won a brilliant victory, and many of the enemy leaders, including Abu Jahl, were killed. |
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It was impossible, without the miraculous aid of Allah, for such a small and ill-equipped force as was the Muslim band, to defeat the large and well-found force of the enemy. But their Faith, firmness, zeal, and discipline won them divine aid. Enemy prisoners stated that the enemy ranks saw the Muslim force to be many times larger than it was. |
