AL IMRAN 176-180

وَلاَ يَحْزُنكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللّهَ شَيْئاً يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَلاَّ يَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ حَظًّا فِي الآخِرَةِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
{176}

[Yusufali 3:176] Let not those grieve thee who rush headlong into Unbelief: Not the least harm will they do to Allah: Allah's plan is that He will give them no portion in the Hereafter, but a severe punishment.





إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الْكُفْرَ بِالإِيمَانِ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللّهَ شَيْئًا وَلهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ {177}

[Yusufali 3:177] Those who purchase Unbelief at the price of faith,- not the least harm will they do to Allah, but they will have a grievous punishment.





وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِّأَنفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُواْ إِثْمًا وَلَهْمُ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ {178}

[Yusufali 3:178] Let not the Unbelievers think that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: But they will have a shameful punishment.





مَّا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَا أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىَ يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَمَا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ وَلَكِنَّ اللّهَ يَجْتَبِي مِن رُّسُلِهِ مَن يَشَاء فَآمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ {179}

[Yusufali 3:179] Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which ye are now, until He separates what is evil from what is good nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Messengers (For the purpose) whom He pleases. So believe in Allah. And His messengers: And if ye believe and do right, ye have a reward without measure.





وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمْ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُواْ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلِلّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاللّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ {180}

[Yusufali 3:180] And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah Hath given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: Nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks Like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.

__________________________________________________________________

176

Let them not grieve you (read yuhzinka, or yahzunka from [1st form] hazanahu, 'he made him grieve', an alternative expression to [4th form] ahzanahu, 'he made him grieve') those that vie with one another in unbelief, succumbing to it promptly by supporting it, namely, the Meccans or the hypocrites: in other words, do not be concerned for their unbelief; they will not hurt God at all, by their actions, only hurting themselves. God desires not to assign them any portion, any lot, in the Hereafter, that is, in Paradise, and that is why God forsook them; and theirs is a mighty chastisement, in the Fire.



177


Those who purchase unbelief at the price of faith, that is, taking it in place of it, they will not hurt God at all, with their unbelief, and there awaits them a painful chastisement (alim means mu'lim, 'painful').

178

And let not the disbelievers suppose (read la yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or la tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') that what We indulge them in, that is, [that] Our indulging [them], in extending their [terms of] life and deferring them [their death], is better for their souls (in the case of the reading yahsabanna, 'let them [not] suppose', anna [of anna-ma] and its two operators stand in place of the two objects, but only in place of the second in the case of the other reading [tahsabanna], 'do [not] suppose'). We grant them indulgence, We give [them] respite, only that they may increase in sinfulness, through frequent disobedience, and theirs is a humbling chastisement, one of humiliation, in the Hereafter.


179

It is not God's purpose to leave, to abandon, the believers in the state in which you, O people, are, where the sincere are intermingle with those otherwise, till He shall distinguish (read yamiza or yumayyiza), [till] He separates, the evil one, the hypocrite, from the good, the believer, through the burdensome obligations that will reveal this [distinction] - He did this on the Day of Uhud. And it is not God's purpose to apprise you of the Unseen, so that you could recognise the hypocrites from the others, before the distinguishing; but God chooses, He selects, of His messengers whom He will, apprising him of [some of] His Unseen, as when He apprised the Prophet (s) of the position of the hypocrites. So believe in God and His messengers; and if you believe and guard against, hypocrisy, then yours shall be a great wage.

180

Let them not suppose (read la yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or la tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') those who are niggardly with what God has given them of His bounty, that is, with His obligatory almsgiving, that it, their niggardliness, is better for them (khayrun lahum, is the second direct object; the pronoun [huwa, '[that] it is'] is used to separate [the two statements]; the first [direct object] is bukhlahum 'their niggardliness' implicit before the relative clause [alladhina] in the case of the reading tahsabanna [sc. wa-la tahsabanna bukhlahum, 'do not suppose their niggardliness…'], or before the pronoun [huwa, 'it is'] in the case of the reading yahsabanna [sc. wa-la yahsabanna lladhina…bukhlahum huwa khayran lahum, 'let them not suppose, those who…that their niggardliness is better for them']); nay, it is worse for them; what they were niggardly with, namely, the obligatory almsgiving of their wealth, they shall have hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection, when he will have a snake around his neck biting viciously at him, as reported in a hadith; and to God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, inheriting them after the annihilation of their inhabitants. And God is aware of what you do (ta'maluna, also read ya'maluna, 'they do'), and will requite you for it.

AL IMRAN 171-175

يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَفَضْلٍ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
{171}

[Yusufali 3:171] They glory in the Grace and the bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least).





الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُواْ لِلّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْقَرْحُ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّقَواْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ {172}

[Yusufali 3:172] Of those who answered the call of Allah and the Messenger, even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward;-





الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ {173}

[Yusufali 3:173] Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you": And frightened them: But it (only) increased their Faith: They said: "For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs."





فَانقَلَبُواْ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَفَضْلٍ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَاتَّبَعُواْ رِضْوَانَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ {174}

[Yusufali 3:174] And they returned with Grace and bounty from Allah: no harm ever touched them: For they followed the good pleasure of Allah: And Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded.





إِنَّمَا ذَلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءهُ فَلاَ تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ {175}

[Yusufali 3:175] It is only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith.

____________________________________________________________________


171
Joyful in grace, in the reward, and bounty, in addition to it, from God, and that (read wa-anna as a supplement to ni'matin, or wa-inna to denote a new clause) God does not let the wage of believers go to waste, but rewards them.

172

Those who (alladhina, is the subject) responded to God and the Messenger, [to] his call to set out for battle: when Abu Sufyan and his companions wanted to resume [hostilities] they agreed with the Prophet (s) that the encounter would be at the [annual] market-fair of Badr a year from the date of Uhud; after the wounds had afflicted them, at Uhud - (the predicate of the subject [alladhina] is [what follows]) for all those who were virtuous, by obeying him, and feared, to disobey him, shall be a great wage, namely, Paradise.

173
Those to whom (alladhina, substitutes for the previous alladhina, 'those who', or an adjectival qualification [of it]) people, that is, Nu'aym b. Mas'ud al-Ashja'i, said, 'The people, Abu Sufyan and his companions, have gathered, their multitudes, against you, in order to exterminate you, therefore fear them', and do not go out to [encounter] them; but that, saying, increased them in faith, in their belief in God and in certainty, and they said, 'God is sufficient for us, He will deal fully for us with their affair; an excellent Guardian is He' , the One to whom the matter is entrusted. They thus set out with the Prophet (s) and arrived at the market-fair of Badr, but God had cast terror into the hearts of Abu Sufyan and his followers and so they did not turn up. They [the believers] had merchandise with them, and so they traded and made profits. God, exalted be He, says:

174

So they returned, from Badr, with grace and bounty from God, safely and with profit, and no evil touched them, from any slaying or wounds; and they followed the beatitude of God, by obeying Him and obeying His Messenger, when they [agreed to] set out [for the battle]; and God is of bounty abounding, for those that obey Him.

175

That, namely, the one saying to you, 'The people [have gathered against you]' to the end [of the verse], is only Satan making, you, fear his friends, the disbelievers, therefore do not fear them; but fear Me, lest you abandon My command, if you are, truly, believers.

AL IMRAN 166-170

وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ فَبِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
{166}

[Yusufali 3:166] What ye suffered on the day the two armies Met, was with the leave of Allah, in order that He might test the believers,-




وَلْيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ نَافَقُواْ وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْاْ قَاتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَوِ ادْفَعُواْ قَالُواْ لَوْ نَعْلَمُ قِتَالاً لاَّتَّبَعْنَاكُمْ هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلإِيمَانِ يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَكْتُمُونَ {167}

[Yusufali 3:167] And the Hypocrites also. These were told: "Come, fight in the way of Allah, or (at least) drive (The foe from your city)." They said: "Had we known how to fight, we should certainly have followed you." They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts but Allah hath full knowledge of all they conceal.




الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ لإِخْوَانِهِمْ وَقَعَدُواْ لَوْ أَطَاعُونَا مَا قُتِلُوا قُلْ فَادْرَؤُوا عَنْ أَنفُسِكُمُ الْمَوْتَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ {168}

[Yusufali 3:168] (They are) the ones that say, (of their brethren slain), while they themselves sit (at ease): "If only they had listened to us they would not have been slain." Say: "Avert death from your own selves, if ye speak the truth."




وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ {169}

[Yusufali 3:169] Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord;




فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِم مِّنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلاَّ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ {170}

[Yusufali 3:170] They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah: And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.


*****


166
And what afflicted you, the day the two hosts encountered, at Uhud, was by God's leave, by His will, and that He might know, through knowledge manifested outwardly, the, true, believers.



167
And that He might also know the hypocrites, and those who, when it was said to them, after they had fled the fighting, namely, 'Abd Allah b. Ubayy and his companions: 'Come now, fight in the way of God, His enemies, or defend', us against the enemy by increasing the multitude [of our fighters], if you are not going to fight; they said, 'If we knew how, [if] we were skilled enough, to fight we would follow you.' God then said, showing them to be liars: They that day were nearer to unbelief than to belief, for what they manifested of their forsaking the believers, whereas before they had been outwardly nearer to belief; saying with their mouths that which was not in their hearts, for even if they had known how to fight they would not have followed you. And God knows best what they hide, of hypocrisy.



168
Those who (alladhina substitutes for the previous alladhina, or constitutes an adjectival qualification [of it]) said to their brothers, in religion, whilst they themselves, had, stayed put, [refraining] from [joining] the struggle, 'Had they, the martyrs at Uhud or those who stayed put with us, obeyed us, they would not have been slain.' Say, to them, 'Then avert, ward off, death from yourselves, if you speak the truth', in that staying put delivers one from it [sc. from death].



169
The following was revealed regarding martyrs: Count not those who were slain (read qutilu or quttilu) in God's way, that is, for the sake of His religion, as dead, but rather, that they are, living with their Lord, their spirits inside green birds that take wing freely wherever they wish in Paradise, as reported in a hadith); provided for [by Him], with the fruits of Paradise.

170
Rejoicing (farihina, a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person governing yurzaqun, 'sustained') in what God has given them of His bounty, and, they are, rejoicing, joyful, for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind, from among their believing brothers (alladhina, 'those who', may be substituted by [what follows, sc. 'rejoicing…that no fear']): that no fear shall befall them, those that have not yet joined them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter, meaning, they rejoice for their [brothers' future] security and felicity (alla [of alla khawfun] is an-la, meaning, bi-an la).

AL IMRAN 161-165

وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَن يَغُلَّ وَمَن يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُون
َ 161{161}

[Yusufali 3:161] No prophet could (ever) be false to his trust. If any person is so false, He shall, on the Day of Judgment, restore what he misappropriated; then shall every soul receive its due,- whatever it earned,- and none shall be dealt with unjustly.




أَفَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَ اللّهِ كَمَن بَاء بِسَخْطٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَمَأْوَاهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ {162}

[Yusufali 3:162] Is the man who follows the good pleasure of Allah Like the man who draws on himself the wrath of Allah, and whose abode is in Hell?- A woeful refuge!




هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِندَ اللّهِ واللّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ {163}

[Yusufali 3:163] They are in varying gardens in the sight of Allah, and Allah sees well all that they do.




لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُّبِينٍ {164}

[Yusufali 3:164] Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.




أَوَلَمَّا أَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَدْ أَصَبْتُم مِّثْلَيْهَا قُلْتُمْ أَنَّى هَـذَا قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ {165}

[Yusufali 3:165] What! When a single disaster smites you, although ye smote (your enemies) with one twice as great, do ye say?- "Whence is this?" Say (to them): "It is from yourselves: For Allah hath power over all things."

*****

161

When some red velvet cloth went missing on the Day of Badr and some people began to say, 'Perhaps the Prophet took it', the following was revealed: It is not for a prophet to be fraudulent (an yaghulla, a variant reading has the passive an yughalla, meaning to attribute ghulul, 'fraud', to him), to be treacherous with regard to the spoils, so do not presume this of him; whoever defrauds shall bring what he has defrauded on the Day of Resurrection, carrying it around his neck; then every soul, the fraudulent and the otherwise, shall be paid in full, the requital of, what it has earned, [what] it has done, and they shall not be wronged, a single thing.


162
Is he who follows God's beatitude, being obedient and not defrauding, like him who is laden, [one who] returns, with God's anger, because of his disobedience and fraud, whose abode is Hell? An evil journey's end, a resort, it is!



163
No! They are of degrees, that is, individuals of [different] degrees, before God, that is, belonging to varying stations: for those that follow His beatitude, a reward, and for those that are laden with God's anger, punishment; and God sees what they do, and will requite them for it.



164

Truly God was gracious to the believers when He sent to them a messenger from among their own, that is to say, an Arab like them, not an angel or a non-Arab, so that they can understand what he says and feel honoured thereby, to recite to them His verses, the Qur'an, and to purify them, to cleanse them of sins, and to teach them the Book, the Qur'an, wisdom, the Sunna, though (in, is softened [in place of inna], that is, innahum, 'though they…') before, that is, before he was sent, they were in clear error.


165
And why, when distress befell you, at Uhud, when seventy of you were slain, and you had afflicted twice the like of it, at Badr, slaying seventy of them and taking another seventy captive, did you say, in amazement, 'How is this?', that is, how did this defeat happen to us when we are Muslims and God's Messenger is among us (the last statement [anna hadha, 'how is this?'] constitutes [the locus of] the interrogative of denial). Say, to them: 'It is from yourselves, because you abandoned your [battle] stations and were thus defeated. Surely God has power over everything', including [the giving of] assistance and the withholding of it, and He requited you for your disputing [the Prophet's command].

AL IMRAN 156-160

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَقَالُواْ لإِخْوَانِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُواْ فِي الأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُواْ غُزًّى لَّوْ كَانُواْ عِندَنَا مَا مَاتُواْ وَمَا قُتِلُواْ لِيَجْعَلَ اللّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَاللّهُ يُحْيِـي وَيُمِيتُ وَاللّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
{156}

[Yusufali 3:156] O ye who believe! Be not like the Unbelievers, who say of their brethren, when they are travelling through the Earth or engaged in fighting: "If they had stayed with us, they would not have died, or been slain." This that Allah may make it a cause of sighs and regrets in their hearts. It is Allah that gives Life and Death, and Allah sees well all that ye do.




وَلَئِن قُتِلْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَوْ مُتُّمْ لَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَحْمَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ {157}

[Yusufali 3:157] And if ye are slain, or die, in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass.




وَلَئِن مُّتُّمْ أَوْ قُتِلْتُمْ لإِلَى الله تُحْشَرُونَ {158}

[Yusufali 3:158] And if ye die, or are slain, Lo! it is unto Allah that ye are brought together.




فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ {159}

[Yusufali 3:159] It is part of the Mercy of Allah that thou dost deal gently with them Wert thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about thee: so pass over (Their faults), and ask for (Allah's) forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs (of moment). Then, when thou hast Taken a decision put thy trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).




إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ اللّهُ فَلاَ غَالِبَ لَكُمْ وَإِن يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَن ذَا الَّذِي يَنصُرُكُم مِّن بَعْدِهِ وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكِّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ {160}

[Yusufali 3:160] If Allah helps you, none can overcome you: If He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? in Allah, then, Let believers put their trust.



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TAFSEER AL JALALAYN

156
O you who believe, be not as the disbelievers, that is, [as] the hypocrites, who say of their brothers, that is, regarding their affair, when they travel in the land, and then die, or are on raiding campaigns (ghuzzan, 'a raiding party', is the plural of ghazin), and are then slain, 'Had they been with us, they would not have died and would not have been slain', in other words, do not say as they say - so that God may make that, saying [of theirs], as a conclusion of their affair, anguish in their hearts. For God gives life, and He gives death, and so no staying put can prevent death, and God sees what you do (ta'maluna, or ya'maluna, 'they do'), and He will requite you for it.


157
And if (wa-la-in, the lam is for oaths) you are slain in God's way, in [holy] struggle, or die (read muttum or mittum, from [singular form] mata, yamutu), that is, if death comes to you thereat, forgiveness, that is, from God, for your sins, and mercy, therefor from Him for you (the clause introduced by the lam [of la-maghfiratun, 'forgiveness'] is the response to the oath [clause of la'in], and occupies the place of the verbal action as a subject, the predicate of which [is what follows]) are better than what they amass, in this world (read tajma'un, 'you amass', or yajma'un, 'they amass').


158
And if (wa-la-in, the lam is for oaths) you die ([read] in both ways [muttum or mittum], or are slain, in the [holy] struggle or otherwise, it is to God, and to none other than Him that, you shall be mustered, in the Hereafter, and He will requite you.



159
It was by the mercy of God that you, O Muhammad (s), were lenient with them, that is, [that] you showed indulgence [toward them] when they disobeyed you; had you been harsh, ill-natured, and fierce of heart, brutish and coarse towards them, they would have dispersed, split away, from about you. So pardon them, pass over what they have done, and ask forgiveness for them, for their sins, until I forgive them, and consult them, find out their opinions, in the matter, that is, your affair in the battle and otherwise, in order to win their hearts over and so that you may be emulated [in this respect]; and indeed, the Prophet (s) would frequently consult them. And when you are resolved, to carry out what you wish after counsel, rely on God, put your trust in Him and not in [any] counsel; for God loves those who rely, on Him.


160

If God helps you, [if] He gives you assistance against your enemy, as on the Day of Badr, then none can overcome you; but if He forsakes you, [if] He refrains from assisting you, as on the Day of Uhud, then who is there who can help you after Him?, that is, after His forsaking [you]? In other words, there is no one to help you. Therefore on God, and on no one else, let the believers rely.

AL IMRAN 151-155

سَنُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الرُّعْبَ بِمَا أَشْرَكُواْ بِاللّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الظَّالِمِينَ
{151}

[Yusufali 3:151] Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers!




وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُم بِإِذْنِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُم مَّا تُحِبُّونَ مِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الآخِرَةَ ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنكُمْ وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ {152}

[Yusufali 3:152] Allah did indeed fulfil His promise to you when ye with His permission Were about to annihilate your enemy,-until ye flinched and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed it after He brought you in sight (of the booty) which ye covet. Among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then did He divert you from your foes in order to test you but He forgave you: For Allah is full of grace to those who believe.




إِذْ تُصْعِدُونَ وَلاَ تَلْوُونَ عَلَى أحَدٍ وَالرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ فِي أُخْرَاكُمْ فَأَثَابَكُمْ غُمَّاً بِغَمٍّ لِّكَيْلاَ تَحْزَنُواْ عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلاَ مَا أَصَابَكُمْ وَاللّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ {153}

[Yusufali 3:153] Behold! ye were climbing up the high ground, without even casting a side glance at any one, and the Messenger in your rear was calling you back. There did Allah give you one distress after another by way of requital, to teach you not to grieve for (the booty) that had escaped you and for (the ill) that had befallen you. For Allah is well aware of all that ye do.




ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَغْشَى طَآئِفَةً مِّنكُمْ وَطَآئِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِاللّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ مِن شَيْءٍ قُلْ إِنَّ الأَمْرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ يُخْفُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لاَ يُبْدُونَ لَكَ يَقُولُونَ لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَاهُنَا قُل لَّوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ لَبَرَزَ الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَى مَضَاجِعِهِمْ وَلِيَبْتَلِيَ اللّهُ مَا فِي صُدُورِكُمْ وَلِيُمَحَّصَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ {154}

[Yusufali 3:154] After (the excitement) of the distress, He sent down calm on a band of you overcome with slumber, while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, Moved by wrong suspicions of Allah-suspicions due to ignorance. They said: "What affair is this of ours?" Say thou: "Indeed, this affair is wholly Allah's." They hide in their minds what they dare not reveal to thee. They say (to themselves): "If we had had anything to do with this affair, We should not have been in the slaughter here." Say: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death"; but (all this was) that Allah might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. For Allah knoweth well the secrets of your hearts.




إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْاْ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُواْ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ {155}

[Yusufali 3:155] Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts Met,-it was Satan who caused them to fail, because of some (evil) they had done. But Allah Has blotted out (their fault): For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.

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TAFSEER AL JALALAYN

151
We will cast terror (read ru'b or ru'ub) into the hearts of the disbelievers: after departing from Uhud they resolved to return in order to exterminate the Muslims, but they were terrified and did not return; for what they have associated, because of their associating, with God that for which He has revealed no warrant, that is, [no] argument in support of its worship, namely, idols; their abode shall be the Fire; evil is the abode, the resting place, of the evildoers, the disbelievers.



152

God has been true to His promise, towards you, of giving you victory, when you were slew them by His leave, by His will, until you lost heart, [until] you shrank from battle, and quarrelled, disagreed, over the command, that is, the command of the Prophet (s) that you remain at the foot of the mountain for the arrow attack, some of you saying, 'Let us depart, for our comrades have been given victory', others saying, 'We should not disobey the command of the Prophet (s)'; and you disobeyed, his command, and abandoned your station in search of the booty, after He, God, had shown you what you longed for, of assistance (the response to the [clause containing] idha is indicated by what precedes it, that is to say, '[when you lost heart] He denied you His assistance'). Some of you desired this world, abandoning his station for the sake of the booty; and some of you desired the Hereafter, holding to it until he was slain, such as 'Abd Allah b. Jubayr and his companions. Then He turned you away (thumma sarafakum is a supplement to the response of the [clause containing] idha, implied to be raddakum bi'l-hazima ['He turned you back in defeat']) from them, the disbelievers, so that He might try you, that He might test you and so make manifest the sincere ones from those otherwise; yet now He has pardoned you, what you have done, and God is Bounteous to the believers, with pardon.


153
Remember, when you were ascending, fleeing in the distance, not turning around, [not] stopping, for anyone and the Messenger was calling you from your rear, saying, 'Come to me servants of God, this way, servants of God!', so He rewarded you, He requited you, with grief, through defeat, for grief (ghamman bi-ghamm; the ba' [bi-], 'with', is said to mean 'ala, 'for') because of the grief that you caused the Prophet when you disobeyed [his command], that is, [with grief] doubled, [being] in addition to the grief of the booty forfeited, so that (li-kayla is semantically connected either to 'afa, 'He has pardoned', or athabakum, 'He rewarded you'; the la [of kay-la] is thus extra) you might not grieve for what escaped you, of booty, neither for what befell you, of being slain and [of] defeat; and God is aware of what you do.


154
Then He sent down upon you, after grief, security - a slumber (nu'asan, 'slumber' substitutes for amanatan, 'security') overcoming (yaghsha or taghsha) a party of you, namely, the believers. They would become dizzy under their shields and their swords would fall from their hands; and a party whose own souls distressed them, that is, they caused them grief, so that their only wish was their deliverance, regardless of the Prophet and his companions, and they were unable to fall asleep: these were the hypocrites; thinking wrongly of God, thoughts of, those thoughts during the, age of ignorance, the moment they thought that the Prophet had been killed or that he would not be given victory, saying, 'Have we any part whatever in the affair?' (read [interrogative] hal as [negative] ma) that is, [we have no part in] the assistance which we were promised. Say, to them: 'The affair belongs entirely (read accusative kullahu to denote an emphasis, or nominative kulluhu as a subject [of a new sentence], the predicate of which is [what follows]) to God', that is to say, the decree is His, He does what He wills. They conceal within their hearts what they do not disclose, what they [do not] manifest, to you, saying, (yaquluna, 'saying', is an explication of the preceding [statement]) 'Had we had any part in the affair, we would not have been slain here', that is to say, 'Had the choice been ours, we would not have set out and thus been slain; but we were forced to set out'. Say, to them: 'Even if you had been in your houses, with some among you whom God had appointed that they be slain, those, of you, for whom it had been appointed, decreed, that they be slain would have sallied forth, would have gone forth, to the places where they were to lie', the battleground where they were to fall, and they would have been slain; and their staying put [at home] would not have saved them, for God's decree will be, inevitably. And, He did what He did at Uhud, that God might try, [that He might] test, what was in your breasts, your hearts, of sincerity or hypocrisy, and that He might prove, [that He might] distinguish, what was in your hearts; and God knows what is in the breasts, what is in the hearts. Nothing can be hidden from Him, and He tries people only to make [matters] manifest for them.



155
Truly, those of you who turned away, from the battle, the day the two hosts, the Muslim host and that of the disbelievers, encountered each other, at Uhud, the Muslims, with the exception of twelve men - truly, Satan made them slip, with his [evil] insinuations, through some of what they had earned, of sins, namely, when they disobeyed the Prophet's command; but God pardoned them; God is Forgiving, to believers, Forbearing, hastening not against the disobedient [with punishment].

AL IMRAN 146-150

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن نَّبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُواْ لِمَا أَصَابَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُواْ وَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ
{146}

[Yusufali 3:146] How many of the prophets fought (in Allah's way), and with them (fought) Large bands of godly men? but they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah's way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast.




وَمَا كَانَ قَوْلَهُمْ إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ ربَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ {147}

[Yusufali 3:147] All that they said was: "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and anything We may have done that transgressed our duty: Establish our feet firmly, and help us against those that resist Faith."




فَآتَاهُمُ اللّهُ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا وَحُسْنَ ثَوَابِ الآخِرَةِ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ {148}

[Yusufali 3:148] And Allah gave them a reward in this world, and the excellent reward of the Hereafter. For Allah Loveth those who do good.




يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوَاْ إِن تُطِيعُواْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُواْ خَاسِرِينَ {149}

[Yusufali 3:149] O ye who believe! If ye obey the Unbelievers, they will drive you back on your heels, and ye will turn back (from Faith) to your own loss.




بَلِ اللّهُ مَوْلاَكُمْ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ النَّاصِرِينَ {150}

[Yusufali 3:150] Nay, Allah is your protector, and He is the best of helpers.
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TAFSEER AL JALALAYN

146
How many a prophet has been killed (qutila, a variant reading has qatala, 'has fought', the subject of the verb being the person governing it) and with him (ma'ahu, the predicate, the subject of which [follows]) thousands manifold [fought], but they fainted not, they did [not] shrink, in the face of what afflicted them in God's way, of wounds and the slaying of their prophets and companions; they neither weakened, in the face of struggle, nor did they humble themselves, [nor did they] succumb to their enemy, as you did when it was said that the Prophet (s) had been killed. And God loves the patient, during trials, meaning that He will reward them.


147
All that they said, when their prophet had been killed while they stood their ground and were steadfast, was, 'Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses, our overstepping the bounds, in our affairs, a declaration of the fact that what had befallen them was the result of their evil actions and a humbling of their selves) and make firm our feet, with strength for the struggle, and help us against the unbelieving folk'.



148
And God gave them the reward of this world, victory and booty, and the fairest reward of the Hereafter, that is, Paradise (husnuhu, 'the fairest of it', denotes [extra] favour in addition to what is deserved); and God loves the virtuous.

149
O you who believe, if you obey the disbelievers, in what they command you, they will make you turn back on your heels, [back] to unbelief, and you will revert as losers.


150
Nay, but God is your Protector, your Helper, and He is the best of helpers, so obey only Him and not them.
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