أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

8:25.

Commentary:

The reference in this and the next verse is to the two expeditions led by the Holy Prophet against the Meccans as a result of the Battle of Uhud. The first was undertaken on the day immediately following that battle. When the Meccans withdrew from Uhud, and took their way back to Mecca, they were, as narrated above, taunted by the Arab tribes for having brought no booty and no prisoners of war from a battle in which they claimed to have won a victory. The Meccans, thereupon, thought of returning to Medina with a view to re-attacking the Muslims and completing their victory. The Holy Prophet, who had also anticipated the return of the Meccans, at once called upon his Companions to join him in the pursuit of the enemy and most wisely restricted the call to only such able-bodied Muslims as had taken part in the Battle of Uhud. So on the following day, he left Medina with 250 men. When the Meccans heard of the Muslims advancing towards them, they lost heart and fled. The Holy Prophet went as far as Hamra’ul-Asad, a distance of about eight miles from Medina on the route to Mecca, and seeing that the enemy had fled, returned to Medina.

The second expedition came a year later. Before leaving the battlefield of Uhud, Abu Sufyan, commander of the Meccan army, had promised the Muslims another engagement next year at Badr. But the ensuing year being a year of famine, he could not keep his appointment. So he sent Nu‘aim bin Mas‘ud to Medina to terrify the Muslims by spreading false rumours of great preparations having been made by the Meccans. This clumsy ruse completely failed to frighten the Muslims, who came to Badr at the appointed time only to find that the Meccans had not appeared. The Muslims profited by this opportunity by taking part in trafficking at the great annual fair that used to be held there every year and returned prosperous as well as triumphant to Medina. This expedition is known in history as the expedition of Badras-Sughra, (i.e. the smaller Badr), to distinguish it from the great Battle of Badr which had taken place about two years earlier.

8:38; 29:3-4.

72:27-28.

Important Words:

لیطلعکم (would reveal to you). یطلع is derived from طلع, which means, he appeared; he rose; he ascended. اطلعه علیه means, he revealed it to him or he made him acquainted with it; or lifted him high up so that he might have a clear view of it. The expression لیطلعکم علی الغیب therefore, would mean, that He should cause you to ascend the unseen; or lift you high up to have a clear view of the unseen, i.e. cause you to obtain mastery of the unseen; or in other words, reveal to you the secrets of the unseen in abundance. Elsewhere the Quran says لایظھر علی غیبه احدا God discloses not the unseen to anyone in abundance (72:27). Here, too, the word used, i.e. یظھر points to mastery of a thing or having a thing in abundance.

Commentary:

The sentence, Allah would not leave the believers as you are, signifies that the trials and tribulations through which Muslims have so far passed would not soon end. There are yet many more in store for them, and they will continue to come till true believers are distinguished from hypocrites and those weak of faith.

The expression, Allah chooses of His Messengers whom He pleases, does not mean that some of the Messengers are chosen and others not, but that of the persons whom He has ordained to be sent as His Messengers, He chooses the one suited for the particular age in which he is sent. Or the particle من (of) may be taken to give the sense of intensification or emphasis without restricting the sense to a specified section of the class. In that case the sentence will read as, Allah does choose as His Messengers whom He pleases. It must be remembered that all Messengers are raised under a special divine decree.

When it was stated that God intended to separate the wicked from the good by revealing His will to His Messengers, the question was asked by disbelievers, why did not God reveal Himself to them? To this question God has given the answer that He reveals His will only to His Messengers and the Elect. All are not pure or ennobled enough to receive His revelation.

3:187; 64:16.

Important Words:

فتنة (trial) is derived from فتن . They say فتنه i.e. he tried or proved or tested him. So فتنه means, a trial meant to separate the good from the bad. See also 2:103, 192; 4:92 & 5:50,72. Thus فتنة is anything that is a means of purification and advancement for the good and a means of exposure and downfall for the wicked.

Commentary:

As فتنة (trial) is a means of purification, our possessions and our children are called a "trial" because they are a means of our spiritual purification. It is by means of them that we are able to make sacrifices in the cause of religion and humanity. If we have no wealth, we cannot give it away in the service of God or of our fellow-creatures. If we have no children, we will not be in a position to train them as good and pious men for the service of God and mankind. Moreover, if we have no children, we shall be free and shall have no obstacle to overcome; and, therefore, our spending money in the cause of God will, in that case, not give us as much credit as it would do if we spent it while we had children. Thus, both our possessions and our children enable us to make sacrifices in the cause of God and our fellow beings; they are, therefore, a blessing, not a curse. But they may become a curse for the wicked, for whom the love of wealth and children proves a great stumbling block.

The words, a great reward, signify that when God has conferred on us blessings like wealth and children without any endeavour on our part, He can bestow on us far greater rewards, if we strive in His cause and try to win His favour. But if the word فتنة (trial) is taken in a bad sense, i.e. a stumbling block, then the words "a great reward" would signify that if our wealth and children prove a stumbling block for us, we should not allow them to stand in our way, but should turn to God with Whom we will find a great reward for this sacrifice of ours.

8:29; 63:10.