3. Ali 'Imran Page 69 یٰۤاَیُّهَا O you الَّذِیْنَ who اٰمَنُوْۤا believe! اِنْ If تُطِیْعُوا you obey الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْا disbelieve یَرُدُّوْكُمْ they will turn you back عَلٰۤی on اَعْقَابِكُمْ your heels فَتَنْقَلِبُوْا then you will turn back خٰسِرِیْنَ (as) losers بَلِ Nay اللّٰهُ Allah مَوْلٰىكُمْ ۚ (is) your Protector وَ هُوَ and He خَیْرُ (is the) best النّٰصِرِیْنَ (of) the Helpers سَنُلْقِیْ We will cast فِیْ in قُلُوْبِ (the) hearts الَّذِیْنَ (of) those who كَفَرُوا disbelieve الرُّعْبَ [the] terror بِمَاۤ because اَشْرَكُوْا they associated partners بِاللّٰهِ with Allah مَا what لَمْ not یُنَزِّلْ He sent down بِهٖ about it سُلْطٰنًا ۚ any authority وَ مَاْوٰىهُمُ and their refuge النَّارُ ؕ (will be) the Fire وَ بِئْسَ and wretched مَثْوَی (is the) abode الظّٰلِمِیْنَ [of] the wrongdoers وَ لَقَدْ And certainly صَدَقَكُمُ fulfilled to you اللّٰهُ Allah وَعْدَهٗۤ His promise اِذْ when تَحُسُّوْنَهُمْ you were killing them بِاِذْنِهٖ ۚ by His permission حَتّٰۤی until اِذَا when فَشِلْتُمْ you lost courage وَ تَنَازَعْتُمْ and you fell into dispute فِی concerning الْاَمْرِ the order وَ عَصَیْتُمْ and you disobeyed مِّنْۢ from بَعْدِ after مَاۤ [what] اَرٰىكُمْ He (had) shown you مَّا what تُحِبُّوْنَ ؕ you love مِنْكُمْ Among you مَّنْ (are some) who یُّرِیْدُ desire الدُّنْیَا the world وَ مِنْكُمْ and among you مَّنْ (are some) who یُّرِیْدُ desire الْاٰخِرَةَ ۚ the Hereafter ثُمَّ Then صَرَفَكُمْ He diverted you عَنْهُمْ from them لِیَبْتَلِیَكُمْ ۚ so that He may test you وَ لَقَدْ And surely عَفَا He forgave عَنْكُمْ ؕ you وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah ذُوْ (is the) Possessor فَضْلٍ (of) Bounty عَلَی for الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ the believers اِذْ When تُصْعِدُوْنَ you were running uphill وَ لَا and not تَلْوٗنَ casting a glance عَلٰۤی on اَحَدٍ anyone وَّ الرَّسُوْلُ while the Messenger یَدْعُوْكُمْ was calling you فِیْۤ [in] اُخْرٰىكُمْ (from) behind you فَاَثَابَكُمْ So (He) repaid you غَمًّۢا (with) distress بِغَمٍّ on distress لِّكَیْلَا so that not تَحْزَنُوْا you grieve عَلٰی over مَا what فَاتَكُمْ escaped you وَ لَا and not مَاۤ what اَصَابَكُمْ ؕ (had) befallen you وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah خَبِیْرٌۢ (is) All-Aware بِمَا of what تَعْمَلُوْنَ you do 3. Ali 'Imran Page 70 ثُمَّ Then اَنْزَلَ He sent down عَلَیْكُمْ upon you مِّنْۢ from بَعْدِ after الْغَمِّ the distress اَمَنَةً security نُّعَاسًا slumber یَّغْشٰی overcoming طَآىِٕفَةً a group مِّنْكُمْ ۙ of you وَ طَآىِٕفَةٌ while a group قَدْ certainly اَهَمَّتْهُمْ worried [them] اَنْفُسُهُمْ (about) themselves یَظُنُّوْنَ thinking بِاللّٰهِ about Allah غَیْرَ other than الْحَقِّ the truth ظَنَّ (the) thought الْجَاهِلِیَّةِ ؕ (of) [the] ignorance یَقُوْلُوْنَ saying هَلْ Is (there) لَّنَا for us مِنَ from الْاَمْرِ the matter مِنْ any شَیْءٍ ؕ thing قُلْ Say اِنَّ Indeed الْاَمْرَ the matter كُلَّهٗ all (of) it لِلّٰهِ ؕ (is) for Allah یُخْفُوْنَ They hide فِیْۤ in اَنْفُسِهِمْ themselves مَّا what لَا not یُبْدُوْنَ they reveal لَكَ ؕ to you یَقُوْلُوْنَ They say لَوْ if كَانَ was لَنَا for us مِنَ from الْاَمْرِ the matter شَیْءٌ anything مَّا not قُتِلْنَا we would have been killed هٰهُنَا ؕ here قُلْ Say لَّوْ if كُنْتُمْ you were فِیْ in بُیُوْتِكُمْ your houses لَبَرَزَ surely (would have) come out الَّذِیْنَ those who كُتِبَ was decreed عَلَیْهِمُ upon them الْقَتْلُ [the] death اِلٰی towards مَضَاجِعِهِمْ ۚ their places of death وَ لِیَبْتَلِیَ And that might test اللّٰهُ Allah مَا what فِیْ (is) in صُدُوْرِكُمْ your breasts وَ لِیُمَحِّصَ and that He may purge مَا what فِیْ (is) in قُلُوْبِكُمْ ؕ your hearts وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah عَلِیْمٌۢ (is) All-Aware بِذَاتِ of what الصُّدُوْرِ (is in) the breasts اِنَّ Indeed الَّذِیْنَ those who تَوَلَّوْا turned back مِنْكُمْ among you یَوْمَ (on the) day الْتَقَی met الْجَمْعٰنِ ۙ the two hosts اِنَّمَا only اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ made them slip الشَّیْطٰنُ the Shaitaan بِبَعْضِ for some مَا (of) what كَسَبُوْا ۚ they (had) earned وَ لَقَدْ And surely عَفَا forgave اللّٰهُ Allah عَنْهُمْ ؕ [on] them اِنَّ indeed اللّٰهَ Allah غَفُوْرٌ (is) Oft-Forgiving حَلِیْمٌ۠ All-Forbearing
(3:149) Believers! If you follow those who deny the Truth, they will drive you back on your heels,108 and you will turn about, losers.
(3:150) But Allah is your Protector, and He is the best of helpers.
(3:151) We will cast terror into the hearts of those who have denied the Truth since they have associated others with Allah in His divinity - something for which He has sent down no sanction. The Fire is their abode; how bad the resting place of the wrong-doers will be!
(3:152) Allah surely fulfilled His promise (of succour) when you were slaying them by His leave until the moment when you flagged and quarrelled among yourselves about the matter, and acted against the order of (the Prophet). Soon He showed you what you had intensely desired - for some among you sought this world and some of you sought the Next. Thereupon, in order to put you to a test He turned you away from your foes. Still He pardoned you after that109 for Allah is Bounteous to those who believe.
(3:153) Recall when you were fleeing without casting even a side glance at anyone, and the Messenger was calling out to you from the rear.110 Then Allah requited you by inflicting grief after grief upon you111 so as to instruct you neither to grieve for the losses you might suffer nor for the afflictions that might befall you. Allah knows all that you do.
(3:154) Then, after inflict-ing this grief, He sent down an inner peace upon you - a sleep which overtook some of you.112 Those who were concerned merely about themselves, entertaining false notions about Allah - the notions of the Age of Ignorance - asked: 'Have we any say in the matter?' Tell them: 'Truly, all power of decision rests solely with Allah.' Indeed, they conceal in their hearts what they would not reveal to you, saying: 'If we had any power of decision, we would not have been slain here.' Say: 'Even if you had been in your houses, those for whom slaying had been appointed would have gone forth to the places where they were to be slain.' And all this happened so that Allah might test your secret thoughts and purge your hearts of all impurities. Allah knows well what is in the breasts of men.
(3:155) Surely those of them who turned their backs on the day when the two armies met (at Uhud) did so because Satan made them slip because of some of their lapses. But Allah has pardoned them; He is All-Forgiving, All-Forbearing.
108. That is, they would push them back into the same state of unbelief from which they had extricated themselves. Since the Battle of Uhud the hypocrites and the Jews had constantly propagated the idea that, had Muhammad been a true Prophet, he would not have suffered the reverse that he encountered in that battle. This reverse was offered as proof that Muhammad (peace be on him) was an ordinary person whose fortunes varied, like those of other men, between victory and defeat. They further contended that the support and patronage of God which Muhammad claimed to enjoy was a sham.
109. The failure of the Muslims was of such a serious nature that had God not pardoned them they might have been obliterated there and then. It was out of God's grace, support and patronage that after the Muslims had been overpowered by the enemy the latter were seized with perplexity and confusion, and withdrew.
110. When subjected to a sudden two-pronged attack the Muslims scattered; some fled to Madina while others climbed Mount Uhud. Despite this, the Prophet (peace be on him) did not move from his position. The enemy surrounded him on all sides and only a small party of ten to twelve followers was left with him. Even at that critical moment his feet remained firm and he continued to summon his fleeing followers towards himself. (See Waqidi, Maghazi, vol. 1, pp. 237, 240 and 241 - Ed.)
111. The 'grief referred to in this verse had many causes: (i) by the setback the Muslims suffered on the battlefield and by the rumour that the Prophet (peace be on him) had been martyred; (ii) by the fact that a large number of believers had been killed and wounded; and (iii) by the fact that nothing was known about what was happening to the Muslim families left behind in Madina. For it was possible that the enemy was greater in numbers than the total population of Madina, and that it might break through the defences of the battered
112. A strange phenomenon was then experienced by certain Muslim soldiers. Abu Talhah, who took part in the battle, states that the Muslims were seized by such drowsiness that their swords were slipping from their hands. (For several Traditions stating this incident, including one related by Abu Talhah, see Waqidi, Maghazi, vol. 1, pp. 295-6 - Ed.)