Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 11

(Ayah 11) ➊ { اِذْ يُغَشِّيْكُمُ النُّعَاسَ اَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ:} Apart from the help with the angels in the Battle of Badr, this was a second help. This drowsiness came in two ways: first, on the night before the battle, the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) slept soundly, even though they were worried about the enemy, but Allah sent sleep upon them so that they would be refreshed and could face the enemy with determination. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "On the day of Badr, no one except Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) had a horse. I saw that each one of us was sleeping, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept praying under a tree, weeping and supplicating until morning came." [ أحمد : ۱؍۱۲۵، ح : ۱۰۲۳، قال شعیب أرنؤوط إسنادہ صحیح ] With this sleep, the Muslims became refreshed. The second was that before the battle, when they entered the field, Allah sent drowsiness upon all the Muslims, even upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The incident of drowsiness during battle also occurred in the Battle of Uhud, as Allah said: «{ ثُمَّ اَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ اَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَّغْشٰى طَآىِٕفَةً مِّنْكُمْ }» [ آل عمران : ۱۵۴ ] 'Then after that grief, He sent down security upon you—a drowsiness that overcame a group of you.' In the verse mentioned here: «{ اِذْ يُغَشِّيْكُمُ النُّعَاسَ }» this happened on the day of Badr, by which the fear of the enemy was removed from the hearts of the Muslims and a state of peace and tranquility was created." To cause drowsiness to fall upon all the participants at the same time, in such a way that they would not fall into a deep sleep, but would immediately become alert at the enemy's movement, and to grant them security by removing all kinds of fear through the blessing of this drowsiness, was certainly a great miracle. The scholars say that drowsiness during battle is a special mercy from Allah.

➋ {وَ يُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً … : } This also happened that same night: it rained at night, which caused the sand to become firm and the ground to hold their feet well, so the Muslims benefited by advancing and movement became easy. Secondly, the shortage of water was removed and it became easy to perform ablution and purification, while the place where the disbelievers were encamped was low, and due to the rain, it became muddy and their feet began to slip. Thirdly, the filth of Satan was removed from the hearts of the Muslims, meaning anxiety, fear, bad thoughts about Allah, and despair were all taken away, and when morning came, they were ready and alert to fight. At Badr, this was the third favor, which greatly helped in achieving victory over the disbelievers. (Ibn Kathir)

11. 1 Just as in the Battle of Uhud, in the Battle of Badr as well, Allah Almighty cast drowsiness upon the Muslims, which lightened the burdens of their hearts and a special state of tranquility and peace descended upon them.

11. 2 The third favor was that He sent down rain, which, firstly, made movement easier on the sandy ground; secondly, it made ablution and purification easier; thirdly, it removed the satanic whispers that Satan was putting into the hearts of the believers, such as: "Even though you are Allah's righteous servants, you are far from water; secondly, how will you fight in a state of major impurity, so how will Allah's mercy and help reach you? Thirdly, you are thirsty, while your enemies are well-watered," and so on.

11. 3 This is the fourth favor, which was bestowed by strengthening the hearts and feet.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).