Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 42

(Ayah 42) ➊ {اِذْ اَنْتُمْ بِالْعُدْوَةِ الدُّنْيَا … :} The purpose of mentioning the location of the battle is that the intention with which you set out was that you would encounter that caravan which was extremely valuable and whose guards were only thirty or forty men, but instead Allah brought you to such a place where there was no option but to fight. {’’ عُدْوَةٌ ‘‘} Edge. {’’ الدُّنْيَا ‘‘ ’’ دُنُوٌّ ‘‘ } (to be near) is the feminine of {’’ أَدْنٰي‘‘}, the nearest, meaning you were on that side of the valley of Badr which was closest to Madinah. {’’ الْقُصْوٰى ‘‘ ’’ أَقْصٰي‘‘} is the feminine of {’’ أَقْصٰي‘‘}, meaning the farthest, meaning the Quraysh were on that side of the valley of Badr which was farthest from Madinah. {’’ وَ الرَّكْبُ اَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ ‘‘} That is, the caravan for which you had set out was below you on the seashore, where it was not possible for you to reach at that time, and you and the Quraysh, without any prior intention, gathered on the edges of the same valley; neither did they know about you nor you about them, and Allah intended that by causing a clash between truth and falsehood, the truth would become clear. If you and the Quraysh had set out for battle by fixing a time and place, then certainly there would have been some shortcoming in reaching the appointed promise, either you would not have reached due to your small number and lack of preparation, or the disbelievers would not have reached out of fear of the awe Allah had granted to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), but Allah gathering you in the same valley at the exact time was so that Allah could accomplish what He intended, that is, victory for the Muslims and defeat for the disbelievers.

➋ {لِيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْۢ بَيِّنَةٍ …:} That is, so that despite the abundance and preparation of the disbelievers and the scarcity and lack of resources of the Muslims, the argument would be completed against the disbelievers with the victory of the Muslims, and the truth of Islam would become clear. After that, if anyone remains a disbeliever, he remains so after seeing the proof and falls into destruction, and whoever becomes a Muslim does so after seeing the proof and attains everlasting life.

42. 1. By "dunya" is meant that bank which was near the city of Madinah. "Quswa" means distant. The disbelievers were on that bank which was far from Madinah.
42. 2. This refers to the trade caravan which, under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, was traveling from Syria to Makkah, and for the purpose of intercepting which the Muslims had actually come in that direction. This was in a lowland far to the west from the mountain, whereas the place of Badr, where the battle took place, was on higher ground.
42. 3. That is, if there had been a formal agreement or announcement between the two parties regarding the day and date for battle, it was possible, even certain, that one of the parties would have retreated without fighting. But since the occurrence of this battle had been decreed by Allah, such circumstances were created that both parties, without any prior agreement or warning, confronted each other at the place of Badr.
42. 4. This is the reason for Allah’s decreed will under which the gathering of the two parties at Badr took place, so that whoever lives on faith may live with proof, and be certain that Islam is the truth, because he has witnessed its truth at Badr; and whoever is destroyed with disbelief, may be destroyed with proof, because it has become clear to him that the path of the polytheists is the path of misguidance and falsehood.

42. When you were on the near side of the valley [44], and they were on the farther side, and the caravan [45] was below you (towards the coast). And if you had made a mutual appointment (for battle), you would have failed to keep the appointment. But Allah intended to accomplish what was destined, so that those who would perish might perish upon clear evidence [47], and those who would live might live upon clear evidence. And surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

[44] By "this edge" or "the nearer edge" is meant the direction that was towards Madinah, and by "the farther edge" is meant the opposite direction, which was towards Makkah.

[45]
The Battle of Badr Occurred Out of Necessity:

That is, when the Muslims set out from Madinah, it was not with the intention of jihad, but rather with the intention of attacking a trade caravan. For this reason, there is no reproach upon those Muslims who stayed behind from the Battle of Badr, and the disbelievers did not set out with the intention of fighting, but rather to save their caravan. Now, by Allah’s will, that caravan managed to escape. In this way, both armies happened to encounter each other, and all of this was happening according to Allah’s will.

[46] That is, if the disbelievers and the Muslims had made any agreement or pact to fight each other, it was quite possible that both parties, or one of them, would break the promise and not reach the appointed time and place, or would flee upon arrival, and thus this decisive battle between truth and falsehood would not have taken place. Therefore, Allah created such circumstances that this battle inevitably occurred.

[47]
The Battle of Badr Was a Decisive Encounter Between Truth and Falsehood:

That is, both the disbelievers who died and those who remained alive could see with their own eyes which party was upon the truth and whom Allah helped. Or it means that after seeing this outcome of the disbelievers, if any of them still wished to persist in disbelief, then he does so at his own peril, and whoever wishes to accept Islam, seeing this clear support from Allah, should accept Islam, and it would be to his own benefit. In any case, Allah has shown everyone a living, manifest proof of the falsehood of shirk and disbelief.