سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 146
وَكَأَيِّن مِّن نَّبِىٍّ قَـٰتَلَ مَعَهُۥ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا۟ لِمَآ أَصَابَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا۟ وَمَا ٱسْتَكَانُوا۟ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ ﴿146﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And many a Prophet (i.e. many from amongst the Prophets) fought (in Allâh’s Cause) and along with him (fought) large bands of religious learned men. But they never lost heart for that which did befall them in Allâh’s Way, nor did they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allâh loves As-Sâbirûn (the patient).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَكَأَيِّن
waka-ayyin
And how many
مِّن
min
from
نَّبِىٍّۢ
nabiyyin
a Prophet
قَـٰتَلَ
qātala
fought
مَعَهُۥ
maʿahu
with him
رِبِّيُّونَ
ribbiyyūna
(were) religious scholars
كَثِيرٌۭ
kathīrun
many
فَمَا
famā
But not
وَهَنُوا۟
wahanū
they lost heart
لِمَآ
limā
for what
أَصَابَهُمْ
aṣābahum
befell them
فِى
fī
in
سَبِيلِ
sabīli
(the) way
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
(of) Allah
وَمَا
wamā
and not
ضَعُفُوا۟
ḍaʿufū
they weakened
وَمَا
wamā
and not
ٱسْتَكَانُوا۟ ۗ
is'takānū
they gave in
وَٱللَّهُ
wal-lahu
And Allah
يُحِبُّ
yuḥibbu
loves
ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
l-ṣābirīna
the patient ones
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 146 to 148) { ”رِبِّيُّوْنَ“ } This is the plural of {’’رِبِّيٌّ‘‘}, which is synonymous with {”رَبَّانِيٌّ“}. (Kashaf) Another meaning that scholars have given is that it is attributed to {’’رِبَّةٌ ‘‘}, which means a large group, i.e., there were many groups with them. (Qurtubi)
{’’وَهْنٌ، ضُعْفٌ، اِسْتِكَانَةٌ ‘‘} All three of these words are close in meaning, and in terms of weakness, they occur in the following order: {’’وَهْنٌ ‘‘} means to lose courage from the heart, “ضُعْفٌ” is general weakness, and {’’ اِسْتِكَانَةٌ ‘‘} is to show humility before the enemy. The purpose of these three verses is to rebuke and warn those who, upon seeing signs of defeat on the day of Uhud, lost heart and, upon hearing the rumor of the martyrdom of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), became completely demoralized. Thus, it is said that followers of previous prophets have passed before you, so follow them and do not show such weakness. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir)
That is, many among them {’’رِبِّيُّوْنَ ‘‘} continued to strive in jihad along with their prophets, but despite their small numbers and lack of resources, they never lost courage, nor did they fall into doubts when their prophets passed away or were martyred. Rather, they always and in every situation acted with patience and steadfastness, and kept asking Allah for forgiveness for their shortcomings. As a result, Allah granted them rewards in both this world and the Hereafter, and, with the beautiful reward of the Hereafter and, due to attaining the rank of ihsan,, also granted them His love. He said: «وَ اللّٰهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ»
{’’وَهْنٌ، ضُعْفٌ، اِسْتِكَانَةٌ ‘‘} All three of these words are close in meaning, and in terms of weakness, they occur in the following order: {’’وَهْنٌ ‘‘} means to lose courage from the heart, “ضُعْفٌ” is general weakness, and {’’ اِسْتِكَانَةٌ ‘‘} is to show humility before the enemy. The purpose of these three verses is to rebuke and warn those who, upon seeing signs of defeat on the day of Uhud, lost heart and, upon hearing the rumor of the martyrdom of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), became completely demoralized. Thus, it is said that followers of previous prophets have passed before you, so follow them and do not show such weakness. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir)
That is, many among them {’’رِبِّيُّوْنَ ‘‘} continued to strive in jihad along with their prophets, but despite their small numbers and lack of resources, they never lost courage, nor did they fall into doubts when their prophets passed away or were martyred. Rather, they always and in every situation acted with patience and steadfastness, and kept asking Allah for forgiveness for their shortcomings. As a result, Allah granted them rewards in both this world and the Hereafter, and, with the beautiful reward of the Hereafter and, due to attaining the rank of ihsan,, also granted them His love. He said: «وَ اللّٰهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ»
