سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْفَالِ
Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 44
وَإِذْ يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ إِذِ ٱلْتَقَيْتُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيلًا وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِهِمْ لِيَقْضِىَ ٱللَّهُ أَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُولًا ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ ٱلْأُمُورُ ﴿44﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And (remember) when you met (the army of the disbelievers on the Day of the battle of Badr), He showed them to you as few in your eyes and He made you appear as few in their eyes, so that Allâh might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His Knowledge), and to Allâh return all matters (for decision).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِذْ
wa-idh
And when
يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ
yurīkumūhum
He showed them to you
إِذِ
idhi
when
ٱلْتَقَيْتُمْ
l-taqaytum
you met
فِىٓ
fī
in
أَعْيُنِكُمْ
aʿyunikum
your eyes
قَلِيلًۭا
qalīlan
(as) few
وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ
wayuqallilukum
and He made you (appear) as few
فِىٓ
fī
in
أَعْيُنِهِمْ
aʿyunihim
their eyes
لِيَقْضِىَ
liyaqḍiya
that might accomplish
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah might accomplish
أَمْرًۭا
amran
a matter
كَانَ
kāna
(that) was
مَفْعُولًۭا ۗ
mafʿūlan
(already) destined
وَإِلَى
wa-ilā
And to
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
تُرْجَعُ
tur'jaʿu
return
ٱلْأُمُورُ
l-umūru
(all) the matters
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 44) ➊ The first incident in {وَ اِذْ يُرِيْكُمُوْهُمْ اِذِ الْتَقَيْتُمْ فِيْۤ اَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيْلًا …:} was the dream of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is an incident from the battlefield itself, when the battle was about to take place but had not yet started. The disbelievers appeared few in number to the Muslims, to the extent that some asked others, "In your opinion, how many are they?" He replied, "About seventy (70)." This confirmed the dream of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and also served to boost the morale of the Muslims. The wisdom in making the Muslims appear few in the eyes of the disbelievers was so that they would not consider it necessary to make greater preparations and would not avoid the battle, but rather both parties, considering the other to be few, would be ready to fight. This was at the beginning, but when the battle started, the disbelievers began to see the Muslims as more numerous, as mentioned in Al-Imran: «وَ اُخْرٰى كَافِرَةٌ يَّرَوْنَهُمْ مِّثْلَيْهِمْ رَاْيَ الْعَيْنِ» [ آل عمران : ۱۳ ] "And the other group was the disbelievers, who saw them (the Muslims) with their own eyes as twice their number." The benefit of this was that the battle began, and then, once it started, the morale of the disbelievers fell, and they soon turned and fled in defeat, while the morale of the Muslims continued to rise.
➋ { لِيَقْضِيَ اللّٰهُ اَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُوْلًا:} That is, that very matter: the victory of Islam and the defeat of disbelief, and a miraculous proof is established for the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
➌ { وَ اِلَى اللّٰهِ تُرْجَعُ الْاُمُوْرُ:} That is, He decides whatever He wills, and then, when the real authority in everything belongs to Allah Almighty, the Muslim should make Him alone his objective.
➋ { لِيَقْضِيَ اللّٰهُ اَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُوْلًا:} That is, that very matter: the victory of Islam and the defeat of disbelief, and a miraculous proof is established for the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
➌ { وَ اِلَى اللّٰهِ تُرْجَعُ الْاُمُوْرُ:} That is, He decides whatever He wills, and then, when the real authority in everything belongs to Allah Almighty, the Muslim should make Him alone his objective.
