Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6) ➊ {يُجَادِلُوْنَكَ فِي الْحَقِّ … :} By "the truth" is meant fighting the disbelievers in every situation after the departure of the disbelievers' caravan, the outcome of which would be victory and spoils of war. In brief, the incident is that in the 2nd year of Hijrah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) received news that a very large trade caravan of the Quraysh, under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, was traveling from Syria to Makkah and had reached a route near Madinah. The Prophet (peace be upon him), along with a small group of Muslims, numbering a little over three hundred, set out in pursuit of the caravan. Abu Sufyan got news of his departure, so he sent word to Makkah through a swift rider and, as a precaution, left the main route and took the coastal route. When this news reached Makkah, Abu Jahl set out with a large armed army to protect the caravan and camped at Badr. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed, he presented the entire situation before the Muslims: on one side was the trade caravan and on the other side was the army of Quraysh, and Allah had promised that you would surely attain one of the two. At this, some of the companions hesitated; they wanted to pursue the caravan instead of the army. At that time, Abu Bakr, Umar, Sa'd bin Mu'adh, and Miqdad bin Aswad (may Allah be pleased with them) gave speeches of obedience. Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) said that you will not find us like the companions of Musa (peace be upon him), who said, "Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we are sitting right here!" Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) set out towards Badr, and at that time some companions had advised not to fight the army; this is expressed by {’’ يُجَادِلُوْنَكَ ‘‘} (they were disputing with you).
➋ {كَاَنَّمَا يُسَاقُوْنَ اِلَى الْمَوْتِ … :} That is, they thought that fighting such a large army was like throwing themselves into the mouth of death.