Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:249
And when Saul went forth with the soldiers, he said, "Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand." But they drank from it, except a [very] few of them. Then when he had crossed it along with those who believed with him, they said, "There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soldiers." But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, "How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُمْ بِنَهَرٍ فَمَنْ شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَنْ لَمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي إِلا مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ إِلا قَلِيلا مِنْهُمْ
(When Ṭālūt set out with the armies, he said: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river. Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me — except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand." Then they drank from it, save a few among them.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: In this report of Allah, praised be His remembrance, something has been omitted, which the indication of what has been mentioned has rendered superfluous to state. The meaning of the words is: "Verily, in that is a sign for you, if you are believers." Thereupon the ark (al-tābūt) came to them, in which was a tranquility (sakīna) from their Lord, and a remnant of what the house of Mūsā and the house of Hārūn had left behind, borne by the angels. Thereupon they believed their prophet and acknowledged that Allah had sent Ṭālūt as king over them, and they submitted to that. To this points His word: "When Ṭālūt set out with the armies." And he would not have set out with them except after they had taken pleasure in him and handed over the kingship to him, for he was not among those who were able to compel them to that, such that one might suppose of him that he had brought them to it against their will.
* * *
As for His word "faṣala" (set out): by it He means: he departed with the army and marched out with them.
* * *
The original meaning of "al-faṣl" is cutting off. Of this one says: "faṣala al-rajul min mawḍiʿ kadhā wa-kadhā" (the man departed from such-and-such a place), by which one means that he cut off that place and passed it by, marching toward another — "yafṣilu fuṣūlan." And "faṣala al-ʿaẓm wa-l-qawl min ghayrihi, fa-huwa yafṣiluhu faṣlan" (he separated the bone or the speech from something else, he separates it with a separation), when he cuts it off and makes it distinct. And "faṣala al-ṣabī fiṣālan" (he weaned the child), when he cuts it off from the milk. (1) And "qawl faṣl" (a decisive word), which cuts through and thereby distinguishes between true and false, which is not turned back.
* * *
It is said: Ṭālūt set out on that day with the armies from Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), and they were eighty thousand fighters. None of the Children of Israel held back from marching out with him, except one who had an infirmity on account of his infirmity, or an old man on account of his old age, or one with a valid excuse who had no strength to march out with him.
* Mention of who said that:
5707 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: one of the scholars related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: Ṭālūt set out with them when they had gathered around him in obedience, and none held back from him except an old man with an infirmity, or a blind man with a valid excuse, or a man with a possession on account of which he indeed had to hold back. (2)
5708 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When the ark came to them, they believed in the prophethood of Shamʿūn (Samuel) and handed over the kingship to Ṭālūt, and they set out with him, and they were eighty thousand. (3)
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: When, then, Ṭālūt set out with them, as we have described, he said: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river." He says: verily, Allah will try you with a river, so that He may know how your obedience to Him is.
* * *
We have already shown in what preceded that the meaning of "al-ibtilāʾ" (the testing) is the trying, in a manner that absolves us from repeating it. (4)
* And in accordance with what we have said about that, Qatāda used to say:
5709 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word of Allah, the Exalted: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river." He said: Verily, Allah tries His creation with what He wills, so that He may know who obeys Him and who disobeys Him.
* * *
It is said: Ṭālūt said "Verily, Allah will test you with a river" because they complained to Ṭālūt about the scarcity of water between them and their enemy, and asked him to invoke Allah for them so that He might cause a river to flow between them and their enemy. Thereupon Ṭālūt said to them at that moment what is reported about him that he said, namely his word: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river."
* Mention of who said that:
5710 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: one of the scholars related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: When Ṭālūt set out with the armies, they said: "The waters do not bear us enough; invoke Allah for us so that He may cause a river to flow for us!" Thereupon Ṭālūt said to them: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river" — the whole of the verses.
* * *
As for "the river" of which Ṭālūt informed them that Allah would test them with it: it is said that it was a river between the Jordan and Palestine.
* Mention of who said that:
5711 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, who said concerning "Verily, Allah will test you with a river": al-Rabīʿ said: it was related to us — and Allah knows best — that it was a river between the Jordan and Palestine.
5712 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning "Verily, Allah will test you with a river": he said: it was related to us that it was a river between the Jordan and Palestine.
5713 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river": he said: it is a river between the Jordan and Palestine.
5714 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: When Ṭālūt set out with the armies, fighting against Jālūt (Goliath), Ṭālūt said to the Children of Israel: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river." He said: a river between Palestine and the Jordan, a river with sweet, palatable water.
And others said: No, it is the river of Palestine.
* Mention of who said that:
5715 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river" — the river with which the Children of Israel were tested was the river of Palestine.
5716 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning "Verily, Allah will test you with a river": it is the river of Palestine.
* * *
As for His word: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me — except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand; then they drank from it, save a few among them" — this is a report from Allah, praised be His remembrance, about Ṭālūt and what he said to his armies when they complained to him of thirst. He informed them that Allah would test them with a river, (5) and then made known to them that the test which he reported to them from Allah concerning that river consisted in this: that whoever drinks of its water is not of him — by this he means: that he does not belong to the people of his authority (wilāya) and obedience, nor to the believers in Allah and the meeting with Him. And that this is so, to it points the word of Allah, praised be His remembrance: فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ (When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him); He excluded from the believers the one who did not cross the river. Then He confined the mention purely to the believers in Allah and the meeting with Him at their approach toward Jālūt and his armies, with His word: قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُو اللَّهِ كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ (Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah"). And He informed them that whoever does not taste of it — He means: whoever does not taste the water of that river. The "hāʾ" (the personal pronoun) in His word "fa-man shariba minhu" (whoever then drinks from it) and in His word "wa-man lam yaṭʿamhu" (and whoever does not taste of it) refers back to "the river," while the meaning pertains to its water. The mention of "the water" was omitted, in reliance upon the listener's understanding through the prior mention of the river: (6) that by it is meant the water that is in it.
* * *
The meaning of His word "lam yaṭʿamhu" is: he did not taste it, that is to say: and whoever does not taste the water of that river, he is of me — He says: he belongs to the people of my authority and obedience, and to the believers in Allah and the meeting with Him. Then He made of the "man" (whoever) in His word "and whoever does not taste of it" an exception for those who scoop up a single handful with their hands, (7) and said: and whoever does not taste the water of that river, (8) except a single handful that he scoops up with his hand, he is of me.
* * *
Then the reciters differed concerning the reading of His word: "Except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand" (illā man ightarafa ghurfatan bi-yadihi).
The generality of the reciters of the people of Medina and Basra read it: "gharfatan," with fatḥa on the "ghayn" of "al-gharfa," in the meaning of a single act of scooping, after your saying "ightaraftu gharfatan" (I scooped a scoop). And "al-gharfa" is the very act of scooping. (9)
* * *
And others read it with ḍamma ("ghurfa"), in the meaning of the water that comes to be in the palm of the one who scoops. Thus "al-ghurfa" is the noun and "al-gharfa" the verbal noun (maṣdar).
* * *
The more preferable to me of these two readings therein is the reading of the "ghayn" with ḍamma in "al-ghurfa," in the meaning of: except whoever scoops a palm-full of water — because of the divergence of "gharfa," when the ghayn is vocalized with fatḥa, from that of which it is a maṣdar. That is because the maṣdar of "ightarafa" is "ightirāfa," while "gharfa" is only the maṣdar of "gharaftu." Since, then, "gharfa" diverges from the maṣdar of "ightarafa," "al-ghurfa," which has the meaning of the noun, in the manner we have described, is more in agreement with it than "al-gharfa," which has the meaning of the act. (10)
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: It was related to us that the generality of them drank of that water, and that whoever drank of it became thirsty, and whoever scooped a single handful was satisfied.
* Mention of who said that:
5717 — Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me, except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand; then they drank from it, save a few among them" — the people drank according to the measure of their certainty (yaqīn). As for the unbelievers (kuffār): they began to drink but were not satisfied; and as for the believers: the man scooped a single handful with his hand, and that was enough for him and satisfied him.
5718 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me, except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand." He said: The unbelievers drank but were not satisfied, and the Muslims scooped a single handful and that was enough for them.
5719 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me, except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand; then they drank from it, save a few among them" — he means the believers among them. The people were numerous, and they drank of it, save a few among them — he means the believers among them. Each of them scooped a single handful and that was enough for him and satisfied him.
5720 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: When the ark and what was in it was in the morning in the house of Ṭālūt, they believed in the prophethood of Shamʿūn and handed over the kingship to Ṭālūt, and they set out with him, and they were eighty thousand. Jālūt was one of the mightiest of people and the hardest in waging war; he used to march out ahead of the army, and his companions did not gather to him until he had defeated whomever he met. When they set out, Ṭālūt said to them: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river; whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me." Then they drank from it out of dread of Jālūt, and four thousand of them crossed over with him, (11) and seventy-six thousand turned back. Whoever drank of it became thirsty, and whoever drank only a single handful of it was satisfied. (12)
5721 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: Allah placed upon the tongue of Ṭālūt, when he set out with the armies, that he said: "None shall accompany me except whoever has the intention of jihād." Then not a single believer held back from him, and not a single hypocrite (munāfiq) followed him ... they turned back as unbelievers (kuffār), on account of their lie in their saying when they said: "We will not touch this water, neither a handful nor anything else." (13) That was because he had said to them: "Verily, Allah will test you with a river" — the whole of the verses — and they said: "We will not touch any of this, neither a handful nor anything other than a handful." (14) He said: Those who remained took a single handful and drank of it until it was enough for them and there was still some left over. (15) He said: Those who did not take the handful were stronger than those who took it.
5722 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His word: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me, except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand" — every person drank according to the measure of what was in his heart. Whoever scooped a single handful and obeyed Him was satisfied on account of his obedience. (16) And whoever drank, and drank much, was disobedient and was not satisfied on account of his disobedience.
5723 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, in a narration that he mentioned, on the authority of one of the scholars, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, concerning His word: "Whoever then drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste of it, he is of me, except whoever scoops up a single handful with his hand." Allah, praised be His remembrance, says: "Then they drank from it, save a few among them." And it was — according to what they claim — that whoever of them drank continuously of the drinking that was forbidden was not satisfied, and whoever only tasted of it as was commanded: a single handful with his hand, for him it was enough and sufficient.
* * *
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ قَالُوا لا طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ
(When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His word "fa-lammā jāwazahu huwa" (when he crossed it) He means, praised be His remembrance: when Ṭālūt crossed the river. The "hāʾ" in "jāwazahu" refers back to "the river," and "huwa" (he) is a designation of the name Ṭālūt. And His word "and those who believed with him" means: and with him crossed the river those who believed; they said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies."
* * *
Then they differed concerning the number of those who crossed the river with him on that day, and concerning which of them said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies."
Some of them said: Their number was the number of the people of Badr: three hundred men and some ten-odd men.
* Mention of who said that:
5724 — Hārūn ibn Isḥāq al-Hamdānī related to us, saying: Muṣʿab ibn al-Miqdām related to us — and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us — both said together: Isrāʾīl related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: We used to relate that the number of the people of Badr was equal to the number of the companions of Ṭālūt who crossed the river with him, and none crossed over with him except a believer: three hundred and some ten-odd men. (17)
5725 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: We used to relate that the people of Badr on the day of Badr were equal in number to the companions of Ṭālūt: three hundred men and thirteen men, those who crossed the river. (18)
5726 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: We used to relate that the companions of the Prophet ﷺ on the day of Badr were three hundred and some ten-odd men, equal to the number of the companions of Ṭālūt who crossed over with him, and none crossed over with him except a believer. (19)
5727 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, in a similar manner. (20)
5728 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: We used to relate that the companions of the Prophet ﷺ on the day of Badr were equal in number to the companions of Ṭālūt on the day they crossed the river, and none crossed over with him except a Muslim. (21)
5729 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Misʿar related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, in the same manner. (22)
5730 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: It was related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ on the day of Badr said to his companions: "You are as numerous as the companions of Ṭālūt on the day he met [the enemy]." And the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the day of Badr were three hundred and some ten-odd men.
5731 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, who said: Allah purified those who believed at the river, and they were three hundred, more than ten and less than twenty. Then Dāwūd ﷺ came and thereby completed the number.
* * *
And others said: No, four thousand crossed the river with him, but the people of faith among them were not separated from the people of unbelief (kufr) and hypocrisy (nifāq) until they met Jālūt.
* Mention of who said that:
5732 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Of the Children of Israel, four thousand crossed the river with Ṭālūt. When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him, and they looked at Jālūt, they too turned back and said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies." Then three thousand six hundred and some eighty of them also turned back from him, and there remained three hundred and some ten-odd, the number of the people of Badr. (23)
5733 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him, those who had drunk said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies."
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the two statements therein is what is related on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās and what al-Suddī said; namely that there crossed the river with Ṭālūt both the believer who had drunk of the river only the handful, and the unbeliever (kāfir) who had drunk much of it. Then the distinction between them took place, after that, at the sight of Jālūt and the meeting with him, and the people of ascribing partners to Allah (shirk) and hypocrisy (nifāq) separated themselves from him — (24) and they are those who said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies." And the people of insight into the affair of Allah continued upon their insights — they are the people of steadfastness in faith — and they said: كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ (How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah; and Allah is with the patient).
* * *
And if a heedless one supposes that it is not permissible that there crossed the river with Ṭālūt anyone except the people of faith who remained steadfast with him in their faith, and those who drank of the river only the handful — because Allah, praised be His remembrance, said: "When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him," so that it would be known that none crossed over with him except the people of faith, in accordance with that with which the report is related on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, and because, had the people of unbelief crossed the river as the people of faith crossed it, Allah would not therein have distinguished the people of faith exclusively by the mention — (25) then the matter therein is other than he supposes. That is because it is not objectionable that both groups — I mean the group of faith and the group of unbelief — crossed the river, and that Allah informed His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ about the believers with regard to the crossing, because they belonged to those who crossed it with their king, and that He left aside the mention of the people of unbelief, even though they had crossed the river together with the believers.
And what indicates the correctness of what we have said about that is the word of Allah, praised be His remembrance: "When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said: 'We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies.' Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said: 'How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah.'" For Allah, praised be His remembrance, established that الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُو اللَّهِ (those who were convinced that they would meet Allah) are those who, upon crossing the river, said: كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ (How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah), and not the others who were not convinced that they would meet Allah — and that "those who were not convinced that they would meet Allah" are those who said: (We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies). And it is not permissible that faith be ascribed to one who denied that he would meet Allah, or doubted of it. (26)
* * *
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: قَالُوا لا طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُو اللَّهِ كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ (249)
(They said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies." Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah; and Allah is with the patient.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The people of interpretation differed concerning the affair of these two groups — I mean those who said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies," and those who said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah" — who they both are.
Some of them said: The group that said "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies" are the people of unbelief (kufr) in Allah and hypocrisy (nifāq), and they are not among those who were present at the fighting (qitāl) against Jālūt and his armies, because they turned away from Ṭālūt and from those who remained steadfast with him for the fighting against the enemy of Allah, Jālūt, and those who were with him; and they are those who disobeyed the command of Allah by their drinking from the river.
* Mention of who said that:
5734 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, with that.
* * *
And this is the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās. We have just mentioned the narration about it on his authority. (27)
* * *
5735 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said" — they are those who scooped and obeyed, those who continued on with Ṭālūt, the believers; and those who doubted remained seated.
* * *
And others said: Both groups were people of faith, and there was among them none who drank of the water except a handful; nay, they were all people of obedience, but some of them were more steadfast in certainty (yaqīn) than others. They are those of whom Allah reported that they said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah." And the others were weaker in certainty; they are those who said: "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies."
* Mention of who said that:
5736 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "When he crossed it, he and those who believed with him, they said: 'We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies.' Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said: 'How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah; and Allah is with the patient.'" And the believers were — by Allah — some of them far more excellent and more resolute than others, while they were all believers. (28)
5737 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah," that the Prophet on the day of Badr said to his companions: "You are as numerous as the companions of Ṭālūt: three hundred." Qatāda said: And with the Prophet ﷺ on the day of Badr were three hundred and some ten-odd.
5738 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: Those who did not take the handful were stronger than those who took it; and they are those who said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company by the permission of Allah; and Allah is with the patient."
* * *
And on the basis of the statement related on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib — namely that there did not cross the river with Ṭālūt except the number of the companions of Badr — it is necessary that the two groups whom Allah described with that with which He described them, their affair be in the manner that Qatāda and Ibn Zayd said about them.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the two statements in the interpretation of the verse is what Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Suddī, and Ibn Jurayj said, and we have already mentioned the proof for it in what preceded, just now. (29)
* * *
As for the interpretation of His word: "Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said" — by it He means: those who know and are convinced with certainty that they will meet Allah, said. (30)
5739 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "Those who were convinced that they would meet Allah said" — they are those who are convinced with certainty.
* * *
The interpretation of the words is, then: those who are convinced of the resurrection and believe in the return to Allah, said to those who said "We have no power this day against Jālūt and his armies": "Kam min fiʾatin qalīlatin" (how many a small company) — by "kam" He means: how much — "ghalabat" (has overcome): a small company "fiʾatan kathīratan bi-idhni-llāh" (a large company by the permission of Allah), He means: by the decree and foreordainment of Allah; (31) "wa-llāhu maʿa al-ṣābirīn" (and Allah is with the patient), He says: with those who restrain themselves for the sake of His good pleasure and obedience. (32)
* * *
We have already given the exposition concerning the meanings of "al-ẓann" (supposing), and that one of its meanings is sure knowledge (al-ʿilm al-yaqīn), with that which demonstrates the correctness thereof, in what preceded, so that we found it disagreeable to repeat it. (33)
* * *
As for "al-fiʾa": it is the group of people, without there existing a singular of it from its own sound-form, and it is equivalent to "al-rahṭ" and "al-nafar." It is pluralized as (34) "fiʾāt," and "fiʾūna" in the nominative (rafʿ), and "fiʾīna" in the accusative (naṣb) and the genitive (khafḍ), with fatḥa on its nūn in all cases. And "fiʾūna" in the nominative with the inflection of its nūn in the nominative and the retention of the yāʾ in it; and in the accusative "fiʾīnā," and in the genitive "fiʾīn," so that the inflection in the genitive and the accusative lies in its nūn. And in all those cases the "yāʾ" in it remains preserved in its state. When it is placed in an iḍāfa construction, one says: "hāʾulāʾi fiʾūnuka" (these are your companies), (35) with retention of the nūn and omission of the tanwīn, just as those whose usage is "hādhihi sinīn" in the plural of "al-sana" (the year), say: "hādhihi sinīnuka" (these are your years), with retention of the nūn and its inflection and omission of its tanwīn on account of the iḍāfa. And thus does it proceed with every shortened word (manqūṣ) such as "miʾa" (hundred), "thuba" (group), "qulla," and "ʿizza." As for that whose shortening is at its beginning, of it the plural is with the tāʾ, such as "ʿida and ʿidāt" (promise), and "ṣila and ṣilāt" (bond).
* * *
And as for His word "and Allah is with the patient": by it He means: and Allah is the helper of the patient in the jihād on His path and in the rest of His obedience, and the one who gives them victory and grants them triumph over His enemies, who turn people away from His path and oppose the way of His religion.
* * *
And thus it is said of everyone who helps a man against another: "He is with him," in the meaning of: he is with him by aid to him and support. (36)
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Footnotes:
(1) See the explanation of "al-fiṣāl" in what preceded of this part: 67.
(2) The narration 5707 — "istawsaqū lahu": they gathered around him in obedience and submitted (see what preceded, p. 231) at the end of narration 5659 and the commentary upon it. And "al-ḍarīr": the emaciated sick man, who is afflicted by the illness.
(3) The narration 5708 — is found in the Taʾrīkh 1:243, as part of a long narration the greater part of which has already passed in what preceded.
(4) See what preceded 2:49/3:7, 220.
(5) In the manuscript and the printed edition it reads: "... about Ṭālūt that he said to his armies, ... then he informed that Allah," an expression that does not run straight upon the path of the words, so I made "annahu" into "bimā," and "fa-akhbara" into "fa-akhbarahum." And I reiterate that the copyist in this place has much negligence and errors on account of his haste.
(6) In the manuscript and the printed edition it reads: "kadhālika," but the correct is what I have established, and the import of the expression is: in reliance upon the listener's understanding before it through the mention of the river: that by it is meant ...
(7) Most of the exegetes have made the exception apply to His word "whoever then drinks from it," and Abū Ḥayyān said in his tafsīr 1:265: "In some works there has occurred what reads as follows: 'except whoever scoops' is an exception to the first, and if you wish to the second, because He judged that whoever does not taste of it belongs to him, so that with the exception of this it is necessary that whoever scoops a single handful of it with his hand does not belong to him. But the matter is not so, because it was permitted to them to scoop a handful with the hand without slurping it up. And it is clearly an exception to the first, because He judged therein that whoever drinks of it does not belong to him, so that with the exception it is necessary that whoever scoops a single handful of it with his hand does indeed belong to him, since it is permitted to him therein. And thus is the exception: it is, from negation an affirmation, and from affirmation a negation, according to the correct of the opinions in this question." See also the commentary of Ibn al-Munīr on the Kashshāf in the margin 1:149-150. As for al-ʿUkbarī in Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān: he said: "'except whoever scoops' — an exception of the genus, and its position is accusative. And you have the choice: if you wish, you make it an exception to the first 'man,' and if you wish, to the second 'man.'" And this supports the correctness of al-Ṭabarī's meaning, and the correctness of what we have corrected, for in the manuscript and the printed edition it stood: "thumma istathnā min qawlihi ...". And the manuscript is, as repeatedly mentioned, confused in this place, and in places of such matters. And you will see that in the following commentary. And it seems that al-Ṭabarī meant that the people were two groups: a group that drank of the water, and a believing group that tasted of the water only a handful. And with that all that he has said is correct. And this is clear; it will come later on pp. 348-350, that whoever crossed the river with Ṭālūt: the one who drank of the water only the handful, and the unbeliever who drank much of it. And it is as though the believers all — according to him — drank of the water a handful. This is what I deem most likely, and Allah is the Lord of success.
(8) In the manuscript it reads: "fa-qālū: man lam yaṭʿam wa-man lam yaṭʿam māʾa dhālika al-nahr ...", which is a confusion of the words.
(9) "al-fiʿl" means the maṣdar, as just mentioned on p. 330, note 1, and as the following sentences to the end of the words will make explicit.
(10) This is an excellent fine determination which you rarely encounter in the books of language. See the Lisān, the entry (gh-r-f), and the statement of al-Kisāʾī and others about it.
(11) In the printed edition and the manuscript it reads: "fa-ʿabara minhum" with the omission of "maʿahu," and I have established it from the Taʾrīkh.
(12) The narration 5720 — is a part of the narration that is found in the Taʾrīkh 1:242-243, and al-Ṭabarī has divided it in this tafsīr in pieces in many places, to which we have referred under the numbers 5635, 5638, 5679, 5690, 5708.
(13) In the manuscript it reads: "wa-lam tatbaʿhu munāfiq, rajaʿū kuffāran, fa-lammā raʾā qillatahum qālū: lan namassa hādhihi al-māʾ," and both expressions in both cases do not run straight. And I deem it most likely that from the copyist a line or a part of a line has dropped out, the meaning of which is: that some of those who set out with him turned back as unbelievers on account of their lie in that saying of theirs. And what makes that likely to me is that he says afterward: "He said: and those who remained took the handful," which is an indication that he had before that given the mention of those who drank from the river. Upon this, and in the printed edition it stood "wa-lā ghayrahā," so I established what is in the manuscript, for it is correct.
(14) In the printed edition it reads: "lan namassa min hādhā" with the addition of "min," and I have established what is in the manuscript.
(15) In the printed edition it reads: "fa-sharibū minhā," and I have established what is in the manuscript.
(16) In the printed edition it reads: "rawiya bi-ṭāʿatihi," and what I have established more closely resembles the manuscript and the correct.
(17) The ḥadīth 5724 — this ḥadīth about al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib concerns the number of the people of Badr. And al-Ṭabarī has related it with six isnāds, all on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib. And Aḥmad has related it in the Musnad 4:290 (Ḥalabī), on the authority of Wakīʿ, on the authority of his father — that is al-Jarrāḥ ibn Malīḥ — and Sufyān, that is al-Thawrī, and Isrāʾīl, all three on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ. And al-Bukhārī has related it 8:228, by way of Zuhayr, and by way of Isrāʾīl, and by way of al-Thawrī — all three on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, with it. And Ibn Kathīr mentioned it 1:603, on the authority of the narrations of al-Ṭabarī, with the isnāds abridged. Then he mentioned that al-Bukhārī related it. And al-Suyūṭī mentioned it 1:318, and added the attribution to Ibn Abī Shayba, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and al-Bayhaqī in the Dalāʾil. But he forgot to attribute it to Aḥmad.
(18) The ḥadīth 5725 — Abū Bakr, the narrator on the authority of Abū Isḥāq: it is Ibn ʿAyyāsh. And my brother al-Sayyid Maḥmūd Muḥammad Shākir has mentioned that he found in the manuscript, at the end of this ḥadīth, "a very strange word," after his word "those who crossed the river," namely "fa-sakata" — very clearly. And I have not found it in another place and have not been able to ascertain what it is. And it is omitted in the printed edition. And I say: I too have not found this word, and have not been able to ascertain what it is. Therefore we have decided to omit it from this printed edition of ours, with the explanation thereof, in fulfillment of scholarly reliability.
(19) The ḥadīth 5726 — Abū ʿĀmir: it is al-ʿAqadī, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAmr.
(20) The ḥadīth 5727 — the father of Wakīʿ: it is al-Jarrāḥ ibn Malīḥ ibn ʿAdī al-Ruʾāsī, and he is trustworthy (thiqa); about him there has been speech without proof, as we have set out in the explanation of the Musnad, at ḥadīth 650. And the narration of Wakīʿ on the authority of his father of this ḥadīth is one of the narrations of the Musnad, to which we referred at the previous ḥadīth: 5724.
(21) The ḥadīth 5728 — Muʾammal: it is Ibn Ismāʿīl al-ʿAdawī. And Sufyān — in this and the preceding one — is al-Thawrī.
(22) The ḥadīth 5729 — Abū Aḥmad: it is al-Zubayrī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Zubayr al-Asadī. Misʿar: it is Ibn Kidām, whose biography has already passed under 1974.
(23) The narration 5732 — is a part of the long narration that he related in the Taʾrīkh 1:242-243, and he has divided it in the tafsīr in pieces, as we indicated in the commentary on narration 5720. And the narration of Abū Jaʿfar here is: "and there remained three hundred and some ten-odd," and in the Taʾrīkh: "and nineteen."
(24) In the printed edition it reads: "wa-nkhadhala ʿanhu," with the dhāl, and that is a gross error which is not said here, and the correct is in the manuscript. And "inkhazala ʿanhu": he cut himself off and set himself apart; and in another ḥadīth: "ʿAbdallāh ibn Ubayy set himself apart from that place," that is to say: he set himself apart and turned back with his people.
(25) The import: "And if a heedless one supposes ... then the matter therein is other than he supposes."
(26) This is a clear and decisive proof, which contains so much acuity, understanding, and precision that one ought to pause at it.
(27) See the narration number: 5722.
(28) What is between brackets is an addition from the manuscript.
(29) See what preceded: 349, 350.
(30) See the statement concerning His word: "the meeting with Allah" in what preceded 2:20-22/4:419.
(31) See the explanation of "al-idhn" in what preceded 2:449, 450/4:287, 371.
(32) See the meaning of "al-ṣabr" in what preceded 2:11, 124/3:214, 349, and the linguistic indexes.
(33) See what preceded 2:17-20/ then: 265.
(34) In the printed edition it reads: "jamʿuhu," and I have established what is in the manuscript.
(35) In the printed edition it reads: "fiʾnuka," and that is an error.
(36) See the explanation of "maʿa" in what preceded 3:214.
