Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:139
So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.
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 explanation of His word: وَلا تَهِنُوا وَلا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (139) ("And do not become weak and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones, if you are believers" (3:139)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is, from Allah—exalted is His mention—a consolation to the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the wounds and the slain that befell them at Uḥud.
He said: "And do not become weak and do not grieve," O Companions of Muḥammad, that is to say: do not become weak—because of what befell you from your enemy at Uḥud in slain and wounds—regarding the jihād against your enemy and the fighting against them.
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This comes from the saying of the speaker: "wahana fulān fī hādhā al-amr fa-huwa yahinu wahnan" (so-and-so became weak in this matter, and he becomes weak, with weakness).
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"And do not grieve," and do not sorrow, so that you would despair over the calamity that befell you that day, for you are "the superior ones (al-aʿlawn)," that is to say: those who prevail over them, and to you belongs the final outcome in victory and triumph over them—"if you are believers (in kuntum muʾminīn)." He says: if you believe My Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in what he promises you, and in what he conveys to you of tidings about that to which your affair and their affair will lead, as in:
7884 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: The slaying and the wounds increased among the Companions of Muḥammad ﷺ, until the distress reached each one of them. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed the Qurʾān, and consoled the believers therein with the best consolation with which He had ever consoled any people of the Muslims who were before them from the bygone communities. He said: "And do not become weak and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones, if you are believers," up to His word: لَبَرَزَ الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَى مَضَاجِعِهِمْ ("those for whom the slaying was prescribed would surely have gone forth to their resting-places").
7885 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "And do not become weak and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones, if you are believers." He consoles the Companions of Muḥammad ﷺ as you hear, and urges them to the fight against their enemy, and forbids them the incapacity and the weakness in the pursuit of their enemy on the path of Allah.
7886 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, saying: ʿAbbād related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "And do not become weak and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones, if you are believers." He said: He commands Muḥammad, He says: "And do not become weak" in going forth on the path of Allah.
7887 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: "And do not become weak," that is to say: do not become weak.
7888 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
7889 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His word: "And do not become weak and do not grieve." He says: and do not become weak.
7890 — Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "And do not become weak." Ibn Jurayj said: and do not become weak in the matter of your enemy—"and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones." He said: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were put to flight in the mountain valley (al-shiʿb), and they said: "What has happened to so-and-so? What has happened to so-and-so?" And they reported to one another the deaths, and they told one another that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had been slain, so that they fell into worry and grief. And while they were in that state, Khālid ibn al-Walīd with the cavalry of the polytheists (al-mushrikīn) climbed the mountain above them, while they were lower down in the mountain valley. But when they saw the Prophet ﷺ, they rejoiced, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "O Allah, we have no power except through You, and none worships You in this region except this band!" He said: Then a group of archers of the Muslims rose up, and they climbed (the mountain) and shot at the cavalry of the polytheists, until Allah defeated them and the Muslims climbed the mountain. That is His word: "while you are the superior ones, if you are believers."
7891 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: "And do not become weak," that is to say: do not become weak—"and do not grieve," and do not sorrow over what befell you—"while you are the superior ones," that is to say: to you will belong the final outcome and the victory—"if you are believers," if you believe My Prophet in what he brought you from Me.
7892 — 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: Khālid ibn al-Walīd advanced with the intention of climbing the mountain above them, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "O Allah, let them not rise above us." Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed: "And do not become weak and do not grieve, while you are the superior ones, if you are believers."