Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:160
If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.
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 discourse on the explanation of His saying: إِنْ يَنْصُرْكُمُ اللَّهُ فَلا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَنْصُرُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (160) (If Allah helps you, then there is none who can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, then who is it that could help you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, means thereby: "If Allah helps you," O you who believe in Allah and His Messenger, against those whom you treat with enmity and deal with as foes among His enemies and those who disbelieve in Him — "then there is none among the people who can overcome you," He says: then no one will overcome you, with His help to you, even if there should gather against you all who are in every corner of the earth among His creatures. So do not fear the enemies of Allah on account of your small number and their large number, so long as you observe His command and remain steadfast in obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger, for victory and triumph are for you, not for them. — "and if He forsakes you, then who is it that could help you after Him?", that means: if your Lord forsakes you on account of your transgression of His command and your abandonment of obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger, so that He leaves you to yourselves — "then who is it that could help you after Him?", He says: then despair of the help of the people, for you will find no [helper] after Allah's forsaking of you, if He forsakes you. He says: so do not abandon My command and My obedience and obedience to My Messenger, lest you perish through My forsaking of you. — "And upon Allah let the believers rely," that means: but upon your Lord, O believers, you must rely, and not upon the rest of His creatures, and with Him you must be content above all who are lesser than He, and to His decree you must submit, and fight in His way against His enemies — He will suffice you with His support and aid you with His help. As:
8135 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: "If Allah helps you, then there is none who can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, then who is it that could help you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely," that is to say: if Allah helps you, then there is none among the people who can overcome you — the forsaking of whoever forsakes you will not harm you, and if He forsakes you, then the people will not help you — "then who is it that could help you after Him?", that is to say: do not abandon My command for the sake of the people, and cast off the [command of] the people for the sake of My command, and upon Allah, [not upon the people], let the believers rely.