Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:11
[They are but] soldiers [who will be] defeated there among the companies [of disbelievers].
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.
And His word ( جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ مَهْزُومٌ مِنَ الأحْزَابِ ) ("a host, there defeated, of the confederates"). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: they are a ( جُنْد ) (host) — that is to say: those who are in arrogance and opposition — are defeated there, namely at Badr. And His word ( هُنَالِكَ ) ("there") belongs grammatically to "defeated." And His word ( مِنَ الأحْزَابِ ) ("of the confederates") means: of the confederates of Iblīs and his followers who have passed away before them, and whom Allah destroyed for their sins. And the "مِنْ" ("of") in His word ( مِنَ الأحْزَابِ ) belongs grammatically to His word "host," and the meaning of the statement is: they are a host of the confederates, defeated there. And the "ما" ("what/that") in His word ( جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ ) is a connective addition.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ مَهْزُومٌ مِنَ الأحْزَابِ ), he said: Quraysh is "of the confederates," he said: the bygone generations.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ مَهْزُومٌ مِنَ الأحْزَابِ ), he said: Allah promised him — when he was that day in Mecca — that He would defeat a host of the polytheists (mushrikīn), and the interpretation of it came to pass on the day of Badr.
And some of the linguists interpreted it thus: ( جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ ) ("a host, there") is a host that is prevented from ascending to heaven.
