The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 124
PT. 4 CH. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN 141. "If you have received an injury, surely the disbelieving people have already received a اِنْ يَّمْسَسْكُمْ قَرْحٌ فَقَدْ مَسَّ الْقَوْمَ قَرْحٌ مِثْلُهُ وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ ج النَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا similar injury. And such days وَيَتَّخِذَ مِنْكُمْ شُهَدَاءَ وَاللهُ لَا يُحِبُّ be الظَّلِمِينَ may We cause to alternate among men that they admonished, and that Allah may distinguish those who believe and may take witnesses from among you; and Allah loves not the unjust;424 "4:105. hold of them on account of that reverse, either in body or in actions or in faith. The Arabic clause rendered as, if you are believers, may also be rendered as "because you are believers". In this case the verse would embody a more positive promise of victory. 424. Important Words: explained by the fact that knowledge is of two kinds. One kind of knowledge consists of knowing a thing before it comes into existence; and the other kind consists of knowing it when, and as, it actually comes into existence. Here it is the latter kind of knowledge that is meant. Commentary: علم distinguish is derived from) يعلم which ordinarily means, he knew, but is also used in the of distinguishing. Ibn Jarir says under sense Elsewhere (in 3:166 below) it is said that Muslims inflicted upon disbelievers an injury double of what they themselves suffered. This refers to the Battle of Badr, when seventy لا علم عبد الله this verse that the expression ie that I Meccans were killed and seventy. لاعرف هذا من هذا,means من عمر may distinguish 'Abdullah from 'Umar. The word is used in this sense in 2:144 and 2:221 also. In fact, God, being Omniscient, does not stand in need of knowing a thing, for everything is ever known to Him. It is only distinguishing between two things that is meant. Even, however, if is taken here in the sense of knowing, the expression may be 564 were taken prisoner, thus making a total of 140. In the Battle of Uḥud, on the other hand, seventy Muslims were killed, but none of them were taken prisoner. Thus Muslims had inflicted on the disbelievers a double injury in the Battle of Badr compared with what they themselves suffered in the Battle of Uḥud. Counting, however, only those killed in the two battles,