The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 148
CH. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN which could inspire its votaries with such selfless zeal and steadfast devotion could not but be true. The particle rendered as "and" in the clause, fight in the cause of Allah and repel the attack of the enemy, literally means "or" and is equivalent to "in other words", or "what is the same thing," etc. It is used here: (1) to explain the meaning of the preceding clause, i. e. fight in the cause of Allah. So the whole sentence would read something like this: "It was said to them (the hypocrites): Come ye, fight in the cause of Allah, which was the same thing as repelling the attack of the enemy. " This rendering would go to prove that the Companions of the Holy Prophet waged no aggressive war and all their fighting was undertaken in self-defence. (2) Or the word (and) is used here in the sense of "at least". According to this rendering, the sentence would mean: "Fight in the cause of Allah; and if you cannot fight in the cause of Allah, at least fight in defence of your own homes and hearths," i. e. your own interests require that you should defend Medina against the attack of the enemy. (3) Or as rendered in the text the word is used in the sense of "and". With this meaning of N, the whole sentence would mean, "fight in the cause of Allah and repel the attack of the enemy. " PT. 4 we thought there would be no fighting. By using this expression the hypocrites meant that seeing the strength of the enemy, the Muslims would at once run away and there will be no fighting. (2) If we knew it to be a fight, i. e. it was no fight in which the Muslims were going to be engaged, but certain destruction in view of the appalling difference between the numbers and equipment of the opposing forces. (3) Or, as rendered in the text, the expression may mean, if we knew how to fight. In this case, it must be taken to have been used ironically, signifying: "We are unaware of the art of war; if we had been acquainted with it, we would have fought along with you. " The allusion in the verse is obviously to the defection at Uḥud of a party of 300 hypocrites under their leader 'Abdullah bin Ubayy, who, at a crucial moment, deserted the Muslims and went back to Medina, saying, "He (the Prophet) has disregarded my advice and has followed the advice of mere lads". Seeing this, 'Abdullah bin 'Amr, father of Jabir, approached him and asked him not to desert the Prophet in that manner, upon which ‘Abdullāh replied in the very words quoted by the Quran, i. e. meaning, "If we knew there would be fighting, we would have surely followed you. " The expression translated in At this 'Abdullāh bin 'Amr the text as, If we knew how to fight, exclaimed, saying: "God's curse be may have three meanings: (1) If we upon you. Surely, He Himself will knew that there would be fighting, i. e. | help His Messenger" (Jarir, iii. 104). 588