The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 151
PT. 4 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN CH. 3 الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِلَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْقَرْحُ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا they had مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّقَوْا أَجْرٌ عَظِيمُ R. 18. 173. As to those who "answered the call of Allah and the Messenger after received an injury-such of them as do good and act righteously shall have a great reward;4. 455 455. Commentary: a8:25. The reference in this and the next verse is to the two expeditions led by the Holy Prophet against the Meccans as a result of the Battle of Uḥud. The first was undertaken on the day immediately following that battle. When the Meccans withdrew from Uhud, and took their way back to Mecca, they were, as narrated above, taunted by the Arab tribes for having brought no booty and no prisoners of war from a battle in which they Asad, a distance of about eight miles from Medina on the route to Mecca, and seeing that the enemy had fled, returned to Medina. The second expedition came a year later. Before leaving the battlefield of Uḥud, Abu Sufyan, commander of the Meccan army, had promised the Muslims another engagement next year at Badr. But the ensuing year being a year of famine, he could not keep his appointment. So he sent Nu'aim bin Mas'ud to Medina to terrify the Muslims by spreading false rumours of great preparations having been made by the Meccans. This clumsy ruse completely failed to frighten the Muslims, who came to Badr at the appointed time only to find that the Meccans had not appeared. The Muslims profited by this opportunity by taking part in trafficking at the great annual fair that used to be held there every year and returned prosperous as well as claimed to have won a victory. The Meccans, thereupon, thought of returning to Medina with a view to re-attacking the Muslims and completing their victory. The Holy Prophet, who had also anticipated the return of the Meccans, at once called upon his Companions to join him in the pursuit of the enemy and most wisely restricted the call to only such able-bodied Muslims as had taken part in the Battle of Uḥud. So on the|triumphant following day, he left Medina with 250 men. When the Meccans heard of the Muslims advancing towards them, they lost heart and fled. The Holy Prophet went as far as Ḥamra'ul- 591 to Medina. This expedition is known in history as the expedition of Badras-Sughrā, (i. e. the smaller Badr), to distinguish it from the great Battle of Badr which had taken place about two years earlier.