The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 646
CH. 8 AL-ANFĀL 7. They dispute with concerning the truth after it has PT. 9 يُجَادِلُونَكَ فِي الْحَقِّ بَعْدَ مَا تَبَيَّنَ كَأَنَّمَا thee يُسَاقُوْنَ إِلَى الْمَوْتِ وَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ become manifest, as though they are being driven to death while they actually see it. 1097 promises contained in 8:2, 5 above). In this case the verse could be rendered as: "God grants victories and spoils to His servants and bestows on them honourable provision just as He did when He brought thee forth from thy house, etc. " (rightfully) The expression refers to the fact that it was by Divine command, and under Divine revelation, that the Holy Prophet went forth from Medina to meet the enemy. The verse thus signifies that, as the Holy Prophet had come forth by God's own command, and under His special revelation, therefore God could not forsake him; so He helped him against the enemy. The verse relates to the Battle of Badr. When Muslims came forth from Medina, they did not know that they would have to fight a Meccan army. So they did not come fully prepared for battle. Hence, when, on the way, the Holy Prophet revealed to them the fact that they would have to fight the Meccan army, they asked him why he had not told them so at Medina, so that they might have come prepared to meet the enemy. Their anxiety was not for themselves but for the Holy Prophet, whom they loved more than their lives. Hence, in their condition of unpreparedness, they were 1086 unwilling to expose him to danger. That the Muslims were anxious for the sake of the Holy Prophet and not for themselves and that it was his going forth that they did not like is clear from the verse itself which uses the words "brought thee forth" and not "brought you forth. " The verse thus implies that when the Companions of the Holy Prophet were so anxious about their beloved Master-God, Whose Messenger he was could not leave him unprotected; His love for him was certainly greater than that of his Companions. 1097. Commentary: This verse refers not to the Companions of the Holy Prophet, as wrongly understood by some commentators, but to his enemies. There is absolutely no evidence in history to show that the Holy Prophet's Companions disputed with him with regard to fighting the enemy. On the contrary, it is expressly related that when before the Battle of Badr he consulted them, they all expressed their readiness and even eagerness to accompany him and fight the enemy wherever he might take them (Hishām, ii. 13). Even the disbelievers who came out to fight the Muslims admitted that the latter looked like so many "seekers