The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 671
CH. 8 PT. 10 AL-ANFĀL And if you had to make a mutual appointment, you would تَوَاعَدْتُّمْ لَاخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِي الْمِيْعُدِ وَلَكِنْ ليَقْضِيَ اللهُ أَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُولًا لِيَهْلِكَ have certainly differed with regard to the appointment. But مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيِي مَنْ حَيَّ the encounter was brought about that Allah might accomplish the thing that was decreed; so that he who had already perished through a clear Sign might perish, and he who had already come to life through a clear Sign might live. And certainly Allah is All- Hearing, All-Knowing. 1131 عَنْ بَيِّنَةٍ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَسَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ اِذْ يُرِيْكَهُمُ اللهُ فِي مَنَامِكَ قَلِيلًا When Allah showed them. 44 to thee in thy dream as few; and "3:14. 1131. Commentary: In this verse and those that follow, the Quran describes how God arranged and planned to bring about an encounter at Badr between believers and disbelievers, so that He might thereby crush the power of the enemy and show a sign in support of Islam. The verse begins with a graphic picture of the situation of the different parties at Badr and then proceeds to say that, if it had been left to the Muslims to appoint the time of the encounter, they would certainly have differed with regard to it and would have preferred to postpone the date of the first clash, for at that time they did not feel strong enough to meet their much more powerful and far 1111 better-equipped enemy in a field of battle. As, however, God's object was to show a powerful sign, so He brought about the encounter at a time when the Muslims were still very weak and the enemy very strong. This was done so that the party, which had been proved to be in error and to be spiritually dead by means of clear reasons and arguments, might perish and the party, which had been proved to be spiritually alive and established on the firm basis of truth, might survive and live. The Quran has mentioned, more than once, the Divine attribute of "All-Hearing" in connection with the Battle of Badr in order to allude to the fact that prayers had played a great part in bringing about the victory and that they can play a similar part again.