Quran Garden

Session 335

Chapter 3

Verses 13

There was certainly a sign for you in the two groups that encountered each other: one group fighting in the way of Allah and the other faithless, who saw them visibly twice as many. Allah strengthens with His help whomever He wishes. There is indeed a lesson in that for those who have vision.

(Chapter 3: Verse 13)

The verse starts with ‘There was certainly a sign for you.’  Who is being addressed here? The verse is primarily addressing anyone who lived after the battle of Badr, whether a believer or a disbeliever.  Allah assures the believer that His aid can overcome any odds, and warns the disbeliever that without God, numbers and equipment count for little.  Allah has made this battle a sign because its events fell out of the normal human convention. 

The lesson is also general to anyone who belongs to a party of combatants, whether believers or disbelievers.  The people of faith should understand that the physical means of war are not everything in the battle between the truth and falsehood.  Moreover, this verse is a warning to the disbelievers who might be under the illusion that superiority in numbers and munitions all but guarantee victory.  Battles between a disadvantaged truth and a superior falsehood have taken place before, and, with God’s help, the truth became victorious.

When you hear the word ‘group,’ you often imagine a collection of people who have something in common.  It may be a group of people who live in the same neighborhood, but everyone has his own work in life.   An army or a fighting force in this context indicates a group that shares a common goal.  Undoubtedly, war unites a group of fighting men more than anything else because the life of each member of the group depends on working with others. 

The phrase “two groups that encountered each other” suggests that there was a conflict.  When you take a closer look at the Quranic text, you find that Allah gave you a unique description of each group, and left it up to you to draw the full picture.  God explains: “one group fighting in the way of Allah and the other faithless.” He described the first group as ‘fighting in the way of Allah,’ and did not mention that they were believers.  At the same time, Allah made clear that the other force was ‘faithless,’ yet did not mention whose cause they were supporting.  By eliminating a description of the first group while reflecting it in the description of the second, and vice-a-versa, Allah gave you a more complete picture.  We understand that there was a force of believers fighting in God’s cause against a group of disbelievers who were fighting in satan’s cause.  Moreover, this Quranic style cemented the link between fighting for God’s cause and faith on the one hand, and fighting for the devil’s cause and infidelity on the other.

The verse continues: ‘who saw them visibly twice as many.‘  We have two armies here, but which one is the verse referring to? Who is looking, and who is seen? If the observing army were the Muslims, then the disbelievers were the observed.  The opposite is also true.  Let’s look at the matter from both angles.

In the battle of Badr, the disbelievers numbered close to one thousand, while the Muslim force was three hundred and fourteen fighters.  If the disbelievers were the ones who were seeing the Muslims ‘visibly twice as many,‘ then this opens two possibilities.  The first is that the disbelievers saw the believers double their own number.  Since the disbelievers numbered a thousand fighters, then they saw the believers as two thousand fighters.  The second possibility is that the disbelievers saw the believers twice their actual number -double 314 is 628 fighters-.

Let’s consider the other angle where the believers were the ones who were seeing the disbelievers ‘visibly twice as many.’  Again, they may have seen the disbelievers twice their actual number (double 1000 is 2000 fighters.)  Or they may have seen them double their own number, that is, 628 disbelievers.  In the latter scenario, the number of disbelievers in the eyes of the believers was less than the disbelievers’ actual number, which is more in-line with God’s promise to the believers in the Quran.  He says: 

But God has lightened your burden, for now, knowing that there is a weakness in you––a steadfast hundred of you will defeat two hundred and a steadfast thousand of you will defeat two thousand, by God’s permission: God is with the steadfast. (08:66)

God promised the believers victory even when they were weak. Allah reminds us all: ‘Allah strengthens with His help whomever He wishes. There is indeed a lesson in that for those who have vision.’

Some critics have used the verse under study in their attempts to find faults in the Quran.  The argument goes: How come the Quran says: “who saw them visibly twice as many” -regardless if the increase was in the believers or disbelievers eyes- while another verse in the Quran says:

Remember when Allah showed them to you in your dream as only a few. If He had shown you them as many, you would have lost heart and quarreled about the matter; but Allah saved you. He knows what your hearts contain.  When you met He showed them to you as few, and He made you few in their eyes, so that He might bring about what has been ordained; for all things rest with God. (08:43-44)

Isn’t that a contradiction in the Quran? We answer that there is a difference between courage and enthusiasm before engaging in battle, and morale and bravery during battle.  Allah spoke of both situations: He made each party appear small in the eyes of the other before engaging in battle.  This allowed the Muslims –who were at a great disadvantage in numbers- to see the disbelievers less.  It made the Muslims feel better about their odds in battle.  It also gave them hope that victory, while hard, is achievable if they go in with full force.  When the disbelievers saw the believers even less than their already low number, they felt so assured of victory.  They relaxed and did not take the battle too seriously.  God says:   

When you met He showed them to you as few, and He made you few in their eyes so that He might bring about what has been ordained; for all things rest with God. (08:44)

But what happened to morale when the two groups engaged in actual battle?  The believer entered the battle with intense readiness while the disbeliever entered almost careless.  Once the battle started, everything was turned on its head.  The believers saw the disbelievers as many, yet they were defeating them.  This gave the Muslim even more courage and confidence.  The disbelievers found themselves in a battle they were not prepared for, and as they were pushed back by the smaller army, their morale deteriorated.  God says:

One group fighting in the way of Allah and the other faithless, who saw them visibly twice as many. Allah strengthens with His help whomever He wishes.

So before the battle, God reduced the numbers of both parties to encourage both to fight.  And during the battle, God made both appear greater in number in the eyes of each other. Thus, boosting the morale of the advancing Muslims and decimating the morale of the retreating army.  Allah, the All-Capable, can manipulate emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other and grant victory to whomever he wills.  He says:

There was certainly a sign for you in the two groups that encountered each other: one group fighting in the way of Allah and the other faithless, who saw them visibly twice as many. Allah strengthens with His help whomever He wishes. There is indeed a lesson in that for those who have vision.

(Chapter 3: Verse 13)

This verse carries glad tidings to every believer in conflict, and a warning to every disbeliever fighting the truth:  Do not measure matters solely by means and numbers.  Prepare all you can, and then leave the rest to your Creator.  Do not be deceived by numbers and munitions, for there is plenty of precedents where a small number of believers overcame a large number of disbelievers.