Tafsir of Al Imran 3:172

“Those who responded to Allah”—meaning, those who obeyed Allah and the Messenger by fulfilling the commands—“after the injury had afflicted them”—meaning, after the wounds of the Day of Uhud had reached them.

The relative pronoun (in "Those who...") is in the genitive case as an adjective for the believers, or in the accusative case due to an implied verb (I mean...), or in the nominative case as an ellipsis, or it is the first subject whose predicate is the sentence of the Almighty’s saying: “For those who did good among them and feared Allah there is a great reward.” Al-Tabarsi said: This is the most likely. “Among them” is a state of the pronoun in “did good,” and "min" (among) is for partitive designation. Some scholars have held this view, while many others have held that it is for clarification; in this case, the discourse involves abstraction (tajreed), where the "doer of good and the God-fearing" is abstracted from "those who responded to Allah and the Messenger." The purpose of combining the two attributes is for praise and causation, not for restriction, because all who responded are indeed doers of good and God-fearing.

Ibn Ishaq and others said: On Sunday, the sixteenth night of Shawwal—the Battle of Uhud having occurred on Saturday, the middle of the month—the proclaimer for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) announced to seek the enemy, stating that no one should go out with us except those who were present at our battle yesterday. Jabir ibn Abd Allah ibn Hizam spoke to him, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, my father left me behind in charge of my seven sisters, saying: 'My son, it is not appropriate for me or for you to leave these women with no man among them, and I am not one to favor myself over you for Jihad with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). So, remain behind with your sisters.' Thus, I remained behind for their sake." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) permitted him, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went out to intimidate the enemy until he reached Hamra al-Asad, eight miles from Medina. He stayed there on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then returned to Medina.

Ma'bad ibn Abi Ma'bad al-Khuza'i passed by him. The tribe of Khuza'a—both their Muslims and their polytheists—were the trusted advisors of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in Tihama; they were in alliance with him and did not hide anything from him. Ma'bad was a polytheist at that time. He said: "O Muhammad, by Allah, it weighs heavily upon us what has happened to you regarding your companions, and we wish that Allah the Almighty had granted you wellness regarding them." Then he left.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) remained at Hamra al-Asad until he met Abu Sufyan and those with him at al-Rawha'. They had resolved to return to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his companions, saying: "We struck the elite of his companions, their leaders, and their nobles, and yet we return before we eradicate them? Let us return and finish them off!" When Abu Sufyan saw Ma'bad, he said: "What news do you have, Ma'bad?" He replied: "Muhammad has gone out with his companions to seek you, accompanied by an army the likes of which I have never seen. They are burning with rage against you, and those who had lagged behind on your day (of battle) have joined him, and they are remorseful for what they did. The fury they harbor against you is something I have never seen the like of." Abu Sufyan said: "Woe to you! What are you saying?" He replied: "By Allah, I do not see you departing until you see the forelocks of their horses." Abu Sufyan said: "By Allah, we had resolved to return to them to eradicate their remnants." Ma'bad replied: "I warn you against that. By Allah, what I saw compelled me to recite lines of poetry about them:

My riding camel nearly collapsed from the clamor, When the earth surged with countless, surging hordes. Throwing lions of nobility, who are neither weaklings, At the meeting, nor are they unsteady or unarmed. They remained rushing as if the earth were tilting, When they marched behind a leader who is not forsaken. And I said: Woe to the son of Harb from meeting them, When the valley is filled with horses. I am a warner to the people of the sharp swords, openly, To every intelligent and wise man among them. From the horses of Ahmad, not the weaklings or the frail, And what I have warned of cannot be described in mere words."

Abu Sufyan and those with him turned back at that point. A caravan from Abd al-Qays passed by him, and he asked: "Where are you heading?" They said: "We want Medina." He asked: "Why?" They said: "We want to trade." He said: "Will you deliver a message for me to Muhammad? I will provide you with raisins at Ukaz when you reach me." They said: "Yes." He said: "When you reach him, tell him that we have resolved to march toward him and his companions to eradicate their remnants." The caravan passed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) while he was at Hamra al-Asad and informed him of what Abu Sufyan and his companions had said. He said: "Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakil (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs)."

Ibn Hisham recorded that when Abu Sufyan wanted to return to fight the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), Safwan ibn Umayya ibn Khalaf said to them: "Do not do it, for the people have been tested, and we fear that they may have a different kind of combat than what happened before, so return to your dwellings." So they returned. When the news reached the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) while he was at Hamra al-Asad that they had intended to return, he said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, stones were prepared for them; had they come in the morning, they would have been like the day that has passed." Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his companions returned to Medina, and Allah the Almighty revealed these verses. Most commentators hold this view.