Al-Anfal: 43 - "When Allah showed them to you..."

"When Allah showed them to you in your dream as few..." (The word id [when] is governed by an implied "remember," or it is in apposition to "the Day of Distinction"). It is also suggested that it is connected to ‘Alim (All-Knowing), though this is weak. The word qalilan (few) is in the accusative case as a third object [of the verb "showed"], according to al-Ajhuri, or as a circumstantial qualifier (hal), according to others.

The majority hold that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saw what he saw in a dream, which is the apparent and immediate meaning. The wisdom behind showing them to him as few was so that he might inform his companions—may Allah be pleased with them—thereby strengthening them. Al-Hasan interpreted al-manam (dream) as meaning the eye, because it is the place of sleep, just as a velvet blanket is called a manama because one sleeps in it. Thus, in his view, there was no dream at all, but rather a waking vision. Al-Balkhi favored this view. However, the weakness of this is evident, because al-manam is commonly used to mean sleep (an ism-maf'ul serving as an infinitive), or the place of the sleeping person, as stated in al-Kashf. To interpret it otherwise introduces unnecessary complexity with no benefit. The claim that the purpose of this shift is to indicate abundant security is groundless, for it does not imply that. Sleep in such a state is proof—if not for the fact that He showed them in his eye, which is the location of sleep—but the numerous narrations confirming that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saw them in a dream and recounted it to his companions are well-known, and the fact that the eye is a place of sleep does not contradict this, given the apparent text. Perhaps the narration from al-Hasan is not authentic, for he was an eloquent scholar of the speech of the Arabs. Interpreting his words as containing an elliptical genitive, where the object governed by the genitive replaces the possessor—meaning "in the place of your sleep"—is something not even the wakeful would find acceptable.

The use of the present tense [yurikahum - He shows them] serves to bring the wondrous image to mind. The meaning is: "When Allah showed them to you as few." "And had He shown them to you as many, you would have become faint-hearted," meaning you would have become cowardly and feared to advance. The shift from the singular address in the condition [you—the Prophet] to the plural in the result [you—the companions] is an indication, as it is said, that cowardice would afflict them, not him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—if the address is solely to the companions. If it is for all, then it is an attribution of the state of the majority to the whole.

"And you would have disputed about the matter," meaning the matter of fighting, and your opinions would have diverged regarding steadfastness or flight. "But Allah saved you," meaning He bestowed the blessing of safety from faint-heartedness and dispute. "Indeed, He is All-Knowing of what is within the breasts," meaning the thoughts that are treated as if they were possessed by the breasts. The intent is that He knows what will arise within them, whether it be boldness, cowardice, patience, or panic; and for that reason, He ordained what He ordained.