| Al 'Imran: (165) Or when a calamity struck you...

Know that when the Almighty informed us about the hypocrites who slandered the Prophet (peace be upon him) by accusing him of embezzlement and treachery, He then recounted another doubt of theirs in this verse. This doubt was their saying: If he were a messenger from God, his army would not have been defeated by the disbelievers on the Day of Uhud. This is what is meant by their saying: "Whence is this?"

God answered them by saying: {Say, "It is from yourselves"} (3:165). Meaning, this defeat occurred due to the misfortune of your disobedience. This clarifies the connection (of the verses).

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: Establishing the meaning of the verse

{Or when a calamity struck you} refers to the incident of Uhud. Regarding the phrase {you have already struck the like of it}, there are two opinions:

1. The first, and the view of the majority: It means you struck a similar blow on the Day of Badr. This is because the polytheists killed seventy Muslims on the Day of Uhud, just as the Muslims killed seventy of them and captured seventy on the Day of Badr.
2. The second: The Muslims defeated the disbelievers twice: first on the Day of Badr, and initially on the Day of Uhud. Then, when the Muslims disobeyed, the polytheists defeated them. Thus, the defeat of the disbelievers occurred twice, while the defeat of the Muslims occurred once. This is the preference of Al-Zajjaj.

Al-Wahidi criticized this second view, saying: Just as the Muslims afflicted the polytheists on the Day of Badr, the polytheists afflicted the Muslims on the Day of Uhud. However, the polytheists never defeated the Muslims outright (before the turning point on Uhud). As for Uhud, the Muslims initially defeated the polytheists, and then the situation reversed.

Issue 2: The benefit of the phrase {you have already struck the like of it}

The benefit here is to alert them that worldly affairs do not remain constant in one state. Since you inflicted a similar blow upon them twice, why do you find this incident (your defeat) strange?

Regarding their saying {Whence is this?}, there are two issues:

They said this because they believed they were supporting Islam, the religion of truth, and they had the Messenger with them, while the others supported polytheism and disbelief. So, how did they end up being defeated by them?

Know that the Almighty answered this doubt in two ways:

1. The first way is embedded in the narration of their question: {you have already struck the like of it}. This means the conditions of the world do not remain fixed. If you have already inflicted a blow like this upon them, how can you find this incident (your defeat) strange?
2. The second way is His saying: {Say, "It is from yourselves"}. This has further issues:

This answer can be established in two ways:

1. The first way (The consequence of sin): You fell into this calamity due to the misfortune of your disobedience. This is because they disobeyed the Messenger in several matters:
   • First, the Messenger (PBUH) said the best course was to remain in Medina, but they insisted on going out, leading to Uhud.
   • Second, their weakness and failure, as narrated by God.
   • Third, the dispute that arose among them.
   • Fourth, their leaving their positions and scattering the ranks.
   • Fifth, their preoccupation with seeking spoils of war and turning away from obeying the Messenger (PBUH) in fighting the enemy. All these points are sins and acts of disobedience. God Almighty only promised them victory on the condition of abandoning sin, as He said: {If you are patient and fear God, and they come upon you in this very instant, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels} (Al 'Imran: 125). Since the condition was missed, the promised result was naturally missed.

2. The second way (Interpretation based on tradition): What is narrated from Ali (may God be pleased with him) is that Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (PBUH) on the Day of Badr and said: "O Muhammad, God has disliked what your people did regarding taking ransom from the captives. He has commanded you to give them a choice: either they execute the captives by striking their necks, or they take the ransom, in which case the number of your slain will equal the number of the captives." The Messenger of God (PBUH) mentioned this to his people, and they said: "O Messenger of God, they are our kin and brothers. We take the ransom from them, use it to strengthen ourselves against the enemy, and we accept that the same number of us be martyred." On the Day of Uhud, seventy men were killed, which is the number of the captives of Badr. This is the meaning of {Say, "It is from yourselves"}, meaning due to taking the ransom and choosing death (through the consequence of that choice).

The Mu'tazila used the phrase {Say, "It is from yourselves"} to argue that the actions of the servant are not created by God, based on several points:

1. If this outcome were achieved by God's creation, and the servant's power had no effect, then the statement {from yourselves} would be a lie.
2. The people were astonished as to why God would allow the disbeliever to overpower the believer. God removed this astonishment by stating that they fell into this misfortune because of the misfortune of their own actions. If their actions were created by God, this answer would not be valid.
3. The people asked: {Whence is this?}, which is a request for the cause of its occurrence. If the servant was not the one who brought it into being, the answer would not correspond to the question.

The Reply: This is countered by verses that indicate the actions of the servant are created by God's origination.

Then the Almighty said: {Indeed, God is over all things competent} (Fatir: 1). This means He is capable of granting you victory if you remain steadfast and patient, just as He is capable of abandoning you if you disobey and oppose Him. Our scholars used this to argue that the servant's action is created by God. They said: The servant's action is a thing, so it must be created by God, who is competent over it. If God is competent to bring it into existence, and the servant brings it into existence, it becomes impossible for God to be competent to bring it into existence, because once the servant has brought it into existence, it is impossible for God to create what already exists (as creating the existent is impossible). Since the servant's existence (of the action) leads to this impossibility, it must be that the servant does not bring it into existence (independently). And God knows best.

< { And what struck you the day the two hosts met was by permission of God, and to make evident the believers * And to make evident those who were hypocrites } (3:166)

< { And when it was said to them, "Come, fight in the way of God or repel [the enemy]," they said, "If we had known [there would be] fighting, we would have followed you." That day they were nearer to disbelief than to faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And God is most knowing of what they conceal. } (3:167)