ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ
[Remember, O Muhammad], when Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many, you [believers] would have lost courage and would have disputed in the matter [of whether to fight], but Allah saved [you from that]. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.
Tafsir
Verse range: 8:43
{ إذ يريكهم الله } The grammatical position of idh (when) is that of an accusative object for an implied verb, "Remember." Alternatively, it is a second substitution for "the Day of Criterion" (yawm al-furqan). It may also be linked to His saying, {All-Hearing, All-Knowing}, meaning: He knows the interests [of the believers] when He makes them appear few in your sight.
{ في منامك } In your dream. God, the Almighty and Exalted, showed them to him as few in his dream, so he informed his companions of this, which served as a source of steadfastness for them and encouragement against their enemy.
Al-Hasan said: "In your manam (dream)" means "in your eye," because the eye is the place of sleep, just as a quilt is called a manama because one sleeps in it. This is a forced interpretation, and I do not believe the report is authentic regarding Al-Hasan, nor does it align with the speech of the Arabs and its eloquence.
{ لفشلتم } You would have become cowardly and feared to advance.
{ ولتنازعتم } You would have disputed in your opinion, your unity would have fractured regarding what you should do, and you would have wavered between standing firm and fleeing.
{ ولكن الله سلم } Meaning: He protected and bestowed safety from cowardice, dispute, and discord.
{ إنه عليم بذات الصدور } He knows what will be within them—of boldness, cowardice, patience, and anxiety.
{ وإذ يريكموهم إذ التقيتم في أعينكم قليلا ويقللكم في أعينهم ليقضي الله أمرا كان مفعولا وإلى الله ترجع الأمور }
