Surah Anfal ayat 65 Tafsir Quran 8:65

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ ۚ إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَابِرُونَ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّائَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ﴾
[ الأنفال: 65]

8:65 O Prophet, urge the believers to battle. If there are among you twenty [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you one hundred [who are] steadfast, they will overcome a thousand of those who have disbelieved because they are a people who do not understand.

O Prophet urge on exhort the believers to fight the disbelievers. If there be twenty of you steadfast they will overcome two hundred of them. If there be read as yakun or takun a hundred of you they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve for they are a people who do not understand this sentence is predicative but functions as an imperative in other words let the twenty of you fight the two hundred of them and the hundred of you the thousand of them and let them stand firm against them; but when they became numerous this was abrogated by God’s saying

O you the Prophet: Urge the Muslims to action; twenty of you exercising patience and standing firm shall vanquish two hundred, and if there are a hundred of such a caliber, they shall defeat a thousand of the infidels who are fighting against the truth because they are characterized with dullness of comprehension

Encouraging Believers to fight in Jihad; the Good News that a Few Muslims can overcome a Superior Enemy Force Allah encourages His Prophet and the believers to fight and struggle against the enemy, and wage war against their forces.
Allah affirms that He will suffice, aid, support, and help the believers against their enemies, even if their enemies are numerous and have sufficient supplies, while the believers are few.
Allah said, يَـأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ ( O Prophet! Urge the believers to fight ), encouraged and called them to fight.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to encourage the Companions to fight when they faced the enemy.
On the day of Badr when the idolators came with their forces and supplies, he said to his Companions,
«قُومُوا إِلَى جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْض»
( Get ready and march forth towards a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth. ) `Umayr bin Al-Humam said, "As wide as the heavens and earth" The Messenger ﷺ said,
«نَعَم»
( Yes ) `Umayr said, "Excellent! Excellent!" The Messenger ﷺ asked him,
«مَا يَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى قَوْلِكَ: بَخٍ بَخ»
( What makes you say, `Excellent! Excellent!' ) He said, "The hope that I might be one of its dwellers." The Prophet said,
«فَإِنَّكَ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا»
( You are one of its people. ) Umayr went ahead, broke the scabbard of his sword, took some dates and started eating from them.
He then threw the dates from his hand, saying, "Verily, if I lived until I finished eating these dates, then it is indeed a long life." He went ahead, fought and was killed, may Allah be pleased with him. Allah said next, commanding the believers and conveying good news to them, إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ وَإِن يَكُنْ مُّنكُمْ مِّاْئَةٌ يَغْلِبُواْ أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ( If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve. ) The Ayah says, one Muslim should endure ten disbelievers.
Allah abrogated this part later on, but the good news remained.
`Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said that Jarir bin Hazim narrated to them that, Az-Zubayr bin Al-Khirrit narrated to him, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "When this verse was revealed, إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ ( If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred... ) it became difficult for the Muslims, when Allah commanded that one Muslim is required to endure ten idolators.
Soon after, this matter was made easy, الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ ( Now Allah has lightened your (task )), until, يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ ( they shall overcome two hundred.
.. ) Allah lowered the number of adversaries that Muslims are required to endure, and thus, made the required patience less, compatible to the decrease in numbers." Al-Bukhari recorded a similar narration from Ibn Al-Mubarak.
Muhammad bin Ishaq recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "When this Ayah was revealed, it was difficult for the Muslims, for they thought it was burdensome since twenty should fight two hundred, and a hundred against a thousand.
Allah made this ruling easy for them and abrogated this Ayah with another Ayah, الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفاً ( Now Allah has lightened your (task ), for He knows that there is weakness in you...) Thereafter, if Muslims were half as many as their enemy, they were not allowed to run away from them.
If the Muslims were fewer than that, they were not obligated to fight the disbelievers and thus allowed to avoid hostilities."

(8:65) O Prophet! Rouse the believers to fighting. If they be twenty of you who persevere they shall vanquish two hundred; and if there be of you a hundred, they shall vanquish a thousand of those who disbelieve, for they are a people who lack understanding. *47

O Prophet, urge the believers to battle. meaning

*47).
What is nowadays called morale has been described as 'understanding' in the Qur'an.
The Qur'anic expression is more scientific than the currently used word 'morale'.
For the word in this context refers to the one who is fully cognizant of his objective, who is quiet clear in his mind that the cause for which he has staked his life is much more valuable than his own life, and hence if that cause is left unrealized, his life will lose all its worth and meaning.
Such a conscious, comitted person actually becomes many times more powerful than he who fights without any consciousness of his cause, even though the two might be comparable in physical strength.
Above all, he who has a clear understanding of reality of his own being, of God, of his relationship with God, of the reality of life and death, and of life after death, who is also well aware of the difference between truth and falsehood, and of the consequences of the victory of falsehood over truth, his strength surpasses by far the strength of others for whom, even though they 'understand', their consciousness is related to nationalism or patriotism or class conflict.
It is for this reason that the Qur'an declares that a believer with understanding is ten times stronger than an unbeliever.
For the believer understands the truth and a non-believer does not.
It may be remembered, however, that the verse also mentions another important factor in addition to 'understanding' which makes a believer much stronger than an unbeliever, and that is 'patience'.

 

Encouraging Believers to fight in Jihad; the Good News that a Few Muslims can overcome a Superior Enemy Force Allah encourages His Prophet and the believers to fight and struggle against the enemy, and wage war against their forces.
Allah affirms that He will suffice, aid, support, and help the believers against their enemies, even if their enemies are numerous and have sufficient supplies, while the believers are few.
Allah said, يَـأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ ( O Prophet! Urge the believers to fight ), encouraged and called them to fight.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to encourage the Companions to fight when they faced the enemy.
On the day of Badr when the idolators came with their forces and supplies, he said to his Companions, «قُومُوا إِلَى جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْض» ( Get ready and march forth towards a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth. ) `Umayr bin Al-Humam said, "As wide as the heavens and earth" The Messenger ﷺ said, «نَعَم» ( Yes ) `Umayr said, "Excellent! Excellent!" The Messenger ﷺ asked him, «مَا يَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى قَوْلِكَ: بَخٍ بَخ» ( What makes you say, `Excellent! Excellent!' ) He said, "The hope that I might be one of its dwellers." The Prophet said, «فَإِنَّكَ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا» ( You are one of its people. ) Umayr went ahead, broke the scabbard of his sword, took some dates and started eating from them.
He then threw the dates from his hand, saying, "Verily, if I lived until I finished eating these dates, then it is indeed a long life." He went ahead, fought and was killed, may Allah be pleased with him. Allah said next, commanding the believers and conveying good news to them, إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ وَإِن يَكُنْ مُّنكُمْ مِّاْئَةٌ يَغْلِبُواْ أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ( If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve. ) The Ayah says, one Muslim should endure ten disbelievers.
Allah abrogated this part later on, but the good news remained.
`Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said that Jarir bin Hazim narrated to them that, Az-Zubayr bin Al-Khirrit narrated to him, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "When this verse was revealed, إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ ( If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred... ) it became difficult for the Muslims, when Allah commanded that one Muslim is required to endure ten idolators.
Soon after, this matter was made easy, الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ ( Now Allah has lightened your (task )), until, يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ ( they shall overcome two hundred.
.. ) Allah lowered the number of adversaries that Muslims are required to endure, and thus, made the required patience less, compatible to the decrease in numbers." Al-Bukhari recorded a similar narration from Ibn Al-Mubarak.
Muhammad bin Ishaq recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "When this Ayah was revealed, it was difficult for the Muslims, for they thought it was burdensome since twenty should fight two hundred, and a hundred against a thousand.
Allah made this ruling easy for them and abrogated this Ayah with another Ayah, الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفاً ( Now Allah has lightened your (task ), for He knows that there is weakness in you...) Thereafter, if Muslims were half as many as their enemy, they were not allowed to run away from them.
If the Muslims were fewer than that, they were not obligated to fight the disbelievers and thus allowed to avoid hostilities."

( O Prophet! Exhort the believers ) prompt and encourage them ( to fight ) on the Day of Badr. ( If there be of you twenty steadfast ) in war, seeking their reward only from Allah ( they shall overcome two hundred ) of the idolaters, ( and if there be of you a hundred steadfast they shall overcome ) shall fight ( a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers ) are a folk without intelligence) they do not understand the command of Allah and His divine Oneness.

O Prophet (Muhammad SAW)! Urge the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast persons amongst you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are people who do not understand.

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