Surah Anfal ayat 66 Tafsir Quran 8:66

﴿الْآنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا ۚ فَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾
[ الأنفال: 66]

8:66 Now, Allah has lightened [the hardship] for you, and He knows that among you is weakness. So if there are from you one hundred [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you a thousand, they will overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the steadfast.

Now God has lightened the burden for you for He knows that there is weakness read du‘fan or da‘fan in you making you unable to fight ten times your number. So if there be read as yakun or takun a hundred of you steadfast they will overcome two hundred of them; and if there be a thousand of you they will overcome two thousand by the leave of God by His will this is predicative functioning as an imperative in other words fight twice your number and stand firm against them. And God is with the steadfast by His support of them.

Now that the powers of good have defeated the powers of evil and Allah, being aware of your poor physical strength, has commuted your obligation due to Him. If there are a hundred of you who exercise patience and stand firm, they shall vanquish two hundred, and if there are one thousand, they shall vanquish two thousand, Allah willing, Allah upholds the patient

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."

(8:66) Allah has now lightened your burden for He found weakness in you. So if there be hundred of you who persevere, they shall vanquish two hundred; and if there be a thousand of you they shall, by the leave of Allah, vanquish two thousand. *48 Allah is with those who persevere.

Now, Allah has lightened [the hardship] for meaning

*48).
This does not mean that since the faith of Muslims had declined, their ten times superiority ove the unbelievers has been reduced to twice only.
What it means is that ideally a Muslim is ten times stronger than an unbeliever.
However, since the Muslims had not as yet been throughly trained and had reached the desire level of maturity in their understanding, they are asked not to feel uneasy at least of challenging an enemy which is twice as strong.
It should be borne in mind that the Qur'anic directive was given in 2A.H./624 C.E.
when most of the Muslims, being recent converts to Islam, had undergone little trainning.
As they gained maturity under the Prophet's guidance, the desired ratio of one to ten between the Muslims and the unbelievers was established.
That Muslims are ten times stronger than unbelievers is a fact witnessed frequently in the battles during the life of the Prophet ( peace be upon him ) and of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.

 

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."

( Now hath Allah lightened your burden, for He knoweth that there is weakness in you ) in relation to fighting. ( So if there be of you a steadfast hundred ) who seek their reward only from Allah ( they shall overcome ) they shall fight ( two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand (steadfast ) they shall overcome) they shall fight ( two thousand by permission of Allah. Allah is with the steadfast ) He helps the steadfast in war by making them triumphant.

Now Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is weakness in you. So if there are of you a hundred steadfast persons, they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a thousand of you, they shall overcome two thousand with the Leave of Allah. And Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.).

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