The Quran

152

Preface

وَلَقَد صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ وَعدَهُ إِذ تَحُسّونَهُم بِإِذنِهِ ۖ حَتّىٰ إِذا فَشِلتُم وَتَنازَعتُم فِي الأَمرِ وَعَصَيتُم مِن بَعدِ ما أَراكُم ما تُحِبّونَ ۚ مِنكُم مَن يُريدُ الدُّنيا وَمِنكُم مَن يُريدُ الآخِرَةَ ۚ ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُم عَنهُم لِيَبتَلِيَكُم ۖ وَلَقَد عَفا عَنكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ ذو فَضلٍ عَلَى المُؤمِنينَ

Yusuf Ali

God did indeed fulfil His promise to you when ye with His permission Were about to annihilate your enemy,-until ye flinched and fell to disputing about the order,¹ and disobeyed it after He brought you in sight (of the booty) which ye covet. Among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then did He divert you from your foes in order to test you.² But He forgave you: For God is full of grace to those who believe.

The order was: not to run after booty, but strictly to maintain discipline. Uḥud was in the beginning a victory for the Muslims. Many of the enemy were slain, and they were retiring when a part of the Muslims, against orders, ran in pursuit, attracted by the prospects of booty. See note to 3:121-
The disobedience seemed at first pleasant: they were chasing the enemy, and there was the prospect of booty. But when the gap was noticed by the enemy, they turned the flank round the hill and, nearly overwhelmed the Muslims. Had it not been for God’s grace, and the firmness of their Leader and his immediate Companions, they would have been finished.