The Quran

154

Preface

ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيكُم مِن بَعدِ الغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُعاسًا يَغشىٰ طائِفَةً مِنكُم ۖ وَطائِفَةٌ قَد أَهَمَّتهُم أَنفُسُهُم يَظُنّونَ بِاللَّهِ غَيرَ الحَقِّ ظَنَّ الجاهِلِيَّةِ ۖ يَقولونَ هَل لَنا مِنَ الأَمرِ مِن شَيءٍ ۗ قُل إِنَّ الأَمرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ ۗ يُخفونَ في أَنفُسِهِم ما لا يُبدونَ لَكَ ۖ يَقولونَ لَو كانَ لَنا مِنَ الأَمرِ شَيءٌ ما قُتِلنا هاهُنا ۗ قُل لَو كُنتُم في بُيوتِكُم لَبَرَزَ الَّذينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيهِمُ القَتلُ إِلىٰ مَضاجِعِهِم ۖ وَلِيَبتَلِيَ اللَّهُ ما في صُدورِكُم وَلِيُمَحِّصَ ما في قُلوبِكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَليمٌ بِذاتِ الصُّدورِ

Yusuf Ali

After (the excitement) of the distress, He sent down calm on a band of you overcome with slumber,¹ while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, Moved by wrong suspicions of God’suspicions due to ignorance. They said: “What affair is this of ours?”² Say thou: “Indeed, this affair is wholly God’s.” They hide in their minds what they dare not reveal to thee. They say (to themselves): “If we had had anything to do with this affair, We should not have been in the slaughter here.” Say: “Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death”; but (all this was)³ that God might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. For God knoweth well the secrets of your hearts.

After the first surprise, when the enemy turned on them, a great part of the Muslims did their best, and seeing their mettle, the enemy withdrew to his camp. There was a lull; the wounded had rest; those who had fought the hard fight were visited by kindly Sleep, sweet Nature’s nurse. In contrast to them was the band of hypocrites, whose behaviour is described in the next note.
The hypocrites withdrew from the fighting. Apparently they had been among those who had been counselling the defence of Medīna within the walls instead of boldly coming out to meet the enemy. Their distress was caused by their own mental state: the sleep of the just was denied them; and they continued to murmur of what might have been. Only fools do so: wise men face actualities.
That testing by God is not in order that it may add to His knowledge, for He knows all. It is in order to help us subjectively, to mould our will, and purge us of any grosser motives, that will be searched out by calamity. If it is a hardened sinner, the test brings conviction out of his own self Cf. also 3:140, and 34:21.