17 Preface فَلَم تَقتُلوهُم وَلٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُم ۚ وَما رَمَيتَ إِذ رَمَيتَ وَلٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبلِيَ المُؤمِنينَ مِنهُ بَلاءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَميعٌ عَليمٌAli Quli QaraiYou did not kill them; rather it was Allah who killed them; and you did not throw when you threw,1 rather it was Allah who threw, that He might test the faithful with a good test from Himself.2 Indeed Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing. According to tradition, at the outset of the battle of Badr, the Prophet (ṣ) took a handful of dust, containing sand and pebbles, and threw it at the enemy troops. It struck in the face every warrior of the enemy, entering their eyes, noses and mouths, disconcerting them, resulting ultimately in their being routed by the small Muslim force.Or ‘that He might grant the faithful a splendid award from Himself.’