Second: He (1) described them as striking sparks of fire from the stones when charging the enemy. This is plainly observed in horses: the iron of their hoof-shoes hits the hard rock, and sparks are produced between them just as they appear when iron meets flint.

Third: He portrayed them as mounting a raid (ighārah). Although the verb is sometimes used with camels—as the Quraysh would chant, “Ashriq, Thabir, so that we may raid” (2)—its predominant usage is for a military raid.

Fourth: He, exalted is He, fixed the time of the raid at daybreak, while pilgrims (3) at that hour are not raiding but standing at Muzdalifah. The Quraysh in those days would not attack until the sun had risen; neither they nor any other Arabs customarily raided at dawn.

In al-Ṣaḥīḥ (4) it is related from the Prophet ﷺ: “When he was on campaign he would not raid until morning; once morning came, if he heard the call to prayer he held back, but if he did not hear it, he would raid.”

Fifth: The Most High conjoined “penetrating the midst of the host” with the particle fa, which denotes succession after the raid. This indicates that they launched the raid at dawn and then forced their way into the very center of the enemy ranks.