and they concealed themselves in the Cave of Thawr for three nights, after which the two of them resumed their journey, as we have already mentioned. This is what the Almighty alludes to in His words:

“If you do not help him, yet Allah has already helped him when those who disbelieved drove him out, the second of two; when the two were in the cave and he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.’ Then Allah sent down His tranquillity upon him, strengthened him with hosts you did not see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah is the highest; and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” (9:40)

The same event is meant in His statement:

“And [remember] when those who disbelieved plotted against you to imprison you, kill you, or expel you. They schemed, and Allah schemed—and Allah is the best of schemers.” (8:30)

For this reason He also said:

“And then they would not have remained after you except for a little while.” (17:76)

And so it came to pass: the notables who had agreed on that plot did not tarry in Mecca after the Prophet’s migration ﷺ except until his noble mount had safely reached Madinah and the Emigrants and Helpers had rallied around him. Then came the Battle of Badr, where those very souls were slain and those very heads were shattered. The Prophet ﷺ had known this beforehand through Allah’s disclosure to him.

Hence Saʿd ibn Muʿādh once said to Umayyah ibn Khalaf, “I have heard Muhammad ﷺ mention that he will kill you.”

Umayyah asked, “Did you really hear him say that?”

Saʿd replied, “Yes.”

Umayyah said, “By Allah, he does not lie.”

The full report will appear in its proper place.

We have already related that, before the battle began, the Prophet ﷺ pointed out to his Companions the very spots where each foe would fall; not one of them died anywhere other than the place he had indicated. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

The Most High also says:

“Alif. Lām. Mīm.
The Byzantines have been defeated
In the nearest land, yet after their defeat they will be victorious
Within a few years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And on that day the believers will rejoice
In Allah’s help. He helps whom He wills, and He is the Mighty, the Merciful.
[This is] Allah’s promise; Allah never breaks His promise, but most people do not know.” (30:1-6)

This promise was fulfilled exactly as foretold. When Persia first defeated Byzantium, the polytheists rejoiced while the believers were distressed, for the Christians were nearer to Islam than the Magians. Allah therefore informed His Messenger ﷺ that the Byzantines would reverse the defeat and overcome the Persians within seven years. Abū Bakr then wagered the leaders of Quraysh that it would indeed happen within that span, as is well-known and as we have detailed in the commentary on the verse. Matters unfolded just as the Qur’an had declared: the Byzantines inflicted a decisive and overwhelming defeat upon Persia. The full story is lengthy, and we have set it out at length in the Tafsīr; praise and gratitude belong to Allah.

He, exalted be He, also says:

“We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this [Qur’an] is the truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is Witness over all things?” (41:53)

And so it was: Allah manifested His signs and proofs in people’s own souls and across the horizons—through what He inflicted upon the enemies of prophethood and the opponents of the Sacred Law among the People of the Two Scriptures, the Magians, and the idol-worshippers—such that every person of insight and understanding realized that Muhammad is truly the Messenger of Allah and that the revelation he brought is truth itself. He cast into the hearts and breasts of his enemies dread, veneration, and fear, just as is firmly established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that he said: “I was granted victory through awe…”