“If there are twenty among you”—that is, twenty men—“who are steadfast,” seeking Allah’s reward, “they will overcome two hundred” of their enemy and subdue them. “And if there are one hundred among you” who are steadfast and seeking Allah’s reward, “they will overcome one thousand of those who disbelieve.” This is “because they are a people who do not understand”; that is, the polytheists fight without seeking Allah’s reward or hoping for recompense, and they do not stand firm when you engage them in earnest combat, for fear of being killed.
This is a declarative statement intended as a command. At Badr, Allah made it obligatory for each individual believer to fight ten disbelievers. This weighed heavily upon the believers, so Allah lightened their burden, and the following was revealed:
“Now Allah has lightened your burden, for He knows that there is weakness in you”—that is, a single man is too weak to fight ten, and one hundred are too weak to fight one thousand. Abu Jaʿfar recited it as the plural, “the weak,” with the ʿayn carrying a fatḥah vowel and with lengthening; the others recited it with the ʿayn quiescent. “So, if there are one hundred steadfast men among you, they will overcome two hundred” of the disbelievers; “and if there are one thousand among you, they will overcome two thousand by Allah’s permission. And Allah is with the steadfast.” Thus, the requirement was reduced from one against ten to one against two. If the Muslims are at least half the number of their enemy, they are not permitted to flee.
Sufyan reported that Ibn Shubruma said: “I consider enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong to be like this.”
The Kufan reciters read the verb in both instances with the masculine yāʾ form. The Basran reciters agreed with them in the first instance, while the rest read it with the feminine tāʾ form in both instances. ʿAsim and Hamzah recited the plural form meaning “the weak” here and in Surah al-Rum with the dād pronounced with a fatḥah vowel, whereas the rest recited it with a dammah.
His saying, Exalted is He: “It is not for a prophet to have captives.” Abu Jaʿfar and the Basran reciters read the verb with a feminine tāʾ, while the rest read it with a masculine yāʾ. Abu Jaʿfar read asārā, while the others read asrā.
Al-Aʿmash narrated from ʿUmar ibn Murrah, from Abu ʿUbayd, from Abdullah ibn Masʿud, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: At Badr, when the captives were brought in, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “What do you say regarding these men?”
Abu Bakr said, “Messenger of Allah, they are your people and your family. Spare them and give them time; perhaps Allah will accept their repentance. Take ransom from them, which will strengthen us against the disbelievers.”
Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Messenger of Allah, they denied you and drove you out. Bring them forward so that we may strike their necks. Give Ali authority over Aqil, so that he may strike his neck; and give me authority over so-and-so”—a relative of Umar—“so that I may strike his neck. For these are the leaders of disbelief.”
151/a And Abdullah ibn Rawahah said, “Messenger of Allah, find a valley with abundant firewood, put them in it, and then kindle a fire over them.” Al-Abbas said to him, “You have severed your ties of kinship.”
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained silent and did not answer them. Then he went inside. Some people said, “He will adopt Abu Bakr’s view.” Others said, “He will adopt Umar’s view.” Others said, “He will adopt Ibn Rawahah’s view.” Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out and said, “Allah, Exalted is He, softens the hearts of some men until they become softer than milk, and hardens the hearts of some men until they become harder than stones. Your likeness, Abu Bakr, is that of Abraham, who said: ‘Whoever follows me is of me; and whoever disobeys me, then indeed You are the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”