“Then, after the distress, He sent down upon you a sense of security—a drowsiness that overcame a group among you—while another group was concerned only for themselves, thinking wrongly of Allah, as in the thoughts of the Age of Ignorance. They said, ‘Do we have any say at all in this matter?’ Say, ‘Indeed, all matters belong to Allah.’ They conceal within themselves what they do not reveal to you. They say, ‘Had we had any say in this matter, we would not have been killed here.’ Say, ‘Even if you had been in your homes, those for whom death had been decreed would still have gone forth to their places of death.’ And so that Allah might test what is within your breasts and purify what is within your hearts. And Allah is Knowing of what lies within the breasts.” (154)

“Then He sent down upon you,” O company of Muslims, “after the distress, security—a drowsiness”; that is, safety. Security and a sense of safety have the same meaning. It was also said that security is when the cause of fear has passed away, whereas a sense of safety may exist while the cause of fear remains. Here, the cause of fear was still present. “Drowsiness” stands in apposition to “security.”

“Overcoming a group among you.” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited it with the feminine t-, referring back to “security,” whereas the others recited it with the masculine y-, referring back to “drowsiness.”

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “On that day, He gave them security through a drowsiness that overcame them. Only one who feels safe becomes drowsy; one who is afraid does not sleep.”

Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Nu’aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma’il informed us; Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us; Husayn ibn Muhammad informed us; Shayban informed us, from Qatadah, from Anas, that Abu Talhah said: “Drowsiness overcame us while we stood in our battle lines on the day of Uhud. My sword began falling from my hand, so I would catch it; then it would fall again, and I would catch it.” (1)

Thabit reported from Anas, from Abu Talhah, who said: “I raised my head on the day of Uhud, and I did not see a single man among the people except that he was swaying beneath his helmet from drowsiness.” (2)

Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr reported from his father, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam: “I found myself with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when the fighting grew intense against us. Allah sent sleep upon us. By Allah, I could hear the words of Mu’attib ibn Qushayr while drowsiness overcame me, yet I heard them only as though in a dream,”