seeking Allah’s pleasure and His reward.

(116–117) “Indeed, neither the wealth nor the children of those who disbelieve will avail them in the least against Allah. They are the companions of the Fire, abiding therein forever. * What they spend in this worldly life is like a wind containing bitter frost that strikes the crops of people who have wronged themselves and destroys them. Allah did not wrong them; rather, they wronged themselves.”

The Exalted explains that no one can save the disbelievers—who rejected Allah’s signs and denied His messengers—from Allah’s punishment. No one can benefit them or intercede for them before Allah. Their wealth and children, which they had relied upon in times of hardship and adversity, will be of no avail to them, and whatever they spent in this world to support their falsehood will come to nothing.

What they spend is “like” crops struck by a fierce “wind containing bitter frost”—that is, intense cold or scorching fire—which destroys those crops. This is a consequence of their wrongdoing. Allah did not wrong them by punishing them for no sin; rather, they wronged themselves.

This is like the saying of the Exalted: “Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder others from Allah’s path. They will spend it, then it will become a source of regret for them, and then they will be defeated.”

(118–119) “O you who believe, do not take as confidants anyone outside your own ranks. They spare no effort to ruin you and desire your suffering. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is far greater. We have made the signs clear to you, if only you understand. * Here you are, loving them though they do not love you, while you believe in the whole Scripture. When they meet you, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips in rage against you. Say, ‘Die in your rage! Allah knows well what is within the hearts.’ * If good touches you, it grieves them; but if misfortune befalls you, they rejoice at it. If you remain patient and fear Allah, their schemes will not harm you in the least. Allah encompasses all that they do.”

This is a warning from Allah to His servants against taking disbelievers as allies or making them confidants, close associates, and friends with whom they share the believers’ secrets. He has made clear to His believing servants the reasons that require them to refrain from taking such people as confidants: they spare no effort to bring ruin upon you. They are eager and untiring in their attempts to harm you. Their hatred has already appeared in their words and slips of the tongue, while the hatred and hostility concealed in their hearts is far greater than what their words and deeds have disclosed to you.

If you possess discernment and reason, Allah has made their condition clear to you. Moreover, what reason could there be to love them and take them as allies and confidants when you know of their profound deviation in religion and how they respond to your kindness?

You faithfully adhere to the religion taught by all the messengers, believing in every messenger Allah sent and every Book He revealed, while they disbelieve in the greatest of Books and the noblest of messengers. You show them compassion and love in a measure for which they do not repay even the smallest fraction. How, then, can you love them when they do not love you? They ingratiate themselves with you and act hypocritically toward you: when they meet you, they say, “We believe,” but when they are alone with their own people, they bite their fingertips in the intensity of their rage and hatred toward you and your religion.

The Exalted says, “Say, ‘Die in your rage!’” That is, you will witness the honor of Islam and the humiliation of disbelief, which will distress you, and you will die in your rage, for you will never achieve your aims and thereby find relief.

“Allah knows well what is within the hearts.” Because of this, He has made clear to His believing servants what the hearts of the disbelievers and hypocrites—the enemies of the religion—conceal.

“If good touches you”—such as honor, victory, well-being, or prosperity—“it grieves them; but if misfortune befalls you”—such as the enemy gaining the upper hand or some worldly calamity occurring—“they rejoice at it.” This is the description of an enemy whose hostility is intense.

After explaining the intensity of their hostility and describing their vile qualities, the Exalted commands His believing servants to remain patient and adhere to piety. If they do so, their enemies’ schemes will not harm them in the least. Allah encompasses them, their deeds, and the plots they devise against you. He has promised that, if you adhere to piety, they will not harm you in the least; therefore, do not doubt that this promise will be fulfilled.

(121–123) “And remember when you left your family early in the morning to station the believers in their positions for battle”—to the end of the account. This occurred on the day of Uhud, when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—set out with the Muslims after the polytheists, with their assembled forces, had reached the vicinity of Uhud. He—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—assigned the Muslims their positions, arranged them in their stations, and organized them with remarkable precision, demonstrating the perfection of his judgment and his consummate skill in the arts of leadership and warfare, just as he was perfect in every sphere.

“Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” Nothing concerning you is hidden from Him.

“When two groups among you were about to lose heart.” They were the Banū Salama and the Banū Hāritha, but the Creator took both groups into His care through His kindness, protection, and enabling grace.

“Let the believers put their trust in Allah.” If they place their trust in Him, He will suffice and assist them, and protect them from whatever might harm them in their religious or worldly affairs.

This verse and others like it establish that placing one’s trust in Allah is obligatory, and that a servant’s trust is commensurate with his faith. Trust means that the servant relies upon his Lord to secure what benefits him and ward off what harms him. After mentioning their situation at Uhud and the calamity that befell them there, Allah included a reminder of His victory and favor upon them on the day of Badr, so that they might be grateful to their Lord and the memory of that victory might ease this calamity. He said, “Allah certainly granted you victory at Badr when you were weak”—in numbers and equipment. They numbered three hundred and a little more than ten, with few mounts and poor weaponry, while their enemies numbered nearly one thousand and were fully equipped and armed.

“So fear Allah that you may be grateful”—to the One who favored you with His victory.

“When you said” to the believers, giving them glad tidings and strengthening their hearts, “Will it not suffice you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down? * Indeed! If you remain patient and fear Allah, and they come against you in this very onslaught”—that is, in this attack and in this manner—“your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels bearing distinguishing marks”—that is, marked with the signs of valiant warriors.

People have differed over whether this reinforcement involved the angels directly participating in battle, as some held, or whether it consisted of Allah strengthening His believing servants and casting terror into the hearts of the polytheists, as many exegetes held.

The latter view is supported by His words: “Allah made it only as glad tidings for you and so that your hearts might be reassured by it. Victory comes only from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” This shows that the servant must not rely upon the available means, but upon Allah.

The means and their availability merely reassure hearts and help one remain steadfast upon good.

“So that He might cut down a group of those who disbelieve or suppress them, leaving them to return disappointed.” That is, Allah’s grant of victory to His believing servants can only result either in cutting down a group