(25–27) “Allah has certainly granted you victory on many battlefields, and on the day of Hunayn, when your great numbers impressed you but availed you nothing. The earth, vast as it was, closed in upon you; then you turned and fled. * Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent down forces you did not see. He punished those who disbelieved. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”
Allah Most High reminds His believing servants of His favor in granting them victory at many places of encounter and on many fields of war and fierce combat—even on the day of Hunayn, when their plight became acute and their faltering and flight made the earth, despite all its vastness and breadth, seem constricted around them.
When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) conquered Mecca, he learned that Hawāzin had gathered to fight him. He therefore set out against them with the Companions who had conquered Mecca and with the pardoned Meccans who had embraced Islam. They numbered twelve thousand, while the polytheists numbered four thousand. Some of the Muslims were impressed by their great numbers, and one of them said, “Today we shall not be defeated for lack of numbers.”
When the Muslims and Hawāzin met, Hawāzin launched a single concerted attack against them. The Muslims fled without anyone turning back for anyone else. Only about one hundred men remained with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). They stood firm beside him and fought the polytheists, while the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) urged his mule toward the polytheists, saying:
“I am the Prophet—this is no lie;
I am the son of Abd al-Muttalib.”
When he saw what had befallen the Muslims, he instructed al-Abbās ibn Abd al-Muttalib to call out to the Ansār and the remaining Muslims. Al-Abbās had a powerful voice, so he called to them, “O companions of the acacia tree! O people of Sūrat al-Baqara!”
When they heard his voice, they wheeled around as one man and fought fiercely against the polytheists. Allah inflicted a crushing defeat upon the polytheists, and the Muslims seized their camp, their women, and their property.
This is the meaning of Allah Most High’s words: “Allah has certainly granted you victory on many battlefields, and on the day of Hunayn.” Hunayn is the name of the place between Mecca and al-Tāif where the battle occurred.
“When your great numbers impressed you but availed you nothing,” meaning that they benefited you neither a little nor a great deal. “The earth closed in upon you” because of the anxiety and grief that afflicted you when you fled, “vast as it was,” meaning despite all its breadth and vastness. “Then you turned and fled,” meaning that you retreated in defeat.
“Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers.” Tranquility is what Allah places within hearts at times of turmoil, upheaval, and terrifying events, making them firm, calm, and reassured. It is one of Allah’s immense blessings upon His servants.
“And He sent down forces you did not see.” These were the angels, whom Allah sent to assist the Muslims on the day of Hunayn, strengthening them and giving them glad tidings of victory.
“And He punished those who disbelieved” through defeat and death, and through the Muslims’ seizure of their women, children, and property.
“Such is the recompense of the disbelievers”: Allah punishes them in this world, then consigns them in the Hereafter to a severe punishment.