because many of them had been killed. That is, they did not weaken on that account, lose their resolve, or submit to their enemy. Rather, they fulfilled Allah’s command to fight until Allah granted them victory over their enemies and His word became supreme.

The second interpretation is that the prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was killed along with many companies, yet those who remained did not lose heart because the prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had been killed. This accords with Satan’s cry that Muhammad had been killed. However, it does not accord with the wording of the verse. What accords with its wording is that, despite the magnitude of their calamity, they did not lose heart. Had the intended meaning been that the prophet was killed while those accompanying him were unafraid, there would have been no need to emphasize their great number. Rather, emphasizing how few they were would have been more fitting. If they were numerous, praising them for this would offer no lesson.

Nor would this constitute an argument against the Companions, for on the day of Uhud they were few, while their enemy outnumbered them several times over. They could say, “They did not lose heart because they numbered thousands, whereas we were few.”

Moreover, His words:

“How many a prophet…”

imply that this happened often. Yet it is not known that many prophets were killed in battle. This interpretation also implies that many companies were killed alongside each of those prophets, but this did not occur. The prophets before Moses did not engage in fighting, and Moses and the prophets of the Children of Israel were not killed on military campaigns. Indeed, no prophet is known to have been killed in battle. How, then, could this have happened often, with each prophet accompanied by a large army?

Allah, glorified is He, condemned those who turn back, whether the Prophet is killed or dies. He did not reproach them for being afraid if he died or was killed, but for turning back on their heels. This is why al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, recited the verse after the Prophet’s death—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and it was as though they had never heard it before.

Then, after that verse, He mentioned another point: those before you would fight, and some of them would be killed