in the cause of Allah, moving from Mecca to Medina. In doing so they combined two acts: abandoning their homeland and their dwellings, and supporting the Prophet ﷺ, for their migration was purely to Allah and His Messenger. Thus the Emigrants united both emigration and support.

The Helpers, by contrast, are those who had already made the city their home and embraced faith before the newcomers arrived—the people of Medina who gave refuge to the Prophet ﷺ, aided him, and protected him just as they would protect their own wives and children. Allah mentioned the Emigrants first because they are superior to the Helpers, having brought together both emigration and support.

His words, “those who followed him in the hour of hardship,” refer to those who accompanied the Prophet ﷺ on the expedition to Tabuk, a distant land, at the height of scorching heat—when remaining in one’s home would have been most pleasant, for it was the season of blazing summer, ripening fruit, and inviting shade. Yet they went forth with the Prophet ﷺ at that critical “hour of hardship,” “after the hearts of a group among them had almost swerved.” Some of them were on the verge of staying behind without excuse, their hearts inclined to turn away, but Allah—exalted is He—bestowed steadiness upon them so that they set out with the Prophet ﷺ.

Then He said, “He then relented toward them,” reaffirming it once more: “Indeed, He is to them Most Kind, Most Merciful,” enveloping them in gentleness and mercy. Kindness (ra’fah) is even more delicate than mercy, for it is a subtler and greater form of the general mercy.

He then said: “and upon the three who were left behind.” The three are Kaʿb ibn Mālik, Murārah ibn al-Rabīʿ, and Hilāl ibn Umayyah—these are the men who were left behind; “left behind” meaning that they were held back from the expedition.