Hunayn, such as the expeditions undertaken after the conquest of Mecca (1), including the dispatch of Jarīr ibn Abd Allah to Dhū al-Khalasa and similar missions.

Jarīr did not embrace Islam until approximately one year before the Prophet’s death—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. Since many of the military campaigns and expeditions took place after this verse was revealed, it cannot be that this verse, which reports past events (2), refers to all (3) the military campaigns and expeditions.

The third is that Allah did not grant them victory in every military campaign. Rather, on the day of Uhud they turned away, and it was a day of trial and purification (4). Likewise, they were not granted victory at Mu’tah or in other expeditions. Thus, even if the military campaigns and expeditions totaled eighty-three, they were not granted victory in every one of them, and so the occasions on which they were victorious could not total eighty-three.

The fourth is that, even assuming (5) that “many” in the verse means eighty-three, this does not imply limiting (6) the term to this particular number. The word “many” is general and encompasses one thousand, two thousand, and thousands. Since it applies to amounts of various sizes, singling out some amounts rather than others is arbitrary.

The fifth is that Allah Most High said:

“Who is it that will lend Allah a goodly loan so that He may multiply it for him many times over?”

[Surah al-Baqarah: 245]

And Allah multiplies a good deed up to