And His statement: “Those who said of their brothers while they themselves stayed behind, ‘Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed’…”

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The rest of the verse reads: “Say, then ward off death from yourselves, if you are truthful” (Āl ʿImrān 3:168).

• “They said of their brothers” – i.e., they addressed the Muslim combatants, calling them their brothers because they appeared outwardly to share the same faith; some say they were their brothers by blood.

• “And stayed behind” – meaning, from jihad.

• “Had they obeyed us” – by remaining behind with us.

• “They would not have been killed” – just as we were not killed.

• “Say” – address these people.

• “Then ward off death from yourselves” – repel it if you can.

• “If you are truthful” – in claiming that staying behind saves one from death.

Overall meaning of the verse: Allah – exalted is He – rebukes the hypocrites who opposed the divine decree by telling those who had marched out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Uḥud, “Had they listened to our advice to stay home and not go out, they would not have been killed with those who were slain.” He refutes them by saying that if they truly have the power to keep killing from the one for whom it has been decreed, then let them first keep death from themselves, for they have a greater right to protect their own lives. Since they are unable to do so for themselves, their inability to do it for anyone else is all the more certain.

Relevance of the verse to the chapter: The phrase “if only” regarding matters already decreed is one of the hallmarks