And when he advanced to them in that, he explained it by affirming His might and wisdom, and that victory is only from Him. So whoever's faith is sound does not stop obeying His commands. He said, causing them to remember the prohibition of fleeing, even if the enemy is numerous, reminding them of what He did for them at Badr, so that He may lead them to do likewise. And to prevent them from being impressed by what was in their hands on that day of miracles. 'So you did not kill them' means: the wrath fell upon the one who turned away, for it became clear to every believer that He, glorified and exalted is He, does not command anyone except by what He is capable of, glorified is He, of accomplishing for him. For it has been clarified from what occurs according to the laws of custom that you did not kill the slain of Badr, even if you took the means of killing them, because you did not instill in the hearts of that great army the terror that was the cause of their defeat, which was the reason for the killing of those whom you killed, due to your weakness in resisting them in general. And in this, there is also a reprimand for them so that none of them may say in a boastful manner: 'I killed such and such a man and did such and such.'

'But Allah' means: the One to Whom belongs all command, so nothing escapes His will. 'Killed them' means: by defeating them, for when they saw the angels and their eyes were filled with the dust that he ﷺ threw at them, and their hearts were in panic until you were able to kill them, it was an extraordinary occurrence that He had promised you. So His words were true, and His actions were completed.

And when what they initiated was returned to Him, glorified and exalted is He, He followed it with what His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, initiated as a sign of that. For when he, blessings and peace be upon him, saw Quraysh approaching, he said: "O Allah! Here comes Quraysh with their pride and arrogance, challenging You and denying Your Messenger." Then Gabriel, peace be upon him, said: "Take a handful of dust and throw it at them." So he did, and it filled their eyes, and they were defeated. He said: "And you did not throw when you threw." That is, O leader of the believers, the dust in the eyes of the disbelievers, "when you threw" means: the image of your throwing from your hand; for this effect that was found from your throwing is extraordinary. It is clear that it is not your action. This is the answer to why he did not say: "So you did not kill them when you killed them." For the soul's departure from the grievous wounds is the norm. They are the ones who killed them when they initiated their strike. So it is not correct to say: "So you did not kill them until you killed them." What is negated is merely the cause that precedes the possible killing, which is calming their hearts that arises when they advance and intimidating the disbelievers that arises from their weakness and possible defeat. What is negated from them is the beginning, and what is negated from him, blessings and peace be upon him, is the end. Or that the angels, peace be upon them, when they initiated killing some of them, it is correct to negate the killing of the whole group absolutely. Or that when some of them boasted about killing those whom they killed, He, glorified and exalted is He, negated it from them absolutely; for their initiation to kill those who were killed is in the context of what He prepared for them of causes and supported them with from the troops, which is absent. As for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, he did what he was commanded to do by throwing the dust and did not repeat his action nor mention it. So He, glorified and exalted is He, affirmed it for him while negating its effect from him and affirming it for whom the matters return to, as an admonition from Him, glorified and exalted is He, for this nation. That is, let no one look at anything of his obedience, for we have negated this great action from the most complete of creation, while he is knowledgeable and acknowledges that it is from us. Let him beware of one who sees for him an action from the great might of ours. But let him attribute all his good actions to Allah, the Exalted, just as the throwing was attributed to Him by His saying: "But Allah," that is: the One whose command cannot be repelled, "threw" because He is the One who delivered its effect with what was defeating the disbelievers. He did all of that to test the disbelievers from Him by the hands of whom He willed from His servants with a bad consequence. "And to test the believers," that is: those firmly rooted in faith, "from Him" alone, "with a good test," that is: with victory, spoils, and reward. The material of the word 'test' can be either yai or waw, in any arrangement it revolves around the mixture. Sometimes it can be absolute, like: "He tested him with an excuse," and sometimes it is with abundance and effort and hardship, which is the most common state of the material. Sometimes it can be for examination and other times for something else. And I do not mind it being a test - I think it is from the mind which is the thought, so it is from 'bala' not 'balawa,' hollow, not from the four-legged creatures. Its meaning is: what I do with the mind, that is: what I care about, so I do not divert my thoughts to mingle with its conditions where he diverts his thoughts to me; that is: what I think about its matter for its insignificance to me. The meanings of the material will be elaborated, if Allah wills, in Surah Yusuf, peace be upon him, at His saying: "What is the matter with the women?" [Yusuf: 50] And this material means the opposite of tranquility; for this requires the occupation of the thought from which the fatigue arises in defending against the circumstances. And tranquility requires the calmness of the secret and the emptiness of the mind, which is the source of comfort. So the meaning of the verse is that He, the Exalted, did that from the possibility of humiliating the disbelievers to mix with them from His affairs what would have for them in their defense a bad consequence, and to mix with the believers from that what would have for them in their engagement a good consequence, rather better than comfort; for it leads them to everlasting comfort, while tranquility leads to prolonged fatigue. And Allah is the Grantor of success.

And when it was established by what has passed that He, the Most High, has the great actions and the immense might. The statements of those among the believers who said: 'Indeed, we have not prepared for the meeting with the one of great power,' indicate weakness of resolve. He concluded the verse with His saying: 'Indeed, Allah,' meaning: the One who encompasses the attributes of perfection, 'is All-Hearing,' meaning: of your words in seeking assistance for victory and others. 'All-Knowing,' meaning: of your intentions even if you do not speak them, for He rewards the believer according to his faith and the disbeliever according to what he shows and conceals of his disbelief.