And when there was in some souls a delusion due to abundance, which causes a stupor that makes them oblivious to some aspects of power, he presented the story of Hunayn as evidence of that which he had obscured regarding the threat, in response to a questioner who seemed to say: What is that matter which is awaited for its coming and feared for its great significance? It was said: Humiliation, disgrace, poverty, and defeat. It was as if it was said: And how can that be? It was said: By having the All-Powerful impose upon you - even if you are many - stronger ones than you, even if they are few and weak, just as He imposed upon you - and you were like that - until you reached what you have reached: 'Certainly Allah has helped you' meaning: the Most High King with the severity of your weakness 'in places' meaning: positions and stands and places in which you settle yourselves for meeting your enemy 'many' meaning: from the battles that have preceded you such as Badr, Qurayzah, and Nadir, and Qaynuqa, and Hudaybiyyah, and Khaybar, and others from the conflicts with the disbelievers. And you were in a state of humiliation, fewness, and defeat such that your victory and triumph over all the disbelievers could not be imagined while you were among them like a white hair in the skin of a black bull. And He did not entrust you to the support of whoever had preceded in their matter to you by boycotting them. This indicated that whoever obeys Allah and prioritizes religion over worldly matters, Allah grants him religion and the world in the best of ways, even if all people oppose him. And what follows from the story of Hunayn indicates that whoever relies on the world misses both religion and the world unless Allah encompasses him with mercy from Him and he returns with it. So He, the Exalted, said: 'And on the day' meaning: And He helped you after He strengthened you and increased your numbers, He alone, not your multitude and strength on the day of 'Hunayn,' which is a valley between Mecca and Ta'if next to Dhul-Majaz, and it is closer to Mecca, behind Arafat to the north.

And when Salamah ibn Salamah ibn Waqsh, the Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, said when the two groups met and he was amazed by the multitude of people: "We will not be defeated today due to our fewness!" The words of the Prophet ﷺ were displeased by this and that he relied only on Allah. Being impressed is a deadly poison for the causes. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, educated us in this battle by mentioning the bad effect of it so that we may beware of it. Then He, glorified and exalted is He, returned with grace for the fact that what one person said was disliked by others. He said: "When you were impressed by your multitude," meaning: you cut off the notion that it would not be overcome by any conqueror. And He, glorified and exalted is He, attributed the action to the group, indicating that due to their high status, there should not be among them anyone who says such a thing. "So it did not avail you at all," meaning: from being enriched. "And the earth became constricted upon you," meaning: the vast one. "Despite its vastness," meaning: with its expanse, you became unable to see that there was a place in it that could protect you from what you were in due to excessive fear. In reality, nothing constricted except what was from the hopes that relied on wealth and men. And perhaps His turning away - for He turned them away with a tool of leniency in His saying: "Then you turned away," meaning: a great turning of your backs to the disbelievers. And this was confirmed by His saying: "In retreat," meaning: in defeat, even though fleeing at the time of the encounter did not delay - indicating what they had of reliance on strength and multitude.