His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿So you did not kill them, but Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw. And so He may test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing﴾ ﴿That is so, and indeed Allah weakens the plot of the disbelievers﴾.

This is an address to the believers. Allah made it known that the killers among the believers are not the ones who have the exclusive power to kill by their own ability. Creation and origination in all circumstances of the killer are solely for Allah, the Most High; the killer has no part in it. Rather, he only shares in it by his earning and intention. These words refute those who say that the actions of the servants are created by them.

The reason for this verse - as it has been narrated - is that when the companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, returned from Badr, each of them mentioned what he had done. He said: 'I killed such and such, and I did such and such.' This led to boasting and similar matters, so the verse was revealed.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw﴾ refers to what the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did on that day. This is because he took handfuls of pebbles and dirt and threw them in the faces of the people and towards them three times, and they were defeated at the last throw. It is narrated that he said on the day of Badr: 'May the faces be disfigured.' This action also occurred on the day of Hunayn without dispute. It is narrated that the dirt he threw did not remain on a disbeliever except that something of it entered his eyes. It is narrated that he threw three stones, and the defeat came with the third stone.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The meaning of His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw﴾ is what we have mentioned regarding His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿So you did not kill them, but Allah killed them﴾. This is explicitly stated in Al-Tabari and others. It is outside the speech of the Arabs in the meaning of: And you did not throw the sufficient throw when you threw, similar to the saying of Al-Abbas ibn Mirdas:

؎ .................. ∗∗∗ So I was given nothing and I was not prevented

Meaning: I will not be given anything pleasing.

It is possible that He means: And you did not instill fear in their hearts when you threw your pebbles, but Allah instilled it. This is also explicitly stated in Al-Mahdawi and others.

It is possible that He means: And you did not enrich when you threw your pebbles, but Allah threw, meaning: He helped you and granted you victory. The Arabs say in supplication: May Allah throw for you, meaning: He helped you and did for you. Abu Ubaidah mentioned this in his book on metaphor. One group read: 'But Allah threw' with emphasis on the noon, and another group read: 'But Allah threw' with its lightening and raising the ha of 'Allah.'

And ﴿And so He may test﴾ means: to afflict them with a good trial. The apparent description of it being good necessitates that He intended victory, spoils, and honor. It is said that He intended martyrdom for those who were martyred on the day of Badr, and they were fourteen, among them Ubaydah ibn Al-Harith ibn Abdul-Muttalib, and Mahja, the freedman of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and Muadh and Amr, the sons of Afra, and others.

'Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing' for your cries for help, 'All-Knowing' with respect to the wisdom in all His actions. There is no deity except Him. Al-Tabari narrated that what is meant by His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And you did not throw when you threw' is the throwing of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, the spear at Ubayy ibn Khalaf on the day of Uhud.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak because the verse was revealed after Badr. Thus, it would be unrelated to what came before it and what comes after it, and that is unlikely. It has also been reported that what is meant is the arrow that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, threw at the fortress of Khaybar, which traveled through the air until it struck Ibn Abi al-Haqiq, killing him while he was on his bed. This is invalid, and the conquest of Khaybar is much further than Uhud. The correct account regarding the killing of Ibn Abi al-Haqiq is different from this. These two statements are weak for the reasons we mentioned.

And His saying, exalted is He: 'That is for you' refers to what has preceded regarding Allah's killing and His throwing at them. The grammatical position of 'that is for you' is nominative. Sibawayh said: The implied meaning is: 'The matter is that.' Some grammarians said: It may be in the accusative case, implying a verb, 'and that' is conjoined to 'that is for you.' It may also be a news of a subject that is implied, its implication being: 'It is a necessity, a predecessor, and a steadfastness,' and so on. A group read: 'And indeed' with the hamzah broken for separation and resumption. And 'muhin' means: weakening, invalidating. It is said: 'Wahana' the thing, similar to: 'Wa'ada ya'idhu.' It is said: 'Wahina' similar to: 'Wali yali.' And it was read: 'So they did not weaken for what befell them' with the 'h' broken. Hamzah, al-Kisai, Ibn Amer, and Abu Bakr from Asim read: 'Muhin kayd' from 'wahana.' Ibn Kathir, Nafi, and Abu Amr read: 'Muwahhin kayd' from 'wahhana.' Hafs from Asim read: 'Muhin kayd' with the 'd' broken and the addition. Al-Zajjaj mentioned that there are four readings in it; he mentioned these three readings and added 'Muwahhin kayd' with a strengthened 'h' and addition, but he did not specify that it is a reading.