'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The Exalted and Majestic says: "And fear a trial that will not strike those who have wronged among you specifically. And know that Allah is Severe in punishment." "And remember when you were few, oppressed in the land, fearing that people would abduct you. Then He sheltered you and supported you with His victory and provided you with good things, so that you might be grateful." This verse has interpretations. The first of which is that Allah intends to warn all believers of a trial that, if it strikes, will not only affect the wrongdoers, but will strike everyone, both the wrongdoer and the innocent. This interpretation was taken by Al-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him, for he said on the day of Al-Jamal: "And I did not know that we were meant by this verse except today, and I did not think it was meant for anyone but those who were addressed at that time." Likewise, Al-Hasan Al-Basri interpreted it, for he said: "This verse is about Ali, Ammar, Talha, and Al-Zubair." Similarly, Ibn Abbas interpreted it, for he said: "Allah commanded the believers in this verse not to allow the denier among them, lest punishment encompass them all." Al-Qutbi clarified this in what he mentioned from Makki in a clear explanation. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Thus, His saying: "will not strike" - according to this interpretation - is a description of the trial. Therefore, it was necessary - if we assume that - for the wording to be: "will not strike," and to soften for the entrance of the heavy noon in the news about the trial. Al-Zajjaj said: Some grammarians claimed that the speech is a response in which there are ways of prohibition. He said: And similar to it is His saying: "Enter your homes, lest they crush you" [An-Naml: 18]. The meaning is: If you enter, they will not crush you. Likewise, this is: If you fear, you will not be struck. Some said: It is a news with the meaning of a response, and for that reason, the noon was able to enter. Al-Mahdawi said: It is said that it is the response to an implied oath, its implication being: "And fear a trial, by Allah, it will not strike." The noon entered with "not" based on its entrance with the lam only. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And in this saying, there is a dislike, for the response to the oath, if "not" has entered it or if it is negated in the sentence, the noon does not enter. If it is affirmative, the lam and the heavy noon enter, like your saying: "By Allah, Zayd will not stand, by Allah, Zayd will certainly stand." This is the rule of the matter, but the meaning of this verse is consistent with the dislike we mentioned.

The other interpretation of the verse is that His saying, the Most High: ﴿And beware of a trial﴾ is a general address to all believers, independent in itself. The speech has ended at this point, then the prohibition for the wrongdoers specifically begins, regarding their exposure to wrongdoing, so that the trial specifically affects them. The prohibition is expressed in the form of addressing the trial, thus it is a transformed prohibition. The Arabs do this, as they say: "I do not want to see you here," meaning: do not stand here so that I may not see you. They do not intend to prohibit the person seeing himself. Likewise, the intended meaning in the verse is: let not any wrongdoing from your wrongdoers occur, so that the trial may affect them. This is what Al-Zajjaj inclined towards, and it is the saying of Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mubarrad, and Al-Naqqash narrated it from Al-Farra'. The prohibition for the wrongdoers here is in the form of addressing the plural, as when you say to a group: "Let not your foolish ones do such and such," while you only intend to prohibit the foolish ones specifically.

And ﴿specifically﴾ is an adjective for a deleted source, its estimation being: a specific affliction. It is in the accusative case as a state since the source has been omitted, and it is from the pronoun in "may affect them." This verb is the doer. It is possible that "specifically" is a state of the pronoun in "they wronged," and it does not require the estimation of a deleted source. The first is more likely in meaning.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali, Al-Rabi' ibn Anas, Abu Al-Aliya, and Ibn Jammaz read: "Surely, it will affect them" with the lam as a response to an oath. The meaning in this case is a warning to the wrongdoers only. Abu Al-Fath said: it is possible that this reading means: "Let not it affect them," and the alif has been omitted from "not" for ease and sufficiency with the vowel, as they say: "By Allah," and it is possible that the reading of the group "Let not it affect them": "Surely, it will affect them" has the vowel of the lam prolonged, thus an alif occurred from it.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an overreach in interpretation. Al-Naqqash narrated this reading from Al-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam, and this contradicts what Al-Tabari and others narrated regarding the interpretation of Al-Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him, in the verse. Al-Naqqash narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that he read: "And beware of a trial that may affect."

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And know that Allah is severe in punishment﴾ is a warning that aligns well with the interpretation of Al-Zubair and Al-Hasan, in a good alignment, and it aligns with other interpretations in various ways.

It has been narrated from Ali ibn Sulaiman Al-Akhfash that His saying, the Most High: ﴿Let not it affect them﴾ is in the sense of supplication, as mentioned by Al-Zahrawi.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And remember when you were few﴾, this verse contains a recounting of Allah's blessings upon the believers. And "when" is a circumstance for the action "and remember," its estimation being: "and remember your state that was or is when you were few." It is not permissible for "when" to be a circumstance for the remembrance, rather the remembrance acts upon "when" if we estimate it as an object.

And the people differed regarding the situation referred to in this verse. A group, which is the majority, said: It is the situation of Makkah at the time of the beginning of Islam, and the people who are feared to be taken away are the disbelievers of Makkah. The refuge, according to this interpretation, is Madinah and the Ansar. The support with victory refers to the Battle of Badr and what was accomplished with it at that time. The good things are the spoils of war and all that Allah opened to them through it. Another group said: The situation referred to is the situation of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and his companions in the Battle of Badr. The people who are feared to be taken away, according to this, are the army of Makkah and the neighboring tribes, for the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was fearful of some of them. The refuge, according to this, and the support with victory is the assistance with angels and the overpowering of the enemy. The good things are the spoils of war.

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

These two sayings correspond to the time of the revelation of the verse because it was revealed after Badr. Wahb ibn Munabbih and Qatadah said: The situation referred to is the situation of all the Arabs, for they were the most emaciated of people in bodies, the hungriest in bellies, and the least in men and livestock. The people who are feared to be taken away, according to this interpretation, are the Persians and the Romans. The refuge, according to this, is prophethood and the Shariah. The support with victory is the opening of the lands and the overpowering of kings. The good things are the blessings of food, drink, and clothing.

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

This interpretation is refuted by the fact that the Arabs were, at the time of the revelation of this verse, mostly disbelievers except for a few. The conditions mentioned by this interpreter did not occur. It would only have been possible for the Arabs to be addressed by this verse at the end of the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. If someone were to apply this verse to the situation of the Arabs, then their application is correct. However, for the situation of the Arabs to be the cause of the verse is unlikely for the reasons we mentioned.

And His saying, the Exalted, "Perhaps you will be grateful" is a hope according to human understanding related to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And remember."