It was revealed in the year of Hudaybiyyah. Allah tested them with hunting while they were in a state of ihram, and it became abundant among them to the extent that it would come upon them in their camps, allowing them to catch it by their hands and stab it with their spears, so that Allah may know who fears Him in the unseen. To distinguish between those who fear the punishment of Allah while being absent and waiting for it in the Hereafter, and thus avoid hunting, from those who do not fear Him and proceed to hunt. So whoever transgresses and hunts after that test, the warning is upon him. If you say: What is the meaning of the diminutive and the small? [Mamdouh said: 'If you say, what is the meaning of the diminutive and the small... etc.' Ahmad said: 'And this form has been mentioned in the same way in the great trials in His saying: (And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, and give good tidings to the patient.)' There is no doubt in the greatness of these calamities and trials, for the one who is patient through them deserves to be given good tidings, because he has been patient through something great. Therefore, Al-Zamakhshari's statement that 'it has been diminished and made small as a reminder that this trial is not among the great trials' is refuted by its use with trials that are agreed upon in their greatness. The apparent meaning - and Allah knows best - is that what is implied by the word of diminutive and small is a reminder that all that which they are tested with from these calamities is part of the whole in relation to Allah's power, and that He is capable of making what He tests them with from that greater and more terrifying than what occurs. And whatever is averted from them that is greater in power, He only diverts it to what is lighter and easier, out of kindness and mercy towards them: so that this reminder may motivate them to be patient and bear it. What indicates that this is the intended meaning is that the prior warning was only to prepare them for it when it occurs, so it may also motivate them to endure it, for the suddenness of the disliked is more difficult, and being warned of it before it occurs makes its occurrence easier. The essence of this is kindness in decree, so glorified is He, the Kind One to His servants. And if the rational person reflects on the types of calamities he is tested with, he finds that what is averted from him among them is more than what does not reach a limit. So we ask Allah for forgiveness, well-being, and kindness in what is decreed.] In His saying: (with something of hunting)? I say: It has been diminished and made small to indicate that it is not a trial among the great trials that shake the feet of the steadfast, like the trial of sacrificing lives and wealth, but rather it is similar to what the people of Ailah were tested with regarding fishing. And if they do not remain steadfast in it, then how will their condition be regarding what is more severe than it? And Ibrahim read: 'it reaches him,' with a ya.