لِيَقْطَعَ طَرَفًا مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَوْ يَكْبِتَهُمْ فَيَنقَلِبُوا۟ خَآئِبِينَ 127
Translations
That He might cut down a section of the disbelievers or suppress them so that they turn back disappointed.
Transliteration
Liyaqta'a tarfan min alladhina kafaroo aw yakbithum fyanqaliboo khaibin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to Allah's purpose in granting the believers victory and strength—either to eliminate a portion of the disbelievers or to humiliate and repel them defeated and disappointed. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the phrase 'cut off a section' (yaqta'a tarfan) indicates either death in battle or capture, while 'humiliate them' (yakbithum) means to break their spirits and cause them to retreat in shame. This establishes that Allah's decree encompasses the triumph of truth over falsehood through military and spiritual means.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Ali 'Imran's discussion of the Battle of Uhud and the broader struggle between the Muslim community and the Meccan disbelievers. It expresses Allah's wisdom in allowing battles to occur—whether resulting in the believers' victory through eliminating enemies or through the enemy's demoralization and retreat. The thematic context emphasizes that all outcomes serve divine purposes in establishing truth.
Related Hadiths
The spirit of this ayah relates to the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah.' It also connects thematically to accounts of battles where Allah granted victory through military means or psychological defeat of enemies.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that struggle against falsehood serves divine purposes whether through direct victory or through deterring and humiliating evil forces. For believers today, it emphasizes trust in Allah's plan during trials and the understanding that all circumstances—success or temporary difficulty—ultimately serve the cause of truth and justice.
Related Ayahs
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمْوَٰتًۢا ۚ بَلْ أَحْيَآءٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allāh as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision,
لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ شَىْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَـٰلِمُونَ
Not for you, [O Muḥammad, but for Allāh], is the decision whether He should [cut them down] or forgive them or punish them, for indeed, they are wrongdoers.
مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُؤْتِيَهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُولَ لِلنَّاسِ كُونُوا۟ عِبَادًا لِّى مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِن كُونُوا۟ رَبَّـٰنِيِّـۧنَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ
It is not for a human [prophet] that Allāh should give him the Scripture and authority and prophethood and then he would say to the people, "Be servants to me rather than Allāh," but [instead, he would say], "Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied."
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا ٱسْتَزَلَّهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
Indeed, those of you who turned back on the day the two armies met [at Uḥud] - it was Satan who caused them to slip because of some [blame] they had earned. But Allāh has already forgiven them. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Forbearing.