Transliteration:( Al'aana khaffafal laahu 'ankum wa 'alima anna feekum da'faa; fa-iny yakum minkum mi'atun saabiratuny yaghliboo mi'atayn; wa iny-yakum minkum alfuny yaghlibooo alfaini bi iznil laah; wallaahu ma'as saabireen )
"Now Allah has alleviated your burden, and He knows that there is weakness among you [147]. Therefore, if there are a hundred of you who are steadfast, you will overcome two hundred; and if there are a thousand of you, you will overcome two thousand by the permission of Allah [148]. And Allah is with those who are patient."
This verse abrogates the earlier ruling of facing ten enemies per one believer. Here, Allah acknowledges physical weakness, not weakness in faith. The new command reduces the required ratio: now, one hundred Muslims must face two hundred enemies. This merciful adjustment shows Allah’s awareness of human capacity and His concern for the well-being of the believers.
Success in battle does not depend on numerical strength or personal valor, but on the permission and support of Allah. He alone determines victory or defeat. As highlighted in sacred tradition, even a swallow can destroy an elephant if Allah so wills. The verse concludes with the assurance that Allah is with the patient, affirming that steadfastness is the key to Divine support.
The tafsir of Surah Al-Anfal verse 66 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Anfal ayat 64 which provides the complete commentary from verse 64 through 66.
(8:66) Allah has now lightened your burden for He found weakness in you. So if there be hundred of you who persevere, they shall vanquish two hundred; and if there be a thousand of you they shall, by the leave of Allah, vanquish two thousand.[48] Allah is with those who persevere.
48. This does not mean that since the faith of Muslims had declined, their ten times superiority ove the unbelievers has been reduced to twice only. What it means is that ideally a Muslim is ten times stronger than an unbeliever. However, since the Muslims had not as yet been throughly trained and had reached the desire level of maturity in their understanding, they are asked not to feel uneasy at least of challenging an enemy which is twice as strong. It should be borne in mind that the Qur’anic directive was given in 2A.H./624 C.E. when most of the Muslims, being recent converts to Islam, had undergone little trainning. As they gained maturity under the Prophet’s guidance, the desired ratio of one to ten between the Muslims and the unbelievers was established. That Muslims are ten times stronger than unbelievers is a fact witnessed frequently in the battles during the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.
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