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 )
147. By this is not meant weakness of faith but rather physical weakness, ie. at first ten Muslims were obliged to face hundred infidels, now this obligation has been changed to fifty Muslims opposing hundred infidelsÂ
148. This tells that victory and success is only achieved through the help of Allah Almighty, and not through our own bravery. If He so wills He can kill the elephant through a swallow.
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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.
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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