الْآنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنْكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا فَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ مِائَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ وَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ﴿۶۶﴾ مَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ أَسْرَى حَتَّى يُثْخِنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿۶۷﴾

﴾66﴿ 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
﴾67﴿ Maa kaana li Nabiyyin ai yakoona lahooo asraa hatta yuskhina fil ard; tureedoona aradad dunyaa wallaahu yureedul Aakhirah; wallaahu 'Azeezun Hakeem

﴾66﴿ Now Allah has brought ease to you and knows that there is weakness in you. So if there are a hundred of you who are patient, they will overcome two hundred, And if there are a thousand of you, they will overcome two thousand with the help of Allah Almighty. And Allah Almighty is with the patient
﴾67﴿ It is not fitting for a Prophet to be held captive by his hand until he sheds blood abundantly on the earth You desire the things of this world, but Allah desires the Hereafter. And Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise

[66] According to the early scholars, this verse abrogates the previous verse; however, the later scholars consider it a concession (takhfīf), and this opinion is preferred.
One reason for this is the presence of the word "خفف" (He lightened) in the verse itself.
The phrase "and He knew that there is weakness among you" (وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا) refers to a weakness in resolve or ambition—not a blameworthy trait, but rather an indication that there were different levels among the Companions in terms of strength and capacity.
Sufyān ibn Shubrah also said that this ruling applies similarly to enjoining good and forbidding evil (amr bil maʿrūf wa nahy ʿan al-munkar), based on the same principle mentioned in this verse.
[67] This is the twelfth rule for the commander. Its essence is that, in the beginning, killing disbelievers was necessary in order to establish fear and awe in the hearts of the enemies.
This verse was revealed in connection with the Battle of Badr, when seventy disbelievers were taken captive. At that time, no divine ruling regarding the treatment of captives had yet been revealed.
The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) consulted with the Companions—some suggested that all captives be executed, while others suggested accepting ransom in order to purchase weapons of war.
The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) agreed with the second opinion, and ransom was taken.
Then this verse was revealed, indicating that such an action (accepting ransom) was not appropriate at that stage.
The use of "for a prophet" (لِنَبِيٍّ) in indefinite form implies that this ruling applies to all prophets.
The word "captives" (أَسْرَى) refers to those captives who are freed through ransom without being executed. This indicates that killing the polytheists of Badr would have been better than taking ransom and releasing them.
This event also serves as evidence that when no revelation is present, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) relied on ijtihād (personal reasoning), and the method of this was through consultation (shūrā).
Since Allah did not reject that ijtihād-based decision but only indicated that another course would have been better, it becomes clear that even the Prophet’s ijtihād is counted as a form of revelation.
The address "You desire..." (تُرِيدُونَ) is directed only toward the Companions out of respect and etiquette for the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).