قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ ﴿۲۴﴾ لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنْكُمْ شَيْئًا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُمْ مُدْبِرِينَ ﴿۲۵﴾ ثُمَّ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ جُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا وَعَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَذَلِكَ جَزَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿۲۶﴾

﴾24﴿ Qul in kaana aabaaa'ukum wa abnaaa'ukum wa ikhwaanukum wa azwaajukum wa 'asheeratukum wa amwaaluniq taraftumoohaa wa tijaaratun takhshawna kasaadahaa wa masaakinu tardawnahaaa ahabba ilaikum minal laahi wa Rasoolihee wa Jihaadin fee Sabeelihee fatarabbasoo hattaa ya'tiyallahu bi amrih; wallaahu laa yahdil qawmal faasiqeen
﴾25﴿ Laqad nasarakumul laahu fee mawaatina kaseeratinw wa yawma Hunainin iz a'jabatkum kasratukum falam tughni 'ankum shai'anw wa daaqat 'alaikumul ardu bimaa rahubat summa wallaitum mudbireen
﴾26﴿ Summa anzalal laahu sakeenatahoo 'alaa Rasoolihee wa'alal mu'mineena wa anzala junoodal lam tarawhaa wa azzabal lazeena kafaroo; wa zaalika jazaaa'ul kaafireen

﴾24﴿ Say, If it is your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clans, the wealth you earn, and the trade in which you fear decline And the houses that you love are dearer to you than Allah, His Messenger, and Jihad in the way of Allah So wait until Allah Almighty brings His decision, and Allah Almighty does not grant success to the disobedient people
﴾25﴿ Indeed, Allah has helped you in many places and on the day of Hunayn, when your multitude astonished you, it did not benefit you at all And the earth, despite its vastness, became narrow for you, so you turned back (from the battlefield) turning your backs (to the enemies)
﴾26﴿ So Allah, the Exalted, sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and He sent down armies which you had not seen (i.e. angel) And He punished the disbelievers, and that is the recompense of the disbelievers

[24] This verse is closely connected to the previous one and serves as an expanded clarification of its message.
In the prior verse, loyalty (wilāyah) with the disbelievers was prohibited.
Here, the verse warns those who give preference to relatives or worldly possessions over the commands of Allah and His Messenger (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
It specifically addresses people who, due to love for their kin or attachment to worldly wealth, abandon hijrah (migration) or jihad.
Imam Rāzī states that this verse proves a vital principle: > If one side contains the benefit of religion, and the other side offers countless worldly benefits, it is obligatory on the believer to give precedence to religious benefit and prefer the religion over the world.
The phrase (وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ) is emphasized because jihad is the means by which Allah’s religion is elevated and made dominant.
(بِأَمْرِهِ) refers to worldly punishment, which can occur through various means (defeat, humiliation, calamities, etc.).
(الْفَاسِقِينَ) refers to those who openly rebel against the commands of Allah and His Messenger and have not repented.
The phrase (لَا يَهْدِي) in this context means He does not guide them to salvation from punishment—i.e., they are left to face the consequences of their rebellion.
[25] The connection of this verse to the previous one is that just as relying on worldly relationships and possessions was prohibited, relying on one's own numbers and strength is also discouraged.
Instead, trust should be placed solely in Allah.
This verse also carries glad tidings of divine assistance, serving to encourage jihad.
The second message of the verse is: do not depend on your large numbers, rather, place your trust in Allah, the Almighty.
The phrase (مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ) — “many battlefields” — refers to the numerous military campaigns (maghāzī) during the life of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace). Historians mention around 80 expeditions, of which he personally participated in 19, as narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
The specific mention of (يَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ) — “the Day of Ḥunayn” — is to remove any misunderstanding. One might assume that since Muslims temporarily retreated in that battle, it was due to a lack of divine help. This verse clarifies that their setback was not due to the absence of Allah’s support, but due to momentary over-reliance on numbers.
Ḥunayn is a valley between Makkah and Ṭā’if. In that battle, the Muslims faced about 4,000 from the tribes of Hawāzin and Thaqīf, who were highly skilled archers.
The Battle of Ḥunayn took place after the conquest of Makkah, and the Muslim army had swelled to 12,000, including many new Muslims who were unfamiliar with the full discipline and ethics of Islam.
This is why, in the early moments of the battle, the Muslim ranks scattered and suffered a temporary defeat.
[26] This verse speaks of the divine help granted by Allah on the Day of Ḥunayn, specifically in the final stage of the battle, when Allah sent down angels and caused the disbelievers to be defeated.
The phrase (عَلَى رَسُولِهِ) — “upon His Messenger” — also appears in verse 26 of Surah al-Fatḥ, and it implies that even the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was in need of Allah’s tranquility (sakīnah).
Although in this particular incident the Prophet did not experience panic or fear, he did feel a moment of constriction or sorrow due to the sudden retreat of his companions.
The phrase (وَعَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا) — “and He punished those who disbelieved” — refers to the fact that many of the disbelievers were killed, and many others were taken captive.
After their eventual acceptance of Islam, the prisoners and wealth were returned to them, showing mercy after punishment.