Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Surah Al-Anfal
Surah 8 · Al-Anfal · verse 66 of 75

Quran 8:66 · Al-Anfal

ٱلۡـَٰٔنَ خَفَّفَ ٱللَّهُ عَنكُمۡ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمۡ ضَعۡفٗاۚ فَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّاْئَةٞ صَابِرَةٞ يَغۡلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيۡنِۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُمۡ أَلۡفٞ يَغۡلِبُوٓاْ أَلۡفَيۡنِ بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

Now, Allah has lightened [the hardship] for you, and He knows that among you is weakness. So if there are from you one hundred [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you a thousand, they will overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the steadfast

Translation: Sahih International
Maulana’s commentary · Tazkirul Quran

The reason for a lesser number of believers overcoming a large number of those who deny the truth has been explained by saying that the believers possessed fiqh, while those who deny the truth were devoid of it. The literal meaning of fiqh is understanding. This means the insight and wisdom which a man acquires as a result of faith. Faith in God is like the lighting of a lamp in a dark room. The lamp lights up the room in a such way that everything in it is seen clearly. Similarly, faith blesses man with a divine consciousness, after which he starts seeing all realities in their original shape. As a result of faith, man understands the reality of life and death. He comes to know that the most important thing is not the life of this world but the life of the Hereafter. This makes him fearless. He looks at death as if it is a door through which he may enter Paradise. A believer is God-fearing and he is anxious about the Hereafter. Such a temperament purifies him of all types of negative feelings. He rises above obstinacy, hatred, prejudice, revenge and haughtiness. The case of those who deny the truth is just the opposite. One who denies the truth acts emotionally, while the believer acts realistically. One who denies the truth carries out his dealings with narrow-mindedness, while the believer displays broad-mindedness.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Tazkirul Quran

In the lectures

Maulana does not cite this verse in the lectures indexed so far. The verses of this surah Maulana does cite →