حَتّىٰ إِذا رَأَوا ما يوعَدونَ فَسَيَعلَمونَ مَن أَضعَفُ ناصِرًا وَأَقَلُّ عَدَدًا
Until when they see what they are promised, they will then know who is weaker in supporters and fewer in numbers.
EXEGESIS
Ḥattā is a particle that commonly functions in Arabic as a preposition with the meaning of until or up to. As a preposition, ḥattā indicates that the sentence following it is the ending point (ghāyah) of the action of the verb preceding ḥattā. In other words, the action of the verb preceding ḥattā occurs continuously until the occurrence of the action of the verb following it. In the verse under discussion, ḥattā has occurred as a particle for opening a new sentence, though it has retained its function as a preposition signifying ‘until’. Although the sentence preceding ḥattā is implicit in this verse, it can be understood from the sentence containing ghāyah. The sentence before ḥattā would hence read as: the infidels continue to belittle your supporters and undermine their numbers until when they see what they are promised, they will then know who is weaker in supporters and fewer in numbers.
Raʾaw is the third person plural of the verb raʾā that means to see and to behold. The infinitive ruʾyah implies vision or, as explained by Rāghib, the perception of the object of vision. It is obvious that the act of seeing results in some form of awareness and understanding in the beholder. It could be in view of this that the term ruʾyah in Arabic is used to also denote knowledge or indecisive information. The act of vision can however occur by means of the physical eye, through imagination, intellection, and intuition. The derivatives of the term ruʾyah have appeared in the Quran to imply all the four forms of vision as in 39:60, 8:50, 8:48, and 53:11, respectively. The verb yarā – a derivative of ruʾyah – has occurred in 34:6 signifying knowledge. In the verse under discussion, the verb raʾaw appears to signify vision through the physical eye that will take place in the hereafter. The subject in the verb raʾaw refers to the disbelievers and the polytheists. The deployment of the perfect tense verb raʾaw to express the act of witnessing that will take place in future has been for the purpose of indicating the inevitability of the divine promise.
Yūʿadūn is a verb that lexically originates from the verb waʿada which means to make a promise. The verb has however occurred in this verse in the passive voice implying that which they are promised. Though the infinitives waʿd and waʿīd lexically bear the same meaning of to promise, in most cases waʿd is conventionally used for promising something that is pleasant, and waʿīd for promising that which is distasteful.
In the verse under discussion, the phrase mā yūʿadūna (that which they are promised) refers to the fire of hell, as this is what the infidels have been promised in verse 23. Accordingly, the verse would read: Until when they witness in the life hereafter the fire which they are promised in this world, then they will realise who is weaker in supporters and fewer in numbers.
Fa-sa-yaʿlamūna: yaʿlamūna is the imperfect tense that lexically derives from the root ʿilm – knowledge. Rāghib defines ʿilm as the comprehension of a thing in essence or quality. Some lexicologists equate the reality of ʿilm with a level of certitude (yaqīn) that is impenetrable by any form of doubt. However, the term came to be mostly used for a perception that is preponderant and which is based on either convincing or speculative evidence. In sum, the term ʿilm lexically signifies acquaintance with something. Nonetheless, the level of such an acquaintance depends on the ability of the knower and the nature of the known. In the case that the comprehension is profound and involves awareness of particulars of the known then such knowledge is termed as maʿrifah. And if such acquaintance is accompanied with confidence and certitude in respect of the reality of the known, then it is called yaqīn.
The word ʿilm and its derivatives have occurred in the Quran on numerous occasions to imply knowledge. Nonetheless, it has also appeared in the Quran a few times signifying to bring something to light and to make it manifest, like in 18:12, 57:25, and 72:28. In other verses of the Quran, like 18:4-5, 22:3, 31:15, and 6:100, the term has been used to connote proof and evidence. In the verse under discussion, the verb yaʿlamūna means knowledge and awareness. However, since this realisation by the disbelievers shall take place in the hereafter, it is obvious that there will be no room left for them to entertain any doubt regarding their being weak in supporters and few in numbers. It can thus be said that the term ʿilm implies here knowledge that involves certitude and conviction.
Aḍʿafu is the superlative form of the adjective ḍaʿīf – weak. It lexically originates from the root ḍaʿf which implies weakness as opposed to strength. Although the terms ḍaʿf and ḍuʿf are equally used in Arabic to denote weakness, some grammarians draw distinction between them maintaining that ḍaʿf refers to weakness in respect of reason, whilst ḍuʿf indicates weakness in the physical body.
Nāṣir: is a noun that means a helper. It derives from the root naṣr which implies help and support. Some lexicologists are however of the view that naṣr signifies to assist the oppressed in particular. The explanation offered by Muṣṭafawī with regard to the distinction in meaning between the terms naṣr and iʿānah (assistance) may indicate the origins of the difference of opinion surrounding the lexical significance of the word naṣr, as well as provide a way to settle it. He holds that naṣr originally means to assist someone against an opponent, whilst iʿānah is to strengthen the person or the thing per se, irrespective of any opposition. Although the noun naṣr and its derivatives have occurred numerous times in the Quran, they apparently do not seem to consistently bear the idea of helping the oppressed; rather, they have been loosely employed to imply help and support.
Aqallu is the superlative form of the noun qalīl that lexically means little or few. However, according to Ibn al-Athīr, qalīl is also used in Arabic at times for absolute negation of something and has appeared in the Quran in this sense in 2:88. The term qalīl is sometimes used metonymically for two antithetical concepts of humiliation (dhillah) and might (ʿizzah), and has occurred in the Quran in this connotation in 7:86 and 34:13 respectively. Qalīl is also used to imply insignificance as in 4:77. The term aqallu in this verse denotes smallness in quantity.
ʿAdad: is a noun that means number or quantity. It derives from the infinitive ʿadd that signifies to count and to enumerate.
EXPOSITION
This verse is in fact God’s address to His Prophet about the reality that the opponents of the Prophet shall come to realise in the afterlife.
It involves a divine warning of punishment for those who mocked the Holy Prophet and the believers, as it is equally a consolation to the faithful and a glad tiding of their ultimate triumph in the hereafter.
The infidels used to belittle the Holy Prophet by considering his supporters to be weak, and would undermine his status due to the small number of his followers. This verse was thus a response to this attitude of the disbelievers by informing the Prophet that they will only comprehend their true weakness and lack of support when they witness the divine punishment in the hereafter.
There are a number of verses in the Quran such as 29:25, 3:56, 3:91, and 45:34 that indicate that the disbelievers shall have no helpers at all in the hereafter and on the Day of Resurrection. As per 23:101, all forms of ties and communication between them will be severed. On the other hand, the superlative form of the noun weaker in the verse under discussion may allude to the fact that the unbelievers shall receive some kind of support, though insignificant, from their allies. As this would not undoubtedly be the case, the wisdom behind the use of comparative expression in this verse could be to refute the perception held by the opponents of the Prophet that the larger the number of their relatives or tribal members and allies, the stronger would be the support extended to them. The comparative expression thus indicates that God, and subsequently His Messenger and the faithful, are more powerful than what the infidels may have thought.
It has been the practice of the transgressors and satanic leaders in history to boast about their big numbers and material capability in front of the divine messengers. Pharaoh used to undermine the followers of Prophet Moses (a) because of their small number: These are indeed a small gang (26:54). In the same vein, the Quran quotes the polytheists among the Arabs saying: We have greater wealth and more children, and we will not be punished! (34:35). At a more individual level, a disbeliever would at times confront a believer saying: I have more wealth than you, and am stronger with respect to numbers (18:34). The verse under discussion and its like in the Quran disapprove of this mentality and attitude, and stress on the divine logic that the faith of a people is more important than their number. The prophets and their true followers throughout the history have always held to this principle: Those who were certain they will encounter Allah said: ‘How many a small party has overcome a larger party by Allah’s will!’ (2:249).
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Zamakhsharī is of the view that this verse is related to verse 19 of this surah. As such, the verses would read, according to him, as follows: When the servant of Allah rose to pray to Him, they almost crowded around him working hand-in-hand with one another against him, and showing disregard for his supporters and undermining their number until when they see what they are promised, they will then know who is weaker in supporters and fewer in number. Moreover, he interprets the phrase what they are promised as referring to the defeat the disbelievers sustained in the Battle of Badr in the year 2 ah. Nonetheless, he also gives a possibility that the phrase could alternatively imply the divine punishment on the Day of Resurrection. However, taking into account verse 25 of this surah, it is more likely that what is meant of the phrase what they are promised is the divine chastisement in the hereafter.
Sabzawārī maintains that what they are promised is the divine punishment in this world but of the kind of extermination (istiʾṣāl). This is while Mughniyyah sees the phrase as indicating the period wherein Islam had gained might and abased polytheism in Arabia.
According to Shawkānī, the implicit sentence preceding the preposition ḥattā in this verse, reads: they still persist in their disbelief and enmity towards the Prophet and the believers until when they see what they are promised, they will then know who is weaker in supporters and fewer in numbers.
[1] Hans Wehr, under ḥatt (ḥattā).
[2] Sadan, ‘The Mood of the Verb following Ḥattā, According to the Medieval Arab Grammarians’, in Marogy, A., (ed.) The Foundations of Arabic Linguistics, Brill Academic Publishers, p. 174, footnote 3.
[3] Darwish, 10/249.
[4] Mizan, 20/52. See also Tantawi, 15/144; Alusi, 15/106.
[5] Mizan, 20/52; Alusi, 15/106.
[6] Hans Wehr, under raʾā.
[7] Raghib, under r-ʾ-y.
[8] Fayyumi, under r-w-y (raʾaytuhu).
[9] Raghib, under r-ʾ-y.
[10] Tabrisi, 10/563.
[11] Mizan, 20/52; Tabrisi, 10/563; Tibyan, 10/158; Kashif, 7/442; Tantawi, 15/144; Nemuneh, 25/134; Tabari, 29/76; Sabzawari, 7/253; Alusi, 15/106; Zamakhshari, 4/632. Ibn Kathir (8/258) is of the view that it includes the infidels from both the jinn and the humans.
[12] The perfect tense form in Arabic is basically narrative in function, and denotes, in most cases, a completed event or action (Schulz, Krahl, and Reuschel, Standard Arabic: An elementary-intermediate course, p. 56).
[13] Tantawi, 15/145.
[14] Hans Wehr, under waʿada.
[15] Bahrayn, under w-ʿ-d. See also Raghib, under w-ʿ-d.
[16] Mizan, 20/52; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/391.
[17] Tabrisi, 10/563. Some exegetes are however of the view that what they are promised in the verse refers to either the divine punishment in this world or the Day of Judgement based on 19:75. See Tabari, 20/76; Nemuneh, 25/135; Tantawi, 15/144.
[18] Raghib, under ʿ-l-m.
[19] Fayyumi, under al-ʿilm; Bahrayn, under ʿ-l-m.
[20] Bahrayn, under ʿ-l-m.
[21] Tahqiq, under ʿ-l-m.
[22] Qamus, under ʿilm.
[23] Lisan and Raghib, under ḍ-ʿ-f.
[24] See Qamus, under ḍaʿf/ḍuʿf.
[25] Ayn, under ḍ-ʿ-f.
[26] Raghib and Bahrayn, under n-ṣ-r.
[27] Ayn and Lisan, under n-ṣ-r.
[28] Tahqiq, under n-ṣ-r.
[29] Hans Wehr, under qalla (qalīl).
[30] Lisan, under q-l-l.
[31] Raghib, under q-l-l.
[32] Qamus, under qalīl.
[33] Hans Wehr, under ʿadda (ʿadad).
[34] Lisan, under ʿ-d-d.
[35] Mizan, 20/52.
[36] Tantawi, 15/144.
[37] Nemuneh, 25/135.
[38] Mizan, 20/52. See also Nemuneh, 25/134.
[39] Tibyan, 10/158; Tabrisi, 10/563.
[40] Nemuneh, 25/137.
[41] Zamakhsharī (4/632) however acknowledges, though as a secondary possibility, that the preposition ḥattā may as well be related to a sentence that is implicit in the verse under discussion, as discussed under the Exegesis of this verse.
[42] Some other exegetes like Qurtubi (20/27) have also regarded this as an alternative interpretation of the phrase.
[43] Zamakhshari, 4/632.
[44] Alusi, 15/106.
[45] Sabzawari, 7/252.
[46] Kashif, 7/442.
[47] Shawkani, 5/372.