Surah Al Anfal Tafseer

الانَ خَفَّفَ اللّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا فَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّيَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُواْ مِيَتَيْنِ

Now Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is weakness in you. So if there are of you a hundred steadfast persons, they shall overcome two hundred....

Allah lowered the number (of adversaries that Muslims are required to endure), and thus, made the required patience less, compatible to the decrease in numbers."

Al-Bukhari recorded a similar narration from Ibn Al-Mubarak. Muhammad bin Ishaq recorded that Ibn Abbas said,

"When this Ayah was revealed, it was difficult for the Muslims, for they thought it was burdensome since twenty should fight two hundred, and a hundred against a thousand. Allah made this ruling easy for them and abrogated this Ayah with another Ayah,

الانَ خَفَّفَ اللّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا

Now Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is weakness in you...

Thereafter, if Muslims were half as many as their enemy, they were not allowed to run away from them. If the Muslims were fewer than that, they were not obligated to fight the disbelievers and thus allowed to avoid hostilities."

وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُواْ أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ

and if there are a thousand of you, they shall overcome two thousand by the leave of Allah.

وَاللّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

And Allah is with the patient