Two Armies Without an Appointment

Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, then gives a description of the scene:

Remember when you were on the near side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was lower in position than you were. If you had made an appointment to meet, you would have missed the appointment. Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, is saying that meeting the army of Quraysh was not by appointment — the Muslims did not make an appointment with them, nor they with the Muslims. The Muslims wanted the caravan, but Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, made them meet the army of Quraysh without an appointment, and, as Allah says, had they made an appointment to meet, they would have missed the appointment. The Muslims did not want to meet the army of Quraysh, nor did the army of Quraysh want to meet the Muslims: Abū Sufyān was telling them to go back, some other members of their army were telling them to go back, and some of them were afraid, because they would be fighting the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

Not all of these disbelievers truly believed that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a false prophet or a liar. Many of them knew that he was truly the Prophet of Allah, but they were too arrogant to be his followers, and that is what kept them away from Islam. And this is called kufr al-istikbār, disbelief because of arrogance. They knew he was the Messenger of Allah, they knew he was speaking the truth, and this made them afraid to face him in battle, so these did not want to fight Muhammad (peace be upon him). And, as already noted, many among the Muslims were not really interested in fighting, because they were not really prepared to fight; they had gone out lightly armed. But Allah says that it was so that Allah might accomplish a matter already destined — Allah was the One who brought them there, and it was not by appointment — so that those who perished through disbelief would perish upon evidence, and those who lived in faith would live upon evidence, and indeed Allah is the Hearing, the Knowing.