Why Both Sides Saw Fewer Numbers

Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, blessed the Muslims, as already noted, with sleep the night before, so that they woke up active and ready to fight, and the earth under them was made firm. He also blessed them with something else: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw in a dream that the army of Quraysh appeared fewer than it was, but when the Muslims actually saw the army of Quraysh, they too saw it as fewer than it really was.

Remember, when He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes, and made you appear as few in their eyes, so that Allah might accomplish a matter already destined, and to Allah are all matters returned. Why would Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, make the Muslims appear fewer in the eyes of Quraysh as well? Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, gives the explanation: so that Allah might accomplish a matter already destined — Allah wanted this battle to happen. When the disbelievers saw the Muslims as fewer, that made them even more eager to face them, feeling the Muslims were weak enough that they had a chance to wipe them out, but it also made them careless, because now they were not preparing well, going into battle thinking the Muslims were even fewer than three hundred. When one feels that one's opponent is too weak, one goes in with overconfidence, and this was like bait to draw them in — but as soon as they faced the Muslims and saw that they had been deceived, their morale went down. For the Muslims, seeing the enemy as fewer gave them, in turn, confidence and strength to fight.