The Madinan Period, Part 6: The Rulings and the Aftermath of Badr
Section 13 of 20 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
You Threw Not, When You Threw
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِىَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَآءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
“So, it is not you who killed them, but in fact Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw but Allah did throw, so that He might bless the believers with a good favour. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (8:17)
And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them; and you threw not, O Muḥammad, when you threw, but it was Allah who threw, that He might test the believers with a good test — indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing. This could apply to any situation of war where a Muslim is fighting his enemy; however, the scholars of tafsīr mention a specific incident after which this āyah was revealed. They say that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) held in his hand some sand or dirt, and he threw it towards the enemies of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and one particle of that sand flew into the face or the eye of every one of the disbelievers — and that is when Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse: and you threw not, O Muḥammad, when you threw, but it was Allah who threw.