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Back to full surahAl-Baqarah 2:249
فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم بِنَهَرٍ فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي إِلَّا مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ ۚ فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ ۚ فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ قَالُوا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ ۚ قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَاقُو اللَّهِ كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ٢٤٩
Falamma fasala talootu bialjunoodi qala inna Allaha mubtaleekum binaharin faman shariba minhu falaysa minnee waman lam yatAAamhu fainnahu minnee illa mani ightarafa ghurfatan biyadihi fashariboo minhu illa qaleelan minhum falamma jawazahu huwa waallatheena amanoo maAAahu qaloo la taqata lana alyawma bijaloota wajunoodihi qala allatheena yathunnoona annahum mulaqoo Allahi kam min fiatin qaleelatin ghalabat fiatan katheeratan biithni Allahi waAllahu maAAa alssabireena
So, when Talut (Saul) marched out of the city with his troops, he said: ‘Surely, Allah will try you by means of a stream. So he who drinks from it will not be (of my companions), and he who does not drink it will be of (my party), but if someone takes (only) a sip of it from the hollow of his hand (there is no harm).’ Yet, they all drank of it except a few. So, when Talut (Saul) and his companions in faith crossed the stream, they said: ‘We have no strength today to face Jalut (Goliath) and his forces.’ (But) those who were sure that (after martyrdom or death) they were going to meet Allah said: ‘Many a time a small party has overcome a (very) large party by the command of Allah! And Allah awards His companionship to the steadfast.’ (2:249)
Allah states that Talut, the king of the Children of Israel, marched forth with his soldiers and the Israelites who obeyed him. His army was of eighty thousand then, according to As-Suddi, but Allah knows best. Talut said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم
(Verily, Allah will try you) meaning, He will test you with a river, which flowed between Jordan and Palestine, i.e. , the Shari`ah river, according to Ibn `Abbas and others. He continued,
فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي
(So whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me;) meaning, shall not accompany me today,
لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّى إِلاَّ مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ
(and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes (thereof) in the hollow of his hand.) meaning, there is no harm in this case. Allah then said:
فَشَرِبُواْ مِنْهُ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّنْهُمْ
(Yet, they drank thereof, all, except a few of them.)
Ibn Jurayj stated that Ibn `Abbas commented, "Whoever took some of it (the river's water) in the hollow of his hand, quenched his thirst; as for those who drank freely from it, their thirst was not quenched."
Ibn Jarir reported that Al-Bara' bin `Azib said, "We used to say that the Companions of Muhammad who accompanied him on the battle of Badr were more than three hundred and ten, just as many as the soldiers who crossed the river with Talut. Only those who believed crossed the river with him." Al-Bukhari also reported this.
This is why Allah said:
فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ قَالُواْ لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنودِهِ
(So when he had crossed it (the river), he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power this day against Jalut (Goliath) and his hosts.")
This Ayah indicates that the Israelites (who remained with Saul) thought that they were few in the face of their enemy who were many then. So, their knowledgeable scholars strengthened their resolve by stating that Allah's promise is true and that triumph comes from Allah Alone, not from the large numbers or the adequacy of the supplies. They said to them:
كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةٍ كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّـبِرِينَ
("How often has a small group overcome a mighty host by Allah's leave" And Allah is with As-Sabirin (the patient).)
