S.3 A.127-129
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That He might cut off A fringe of the Unbelievers4-Ul Or expose them to infamy, And they should then Be turned back, Frustrated of their purpose. 128. Not for thee, (but for Allah), Is the decision: Whether He turn in mercy To them, or punish them; For they are indeed wrong-doers.-I-l9 129. To Allah belongeth all That is in the heavens And on etlrth. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth And punisheth whom He pleaseth; But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
448. A fringe of the Unbelievers: an extremity, an end, either upper or lower. Here it may mean that the chiefs of the Makkan Pagans, who had come to exterminate the Muslims with such confidence, went back frustrated in their purpose. The shameless cruelty with which they and their women mutilated the Muslim corpses on the battle-field will stand recorded to their eternal infamy. Perhaps it also exposed their real nature to some of those who fought for them. e.g., K!l:ilid ibn AI-Walid, who not only accepted Islam afterwards, but became one of the most notable champions of Islam. He was with the Muslims in the conquest of Makkah and laler on, won distinguished honours in Syria and 'Iriiq.
449. U~ud is as much a sign-post for Islam as Badr. For us in these latter days it carries an ever greater lesson. Allah's help will come if we have faith, obedience, discipline, unity, and the spirit of acting in righteousness and justice. If we fail. His mercy is always open to us. But it is also open to our enemies, and those who seem to us His enemies. His Plan may be to bring sinners to repentance, and to teach us righteousness and wisdom through those who seem in our eyes 10 be rebellious or even defiant. There may be good in them that He sees and we do not,-a humbling thought that must lead to our own self-examination and self-improvement. v
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