Verse. 437

٣ - آلِ عِمْرَان

3 - Al-Imran

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلَّا رَسُوْلٌ۝۰ۚ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِہِ الرُّسُلُ۝۰ۭ اَفَا۟ىِٕنْ مَّاتَ اَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلٰۗى اَعْقَابِكُمْ۝۰ۭ وَمَنْ يَّنْقَلِبْ عَلٰي عَقِبَيْہِ فَلَنْ يَّضُرَّ اللہَ شَـيْـــًٔـا۝۰ۭ وَسَيَجْزِي اللہُ الشّٰكِرِيْنَ۝۱۴۴
Wama muhammadun illa rasoolun qad khalat min qablihi alrrusulu afain mata aw qutila inqalabtum AAala aAAqabikum waman yanqalib AAala AAaqibayhi falan yadurra Allaha shayan wasayajzee Allahu alshshakireena

English

Ahmed Ali

Muhammad is only a messenger; and many a messenger has gone before him. So what if he dies or is killed! Will you turn back and go away in haste? But he who turns back and goes away in haste will do no harm to God. But God will reward those who give thanks (and are grateful).

144

Tafseer

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : when they said to the messenger of allah (pbuh): “o prophet of allah! we heard that you were killed, this is why we ran from the enemy,” allah revealed the following: (muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him) before him other messengers have passed away. (will it be that, when he) muhammad (dieth or is slain) in the way of allah, (you will turn back on your heels?) you will return to your old religion. (he who turneth back) returns to his old religion (does no hurt to allah) such return will not harm allah, (and allah will reward the thankful) he will reward the believers for their faith and jihad.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : with regard to their being routed, when it was rumoured that the prophet had been killed and the hypocrites had said to the believers, ‘if he has been killed, go back to your [previous] religion’, the following was revealed: muhammad is only a messenger; messengers have passed away before him. why, if he should die or is slain, like others, will you turn back on your heels, will you return to unbelief (the last statement is the locus of the interrogative of denial, in other words, ‘he was not a worshipped being, so that [if he were to die] you should turn back [to your previous religion]’). if any man should turn back on his heels, he will not harm god in any way, but will be harming himself, and god will requite those that are thankful, for his graces by staying firm.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him) [3:144]. said 'atiyyah al-'awfi: “in the battle of uhud, people ran away and some of them said: 'muhammad has been killed, why not surrender to them, they are your brothers after all?' but some said: 'if muhammad is killed, why do you not continue what your prophet was doing until you join him?' allah, exalted is he, then revealed (muhammad is but a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) have passed away before him) up to his saying (and with how many a prophet have there been a number of devoted men who fought (beside him). they quailed not for aught that befell them in the way of allah, nor did they weaken… so allah gave them the reward of the world…)”.