'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : allah said: (and when thou (o muhammad) art among them) present with them (and arranges (their) worship for them) and stand to lead the prayer for them, begin by saying allah is the greatest (allahu akbar) and let them repeat the same after you, (let only a party of them stand with thee) in prayer (and let them take their arms. then when they have performed their prostrations) when they have prayed one unit (let them fall) let them retreat (to the rear) to the position of their fellow believers who are facing the enemy (and let another party) who were facing the enemy (come that hath not worshipped) that has not performed the first unit of prayer with you (and let them worship with thee) let them pray with you the second unit of prayer, (and let them take their precaution) against the enemy (and their arms) let them take their arms with them. (those who disbelieve) i.e. the banu anmar (long for you to neglect your arms) and be oblivious to them (and your baggage) and they also long that you forget the means of war (that they may attack you once for all) while you are performing the prayers. then allah gave the believers a legal dispensation to put down their arms, saying: (it is no sin for you) there is no harm for you (to lay aside your arms, if rain) intense rain (impedeth you or ye are sick) wounded. (but take your precaution) against your enemy. (lo! allah prepareth for the disbelievers) the banu anmar (shameful punishment) by means of which they will be humiliated; it is also said that this means: a severe punishment.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : when you, o muhammad (s), are, present, among them, while you [all] fear an enemy, and you stand to lead them in prayer (this type of address is customary in the qur’ān), let a party of them stand with you, while another party stand back, and let them, the party standing with you, take their weapons, with them. then when they have performed their prostrations, that is, [when] they have prayed, let them, the other party, be behind you, on guard until you complete the prayers; thereupon, let this party go on guard, and let another party who have not prayed come and pray with you, taking their precautions and their weapons, with them until you have completed the prayers. the prophet (s) did this once at batn nakhla, as reported by the two shaykhs [bukhārī and muslim]. the disbelievers wish, when you have stood up to pray, that you should be heedless of your weapons and your baggage that they may descend upon you all at once, by making an assault against you and capturing you, and herein is the reasoning behind keeping weapons on oneself. you are not at fault, if rain bothers you, or if you are sick, to lay aside your weapons, and not carry them: this implies that when there is no such excuse, it is compulsory to carry them, and this is one of two opinions held by al-shāfi‘ī [on this matter]; the other [opinion] is that this [precaution] constitutes a sunna, and this is the more preferable opinion. but take your precautions, against the enemy and be on your guard as best you can; god has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating chastisement.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (and when thou (o muhammad) art among them and arrangest (their) worship for them…) [4:102].
the teacher abu ‘uthman al-za‘farani al-muqri’ informed us in the year [4]25> abu muhammad ‘abd allah ibn muhammad ibn ‘ali ibn ziyad al-suddi in the year 363> abu sa‘id al-fadl ibn muhammad al-jazari in the sacred mosque, mecca, in 304> ‘ali ibn ziyad al-lahji> abu qurrah musa ibn tariq> sufyan> mansur> mujahid> abu ‘ayyash al-zurraqi who said: “we performed the prayer of zuhr with the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, upon which the idolaters exclaimed: ‘they were in a vulnerable situation, why did we not attack them by surprise?’ then they said: ‘there shall come another prayer which is more beloved to them than their own fathers, which is the midafternoon (‘asr) prayer’. gabriel, peace be upon him, then came down with these verses between the zuhr and the ‘asr prayers. (and when thou (o muhammad) art among them and arrangest (their) worship for them) in ‘usfan, while the idolaters were led by khalid ibn al-walid; they were between us and the qiblah, and then he mentioned the prayer of fear”.
‘abd al-rahman ibn ‘abdan informed us> muhammad ibn ‘abd allah ibn muhammad al-dabbi> muhammad ibn ya‘qub> ahmad ibn ‘abd al-jabbar> yunus ibn bukayr> al-nadr abu ‘umar> ‘ikrimah> ibn ‘abbas who said: “the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, went out and met the idolaters in ‘usfan. when he performed the zuhr prayer, and the idolaters saw him bowing and prostrating, they said to each other: ‘this was a missed opportunity for you. if you had raided them then, they would not have felt you coming until you had effectively attacked them’. one of them said: ‘they have another prayer which is more beloved to them than their wives and wealth, so get ready to raid them when they are performing it’. allah, glorious and majestic is he, then revealed to his prophet, (and when thou (o muhammad) art among them and arrangest (their) worship for them) up to the end of the verse, and informed him about the plot of the idolaters and mentioned therein the prayer of fear”.
