Verse 2
The Courser • makkah
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Important Words:
العادیات (the chargers) is the plural of عادیة which is fem. act. part. from عدا which means, he ran vehemently.
عدا علیه means, he attacked or assaulted him. عادیات means, companies of warriors; horses or chargers of the warriors (Lane & Aqrab).
ضبحاً (snorting) is derived from ضبح which means, he or it uttered a sound or cry. They say ضبحت الخیل فی العدو i.e. the horses breathed pantingly or hard with a sound from the chest when running fast, or breathed hard or laboriously when running a race and fatigued; they snorted. ضبح (dabhun) is a kind of race of the animals, particularly of the horses; the sound coming out of the chest of a horse when it runs fast and breathes laboriously; running of the horse with long strides. (Lane & Mufradat).
Commentary:
How dear to God must be those fighters who wage relentless war against the forces of evil that He has sworn by them or even by their horses. The verse speaks volumes for the zeal and enthusiasm of the Companions of the Holy Prophet to fight and give up their lives in the way of God. It says that they march to the field of battle with extreme delight and zeal to score a victory or be killed in the way of Allah and thus obtain His pleasure which is their most coveted goal in life. The verse also refers admiringly to the swiftness of movement of their chargers and the suddenness of their assault.
The verse was revealed in Mecca at a time when Muslims had no horses. In the Battle of Badr, there were only two horses with the Muslim army, one belonging to Miqdad and the other to Zubair. The verse, in fact, constituted a prophecy that soon the Muslims will have horses. It also was a command to them to have cavalry along with infantry.
How dear to God must be those fighters who wage relentless war against the forces of evil that He has sworn by them or even by their horses, the word ‘Adiyat meaning, both the companies of warriors and their chargers. The verse speaks volumes for the zeal and enthusiasm of the Companions of the Holy Prophet to fight and lay down their lives in the way of God. It says that they march on to the field of battle with extreme delight and zeal to score a victory or be killed in the way of Allah; and also refers admiringly to the swiftness of the movement of their chargers and the suddenness of their assault. It was revealed at Mecca at a time when Muslims had no horses. In the Battle of Badr, there were only two horses with the Muslim army, one belonging to Miqdad and the other to Zubair. The verse, in fact, constituted a prophecy that soon the Muslims will possess horses. The three words, ‘Adiyat, Muriyat, Mughirat, have been differently interpreted by different scholars. Accordi