10117 - Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Rabi' al-Jurjani told us, Wahb ibn Jarir told us, my father told us, he said: I heard Abd Allah ibn Ubayd ibn Umayr regarding His saying: "And it is not for the believers to go forth altogether" to the end of the verse. He said: The believers, due to their eagerness for jihad, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would send a small group of people from Medina, would all go forth. So Allah the Almighty revealed: "And it is not for the believers to go forth altogether." They were commanded that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent an expedition (sariyah), a group should go forth and a group should remain. Those who remained would safeguard what Allah had revealed of the Quran and what was being established of the Sunnah for those who had gone forth. When they returned to their brethren, they would inform them of that. And when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out, no one would stay behind except by permission or due to an excuse.

His saying, the Almighty: "Altogether (kaffatan)."

10118 - Abu Zur'ah told us, Minjab told us, Bishr ibn Umarah informed us, from Abu Rawq, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn Abbas, regarding His saying: "Altogether (kaffatan)," he says: All of them. It has been narrated from Abu al-Aliyah, al-Rabi' ibn Anas, Ikrimah, al-Dahhak, Qatadah, al-Suddi, and Muqatil ibn Hayyan something similar.

His saying, the Almighty: "If only (fawala)."

10119 - Ibn Abi Musa told us, Harun ibn Hatim told us, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hammad told us, Asbat told us, from al-Suddi, from Abu Malik: Every "fawala" in the Quran means "halah" (why/why not), except for two instances: in Yunus, "If only there had been a township that believed," and the other, "If only there had been among the generations before you."

His saying, the Almighty: "Why then, from every group of them, does not a faction go forth?"

10120 - My father told us, Abu Salih told us, Mu'awiyah ibn Salih told us, from Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn Abbas, regarding His saying: "Why then, from every group of them, does not a faction (ta'ifah) go forth?" He means: A group (usbah) for the expeditions, and they should not go on expeditions except by his permission.

10121 - Hajjaj ibn Hamzah told us, Shababah told us, Warqa' told us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, regarding His saying: "Why then, from every group of them, does not a faction go forth?" Some of the companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to the deserts, and they obtained kindness from the people and from the fertile lands what they could benefit from, and they called whoever they found among the people to guidance. The people said to them: We see you have only left your companions and come to us. So they felt a sense of distress about that in themselves, and they all came from the desert until they entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). So Allah the Almighty said: "Why then, from every group of them, does not a faction go forth?" Some went out and some stayed behind, seeking good in order to gain understanding and hear what is among the people and what was revealed after them.