Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not.
“Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not.”
Fighting in Allah’s path has been chosen for believers even though it is something that is naturally disliked, because it means risking one’s life and wealth. However, you may dislike something when, it is good and beneficial.
The plain meaning, from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Battle has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not.
What does Quran 2:216 mean?
The verse was revealed about fighting being prescribed, and it opens by conceding the obvious — that it is disliked. What follows is the general principle, and the commentators keep it tied to its case: the examples given are a hardship that turns out to protect, and an avoidance that turns out to cost. The clause at the end is the whole argument in four words: Allah knows, and you do not.
Written from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir