So do not weaken and do not grieve.
“So do not weaken and do not grieve.”
Do not become weak, O believers, and do not be sad about what happened to you on the day of Uḥud. That is not appropriate for you, because you are superior because of your faith, and the uppermost with Allah’s help and the hope of victory, if you have faith in Allah and in His promise to those who are Mindful.
The plain meaning, from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir
وَلَا تَهِنُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are true believers.
What does Quran 3:139 mean?
This was revealed after Uhud, to believers who had just been beaten in a battle they expected to win. It does not deny the loss; it refuses the conclusion they were drawing from it. And the encouragement carries a condition — you will be uppermost if you are believers — so what it rests on is not the circumstances but what they are still holding on to.
Written from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir