How Many a Small Company Has Overcome a Large Company
Between the “company” (fiʾa) supported by Allah and the “notables” (malaʾ) deluded by what they possess.
Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 1 April 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — [Watch the original video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16SDArxXCjo)
O Allah, we ask You for the good of this day, the good of what is in it and the good of what comes after it, and we seek refuge in You, our Lord, from the evil of this day, the evil of what is in it and the evil of what comes after it. O Allah, set right for us our religion, our worldly life and our Hereafter, and prepare for us right guidance in our affair; bless us, O Allah, in what You have provided us, protect us, O Allah, from the punishment of the Fire, and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, by mercy from You, and good pleasure, and gentleness, and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
Glory be to Allah! Allah, glorified and exalted be He, relates to us a story: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰ إِذْ قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَّهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُّقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَاتِلُوا﴾ (Have you not considered the notables among the Children of Israel after Mūsā, when they said to a prophet of theirs: "Raise up for us a king, and we will fight in the way of Allah"? He said: "Would you perhaps refrain from fighting if fighting were prescribed for you?").[1]
"Raise up for us": raising up is a divine choice
Their saying "raise up" (ibʿath): raising up is a divine choice, not a human choice. And it came later in the passage: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ﴾ (Indeed, Allah has chosen him over you and increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature).[2]
Why "fiʾa" and not "malaʾ"?
Then come His words: ﴿قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَاقُو اللَّهِ كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً﴾ (Those who were certain that they would meet Allah said: "How many a small company has overcome a large company").[3]
People generally look at their own capabilities and compare their capabilities with those of the enemy. And when we see the word "fiʾa" (company), it means people who gather around a goal they share among themselves, making something together. Allah, glorified and exalted be He, did not use the word "al-malaʾ" (the notables) here; rather He used the word "fiʾa." Why? Dr. Ahmed holds that the company is granted victory by Allah, glorified and exalted be He, while the notables are deluded by what they possess. And the one deluded by what he has, Allah, blessed and exalted, shows him the ills of his own making, by the work of his own hand and by his poor judgment; He lets his poor judgment overpower him until he destroys himself and those behind him, and the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, sets over him a corrupt entourage that shapes for him what he does until he harms himself and harms them along with him.
Victory belongs to the people of sincerity
The victory of Allah, blessed and exalted, does not come to the people of strength so much as it comes to the people of sincerity. We have seen Badr, Uḥud and Ḥunayn, and we have seen many of the battles that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fought in which he did not have material superiority. Then, when material superiority was available and the people were pleased with what they had in hand, the Lord of the worlds, glorified and exalted be He, tested them: ﴿إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ﴾ (when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you).[4] Such is the law of the Lord of the worlds, glorified and exalted be He, on earth: seek help from your Lord, and ask Allah, blessed and exalted, for help.
--- [1]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 246. I have given the verse up to where the speaker stopped; the rest of it is ﴿قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ…﴾. [2]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 247. The speaker alluded to this meaning in the transcript in a garbled way, and mentioned "He chose him over you and increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature." [3]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 249. The rest of the verse is ﴿بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾, which the speaker did not utter. [4]: Editor's documentation: al-Tawbah: 25. The rest of the verse is ﴿شَيْئًا…﴾, which the speaker did not utter; the context is the Battle of Ḥunayn, which the speaker mentioned. The end of the transcript is cut off after "help," so only what was uttered has been kept.