Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
And, lo, God gave you the promise that one of the two [enemy] hosts would fall to you: and you would have liked to seize the less powerful one, whereas it was God's will to prove the truth to be true in accordance with His words, and to wipe out the last remnant of those who denied the truth
M. M. Pickthall
And when Allah promised you one of the two bands (of the enemy) that it should be yours, and ye longed that other than the armed one might be yours. And Allah willed that He should cause the Truth to triumph by His words, and cut the root of the disbelievers
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
Behold! Allah promised you one of the two (enemy) parties, that it should be yours: Ye wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers;
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
˹Remember, O believers,˺ when Allah promised ˹to give˺ you the upper hand over either target, you wished to capture the unarmed party. But it was Allah’s Will to establish the truth by His Words and uproot the disbelievers;
Safi Kaskas
God promised you that one of the two enemy groups would fall to you, and you wanted to fight the weaker one. God willed the Truth to prevail by His words and to wipe out the unbelievers
Wahiduddin Khan
God promised you that one of the two parties would fall to you, and you wished that the one without sting should be yours, but God wanted to establish the truth by His words and cut off the root of those who denied the trut
Shakir
And when Allah promised you one of the two parties that it shall be yours and you loved that the one not armed should he yours and Allah desired to manifest the truth of what was true by His words and to cut off the root of the unbelievers
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
And when God promises you, one of the two sections: It will, truly, be for you. And you wish that the one that is unarmed should be yours. And God wants that He verify The Truth by His Words and to sever the last remnant of the ones who are ungrateful
T.B.Irving
When God promised you that one of the two bands would be yours, you preferred the one that had no weapons [to fall] to you, while God wanted the Truth to be verified through His words and to cut off the last remnant of the disbelievers
Abdul Hye
And (remember) when Allah promised you (Muslims) one of the 2 groups (of the enemy- army or caravan) that it should be for you, and you wished that one without having arms (the caravan) should be for you, but Allah willed to justify the truth by His Words and cut off the roots of the disbelievers (in the battle of Badr),
The Study Quran
And [remember] when God promised you that one of the two companies was to be yours, and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But God desires to verify the truth through His Words, and to cut off the last remnant of the disbelievers
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
God promised you that one of the two parties would be yours, but you wished the unarmed one would be yours. However, God wanted to establish the truth by His words, and to cut off the roots of the unbelievers.
Talal Itani (2012)
God has promised you one of the two groups—that it would be yours—but you wanted the unarmed group to be yours. God intends to prove the truth with His words, and to uproot the disbelievers
Dr. Kamal Omar
And (bring to mind) when Allah promises you one of the two groups that such and such is for you (to be faced in encounter), and you people desired that the unprepared one may be for you (to be faced in encounter). And Allah intends that He may fully prove the Truth with the help of His Statements, and He may cut off the root of the disbelievers
Remember, Allah promised you victory over one of the two enemy parties and you wished for the one which was unarmed but Allah intended to prove the truth to be true according to His words and to cut off the roots of the unbelievers
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
And as Allah promised you (The pronouns "you" and "yours" are plural) one of the two sections should be yours, and you would like that the one other than the accoutered (i.e. owning accoutrement, the armed section) should be yours. And Allah willed to uphold truthfully the truth by His words and cut off the last trace (Literally: the rear, hind part) of the disbelievers
Muhammad Sarwar
When God promised to grant you (believers) victory over either one of the two groups, you wished to have control over the unarmed one. God decided to prove (to you) the truth of His promises and to destroy the unbeliever
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
And recall when Allah was promising you that one of the two groups would become yours, and you were wishing that the one without strength should fall to you. And Allah wanted to establish the truth through His words and to cut off the very root of the disbelievers
Shabbir Ahmed
Allah promised you engagement and victory against one of the two groups. You preferred to face the weaker group, but Allah willed the Truth to prevail according to His Words and soundly defeat the aggressive disbelievers
Dr. Munir Munshey
(Remember) when Allah promised you, that one of the two groups (of enemy) shall be yours. You preferred the group that was not too heavily armed. But Allah wanted the truth to triumph by His words; (He wanted) to strike forcefully at, (and cut off), the very roots of the unbelievers
Syed Vickar Ahamed
And (remember), Allah had promised you that one of the two (enemy) parties should be yours: You wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah had willed to prove the Truth according to His words, and to cut off the roots of the disbelievers—
[Remember, O believers], when Allah promised you one of the two groups - that it would be yours - and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbeliever
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
And God promises you that one of the two parties will be defeated by you; and you wish that the one least armed be the one. But God wishes that the truth be manifest with His words, and that He eliminates the remnant of the rejecters
Abdel Haleem
Remember how God promised you [believers] that one of the two enemy groups would fall to you: you wanted the unarmed group to be yours, but it was God’s will to establish the truth according to His Word and to finish off the disbelievers––
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
And recall what time Allah was promising you one of the two parties that it should be yours, and ye would fain to have that the one without; Whilst Allah besought arms were yours to justify the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the infidels
Ahmed Ali
Though God promised that one of two columns (would fall to you), you desired the one that was not armed. But God wished to confirm the truth by His words, and wipe the unbelievers out to the last
Aisha Bewley
When Allah promised you that one of the two parties would be yours and you would have liked it to have been the unarmed one, whereas Allah desired to verify the Truth by His words and to cut off the last remnant of the kafirun.
Ali Ünal
Even when God had promised you that one of the two hosts (the trade caravan and the Makkan army approaching) would fall to you, you still wished that other than the powerful, armed one should fall into your hands – whereas God willed to prove the truth to be true by His decrees and make it triumphant, and uproot the unbelievers (by causing their leaders to die)
Ali Quli Qara'i
When Allah promised you [victory over] one of the two companies, [saying], ‘It is for you,’ you were eager that it should be the one that was unarmed. But Allah desires to confirm the truth with His words, and to root out the faithless
Hamid S. Aziz
And when Allah promised you that one of the two troops (the army or the caravan) should be your s, and you yearned to have the unarmed one (the caravan). Allah wished to justify Truth by His words, and to cut off the root of the unbelievers
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
And (remember) when God promised you that one of the two groups will be yours, and you liked the unarmed (group) to be yours, while God wanted to prove the truth with His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
Behold, God promised that one of the two enemy groups would be yours. You wished that the one unarmed would be yours, but God willed to justify the truth according to His words, and to cut off the roots of the unbelievers
Musharraf Hussain
Remember when Allah promised that one of the two parties would be yours, while you were longing for the weaker target. Allah wanted by the power of His words, to establish the truth and to break the back of the disbelievers’ might ,
Maududi
And recall when Allah promised you that one of the two hosts would fall to you, and you wished that the one without arms should fall into your hands. But Allah sought to prove by His words the truth to be true and to annihilate the unbelievers to the last remnan
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
And God promises you that one of the two parties will be defeated by you; and you wish that the one least armed be the one. But God wishes that the truth be manifest with His words, and that He eliminates the remnant of the rejecters.
Mohammad Shafi
And when Allah promised you that one of the two enemy groups shall be yours, and you preferred that the one not armed should he yours, Allah desired to make manifest the truth of His words and to cut off the root of those who suppress the Truth.
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
And remember, when Allah promised you that in both these parties, one is for you, and you wished, that you should have that in which there is no rankle, and Allah wished that truth be proved truth by His words and to cut off the root of the infidels.
Recall that GOD promised you victory over a certain group, but you still wanted to face the weaker group. It was GOD's plan to establish the truth with His words, and to defeat the disbelievers.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
(Remember) when Allah promised to grant you one of the two parties (at Badr), and you wished for the one that was not strong. Allah wanted to establish the truth by His Words and to sever the unbelievers to the last
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And when Allah promised you one of the two parties that it should be yours, and you loved that the one not armed should be yours, and Allah desired to establish the Truth by His words, and to cut off the root of the disbelievers -
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
And if/when God promises you one/any (of) the two groups that it (E) (is) for you, and you wish/love that other than that what is the power and might/weapon's sharpness be for you, and God wants/wills that (He) makes correct the truth with His words/expressions and cuts off/severs the disbelievers' root/remainder
Bijan Moeinian
When God promised that you will be triumphant over one of the two parties (the caravan who was carrying the Muslims’ confiscated wealth or the army which was marching to destroy the Muslims.) At that time you were wishing that the weaker party (the caravan carrying the wealth) would fall to you. However, it was the will of God to establish the truth (Islam) with His word and to cut across the root of the disbelievers (who were much stronger than the Muslims’ army.
Faridul Haque
And remember when Allah promised you that one of the two groups (of enemies) is for you, and you wished to get the one that posed no danger, and Allah willed to prove the truth with His Words, and to cut the origins of the disbelievers
Sher Ali
And remember when ALLAH promised you one of the two parties that it should be yours, and you wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but ALLAH desired to establish the Truth by HIS words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
And (recall the time) when Allah promised you that dominance and victory over one of the two groups of (the disbelievers of Mecca) would certainly be yours. And you desired that the (group) without weapons (the weaker one) should fall into your hands, but Allah willed to establish the truth by His Words and cut off the roots of the disbelievers (i.e., their might and splendour through the Muslims’ victory over the enemy’s bigger and well-equipped troops)
Amatul Rahman Omar
And (O Companions of the Prophet! recall the time) when Allah promised you (victory over) one of the two (enemy) parties; (the well-equipped Makkan army and the other ill-equipped caravan from Syria), that it should be yours (for fighting against), while you wanted the unarmed party to fall into your hands (to get an easy victory), but Allah wanted to establish the truth by fulfilling His words (of prophecy) and to cut off the very root of the disbelievers
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
And (remember) when Allah promised you (Muslims) one of the two parties (of the enemy i.e. either the army or the caravan) that it should be yours, you wished that the one not armed (the caravan) should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the truth by His Words and to cut off the roots of the disbelievers (i.e. in the battle of Badr)
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
And while Allah promised you one of the two [enemy] parties that it was for you and you wished that the one without arms should be the one for you but Allah intends to make the truth come true by means of His words and [intends] to cut off the roots of the disbelievers.
Munir Mezyed
And (remember) when Allâh gave you the promise that one of the two parties that it should be yours, and you wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allâh intended to entrench the Truth by His Word and cut off the root of those who are spiritually dead and blind,
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
And when Allah promised you that one of the two parties would be yours and you wished that the one with less sting would be yours and Allah willed to verify the truth with His words and cut off the future of those who reject (the truth).
Linda “iLHam” Barto
Allah promised that one of the two [enemy] groups would be yours. You wanted that the one unarmed [army] would be yours, but Allah intended to justify the truth by His words and to cut the roots of the unbelievers.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
And recall: Allah promising youpl one of the two factions—that it would be yours, and you wishing that the unarmed group be yours. Yet Allah wants to uphold the truth with His words and to uproot the deniers
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
When Allah (God) promised you that one of the two bands would be yours, you preferred the one that had no weapons [to fall] to you, while Allah (God) wanted the Truth to be verified through His words and to cut off the last remnant of the disbelievers
Samy Mahdy
And when Allah has promised you one of the two categories, that it would be yours, and you wish that the thornless one is yours. And Allah wants to truth the right with His words, and cuts off the infidels’ remnant.
Sayyid Qutb
God promised you that one of the two hosts would fall to you. It was your wish that the one which was not powerful to be yours, but it was God's will to establish the truth in accordance with His words and to wipe out the unbelievers.
Ahmed Hulusi
Remember when Allah promised you that one of the two groups (the Quraishi army or the caravan) will be yours... You wanted the unarmed group (the caravan) to be yours (you were interested in short-term gain, the one with an easy return, whereas this was going to give you harm in the long-run)... But Allah willed to establish the Truth with His warnings and eliminate the deniers of the reality.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
And (remember) when Allah promised you one of the two parties should be yours, and you loved that the one unarmed should be yours; but Allah desires to verify the truth by His words and to cut off the roots of infidels.
Allah has promised you victory over one of the two organized parties. Some of your people chose to seize the unarmed caravan for easy gains, whereas Allah has willed that you go at the organized well armed troops which came to their aid, so that truth should triumph over falsehood and His words be verified as He uproots the infidels
Mir Aneesuddin
And (remember), when Allah promised you (to grant victory at Badr over) one of the two parties, (assuring) that it will be yours, then (at that time) you liked that the one without weapons should be yours while Allah intended to prove true the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the infidels,
The Wise Quran
And when God promised you one of the two parties, that it would be for you, and you wished that not the possessor of weapons would be for you; and God desired that He verify the truth by His words, and cut off the roots of the disbelievers.