Today's verse

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْم

Surah 100

Al-'Adiyaat

Those that run

ﺳﻮﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻌَﺎﺩﯾَﺎﺕ
Verse  1

Arabic:

ﻭَﺍﻟْﻌَﺎﺩِﻳَﺎﺕِﺿَﺒْﺤًﺎ

Transliteration:

Wal 'aadiyaati dobhaa.

(The 'h' in 'dobhan' is for ْﺤًﺎ and not ﻫ, so let's pronounce it as if we want to breath out air from our mouth).

Meaning:

1. By the (steeds) that run, with panting.

Tafsir

Allah takes the oath of the horses galloping and pointing in the Cause of Allah, striking sparks of fire by their hooves and reaching the enemy at the dawn.

The Prophet used to arrive  at an enemy settlement and wait until just before dawn. If he heard the adhan, he would stop, if not, he would attack. Abdullah and 'Ali took the word 'Adiyaat to mean camels.

Once Abdullah bin 'Abbas was sitting in the Hateem when a man came and asked the meaning of 'Adiyaat. He said that the word means the horses of the warriors that attack the enemy. Then their riders come back to their camps and cook their meals. The man came to 'Ali and asked him the same question. He asked him in return if he had asked the question from somebody else. The man told him that he had asked Abdullah bin Abbas and informed him if his answer. Ali sent for Abdullah bin Abbas. When he came, Ali told him, "You don't know, but you pass judgement. By Allah, the first battle fought in Islam was the battle of Badr and we had only two horses in it, one belonged to Zubair and the other to Miqdad. How can they be 'Adiyaat dobhaa'. This verse refers to those who go to Arafat from Mina and from there to Muzdalifah where they built fires for cooking." Abdullah said that after this, he withdrew his view and adopted the opinion of Ali.

As against 'Ali, Mujahid, Iktimah, Ata , Qatadah, Dahhak and Aufi agreed with Ibn Abbas and said the word meant horses. Ibn Jarir also preferred this view. Ibn Abbas and 'At a said the word 'Dabh' is not used for any animal other than horses and dogs.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

NOTE: It is important to clarify that the Islamic community under the Prophet was threatened with extinction from threats from different unbelieving territories and their leaders. They had to constantly fight to retain their religion and independence. Don't be deceived by the framing of Islam as violent by the unbelievers. There was no Prophet who was in charge of government who didn't fight. Only those Prophet who were individuals and did not serve as rulers for their people where saved from having to fight to protect their people, and Allah knows best.