Surah Al-Baqarah 2:216

كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ

2:216 Western historians allege that it was for the sake of plunder and for spreading Islam by force that the Companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were keen to take up arms. The fact is Companions were too few to carry out any armed struggle against the considerable forces that were bent upon their destruction. It is told here that the “fighting was hard upon them” (وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ  - cf. 2:190-193). They were conscious of their weakness and could not dare to think of wars for any reason other than self-defence. Kurhun كُرْهٌ is something was hard and difficult, troublesome, or painful (46:15); it does not mean repugnant. The statement means to suggest that for the few Companions, the fight was not an easy undertaking (kurhun كُرْهٌ); it was financially painful, with extremely high risks of losing their lives, families and/or properties (cf. 2:256).