Surah 8. Al-Anfal

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-19 [2], 20-28 [3], 29-37 [4], 38-44 [5], 45-48 [6], 49-58 [7], 59-64 [8], 65-69 [9], 70-75 [10]

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Quran Text of Verse 20-28یٰۤاَیُّهَاO youالَّذِیْنَwhoاٰمَنُوْۤاbelieveاَطِیْعُواObeyاللّٰهَAllahوَ رَسُوْلَهٗand His Messengerوَ لَاAnd (do) notتَوَلَّوْاturn awayعَنْهُfrom himوَ اَنْتُمْwhile youتَسْمَعُوْنَۚۖhear وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَكُوْنُوْاbeكَالَّذِیْنَlike those whoقَالُوْاsayسَمِعْنَاWe heardوَ هُمْwhile theyلَاdo notیَسْمَعُوْنَ hear اِنَّIndeedشَرَّworstالدَّوَآبِّ(of) the living creaturesعِنْدَnearاللّٰهِAllahالصُّمُّ(are) the deafالْبُكْمُthe dumbالَّذِیْنَthose whoلَا(do) notیَعْقِلُوْنَ use their intellect وَ لَوْAnd ifعَلِمَ(had) knownاللّٰهُAllahفِیْهِمْin themخَیْرًاany goodلَّاَسْمَعَهُمْ ؕsurely, He (would) have made them hearوَ لَوْAnd ifاَسْمَعَهُمْHe had made them hearلَتَوَلَّوْاsurely they would have turned awayوَّ هُمْwhile theyمُّعْرِضُوْنَ (were) averse یٰۤاَیُّهَاO youالَّذِیْنَwhoاٰمَنُواbelieveاسْتَجِیْبُوْاRespondلِلّٰهِto Allahوَ لِلرَّسُوْلِand His Messengerاِذَاwhenدَعَاكُمْhe calls youلِمَاto whatیُحْیِیْكُمْ ۚgives you lifeوَ اعْلَمُوْۤاAnd knowاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahیَحُوْلُcomesبَیْنَ(in) betweenالْمَرْءِa manوَ قَلْبِهٖand his heartوَ اَنَّهٗۤand thatاِلَیْهِto Himتُحْشَرُوْنَ you will be gathered وَ اتَّقُوْاAnd fearفِتْنَةًa trialلَّاnotتُصِیْبَنَّwhich will afflictالَّذِیْنَthose whoظَلَمُوْاdo wrongمِنْكُمْamong youخَآصَّةً ۚexclusivelyوَ اعْلَمُوْۤاAnd knowاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahشَدِیْدُ(is) severeالْعِقَابِ (in) the penalty 8. Al-Anfal Page 180وَ اذْكُرُوْۤاAnd rememberاِذْwhenاَنْتُمْyouقَلِیْلٌ(were) fewمُّسْتَضْعَفُوْنَ(and) deemed weakفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthتَخَافُوْنَfearingاَنْthatیَّتَخَطَّفَكُمُmight do away with youالنَّاسُthe menفَاٰوٰىكُمْthen He sheltered youوَ اَیَّدَكُمْand strengthened youبِنَصْرِهٖwith His helpوَ رَزَقَكُمْand provided youمِّنَofالطَّیِّبٰتِthe good thingsلَعَلَّكُمْso that you mayتَشْكُرُوْنَ (be) thankful یٰۤاَیُّهَاO youالَّذِیْنَwhoاٰمَنُوْاbelieveلَا(Do) notتَخُوْنُواbetrayاللّٰهَAllahوَ الرَّسُوْلَand the Messengerوَ تَخُوْنُوْۤاor betrayاَمٰنٰتِكُمْyour trustsوَ اَنْتُمْwhile youتَعْلَمُوْنَ know وَ اعْلَمُوْۤاAnd knowاَنَّمَاۤthatاَمْوَالُكُمْyour wealthوَ اَوْلَادُكُمْand your childrenفِتْنَةٌ ۙ(are) a trialوَّ اَنَّAnd thatاللّٰهَAllahعِنْدَهٗۤwith Himاَجْرٌ(is) a rewardعَظِیْمٌ۠great

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Translation of Verse 20-28

20. Obey Allah and His messenger, and turn not away from Him when you hear²⁸ (His words).

21. And do not be like those who say: “we hear”, but they hear not²⁹.

22. Verily in the sight of Allah the worst of the beasts are the deaf and dumb people, who do not use reason .³⁰

23. And had Allah perceived any virtue in them, He would have made them hear, but had He made them hear (without it), they would have turned away with aversion³¹.

24. O you who believe! Respond to Allah and His messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life³². And know that Allah stands between man and his heart³³, and that in His presence you shall all be assembled.

25. And guard against the trial³⁴, (mischief) which will not fall exclusively on those of you who are wrong-doers, and also know that Allah is very strict in giving punishment.

26. And remember when you were few in number, and considered weak in the land, and were afraid that people would snatch you away³⁵, then He gave you refuge³⁶, and strengthened you with His help, and provided you with good things (of life) so that you might be grateful.

27. O you who believe! Betray not Allah and His messenger³⁷, nor betray your trusts knowingly³⁸.

28. And know that your possessions and your children are a trial³⁹, and it is Allah with whom lies the great reward.

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Commentary

28. That is when the voice and words of Allah and His messenger are reaching you. your indulging in disobedience even after hearing them is extremely wrong and sinful.

29. The allusion is to the Jews who indulged in disobedience to God even after receiving the Divine commandments. They heard the words of God but they did not listen to obey them.

30. That is: Those who do not use their reason. they are deaf for the purpose of hearing the truth and dumb for the purpose of speaking it. Such persons are not humans. but beasts. nay even worse than the beasts.

It means that for following the faith sincerely. it is necessary that man should try to understand what are the demands of the faith which he has accepted and what responsibilities devolve on him after accepting faith.

31. Means that those who do not use their reason are deprived of accepting the truth. and Allah does not grant them the guidance to listen and understand the truth, because they do not have the necessary virtue or good in their character. It is obvious that for getting good produce merely good seeds are not sufficient, for this good sowing ground is also necessary. Allah had endowed them with a liking for virtue but they have lost this faculty, and therefore, even if such people are made to hear the truth, they would not be influenced or impressed by it.

32. That is: Whatever service may be entrusted to you by the prophet or whatever command may be given to you by him, obeying his commands is a life-giving act for you, for every command of the prophet is heart–warming and soul-enriching. Obeying his commands nourishes feelings of virtue in men and a life-giving current runs through man’s innermost self. This state of neo-life is an experience which a sincere follower of the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) feels in the life of this world also. As for the Hereafter, it is only the followers of the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) who will get the everlasting life of unending pleasures.

33. You should fear that if you disobeyed any command of Allah and His messenger, your hearts would turn away from their obedience totally.

Allah is the changer of the heart’s states inclinations. when He sees that a person continues to flout His commands, He makes that person’s heart predisposed and agreeable to disobedience. After this he is unwilling to an attitude of obeying God and His messenger’s commands. As the urdu poet. Mirza Ghalib, has said:

Janta hoon sawab ta’at zuhud

per ta’biyat Idhar nahin a’ati

“I Know the rewards for worship and piety. But I feel disinclined to go that way.”

O you who believe! Betray not Allah and His messenger, nor betray your trusts knowingly. And know that your possessions and your children are a trial, and it is Allah with whom lies the great reward. O you who believe! If you fear Allah, He will grant you Criterion (to judge between right and wrong), and will rid you of your evils, and will forgive you. Allah is of great bounty. (Al-Quran)

34. Means the social trials and mischief. When the flames of social evil or mischief are kindled and start blazing, they devour all, evil as well as virtuous. people. To be safe from such a catastrophe it is necessary that the collective conscience of the society should be awake; and whenever a society sees a mischief raising its head, it should try to crush it, and should stop the mischief makers. It is essential to be cautious during the times of war to make sure that no mischief raises its head from any corner of the society. else in such a delicate situation the unity of Muslims can receive a grievous setback.

As long as Muslims followed this guidance, no mischief could raise its ugly head in their society. But in the later times when all kinds of people joined the Muslim society, and when they could not keep in view this guiding principle, all sorts of, mischiefs occurred and the entire Muslim society, had to face the consequences.

35. As long as Muslims remained in Makkah, their condition remained as stated here.

36. That is: In Madina, where Muslims had migrated from Makkah.

37. Betrayal means disloyalty or unfaithfulness. It means that the covenant of loyalty’that you have made with Allah and His messenger should be adhered to, and you should not act in any way that would compromise your position or make your loyalty doubtful. The test for judging the loyalty with Allah and His messenger is brought into play particularly when there is a war between disbelief and Islam.

38. Here trusts means responsibilities and the meaning of betraying them is that in fulfilling them man may, act carelessly or irresponsibly.

The area of trusts is wide, which has been explained in Note No. 123, Surah An-Nisa. Here particularly those responsibilities are directed to be fulfilled which concern the social affairs of Muslims.

39. The main cause for a man to indulge in betrayal is his increasing love for his possessions and his children. Therefore, this fact has been made clear that these things are a means of test in the life of this world. Through them it is to be tested and seen as to who proves himself to be unfaithful to Allah and His messenger on account of his love for his children and his possessions, and who proves himself to be sincere and loyal to Allah and His messenger in spite of these worldly temptations.