Surah Al-Anfal 8:38-44 - Quran Translation Commentary

38. Tell the disbelievers that if they desist, that which is past will be forgiven them⁵³; but if they repeat, then the example of what happened to the people before them is there (as a warning)⁵⁴.

39. And fight them⁵⁵ until mischief is no more, and religion be all for Allah.⁵⁶ Then if they desist, verily Allah sees what they do.⁵⁷

40. And if they turn away, then know that Allah is your Protector, the best Protector and the Best Helper.

41. And know that whatever you obtain as spoils (of war)⁵⁸, a fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger and for the kinsmen (of the prophet), orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer ,⁵⁹ if you believe in Allah and that which We sent down⁶⁰ to our slave on the day of decision⁶¹, the day when the two armies met. And Allah has power over all things.⁶²

42. When you were on the near bank of the valley and they on the farther bank, and the caravan was below you. Had you mutually agreed to meet one another in battle, you would not have met.⁶³ But what was to happen, Allah wanted to accomplish it,⁶⁴ so that he that was destined to perish might perish after seeing the clear proof (of the truth) and he that was destined to survive might survive after seeing the clear proof⁶⁵ (of the truth). Verily, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

43. When Allah showed them to you (O prophet!) in your dream as few in number,⁶⁶ if He had shown them to you as many, then you (Muslims) would have been discouraged and you would have indulged in dispute over the affair. But Allah saved you. Verily, He knows what is in the breasts.

44. And when you faced one another, He made you see them in your eyes as few, and lessened you in their eyes,⁶⁷ in order that Allah might accomplish the thing that was destined to happen. And to Allah all matters return.

Commentary

53. To desist here means turning away from disbelief and idolatry and giving up these practices. It means that if they embrace Islam. then whatever wrongful acts they have been doing against Islam before this would be forgiven. Allah will not hold these acts against them.

54. That is: If even after this they persist to follow their old practice of hostility towards Islam, then Allah’s law of punishment would be applied to them also in the same way in which it was applied to the nations of the past like Aad Thamud, Firaun, and his people, ect .

55. For explanation, please see Note No.266. Surah Baqarah.

56. Here two important objectives of giving a command to wage war against the infidels have been mentioned: one is to put a stop to ‘Fitna’ (mischief), and second is that the religion should be all and exclusively for Allah: To understand the correct sense of both these two things it is necessary that the subject matter being dealt with here is kept in view: Earlier a mention has been made of the aggressive activities of the idolaters of Makkah: one is the fact that they have debarred Muslims from undertaking pilgrimage to Ka’bah, they can neither perform Hajj nor umrah; second that they have unauthorized become the trustees of the House of Ka’bah and they are using this place for performing polytheistic rituals; and thirdly they are spending their wealth for preventing people from the path of Allah, Islam, that is they are expending their resources for war purposes. In Verse No. 191 of Surah Baqarah, where it has been mentioned that ‘Fitna’(mischief) is more serious or worse than killing, there a mention has also been made of the oppression and tyranny of the idolaters of making life unbearable for Muslims and forcing them to migrate from Makkah. In other words, they are not prepared to tolerate the existence of Muslims on the soil of Makkah. A similar topic has been dealt with in Verse of Surah Baqarah. It means that their main guilt was polytheism, which they were practicing unabashedly, and their guilt had assumed serious proportions by their aggressive acts. For this reason, their polytheism has been termed as ‘Fitna’ (mischief)

As for the second objective, religion being all for Allah, this is a positive aspect, and here by religion is meant the religion of monotheism, i.e. Islam, for embracing which a call has been given to the infidels in Verse No. ‘48 above. The religion being all for Allah means that in the holy place of Haram, the Sacred Mosque, the religion should be monotheistic and no other religion should be allowed to be practiced here, because this place enjoys the honour of being the House of Allah, and from the very first day its position is that of the center of monotheism. Therefore, it is necessary to purify this place and its surrounding areas from the polytheistic religion and practices for all time and to make monotheism a ruling religion there. It means that in this region only those people should be allowed to settle who believe in this religion and they should be governed only by Islam.

This explanation of the Verse which is given by us is not only according to Quran, but it is also supported by hadith, other narratives and the sayings of many commentators. In a hadith it is stated:

“I have been commanded to wage a war with the people (i.e. the polytheists of Arabia) until they say: ‘La Ilaha Illallahu’ (i.e. they embrace Islam). When they say La Ilaha Illallahu, then their life and property would be safe, except some action is taken in a just cause. As for their reckoning, so it is with Allah.” -(Muslim-Kitabul Iman).

So far as the other narratives are concerned: Urwah bin Zubair has explained ‘Fitna ‘in terms of the oppression and tyrannies of the idolaters in Makkah, which forced the Muslims to migrate, and Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Hasan, Qatadah and some others have taken ‘Fitna ’to mean polytheism (Tafseer Tabri Vol.II, page 113 and Vol. VIII P. 162). As regards the commentators, some have preferred the first explanation and others the second one. For example, the famous commentator Ibn Jarir Tabari (died 310 A.H.) writes:

“Wage a war against them until polytheism is ended and the one and only God, Allah, is worshipped. In this way the trials through which Allah’s slaves have to pass in this land-that fitna remains no more, and religion is all for Allah. It means that the fighting should be continued till the time worship and prayers are exclusively meant for Allah.”

However, some commentators have taken ‘deen’ or religion to mean the system of life or the system of worship and the command that the religion should be all for Allah has been taken by them to apply not only to the land of Haram (Makkah) but also to mean the political ascendancy of Islam and the enforcement of the Divine laws, and they have explained that the polytheists can remain in the country but they will not have the right to enforce their false laws in the land of God. This explanation of this verse is not correct on account of, among other reasons, this that in this verse it is not merely mentioned that the religion is for Allah but that it is all (wholly and completely) for Allah. If it is taken to mean the enforcement of the Islamic laws, then how can it be said to mean all or whole religion.

As for the question: what about the refuge given by Islam to zimmies (non-Muslims), the basis of this command is not the verse under reference but Verse No.29 of Surah Taubah.

57. To desist means to desist from polytheism and its attendant mischief making. If they desist, then Allah will forgive them their past crimes, and in future what would they do He would see.

When Allah showed them to you (O prophet!) in your dream as few in number, if He had shown them to you as many, then you (Muslims) would have been discouraged and you would have indulged in dispute over the affair. But Allah saved you. Verily, He knows what is in the breasts. (Al-Quran)

58. That is:The arms, equipments and the property which Muslims may take away from the disbelievers in the battle. It should be noted that here the command deals only with the movable property. Commands in respect of the immovable property are given in Verse No.7, Surah Hashr.

59. That is: From the booty or the spoils of war, its one-fifth (i.e. twenty percent) would be taken out and it would be spent for the purposes mentioned in the verse. ‘Is for Allah’ means it is for being spent ‘to propagate His religion and for jihad in His cause. ‘Is for the messenger’ means that the prophet can spend from it for his own needs. The prophet has been spending this share in the activities for the welfare of Muslims, and after him this share is to be used for the same purpose. By kinsmen are meant the kinsmen or relatives of the prophet. Since the prophet had made receiving of zakat haram for his kinsmen, Allah made arrangements for meeting the needs of the family of prophet from the spoils of war . Orphans, the needy and the wayfarers can also be assisted from the wealth received as spoils of war. It can be spent on their welfare too. The Islamic State can spend it in whatever way it may deem fit on these items. By wayfarers are meant those travellers who might have become needy in the course of their travels, though they might be rich in their own native lands. This was the distribution of the one-fifth. As regards the distribution of the remainder, that is eighty percent., that can be distributed among the mujahideen, soldiers. Quran has not specifically mentioned that this four-fifth must necessarily be distributed among the mujahideen, but it has only stated that one-fifth should be expended in a particular manner. Therefore, from this it can be concluded that if the Islamic State so decides it can spend even this four-fifth share for defence needs and for the security of the state. and in the modern times when the whole system of warfare has been totally changed, the need for adopting this line is obvious. At the time when Quran was revealed, there was no standing army, nor the soldiers were paid any salary. As the tribal system held sway in Arabia, every member of the tribe was a soldier. The Muslim soldier, being a mujahid, a fighter in the cause of Allah, used to provide his own arms and used to spend from his own pocket for preparation for the battle. In these circumstances it was more advisable to distribute the spoils of war among the soldiers. But in the modern times when the governments have to maintain standing armies, and the state has to bear the responsibility of paying the salaries of the soldiers, in addition to making available heavy and costly armaments for fighting, there is no other alternative for the government but to spend the spoils of war for the purposes of defence. Besides, in the present day the spoils of war obtained from the enemy are tanks, armoured cars, ships, aircrafts, etc., such articles cannot be distributed among the soldiers. All these things can be appropriated by the state only, and they can be used in future wars. This opinion of ours that the state has the authority to have this share in the manner suggested here is supported by the opinion expressed by Allama Taimiyah also. Accordingly, at one place he writes: “This (i.e. to give sumptuous grants or gifts to the neo-Muslims, for reassuring them, from the booty) is the proof of the fact that the Imam (state) has the same authority in his own rights to spend it by his own decision (ijtihad) as he is authorized to distribute the property of ‘fai’ (property received from the enemy without fighting). if the Imam is justice-loving, he would spend the booty with justice and knowledge. The problem of its distribution among the mujahideen is not like the problem of distribution of inheritance among the heir nor like the distribution of charities, which can be spent in eight approved ways.” (Majmoo Fatwa Ibn-e-Taimiyah Vol.17.P.495) At another place Ibn Taimiyah writes that since the prophet (Sallal Lahu’Alaihi wasallam) had not taken possession of the properties of the idolaters after the victory of Makkah, because they were expected to embrace Islam, The Imam (the State) can adopt any method in this matter of booty which he deems fit according to the needs of the state: “In this there is a justification for the fact that in the matters of properties, individuals, estates and movable property, the Imam can adopt a method which suits his purpose most.” (Ibid P.492)

60. The Day of the Battle of Badr has been termed as ‘Yaumul Furqan’ (Day of decision), for in this battle the decision or the judgment of Allah manifested itself clearly, and the distinction between the truth and falsehood had become clear .

61. That is: The army of angels that Allah sent down to assist the prophet and the help which He provided from the Unseen sources.

62. Therefore, Allah has power to send help to His messenger from unseen sources.

63. That is: The scene of the battle was like this: The Muslim army had been able to arrive in the part of the Valley nearer to Madina and camp there. The part of the valley nearer to Makkah was occupied by the infidel army, and the trade caravan was on the rear side of the infidel army and was passing from the side below them that is by the seashore. This arrangement of the battlefield was most unsuitable for the Muslims “apparently, but the Divine help made it very helpful for them, in this way that the trade caravan inspite of being on the rear of the infidel army and near, it could not reach to help them, but it proceeded towards Makkah from another way without knowing what was going on. Then at the opportune moment the rains that came turned the land where the idolaters were camping soft and muddy, and as against this it turned the ground under the feet of the Muslim soldiers firm and provided for them easy foothold. And it is a fact that in the type of wars that were fought during those days, the site occupied by an army also played a big role in the outcome of the battle. The Almighty Allah created such circumstances that both the time and place of the battle were most suitable for the Muslim army. This chance occurrence which was favourable to Muslims was due to Allah’s help for the Muslims, otherwise if the armies of the Muslims and the idolaters had proceeded to the battle ground according to a prearranged tryst, they could not have met at the time and the place where they actually met, and which happened to be favourable for the Muslims, and in such a case the result of the battel could have been quite different.

64. That is: What Allah had already decided, should happen and that the battleground of Badr should become the battleground of truth and falsehood.

65. The Battle of Badr was not a battle between two nations which is fought for securing material benefits. It was purely a battle between the truth and falsehood, between right and wrong, between good and evil. In this battle as the truth had come out in a clear and unmistakable form, so also the falsehood had been unveiled in an undisguised way. The result of this battle brought home to the people the unmitigated proof of the truth of Allah’s religion. In the verse ‘perishing’ refers to the perishing of disbelief and survival refers to the survival of faith. It means that to the person who selects to die as an infidel, Allah’s argument in the form of this proof should be conveyed finally so that he might not seek an excuse in the plea.that the truth was not made manifest to him. And to the person who wants to take up the everlasting life of faith, Allah’s argument in the form of this proof might give reassurance and more insight.

66. This event took place before reaching the battale front. Allah caused the prophet (Sallal Laho Alaihi Wasallam) to see the number of infidel soldiers much less in a dream. and when he related this dream to his followers, their morale was boosted. Their being shown in the dream smaller in number was in a spiritual way, that is, the large number of idolaters had no importance in respect of morale and courage, therefore their large number was in no way better than a small number. The Prophet’s dream was true in reality, but since dreams occur in the realm of sleep, people thought that the number of soldiers in the infidel army was small as it was the dream of prophet. This thinking proved very helpful for them, as it became easier for them to face the enemy, who was actually much stronger.

67. When both the armies faced each other, Allah caused the idolaters’ army to look smaller to the Muslim soldiers. Therefore, their morale was high. on the other hand, the Muslims also appeared to be few in number to the infidels. Therefore, hoping to finish the small number of Muslims in no time, they launched the attack. In this way that historic battle began which was necessary to be fought to establish the truth of the true faith and falsehood of the false polytheism. Subsequently, the infidels were so much overawed by the Muslim fighters that their morale sagged and they took to flight from the battle.