Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 8 Al-Anfal, Ayat 18-24
ذٰ لِكُمۡ وَاَنَّ اللّٰهَ مُوۡهِنُ كَيۡدِ الۡـكٰفِرِيۡنَ
﴿8:18﴾
اِنۡ تَسۡتَفۡتِحُوۡا فَقَدۡ جَآءَكُمُ الۡفَتۡحُۚ وَاِنۡ تَنۡتَهُوۡا فَهُوَ خَيۡرٌ لَّـكُمۡۚ وَ اِنۡ تَعُوۡدُوۡا نَـعُدۡۚ وَلَنۡ تُغۡنِىَ عَنۡكُمۡ فِئَتُكُمۡ شَيۡـئًـا وَّلَوۡ كَثُرَتۡۙ وَاَنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ
﴿8:19﴾
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اَطِيۡعُوا اللّٰهَ وَرَسُوۡلَهٗ وَلَا تَوَلَّوۡا عَنۡهُ وَاَنۡـتُمۡ تَسۡمَعُوۡنَ ۖ ۚ
﴿8:20﴾
وَلَا تَكُوۡنُوۡا كَالَّذِيۡنَ قَالُوۡا سَمِعۡنَا وَهُمۡ لَا يَسۡمَعُوۡنَ
﴿8:21﴾
اِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَآبِّ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ الصُّمُّ الۡبُكۡمُ الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يَعۡقِلُوۡنَ
﴿8:22﴾
وَلَوۡ عَلِمَ اللّٰهُ فِيۡهِمۡ خَيۡرًا لَّاَسۡمَعَهُمۡؕ وَلَوۡ اَسۡمَعَهُمۡ لَـتَوَلَّوْا وَّهُمۡ مُّعۡرِضُوۡنَ
﴿8:23﴾
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوا اسۡتَجِيۡبُوۡا لِلّٰهِ وَلِلرَّسُوۡلِ اِذَا دَعَاكُمۡ لِمَا يُحۡيِيۡكُمۡۚ وَاعۡلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَحُوۡلُ بَيۡنَ الۡمَرۡءِ وَقَلۡبِهٖ وَاَنَّهٗۤ اِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُوۡنَ
﴿8:24﴾
(8:18) This is His manner of dealing with you. As for the unbelievers, Allah
will surely undermine their designs. (8:19) (Tell the unbelievers:) 'If you have sought a judgement, then surely
a judgement has come to you. 15 And if you desist from disobedience,
it is all the better for you. But if you revert to your mischief, We will again
chastise you; and your host, howsoever numerous, will never be of any avail
to you. Know well, Allah is with the believers.' (8:20) Believers! Obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from
him after you hear his command. (8:21) And do not be like those who say: 'We hear', though they do not hearken.16
(8:22) Indeed the worst kind of all beasts in the sight of Allah are the
people that are deaf and dumb,17 and do not understand. (8:23) And had Allah known in them any good He would surely, have made them
hear; but (being as they, are) even if He made them hear, they would have surely
turned away in aversion.18 (8:24) Believers! Respond to Allah, and respond to the Messenger when he
calls you to that which gives you life. Know well that Allah stands between
a man and his heart, and it is to Him that all of you shall be mustered.19
Notes
15. Before marching out from Makka the unbelievers held the covering of the
Ka'bah and prayed: 'O God! Grant victory to the better of the two parties.'
Abu Jahl, in particular invoked God's judgement: 'O God! Grant victory to the
one who is in the right and cause humiliation to the wrong-doer.' God answered
these prayers fully and the outcome of the battle clearly pointed to the party
which was in the right.
16. In the present context, 'hearing' means taking heed with a view to obey'.
The verse alludes to those hypocrites who professed to believe and yet were
not willing to carry out the commands of God.
17. These are the ones who neither hear nor speak the truth. So far as truth
is concerned, their ears are deaf and their mouths dumb.
18. Such people have neither any love for the truth nor any desire to strive
for it. Hence even if they were enabled by God to go forth to the battlefield.
they would have turned on their heels at the very first sight of danger. That
such people should be a part of the Muslim army might have led to greater harm
than good.
19. The most effective means of preventing man from failing prey to hypocrisy
is to implant two ideas in his mind. First, that he will have to face the reckoning
and judgement of God Who knows what is in the deep recesses of his heart. Even
man's intentions and desires, the purposes which he seeks to achieve, the ideas
that he seeks to keep hidden in his heart, are all well known to God. Second,
that ultimately every man will be mustered to God; that He is so powerful that
none can escape His judgement. The deeper the roots of these convictions. the
further is man removed from hypocrisy. Hence, while admonishing Muslims against
hypocrisy, the Qur'an frequently resorts to emphasizing these two articles oi
belief.