Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:13

"That" is a reference to the striking [of their necks] and the command to do so, or to everything that has preceded. The address is to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah, Exalted be He, bless him and grant him peace), or to everyone previously mentioned—the angels and the believers—by way of substitution, or to every person worthy of being addressed. It is permitted that it be an address to the plural; the [singular] ka [in dhalika] is kept as is despite the multiplicity of those addressed, for it is not like a pronoun according to what they have stated. The position of the noun is nominative as an ibtida’ (starting subject), and its predicate is His statement—Exalted is He—: "because they opposed Allah and His Messenger."

Abu al-Baqa’ said: "That" is the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning: "The matter is that..." or "The affair is that..." The ba’ is for causality. Mushaqqah (opposition) signifies enmity. It is so named, derived from shaqq al-‘asa (splitting the staff), which means dissent, or because each of the two enemies is in a shiqq (side/half) other than the side of the other, just as enmity (‘adawah) is named as such because each of them is in an ‘udwah, which means a side or bank, and just as mukhasamah (dispute) is derived from khasm, which also means the side. The intent here is dissent—that is, the [punishment] is confirmed for them or falling upon them because of their opposition to the One whom it is not appropriate for them to oppose in any way, shape, or form.

"And whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger" means whoever goes against the command of Allah—Exalted is He—and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The use of the noun [Allah and His Messenger] in the place of a pronoun is to foster awe, to reveal the complete heinousness of what they have dared to commit, and to signal the causality of the ruling. "And you are the worst of the people’s orators"—the aggregation here necessitates a way from which the difference is not clear, specifically concerning the one who is under the yoke of obligation. Where is this compared to that, even if it occurred from one who is not under constraint?

The two identical letters were not assimilated [in yushaqiq] because the second is quiescent in its origin, and its movement [in the Quran] is to avoid the meeting of two quiescent letters, so that movement is not counted.

His statement—Exalted is He—: "For indeed, Allah is severe in penalty," is either the punishment itself—from which the returning [pronoun] has been omitted for those who require it, as the fa’ is not sufficient for connection—meaning: "severe in penalty for him." Or, it is an explanation for the omitted punishment, meaning: "Allah will punish him, for indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." Regardless, the conditional sentence is an explanation of the aforementioned causality by way of demonstration, as if it were said: "That severe punishment is because of the opposition to Allah—Exalted is He—and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger, whoever they may be, will have, because of that, a severe punishment." Thus, they have a severe punishment because of their opposition to Allah and His Messenger.

It is also said: It is a warning regarding what is prepared for them in the Hereafter, after what befell them in this world. Some researchers have said: "His statement—Exalted is He—refutes this..."