Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:19

(If you seek a judgment, then...): This address is directed at the polytheists by way of mockery. It has been narrated that when they wished to depart, they clung to the curtains of the Ka‘bah and said: "O Allah, grant victory to the higher of the two armies, the more guided of the two factions, and the nobler of the two parties." In another narration, when the two armies met, Abu Jahl said: "O Allah, our ancient religion and Muhammad’s new religion; whichever of the two religions is more beloved to You and more pleasing in Your sight, grant victory to its people today." The first version is narrated by al-Kalbi and al-Suddi. The meaning is: "If you seek victory for the higher and more guided of the two armies, then the victory has come to you," for the higher and more guided of them was granted victory, and you claimed that you were the higher and more guided party—so the mockery lies in the mention of the victory arriving. Alternatively, the meaning is: "Then destruction and humiliation have come to you," and the mockery lies in the use of the word "victory" (al-fath) in place of its opposite.

"And if you cease" from warring against the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and from opposing him, "it is better for you" than the warring because of which you have tasted what you tasted of slaughter and captivity. The basis for considering the root of superiority in the item being compared is mockery. "But if you return"—that is, to warring against him, peace and blessings be upon him—"We shall return" to what you have witnessed of the victory. "And your faction"—that is, the group you gather and call upon for help—"will not avail you anything" in terms of defense or prevention, "even if they are numerous." It is also recited as wa lan yaghniya with a ya (masculine), because the femininity of fi'ah (faction) is not literal and is separated by a distance. Shay'an (anything) is accusative as an absolute object or a direct object, and the clause "even if they are numerous" is in the position of a circumstantial state.

"And that Allah is with the believers"—meaning: and because Allah Almighty is the helper of the believers, this occurred; or the matter is that Allah, Glory be to Him, is with them. Most have recited wa-in with a kasra (as a conditional particle), treating it as an initiation of a new clause. It is said: This is more robust than the reading of wa-an with a fatha, because the sentence then becomes a concluding maxim (tadhyil), as if to say: The purpose is to elevate the affair of the believers and weaken the plot of the disbelievers, and so on; and the practice of Allah, may He be exalted, is constant in granting victory to the believers and abandoning the disbelievers. While this may be applicable to the reading with fatha, the reading with kasra is explicit regarding it, and it is supported by the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: "And Allah is with the believers."

It is narrated from ‘Ata, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and Abu ‘Ali al-Jubba’i that the address is to the believers. The meaning is: If you seek victory, then victory has come to you; and if you cease from laziness and from desiring what is contrary to what the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, desires, then that is better for you than everything, as it is the pivot of felicity in both abodes. But if you return to it, We shall return upon you with rebuke and by stirring up the enemy; and your numbers will not avail you at that time, since Allah, the Exalted, would not be with you with His victory, and the matter is that Allah, the Exalted, is with those who are perfect in faith. It is understood from the words of some that the address in "If you seek victory" and "has come to you" is for the believers, while in what follows it is for the polytheists—and it is not hidden that this is highly contrary to the apparent meaning. The view that the address throughout is to the believers is supported by the saying of the Almighty: ...