Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:24

“O you who have believed”: The repetition of the call, along with describing them with the attribute of faith, is to invigorate them toward responding to the commands that follow, and to alert them that they possess that which warrants such a response.

“Respond to Allah and to the Messenger”: By rendering good obedience.

“When he calls you”: That is, the Messenger, for he is the one directly facilitating the call of Allah Almighty, in addition to what we have indicated previously.

“To that which gives you life”: Meaning, to that which will bequeath you eternal life in everlasting bliss, whether through [correct] beliefs and deeds, or through Jihad (struggle), by which Allah Almighty rendered you mighty after humility, strengthened you after weakness, and defended you against your enemy after subjugation—as is narrated from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr. Applying what has been mentioned to beliefs and deeds—and likewise to Jihad—is either a metaphor or a synecdoche (majaz mursal) by mentioning the cause for the effect. Al-Qutaybi said: "It means martyrdom," which is also figurative. Qatadah said: "The Qur’an." Abu Muslim said: "Paradise." Several others said: "Religious knowledge," which is the hinge of eternal life, just as ignorance is the orbit of true death. This is a well-known metaphor mentioned by literary scholars and masters of rhetoric; Al-Zamakhshari said: "Do not marvel at an ignorant man in fine garments, for he is a corpse and his clothes are his shroud."

The verse is used as evidence for the obligation to respond to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, if he calls someone while they are in prayer. Al-Shafi’i held that this does not invalidate the prayer, for it is also a form of response. Al-Ruyani narrated that it is not obligatory and that it invalidates the prayer. It has been said: "One should break the prayer if the call is for an urgent matter that would be missed by delay, such as seeing a blind man reaching a well and knowing he would perish if not warned." The opinion of obligation is supported by what Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nasa’i narrated from Abu Hurayrah: that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by Ubayy ibn Ka’b while he was praying and called him; he hurried through his prayer and then came. He [the Prophet] said: "What prevented you from answering me?" He replied: "I was praying." He said: "Have you not been informed of what was revealed: 'Respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life'?" He replied: "Yes, and I shall not return to that, if Allah wills." Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to him: "I will teach you a Surah, the greatest Surah in the Qur’an: 'All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,' which is the seven oft-repeated verses." You know that there is no indication in this that answering the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, does not break the prayer. Some said: "That call was for an important matter that did not tolerate delay, and the one praying may break their prayer for such a thing." In this, there is reflection.

“And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart”: This is conjoined to "Respond." The origin of al-hawl (intervening), as Al-Raghib said, is the changing of a thing and its separation from another. Regarding change, it is said "the thing changes/intervenes (hala)," and regarding separation, it is said "he intervened (hala) between them." This is not conceivable for Allah Almighty, so it is a metaphor for the utmost closeness to the servant, for whoever separates between two things is closer to each of them than the other due to being connected to them while one is separated from the other. The apparent meaning to many is that this expression is a representative metaphor (isti’arah tamthiliyyah). It is possible that it is a dependency metaphor (isti’arah tab’iyyah), so the meaning of yahulu (intervenes) is "draws near." There is no distance in it being a compound synecdoche (majaz mursal murakkab) because it is used for the implication of its meaning, which is nearness—indeed, it is claimed that this is the most appropriate. The desire for this meaning is what is narrated from Al-Hasan and Qatadah. Thus, the verse is similar to His saying, Glorified is He: "And We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein."

It contains a warning that He, Almighty, is aware of the hidden things of the hearts regarding which their owners might be heedless. It has been permitted that the intent is to urge the hastening toward sincere hearts and purifying them; so the meaning of "intervenes between him and his heart" is that He causes him to die, and thus he misses the opportunity he possessed—namely, the ability to purify the heart, treat its ailments and sicknesses, and return it soundly as Allah Almighty desires. It is as if He, Glorified is He, after commanding them to answer the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, pointed them toward seizing the opportunity of purifying the hearts for obedience, and likened death to the intervention between a man and his heart—which is the tool of cognition—in the lack of ability to know that which benefits him. Al-Jubba’i leaned toward this.

Others said: It is a representative metaphor for His, Almighty’s, control over the hearts of the servants, so He turns them however He wills in a way their owner cannot prevent; He annuls his intentions, changes his purposes, inspires him with his guidance, deviates his heart from the straight path, and replaces his security with fear and his remembrance with forgetfulness. This is like someone who intervenes between a person and his property, for He is the One Capable of acting upon it, not him. This is similar to the Hadith of Shahr ibn Hawshab from Umm Salamah, when she asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about his frequent supplication: "O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion." He said to her: "O Umm Salamah, there is no human being except that his heart is between two of the fingers of Allah Almighty; whoever He wills, He makes firm, and whoever He wills, He deviates." This interpretation is supported by what Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—who said: "I asked the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about this verse, and he said: 'He intervenes between the believer and disbelief, and He intervenes between the disbeliever and guidance.'" Perhaps this from him, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was a restriction to the two matters that are the greatest orbit of happiness and misery; otherwise, this is one of the branches of control that we have indicated, and His command is not restricted to what was mentioned. He, Glorified is He, has intervened between the ‘Adliyyah (the Mu'tazilah) and the belief in this, so they deviated from the straight path. Some of the virtuous have linked the verses to this, stating that when Allah established with His saying—and He is the most truthful of speakers—"If Allah had known any good in them, He would have made them hear," etc., that "hearing" does not benefit them, He granted favor upon the believers by what He bestowed upon them of faith and made easy for them of obedience. It is as if it were said: "You are not like those whose hearts are sealed, for they refrained from obedience only because they were created for nothing but disbelief, so responding was not made easy for them, and everyone is facilitated for what they were created for. As for you, since you were granted faith and enabled for obedience, then respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which constitutes your life—through fighting the disbelievers and seeking eternal life—and seize that opportunity. And know that Allah Almighty may intervene between a man and his heart by intervening between him and faith, and between him and obedience, then He will recompense him in the Hereafter with the Fire." Its summary: "I granted you the favor, so be grateful for it and do not deny it, lest I remove it from you."

It is clear what this entails of obligation. It is said: When the people were called to combat and Jihad and they were in the utmost weakness and scarcity, their hearts feared and their breasts tightened, so it was said to them: "Fight in the way of Allah Almighty when you are called, and know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart, and thus replaces security with fear and cowardice with boldness." It was recited "between the man (al-marr’i)" with the shaddah on the ra’, by omitting the hamza, transferring its vowel to it, and treating the connection as a pause.

“And that”—meaning Allah, Almighty, or the matter—“to Him you will be gathered.” Not to anyone else, so He will recompense you according to the ranks of your deeds, of which nothing is hidden from Him. So hasten to His obedience and the obedience of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and exaggerate in responding. It is said: The meaning is that you will be gathered to Him, Almighty, not to another, and He will judge you, so do not spare any effort in seizing the opportunity. Or the meaning is that He is the One who controls your hearts in the world, and there is no escape from Him in the Hereafter, so entrust the matter to Him, Glorified is His status, and do not let your souls contemplate disobeying Him.

Some claimed that since He, Glorified is He, pointed out at the beginning of the verse that the happy is the one He makes happy and the wretched is the one He leads astray, and that hearts are in His hand—He turns them as He wills and creates in them the motivations and beliefs as He wishes—He concluded it with what implies that the gathering is to Him, so that it may be known that while the servants are compelled, they are created to be rewarded and punished, either for Paradise or for the Fire; they are not left neglected and purposeless. You know that the verse has no indication of Jabr (compulsion) in the famous sense, and for one who is fair after contemplation, it contains nothing more than the finality of matters in the Hereafter to Him, Glorified is His status.