Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:53

"That is because Allah..."

"That" is a reference to what the noble arrangement implies, namely, that the punishment which befell them was contingent upon their evil deeds and did not occur without a preceding cause that necessitated it. It is the subject, and its predicate is His saying—Glorified is He—"because Allah..." (to the end of the verse). The ba (in bi-anna) denotes causality, and the sentence is brought forth to provide the reason for what was indicated. That is to say: That occurred because Allah—Glorified is He—"was never one to change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people," meaning it would not befit Him—Glorified is He—nor would it be correct in His wisdom for Him to be such that He changes a favor—any favor whatsoever, whether great or small—that He had bestowed upon a "people" (from among the nations), "until they change what is in themselves," that is, their own essences in terms of the deeds and states they were upon at the time they were engaged in that favor, and come to be characterized by that which contradicts it, regardless of whether their previous states were agreeable and righteous or merely less severe than the state that ensued.

Such was the practice of the disbelievers of Quraysh mentioned here, as they were, before the mission of the Prophet, disbelievers and idolaters who remained in a state that permitted the outpouring of the blessings of respite and other worldly favors upon them, such as maintaining kinship ties and refraining from attacking the signs (of Allah) and the Messengers—peace be upon them. But when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was sent, they changed them into a worse and more detestable state than before; for they denied him—peace and blessings be upon him—acted with hostility toward him and the believers who followed him, formed coalitions against them, and severed their ties of kinship. Consequently, Allah—Exalted is He—changed the favor of respite He had bestowed upon them and directed the arrows of punishment and exemplary retribution toward them.

It has been said: Since they were in a position to accept faith but did not believe, it was as if they already possessed it and then changed it, similar to what is said regarding His saying—Exalted is He—: "Those are they who have purchased error for guidance." This is not without merit.

Some have made the reference point to what befell them. Then, seeing that the negation of Allah changing [a favor] until they change [themselves] does not necessitate the realization of His changing it when they do change, and that non-existence is not a cause for existence here—and also that the absence of change acts as a diversion from what befell them rather than being its direct cause according to outward appearances—they said: The cause is not the explicit wording of the verse, but its implied meaning, which is the running of His custom—Glorified is He—to change [His favor] when they changed their state. Therefore, the cause is not the negation of change, but rather the change itself. It is said: The expression was preferred in this manner because the fundamental principle is the absence of change from Allah—Exalted is He—due to the precedence of His favor and mercy, and because the fundamental principle in them is the primordial nature (fitra). As for characterizing it as a continuous custom, this is an explanation of the state that has been established, not that its being a custom has a role in the causality itself. It is not hidden that what we have mentioned is safer from debate and criticism, and that what some have proposed is not yet free from objection; so contemplate this.

The origin of "yak" (يك) is "yakun" (يكن); the nun was deleted for lightness due to its resemblance to the vowel letters in that it is among the additive letters, and it is dropped from the letters of the jussive; hence it was dropped here, and this is specific to this verb due to its frequent usage.

"...and that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing."

This is conjoined to "that Allah..." and is included within the scope of the reasoning. That is: and the reason is that He—Exalted is He—is All-Hearing, All-Knowing; He hears and knows everything they commit or omit in terms of sayings and deeds, both past and future, and thus He ordains for each of them what is appropriate, whether the continuation of the favor or its change. It has also been recited as "wa-inna Allah" (وأن الله) with a kasra on the hamza, in which case the sentence is an initiation confirming the content of what preceded it.