Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:63

“And He united their hearts” (along with what they were naturally disposed to, like the rest of the Arabs, of fervor, partisanship, harboring grudges, and an intense eagerness for revenge, such that two hearts could hardly come together, until, by the grace of Allah Almighty, they became like one soul). It is said: The Ansar, who were the Aws and Khazraj, had wars between them that decimated their leaders and crushed their skulls. There was no end to their enmity, and they lived in proximity—which stirs up grudges and sustains mutual envy and rivalry. So, Allah Almighty made them forget what was between them; they agreed upon obedience, became sincere in their affection, and became Ansar (helpers) and supporters. This was only by the subtle art of His creation, may He be exalted, and His profound power, may He be glorified. This opinion was challenged by the observation that there is no indication of this in the context, to which it was replied that the fact that the believers were strengthened by them implies that they were Ansar. It is not hidden that this is weak and finds no support. In sum, the reconciliation that occurred was among the most dazzling of his miracles, peace and blessings be upon him.

“If you had spent all that is in the earth”—that is, to reconcile what was between them—“you could not have united their hearts”—because of the extremity of their enmity and the strength of its causes. The sentence is an isti’naf (resumption) confirming what precedes it and clarifying the majesty of the task and the difficulty of the attainment. The address is to anyone who reflects upon it, for there is no hyperbole in the negation of this possibility for a specific spender. The mention of the "hearts" is to signal that reconciliation between them is not feasible, even if apparent reconciliation were possible.

“But Allah”—may His power be exalted—“united them”—in heart and being by His perfect power. “Indeed, He is Exalted in Might”—perfect in power and dominion; nothing He wills is beyond His reach. “Wise”—He knows what is fitting for His will to be attached to, so He brings it into existence in accordance with His wisdom, may He be exalted. Among the manifestations of His might, may He be glorified, is His disposal of hearts that were stubborn and filled with pre-Islamic fervor. Among the manifestations of His wisdom is the managing of their affairs in a way that produced affection and love among them, so their word became united, and they all became like the quiver of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, defending him with a single bow. The sentence, according to Al-Tayyibi, is like a justification for the reconciliation.

From the perspective of ishara (allusion) in the verses: “And know that anything you take as spoils of war”—up to His saying, may He be glorified: “And Allah is severe in penalty”—some of the Gnostics applied this to what is within the soul, saying: “And know”—that is, O spiritual powers—“that anything you take as spoils of war”—of beneficial knowledge—“then to Allah is its fifth”—which is the Word of Unity, the greatest foundation of the religion—“and to the Messenger”—the specific one, which is the heart—“and to the near relatives”—who is the sirr (innermost secret)—“and the orphans”—from the theoretical and practical faculties—“and the needy”—from the psychological faculties—“and the wayfarer”—who is the traveler soul, having entered into estrangement, wandering in the stations of the spiritual journey, distant from its original abode in terms of detailed unity. The remaining four-fifths of the spoils are divided among the limbs, the pillars, and the natural faculties.

“If you have believed in Allah”—the Almighty, with true, collective belief—“and in what We sent down upon Our Servant on the Day of Distinction”—the time of differentiation after unification, in detail—“on the day the two armies met”—between the parties of spiritual and psychological faculties, when returning to the contemplation of detail within unity. “And Allah is over all things competent”—disposed to act according to His will and wisdom. “When you were on the near side of the valley”—that is, near the city of knowledge and the seat of the discriminating intellect—“and they were on the farther side”—that is, far from the Truth—“and the caravan”—the caravan of natural, provisioning faculties—“was lower than you”—O both parties.

“And if you had made an appointment”—to meet for battle by way of the intellect rather than the way of spiritual discipline—“you would have disagreed in the appointment”—because that is more difficult than pulling up the thorns of the qataad (a thorny shrub). “But [it was] so that Allah might accomplish a matter already ordained”—decreed and realized. “That he who perished might perish upon evidence”—which is the soul bound to the body, which is destined for annihilation—“and he who lived might live upon evidence”—which is the detached spirit connected to the world of holiness, which is the source of true life, eternal in its persistence. The evidence of the first is that attachment, and the evidence of the second is that detachment and connection.

“When Allah showed them to you”—O heart—“in your dream”—which is the time when the external senses are suspended and the bodily faculties are at rest—“as few”—that is, of little power and in a weakened state. “And had He shown them as many”—in a state where the attributes of the soul prevail—“you would have lost courage and disputed in the matter”—the matter of breaking and subduing it, because each of you would be drawn in a different direction. “But Allah saved [you]”—from loss of courage and dispute by His support and protection. “Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts”—that is, of their reality, so His knowledge of what is within them is established a fortiori.

“And do not be like those who came forth from their homes”—and they are the psychological faculties, having come forth from their dwellings and boundaries—“in insolence”—pride and arrogance—“and to be seen by people”—and displaying fortitude.

Some of them said: With this verse, Allah Almighty warned His friends against imitating His enemies in seeing other than Him, may He be glorified. “And avert from the way of Allah”—which is unity and gnosis—“and when Satan made fair to them”—that is, the devil of illusion—“their deeds”—in overcoming the kingdom of the heart and its faculties—“and said, 'No one among the people can overcome you today'”—he deceived them into believing their desire would be realized, that no one from the people of the senses or any other faculty could overcome them—“and indeed, I am your protector”—I will provide for you, strengthen you, and defend you from the people of spiritual faculties. “But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels”—because of his perception of the state of the spiritual faculties and their overwhelming nature, as he shares a kinship with them in terms of the perception of meanings—“and said, 'Indeed, I am disassociated from you'”—because I am not of your kind—“'Indeed, I see what you do not see'”—of the meanings and the arrival of support to them from the heaven of the spirit and the kingdom of the world of holiness—“'Indeed, I fear Allah'”—may He be glorified, because of his perception of some of His lights and His might. Al-Wasiti mentioned, based on the assumption that the "Satan" is the literal one, that the accursed one abandoned the sin of whispering at that moment. But abandoning sin is only virtuous when it is out of reverence and bashfulness before Allah Almighty, not out of fear of retribution alone, and he feared only that. “And Allah is severe in penalty”—as His essential and active attributes are in the utmost perfection.

The benefit of such an interpretation is to illustrate the path of the spiritual journey to stimulate one in ascending and rising.

“And if you could but see when those who disbelieved”—they are those who were overcome by the attributes of the soul—“the angels”—the angels of subdual and punishment—“strike their faces”—because they turned away from the world of lights and increased in pride and vanity—“and their backs”—because they inclined toward the world of nature and multiplied in lust and greed. And they say to them, “'Taste'”—the punishment of—“'the punishment of the Burning Fire'”—which is the punishment of deprivation and the missing of the intended goal. “That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves”—that is, until they corrupt their capacity, so they no longer have an aptitude for good; at that point, Allah Almighty changes the favor into a calamity, because they sought it with the tongue of their capacity. Otherwise, Allah Almighty is too noble to strip a person of a favor while they remain deserving of it.

“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are those who have disbelieved”—because of their ignorance of their Lord and their disobedience to Him, unlike other living creatures—“for they will not believe”—due to the prevalence of their wretchedness and their increased insolence and error.

“The ones with whom you made a treaty, but then they break their pledge every time”—of the times of treaty-making, for this is a custom among them with their Master. Do you not see how they broke the covenant of unity that was taken from them at the station of “Am I not your Lord?” “And they do not fear [Allah]”—shame or the Fire.

“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power”—Abu Ali al-Ruzbari said: Power is trust in Allah Almighty. Others said: It is shooting the arrows of turning toward Allah Almighty from the bows of humility and submissiveness.

“It is He who supported you with His help”—of which the like was never known—“and with the believers, and He united their hearts”—by drawing them toward Him, may He be exalted, and purifying them from what necessitates enmity and hatred, or by His unveiling to them the veils of the unseen so that they recognized one another in Him. The spirits are mobilized soldiers; those that recognize one another come together, and those that disagree with one another diverge.

“If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts”—because of the difficulty of the matter and the thickness of the veil. “But Allah united them. Indeed, He is Exalted in Might, Wise.” And the reconciliation is among the manifestations of that. And Allah Almighty is the Guide to the Straight Path.