Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:64

"O Prophet": This is the beginning of an exposition regarding Allah, the Exalted, suffices him—peace and blessings be upon him—in all his affairs, either alone, or alongside the affairs of the believers, or in matters relating entirely to the disbelievers, following the statement regarding sufficiency in a specific matter. The sentence begins with the two particles of invocation and alerting (Ya and ayyuha) to draw attention to the importance of its content. Addressing him—peace and blessings be upon him—by the title of Prophethood is to indicate that it is the cause of the ruling, as if it were said: "O Prophet, Allah suffices you," meaning: He is your sufficient One in all your affairs, or in that which exists between you and the disbelievers regarding warfare, because of your Prophethood.

"And whoever follows you from the believers": Al-Zajjaj said: It is in the accusative case as an al-ma‘‘ul ma‘ahu (object of accompaniment), similar to the saying (according to some narrations): "You and a polished sword suffice me, when war breaks out and spears clash." Abu Hayyan criticized this, stating it contradicts the speech of Sibawayh, who held that in the phrase "Your sufficiency and Zayd’s is a dirham," the word "Zayd" is in the accusative, governed by an implied verb—meaning: "And Zayd’s sufficiency is a dirham"—and that for him, this is a conjunction of sentences. [End quote]. You should know that Sibawayh—as Ibn Taymiyyah said to Abu Hayyan when the latter argued against him using his [Sibawayh’s] own words, whereupon he [Sibawayh] corrected him—is not a "prophet of grammar" such that he must be followed [in every instance].

Al-Farra’ said: Its accusative position is estimated based on the position of the Kaf (in Hasbuka). Ibn ‘Atiyyah preferred this, though al-Safaqsi refuted it, arguing that its annexation (Idafa) is real, not merely verbal, and thus has no [grammatical] position. Unless, of course, it is a conjunction of supposition (‘atf al-tawahhum), which is problematic. It is also permissible that it is in the genitive case, as a conjunction to the genitive pronoun; this is permissible according to the Kufans without repeating the preposition, whereas the Basrans forbid it without repetition because it is like a part of the word, and thus one should not conjoin to it.

It is also possible that it is in the nominative case: either as an inchoative (mubtada’) whose predicate is omitted—meaning: "And whoever follows you from the believers is likewise," i.e., Allah, the Exalted, suffices them—or as a predicate for an omitted inchoative—meaning: "And those who follow you are your sufficiency"—or as a conjunction to the Majestic Name (Allah). Al-Kisa’i and others preferred this, though it was weakened by the argument that the "wa" (and) implies combination, which is not suitable here, just as it is not suitable in the phrase "What Allah wills and you will." The beauty in it [the phrase "what Allah wills and you will"] is in the use of "thumma" (then), and there are reports that indicate this. Unless one argues for a distinction between such a phrase originating from Allah, the Exalted, and one originating from us.

The verse, according to what is narrated from al-Kalbi, was revealed in the desert during the Battle of Badr before the fighting. The apparent meaning is that it encompasses both the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Helpers (Ansar). From al-Zuhri, it is narrated that it was revealed concerning the Helpers. Al-Tabarani and others reported from Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Mundhir from Ibn Jubayr, and Abu al-Shaykh from Ibn al-Musayyib that it was revealed on the day ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab—may Allah be pleased with him—embraced Islam, completing the number of forty Muslims, males and females (who were six). In this case, it would be Meccan. The particle "min" (from) could be explanatory (bayaniyyah) or partitive (tab‘idiyyah), owing to the difference of opinion regarding what is intended by the relative pronoun ("whoever").