Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:7

(And when Allah promised you one of the two parties): This is an introductory statement brought forth to clarify the beautiful manner in which Allah, the Exalted, dealt with the believers, despite their anxiety and lack of resolve. If it is considered in the accusative case as an object of an implied verb (that is, an action that is transitive), or as an adverbial of time for that verb, it constitutes an address to the believers via the mode of talwin (shifting) and iltifat (turning/transition).

"One" (ihda) is the second object of "promised" (ya’idukum), and this verb takes the second object directly or via the preposition 'bi', meaning: "Remember the time, or the event of the time, when Allah, the Exalted, promised you one of the two parties."

It has been recited as ya‘idkum (with the dal silent) for the sake of lightening [the articulation]. The present tense form is used to narrate the past event in order to summon its image [before the mind]. His saying, may He be glorified and exalted—(that it is yours)—is a badal ishtimal (permutation of inclusion) of "one," clarifying the nature of the promise, meaning: "He promises you that one of the two parties shall be yours, belonging exclusively to you, such that you gain mastery over them as owners do, and dispose of them as you wish."

(And you wish)—this is a conjunction coordinated with "promises you," included within its scope—meaning: "You desire that the one not having the shawka (might/force) would be yours." The "one having the shawka" refers to the armed troop (al-nafir), whose leader was Abu Jahl; the other is the caravan (al-‘ir), whose leader was Abu Sufyan. Expressing them with this title is to draw attention to the cause of their desire to meet the latter, and the motive for their aversion and shying away from encountering the armed troop. Shawka in its origin is the singular of the well-known thorns (al-shawka), then it was metaphorically applied to intensity and sharpness; it is also used for weaponry, and some have interpreted it as such here.

(And Allah wishes to establish the truth): That is, to manifest its status as truth—(with His words): those revealed in this story, or His commands to the angels to provide reinforcement, or what He ordained regarding the capture of the disbelievers, their killing, and casting them into the well of Badr. It has been read as "with His word" (singular), treating the multiple as a single thing, or intending by it the word "Be," which, according to many, refers to the divine decree and creation.

(And to cut off the roots of the disbelievers): Meaning their final remnant. The intent is to destroy them entirely from their foundation, for the last cannot perish until the first has perished. From this, destruction is called dibar. The meaning is: You desire the trivialities of affairs, while Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, desires their loftiest ends—that which pertains to the elevation of the word of truth and the exalted rank of the religion. And how great is the difference between the two intentions! It is as if, to signal this, He expressed the former with "desire" (widad) and the latter with "will" (irada).