Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:45-47

Al-Anfāl (The Spoils of War): Verses 45–47

Know that when the Almighty mentioned the types of His favors upon the Messenger and the believers on the Day of Badr, He taught them two types of etiquette when they encountered the fi’ah (the group of combatants):

1. Steadfastness: That they should prepare their souls for the encounter and not contemplate turning away.
2. Remembering God frequently.

Regarding the meaning of this remembrance (dhikr), there are two views:

The First View: That they should remember God with their hearts and remember God with their tongues. Ibn ‘Abbās said: God commanded His allies to remember Him in their most severe circumstances, indicating that it is not permissible for a person to let their heart and tongue be devoid of the remembrance of God. Even if a man spent lavishly from West to East, and another struck with his sword in God’s path from East to West, the one who remembers God has a greater reward.

The Second View: That what is meant by this remembrance is supplicating for victory and triumph, because this cannot be achieved except through God’s assistance.

Then He said: {That you may be successful (la‘allakum tuflihūn)}. This is because if the fighting against the disbelievers is for the sake of obedience to God Almighty, it is akin to sacrificing one's soul in pursuit of God's pleasure. This is the highest station of servitude. If the enemy is overcome, the believer achieves reward and spoils; if he is overcome, he achieves martyrdom and high ranks. However, if the fighting is not for God, but for worldly praise and the acquisition of wealth, it will not be a means to success and prosperity.

If it is asked: This verse mandates steadfastness in all circumstances, which suggests it abrogates the verse concerning maneuvering and tactical withdrawal (al-taharruf wa al-tahayyuz).

We reply: This verse mandates steadfastness in general, and what is meant by steadfastness is seriousness in warfare. The verse concerning maneuvering and withdrawal does not detract from achieving steadfastness in combat; rather, the intended steadfastness could not be achieved except through that maneuvering and withdrawal.

Then the Almighty confirmed this by saying: {And obey Allāh and His Messenger} in all that He commands, because Jihad is not beneficial except when adhering to all other acts of obedience.

Then He said: {And do not dispute, lest you lose courage and your strength departs (wa lā tanāza‘ū fatashilū wa tadhhaba rīḥukum)}. This contains several issues:

The Almighty clarified that dispute necessitates two things:

1. It causes failure/weakness (al-fashal).
2. {And your strength departs (wa tadhhaba rīḥukum)}. Regarding this, there are two views:
   • First: What is meant by rīḥ (wind) is the state/dominion (al-dawlah). The state, when it is effective and its command is carried out, is likened to the wind blowing. It is said, "So-and-so's winds have blown," meaning his dominion was established and his command was executed.
   • Second: That no victory has ever occurred except through a wind sent by God. There is a Hadith: "I was aided by the Ṣabā (east wind), and ‘Ād was destroyed by the Dubūr (west wind)." The first view is stronger because God made their dispute influential in the departure of the rīḥ, and it is known that their disagreement does not affect the blowing of the Ṣabā wind. Mujāhid said: {And your strength departs} means your victory departs, and the strength of the companions of Muhammad departed when they disputed on the Day of Uhud.

The deniers of Qiyās used this verse as evidence, arguing that accepting Qiyās leads to dispute, and dispute is forbidden. Therefore, this verse implies that acting upon Qiyās is unlawful. The justification for this connection is evident: we see that the world has become filled with differences due to Qiyās. Furthermore, the verse explicitly forbids dispute: {And do not dispute}.

Moreover, those who hold that explicit texts (Nuṣūṣ) cannot be restricted by Qiyās relied on this verse. They argued that {And obey Allāh and His Messenger} is explicit regarding the obligation to obey God and His Messenger in everything they explicitly stated. Then He followed it by saying: {And do not dispute, lest you lose courage}. It is known that whoever adheres to Qiyās that restricts an explicit text has abandoned the obedience of God and His Messenger, and has clung to a Qiyās that necessitates dispute and failure—all of which is forbidden.

Those who affirm Qiyās responded to the first point by saying that not every Qiyās leads to dispute.

Then the Almighty said: {And be patient; indeed, Allāh is with the patient (Waṣbirū inna Allāha ma‘a aṣ-ṣābirīn)}. The objective is that the perfection of the matter of Jihad is built upon patience, so He commanded them patience, just as He said in another verse: {Be patient, be steadfast, and guard your posts} (Al ‘Imrān: 200). He clarified that God is with the patient, and there is no doubt that what is meant by this companionship is support and assistance.

Then He said: {And do not be like those who went forth from their homes in arrogance and to be seen by people, and who hinder [others] from the way of Allāh (wa lā takūnū ka-alladhīna kharajū min diyārihim baṭaran wa ri’ā’an an-nāsi wa yaṣuddūna ‘an sabīl Allāh)}.

The commentators mentioned that this refers to the Quraysh when they left Mecca to guard the caravan. When they reached Al-Juḥfah, Al-Ḥaqqāf Al-Kinānī, who was a friend of Abū Jahl, sent him gifts with his son. When the son arrived, he said: "My father greets you and tells you that if you wish for reinforcements, I will send them, or if you wish, I will advance with those of my relatives who are with me." Abū Jahl replied: "Tell your father, may God reward him and his kinship well. If we are fighting God, as Muḥammad claims, then by God, we have no power against God. But if we are fighting men, then by God, we have strength against men. By God, we will not turn back from fighting Muḥammad until we reach Badr, where we will drink wine and the singing girls will perform for us. For Badr is a season for the Arabs and a marketplace for them, until the Arabs hear of this event." The commentators said: So they arrived at Badr, drank cups of death instead of wine, and the wailing women wailed over them instead of the singing girls.

Know that the Almighty described them with three characteristics:

1. Arrogance/Wantonness (Al-Baṭar): Al-Zajjāj said: Al-Baṭar is transgression in blessings. The reality is that when blessings multiply upon a servant from God, directing them toward what pleases Him and recognizing they are from God—that is gratitude (shukr). But if one uses them to boast over peers and compete with the people of the age, that is Baṭar.
2. To be seen by people (Wa ri’ā’ an-nās): Ri’ā’ refers to intending to show beautiful deeds while one's interior is ugly. The difference between it and hypocrisy (nifāq) is that hypocrisy is showing faith while concealing disbelief, whereas Ri’ā’ is showing obedience while concealing disobedience. It is narrated that when the Prophet (PBUH) saw them at the Badr encampment, he said: "O God, the Quraysh have come with their pride and vanity to oppose Your religion and fight Your Messenger."
3. And who hinder [others] from the way of Allāh (Wa yaṣuddūna ‘an sabīl Allāh): This is a present tense verb (fi‘l muḍāri‘), and connecting a verb to a noun (the preceding baṭaran wa ri’ā’an) is not elegant. Al-Wāḥidī mentioned three interpretations for this:
   • The phrase {and who hinder [others] from the way of Allāh} is equivalent to ṣāddīn (hinderers, a noun form).
   • The phrase {in arrogance and to be seen by people} is equivalent to yabtarūn wa yurā’ūn (they are arrogant and they show off, verb forms).

I say that neither of these interpretations satisfies the need, because one instance substitutes a verb for a noun, and the other substitutes a noun for a verb, merely to make the connected word belong to the same category. The explainer should have mentioned the reason why the first two were expressed as nouns (masdar) and the third as a verb (verb form).

I say that Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī mentioned that the noun indicates establishment, permanence, and continuity, while the verb indicates renewal and occurrence. He cited as an example for the noun: {And your dog stretches out his forelegs at the entrance} (Al-Kahf: 18), which implies that this state is fixed and established. He cited as an example for the verb: {Say, "Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?"} (Yūnus: 31), which indicates that God sends sustenance to them moment by moment. This is what Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qāhir mentioned.

Once this is known, we say: Abū Jahl and his faction were inherently characterized by arrogance, boasting, and self-admiration. As for their hindering from the way of God, that only occurred during the time when Muḥammad (PBUH) claimed prophethood. For this reason, Baṭar and Ri’ā’ are mentioned in the noun form, while hindering from the way of God is mentioned in the verb form. And God knows best.

The summary of the matter is: The Almighty commanded them, upon encountering the enemy, to be steadfast and occupied with the remembrance of God. He forbade them from letting arrogance and showing off be the motive for that steadfastness; rather, He obligated them to make the pursuit of servitude to God the motive.

Know that the essence of the entire Qur’an, from beginning to end, is a call for creation to turn away from preoccupation with creation and commanding them to strive in the path of servitude to the Truth. Disobedience accompanied by humility is closer to sincerity than obedience accompanied by boasting. Then He concluded this verse with: {And Allāh, of what you do, is Encompassing (muḥīṭ)}. The objective is that a person might outwardly show that his motive and call to a specific action is seeking the pleasure of God Almighty, while in reality, the matter is not so. Thus, the Almighty clarified that He is Knower of what is within the depths of the hearts, which serves as a threat and deterrence against showing off and pretense.

{And [remember] when Satan made their deeds seem attractive to them and said, "No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector." But when the two armies sighted one another, he retreated on his heels and said, "Indeed, I am free of you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed, I fear Allāh. And Allāh is severe in penalty."}