ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ
O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, "If Allah knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
Tafsir
Verse range: 8:70-71
**يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّمَن فِي أَيْدِيكُم مِّنَ الْأَسْرَىٰ إِن يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يُؤْتِكُمْ خَيْرًا مِّمَّا أُخِذَ مِنكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ**
Know that when the Messenger (PBUH) took the ransom from the captives, and it was difficult for them to give up their wealth, Allah mentioned this verse to reconcile them (to the situation).
It means: "O Prophet, say to those captives in your hands..."
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said this verse was revealed concerning Al-Abbas, 'Aqil ibn Abi Talib, and Nawfal ibn Al-Harith. Al-Abbas was captured on the Day of Badr, and he had twenty uqiyyah (ounces) of gold with him, which he intended to spend feeding people. He was one of the ten who guaranteed the provisions for the people of Badr, but he was captured before he could fulfill his pledge.
Al-Abbas said: "I was a Muslim, but they forced me [to fight]." The Prophet (PBUH) replied: "If what you say is true, Allah will reward you. As for your outward appearance, you were against us."
Al-Abbas then asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) to return that gold to him. He replied: "As for what you spent to aid them against us, no."
The Messenger (PBUH) then required Al-Abbas to pay the ransom for his nephew, 'Aqil ibn Abi Talib, which was twenty uqiyyah, and the ransom for Nawfal ibn Al-Harith. Al-Abbas exclaimed: "Are you leaving me, O Muhammad, to beg from Quraysh?"
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then said: "Where is the gold you gave to Umm Al-Fadl when you left Mecca, telling her: 'I do not know what will befall me; if anything happens to me, it is for you, 'Abdullah, 'Ubaydullah, and Al-Fadl'?"
Al-Abbas asked: "How do you know that?" He replied: "My Lord informed me."
Al-Abbas then declared: "I testify that you are truthful, that there is no god but Allah, and that you are His servant and Messenger. Indeed, no one knew this except Allah. I gave it to her in the deepest part of the night, and I was doubtful about your matter. But now that you have informed me of this, there is no doubt."
Al-Abbas later said: "Allah has replaced that with something better for me. I now have twenty slaves, and the least valuable among them is worth twenty thousand. And He gave me Zamzam, and I would not trade it for all the wealth of Mecca, as I await forgiveness from my Lord."
It is narrated that when the wealth of Bahrain arrived—eighty thousand—the Prophet (PBUH) performed ablution for the Dhuhr prayer but did not pray until he distributed it. He ordered Al-Abbas to take from it, and Al-Abbas took what he could carry. Al-Abbas used to say: "This is better than what was taken from me, and I hope for forgiveness."
The commentators differed on whether the verse is specific to Al-Abbas or applies to all captives.
A group held it is specific to Al-Abbas. Others held it applies to everyone. The latter view is stronger because the apparent meaning of the verse implies generality based on six points:
Since these six phrases indicate generality, what necessitates specialization? The most that can be said is that the reason for the revelation was Al-Abbas, but the lesson (Ibrah) is derived from the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause.
There are two issues concerning this phrase:
The intended meaning of this "good" must be faith (Iman), the resolve to obey Allah and His Messenger in all obligations, and repentance from disbelief and all sins. This includes the resolve to support the Messenger and repentance for fighting him.
Hisham ibn Al-Hakam used this verse as evidence that Allah only knows something when it occurs. His argument is that the structure "If Allah knows... He will give..." is a conditional statement (condition and consequence). Since the condition and consequence only exist in the future, this necessitates that Allah's knowledge itself is newly created (occurs at a specific time).
The Reply: Although the literal wording suggests what Hisham mentioned, since evidence proves that Allah's knowledge cannot be newly created (must be eternal), we must say that the mention of knowledge here refers to the known object (the ma'lum), as the occurrence of the knowledge implies the occurrence of the known reality.
There are two issues here:
The author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned that Al-Hasan read the phrase "مِمَّا أُخِذَ مِنكُمْ" (what was taken from you) using the passive voice (implying "what has been taken from you").
The commentators have several opinions regarding this "better" reward:
Opinion 1: The intended meaning is the recompense in this world for what was taken from them. Al-Qadi argued that since the Hereafter matter is coupled with it by the phrase "and forgive you," the preceding part must refer to worldly benefits.
Opinion 2: The intended meaning is the reward of the Hereafter. If "forgive you" refers to the Hereafter, then the preceding "good" must refer to the world. (This seems to be a slight misstatement in the original text, as the context usually implies: If forgiveness is Hereafter, the "better" is also Hereafter, or vice versa). [Correction based on standard Tafsir structure: If forgiveness is Hereafter, the "better" is also Hereafter, or if forgiveness is worldly pardon, the "better" is worldly compensation.]
Opinion 3: It is understood to encompass both (worldly compensation and Hereafter reward).
A Question Raised: If you interpret the "good" as worldly good, do you assert that every captive who became sincere was given by Allah something better than what was taken from him?
The Answer: Yes, according to the ruling of the verse, this must be the case. However, we do not know who the sincere one is in his heart, so the question does not apply to us directly. Nor do we know who Allah has granted knowledge to. We know that a small amount of worldly gain coupled with faith is greater than a large amount of worldly gain coupled with disbelief.
Then Allah says: "And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." This is an affirmation of what was previously mentioned regarding "and forgive you." The meaning is: How could He not fulfill His promise of forgiveness when He is Forgiving and Merciful?
There are several issues concerning this betrayal:
Al-Azhari said: The phrase Amkanani al-Amr means "the matter gave me power." The object of the power (maf'ul al-imkan) is omitted. The meaning is: "So He gave the believers power over them."
The meaning is that because they betrayed Allah by fighting the Messenger on the Day of Badr, Allah gave the believers power over them through killing and capture, which is the ultimate form of power and dominance. Allah thereby indicated that they had already tasted the consequence of their actions. If they return [to betrayal], the empowerment over them will be established and realized. This also contains glad tidings for the Messenger (PBUH) that Allah will grant him power over anyone who betrays him or breaks his covenant.
Then Allah says: "And Allah is Knowing"—meaning, of their inner selves and intentions—"Wise," meaning He will recompense them according to their deeds.
**إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَهَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آوَوْا وَنَصَرُوا أُولَٰئِكَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَمْ يُهَاجِرُوا مَا لَكُم مِّن وَلَايَتِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ حَتَّىٰ يُهَاجِرُوا ۚ وَإِنِ اسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ النَّصْرُ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُم مَّوْثِقٌ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ * وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ إِلَّا تَفْعَلُوهُ تَكُن فِتْنَةٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَفَسَادٌ كَبِيرٌ * وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَهَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آوَوْا وَنَصَرُوا أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا ۚ لَّهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ * وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِن بَعْدُ وَهَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا مَعَكُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مِنكُمْ وَأُولُو الْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ**
"Indeed, those who believed and emigrated and strove in the cause of Allah, and those who gave refuge and aided them—those are allies to one another."
This establishes the principle of Wala'iyah (alliance/patronage) based on shared faith, emigration (Hijra), and support (Nusrah).
"And those who believed but did not emigrate—you have no claim of alliance over them in anything until they emigrate."
This means that the bond of alliance is suspended for those who remained behind (in Mecca, for example) until they complete the Hijra.
"But if they seek your help in the matter of religion, then it is your duty to help them, except against a people between whom and you there is a treaty."
If they seek aid specifically for the sake of their religion (Islam), aid must be given, unless doing so would violate a pre-existing peace treaty with another group.
"And Allah is Seeing of what you do." (This warns against violating the treaty or failing to aid based on religious necessity.)
"And those who disbelieved are allies to one another."
"If you do not do so [i.e., sever ties with the disbelievers and ally with the believers], there will be tribulation on earth and great corruption." (This emphasizes the necessity of establishing clear lines of allegiance based on faith to prevent societal chaos.)
"And those who believed and emigrated and strove in the cause of Allah, and those who gave refuge and aided them—those are the true believers."
This confirms their status: "For them is forgiveness and a noble provision."
"And those who believed after [the initial emigration] and emigrated and strove with you—they are of you."
Their status is equal to the first group in terms of religious brotherhood.
"And those of kinship—some of them are more entitled to others in the Book of Allah."
This addresses the principle of kinship ties (Rahim). While faith creates a primary bond, kinship ties remain significant, as established in Allah's decree (referring to inheritance laws).
"Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things." (Indicating that all these rulings regarding alliance, migration, and kinship are based on His complete knowledge.)
