Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:17

When they defeated the people of Mecca, killing and capturing them, they began to boast. One would say: "I killed so-and-so, and I captured so-and-so." When the Quraysh appeared, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

"This is Quraysh, having come with their arrogance and pride, to belie Your messengers. O Allah, I ask of You what You have promised me."

Then Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to him and said: "Take a handful of dust and throw it at them."

He said to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when the two hosts met: "Give me a handful of pebbles from the valley." He threw them at their faces and said: "May the faces be disfigured!" There remained no polytheist but that he was occupied with his eyes, so they were defeated, and the believers followed them, killing and capturing them.

It was said to them: {You did not kill them}. The fa (so/then) is the response to an omitted conditional clause, the estimation of which is: "If you boast of killing them, then you did not kill them."

{But it was Allah who killed them}, because He is the One who sent down the angels, cast terror into their hearts, willed the victory and triumph, strengthened your hearts, and removed fear and anxiety from them.

{And you did not throw, [O Muhammad], when you threw, but it was Allah who threw}. This means that the throw you made was not truly yours, for had you thrown it, its effect would not have reached beyond what the throw of a human can reach. Rather, it was Allah’s throw, as it produced that great effect. He affirmed the throw for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) because its form originated from him, and He negated it from him because its effect—which humans cannot achieve—was the act of Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He). Thus, it is as if Allah is the true agent of the throw, and as if it did not originate from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all.

It was read as wa-lakin Allah qatalahum and wa-lakin Allah rama, with the takhfif (lightening) of lakin and the nominative case for what follows it.

{And that He might test the believers}, meaning: that He might grant them {a good test}, a beautiful gift. Zuhayr said: And He tested them with the best of tests that He tests with.

The meaning is: It was for the sake of showing favor to the believers that He did what He did, and He did not do it except for that.

{Indeed, Allah is Hearing} of their supplications, {Knowing} of their conditions.

{That [is so], and [know] that Allah is the One who weakens the plan of the disbelievers.}