Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:25

"And fear a trial (fitnah) which will not strike..."

{Fitnah}: A sin. It is said: It is the approval of evil while it is present among them. It is also said: The division of unity. It is also said: {Fitnah} means a punishment.

Regarding the phrase {will not strike}: It must be either a response to the command (an imperative), a prohibition following a command, or an adjective describing the "trial."

• If it is a response to the command: The meaning is: If this trial strikes you, it will not strike only the wrongdoers among you, but it will encompass you all. This is like the story told of the scholars of the Children of Israel; they forbade evil half-heartedly, so God encompassed them all with punishment.
• If it is a prohibition following a command: It is as if it were said: "Beware of a sin or a punishment," then it is said: "Do not expose yourselves to wrongdoing, lest the punishment or the consequence and bane of the sin strike only those among you who did wrong."
• If it is an adjective (implying a hidden "saying"): It is as if it were said: "Fear a trial, of which it is said: 'It will not strike...'" Its parallel is the verse:
  • Until, when darkness fell and mingled,
  • They brought diluted milk; have you ever seen a wolf?
  • Meaning: They brought milk of which this was said, because it had the color of the waraqah (a plant), which is the color of a wolf. The latter interpretation is supported by the reading of Ibn Mas‘ud: (la-tusibanna), as the response to an omitted oath.

Regarding the context:

• Al-Hasan: It was revealed concerning Ali, Ammar, Talhah, and al-Zubayr, specifically on the Day of the Camel. Al-Zubayr said: "It was revealed concerning us, and we recited it for a long time, not thinking we were among its people, until we found ourselves to be the ones meant by it."
• Al-Suddi: It was revealed concerning the people of Badr, who then fought each other on the Day of the Camel.

A narration: Al-Zubayr was traveling with the Prophet (ﷺ) one day when Ali (ra) approached. Al-Zubayr smiled at him, and the Messenger of God (ﷺ) said: "How is your love for Ali?" He replied: "O Messenger of God, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, I love him as I love my father, or even more." He said: "Then how will you be when you march against him to fight him?"

Grammatical Note: If you ask: "How is it permissible to use the emphatic nun in the response to a command?" I say: Because it contains the meaning of a prohibition. When you say: "Get off the mount, lest it throw you (la tatrahka)," it is permissible to say la tatrahannaka, la tusibanna, and la yahtimannakum.

Regarding {min} in {those who wronged among you}: It signifies partitive (some of you) according to the first interpretation, and explicative (clarifying) according to the second, because the meaning is: It will not strike you specifically for your wrongdoing, because wrongdoing is uglier coming from you than from other people.

"And remember when you were few and oppressed in the land, fearing that people might abduct you, but He sheltered you, supported you with His victory, and provided you with good things, that you might give thanks."