Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:59

{Those who have disbelieved should not think} that they have escaped or outrun [the reach of Allah] so that they cannot be overtaken.

{Indeed, they will not cause failure}—meaning they will not escape, nor will they find the one pursuing them unable to catch them.

• Qira’at (Readings):
  • {Annahum} (with a Fatha on the Alif): Meaning "because they." Both the Kasra (Innahum) and the Fatha (Annahum) serve as causal explanations, though the Kasra functions as an independent clause, while the Fatha is an explicit causal particle.
  • {Yu‘ajjizun} (with a Shadda): Read with emphasis.
  • Ibn Muhaisun: Read {Yu‘ajjizun} with a Kasra on the Nun.
  • Al-A‘mash: Read {Wa la tahsaba} (addressing the Prophet) with a Kasra on the Ba’, and with a Fatha (on the Ba’) implying the omission of the light Nun (tahsaban).
  • Hamza: Read {Wa la yahsabanna} with a Ya’ (third person), making the subject of the verb "those who disbelieved."

• Interpretations of the verse:
  • It is said the original was an sabaqu (that they have escaped), with the an omitted, similar to the verse: {And of His signs is that He shows you the lightning} (Ar-Rum: 24). This is supported by the reading of Ibn Mas‘ud: {Annahum sabaqu}.
  • It is said the verb acts upon {annahum la yu‘ajjizun}, where the {la} is an expletive (redundant), and {sabaqu} is in the position of a state (hal), meaning "as those who have escaped/fled."
  • It is said the meaning is: "Those who disbelieved should not think them (the believers) have escaped," with the pronoun omitted because it is understood.
  • It is said: "The group of believers should not think that those who disbelieved have escaped."

All these interpretations are strained, and this reading, which is unique to Hamza, is not clear. Al-Zuhri narrated that it was revealed regarding those who escaped from the defeated polytheists.