Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 46–52

8. Al-Anfaal · The Spoils of War

Madinan75 verses

وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَلَا تَنَٰزَعُوا۟ فَتَفْشَلُوا۟ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ۖ وَٱصْبِرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ

8:46And obey Allah and His Apostle, and do not dispute, or you will lose heart and your power will be gone. And be patient; indeed Allah is with the patient.1

وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا۟ مِن دِيَٰرِهِم بَطَرًۭا وَرِئَآءَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌۭ

8:47Do not be like those who left their homes vainly and to show off to the people, and to bar [other people] from the way of Allah, and Allah comprehends what they do.2

وَإِذْ زَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ وَقَالَ لَا غَالِبَ لَكُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَإِنِّى جَارٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَرَآءَتِ ٱلْفِئَتَانِ نَكَصَ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ وَقَالَ إِنِّى بَرِىٓءٌۭ مِّنكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ مَا لَا تَرَوْنَ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ ٱللَّهَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

8:48When Satan made their deeds seem decorous to them, and said [to the faithless], ‘No one shall overcome you today from among all mankind, and I will stand by you.’ But when the two hosts sighted each other, he took to his heels, saying, ‘Indeed I am quit of you. I see what you do not see. Indeed I fear Allah, and Allah is severe in retribution.’

إِذْ يَقُولُ ٱلْمُنَٰفِقُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ غَرَّ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ دِينُهُمْ ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌۭ

8:49When the hypocrites said, and [also] those in whose hearts is a sickness, ‘Their religion has deceived them.’ But whoever puts his trust in Allah, then Allah is indeed all-mighty, all-wise.3

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۙ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَٰرَهُمْ وَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابَ ٱلْحَرِيقِ

8:50Were you to see when the angels take away the faithless, striking their faces and their backs, [saying], ‘Taste the punishment of the burning.

ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّٰمٍۢ لِّلْعَبِيدِ

8:51That is because of what your hands have sent ahead, and because Allah is not tyrannical to the servants.’

كَدَأْبِ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ ۙ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَوِىٌّۭ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

8:52Like the precedent of Pharaoh’s clan and those who were before them, who defied Allah’s signs, so Allah seized them for their sins. Indeed Allah is all-strong, severe in retribution.

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 46

1.These are five elements of success: (1) Steadfastness (2) Remembrance of Allah (3) Obedience of Allah and His Prophet (4) Lack of opposition (5) Patience. All these things are useless without patience and patience is the key to every success.

Verse 48

2.Shaitan does the same thing in every era and provokes his companions; and in the end, leaves them alone. How he does all this is a secret but the fact is that if yesterday he came in the form of Harith in Badr; today in the whole world of Islam, he comes in the form of America and Russia, whose experiment continues since years. But in spite of this, innocent Muslims rely on his promises and put themselves in calamities and are not attentive towards the consequences of mutual conflicts.

Verse 50

3.This can be a material punishment, which is beyond our perception. It could also be metaphorical that chastisement surrounds them from all sides and their soul is captured in this same condition.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. 1

    Difference of opinion is not a defect but that difference is a defect which becomes the basis of weakness and disunity.

    Benefit: The reference to wind in the 46th ayat is given because when the winds are adverse the ships do not reach their destinations and it is on the blowing of breeze that the standard of a community files, otherwise it would be wrapped up.

  2. 2

    When Abu Jahl came with his force in the Battle of Badr he announced that there was none more powerful than him, ‘We shall hold dance and merriment in Badr and block the way of the Muslims.’ The Holy Quran has mentioned these three things.

    Benefit: Both possibilities exist in the 48th ayat. The Shaitan may have caused deviation by making evil suggestions or he could have come in human form to mislead the people like he did on the occasion of Hijrat (migration). There is nothing to prove his

    appearance in human fonn.

  3. 3

    There are the Muslims who had a weak faith and they were merely acting according to the circumstances. When the situation took a serious tum they said that religion has cheated them and had them killed for nothing.