8

The Spoils

al-Anfāl

Al-Anfāl takes its name from the reference to spoils in v. 1. It is an early Madinan sūrah, though some maintain that v. 30 (Āl) is or vv. 30–36 (IJ, Q, Ṭs) are from the Makkan period, as they are understood by some to refer to the attempts made on the Prophet’s life by the Quraysh before he migrated to Madinah. Some also maintain that v. 63 is Makkan, since it is reported to have been revealed when ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb embraced Islam (Āl).

A major theme of this sūrah is the Battle of Badr (2/624), fought a year after the hijrah (the migration from Makkah to Madinah), the first major military confrontation between the Muslim community and the Quraysh of Makkah, who had continued their hostility toward the Muslim community after it had moved to Madinah. It discusses also the matter of the spoils of war and their just distribution (vv. 1, 41), a topic that did not need to be addressed in the days when Muslims were an oppressed minority in Makkah. The spiritual dimensions of battle are also treated, including the assistance of angels (vv. 9, 12) and the Will of God in determining victory, as in the famous statement from v. 17, You did not slay when you slew, but God slew them, and thou threwest not when thou threwest, but God threw.

Al-Anfāl also describes the challenges and trials of battle (vv. 10–11, 43–46) and the triumph of the sincere believers over great odds (vv. 65–66) and provides important guidelines for dealing with captives (vv. 67–70) as well as the observation of treaties (vv. 56–59). The Battle of Badr was an important first victory for the young Muslim community and is cited in the commentary on many verses in the Quran as evidence of God’s Favor upon it. The last part of the sūrah addresses the relationship between those Muslims who had already migrated from Makkah to Madinah and those who had not, outlining their responsibilities toward one another.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

¡ They question thee concerning the spoils. Say, “The spoils belong to God and the Messenger.” So reverence God and set matters aright among yourselves. And obey God and His Messenger, if you are believers. * Only they are believers whose hearts quake with fear when God is mentioned, and when His signs are recited unto them, they increase them in faith, and they trust in their Lord, + who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them. J It is they who truly are believers. For them are ranks in the sight of their Lord, and forgiveness and a generous provision. Z [Remember] how thy Lord brought thee forth from thy home in truth, while a group of the believers were averse, j disputing with thee concerning the truth after it had become clear, as though they were being driven to death as they looked on. z And [remember] when God promised you that one of the two companies was to be yours, and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But God desires to verify the truth through His Words, and to cut off the last remnant of the disbelievers, { so that He may verify the truth and prove falsehood to be false, though the guilty be averse. | When you sought succor from your Lord, He responded to you, “I shall aid you with a thousand angels rank upon rank.” Ċ And God made it not save as a glad tiding, and that your hearts may be at peace thereby. And victory comes from God alone; truly God is Mighty, Wise. Ě Behold, He covered you with sleepiness, security from Him, and sent down upon you water from the sky to purify you thereby, to remove the defilement of Satan from you, to fortify your hearts, and to make firm your steps thereby. Ī Behold, thy Lord revealed unto the angels, “Truly I am with you; so make firm those who believe. I shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. So strike above the neck, and strike their every fingertip.” ĺ That is because they are in schism with God and His Messenger. And whosoever opposes God and His Messenger—truly God is severe in retribution. Ŋ Thus it is, so taste it, and [know] that the disbelievers shall have the punishment of the Fire. Ś O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve arrayed [for battle], turn not your backs to them. Ū And whosoever turns his back to them that day—unless it be a stratagem of battle or to withdraw to another company—shall certainly earn wrath from God. And his refuge shall be Hell. What an evil journey’s end! ź You did not slay them, but God slew them, and thou threwest not when thou threwest, but God threw, that He might try the believers with a beautiful trial from Him. Truly God is Hearing, Knowing. Ɗ Thus it is, and [know] that God makes feeble the scheming of the disbelievers. ƚ If you seek victory, then victory has come to you. And if you desist, it would be better for you. And if you return, We shall return, and your company will not avail you aught, even if they be many. And [know] that God is with the believers. Ȋ O you who believe! Obey God and His Messenger, and turn not away from him, even as you hear [him]. ! And be not like those who say, “We hear,” though they hear not. " Truly the worst of beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb who understand not. # Had God known of any good in them, He would have caused them to hear; yet had He caused them to hear, they would have turned away in rejection. $ O you who believe! Respond to God and the Messenger when he calls you unto that which will give you life. And know that God comes between a man and his heart, and that unto Him shall you be gathered. % And be mindful of a trial that will not befall only those among you who do wrong; and know that God is severe in retribution. & And remember when you were few, deemed weak in the land, fearing that the people would snatch you away. Then He sheltered you, and strengthened you with His help, and provided you with good things, that haply you may give thanks. ' O you who believe! Betray not God and the Messenger, and betray not your trusts knowingly. ( And know that your property and your children are only a trial, and that God—with Him is a great reward. ) O you who believe! If you reverence God, He will make for you a criterion, and absolve you of your evil deeds, and forgive you. And God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty. Ð And [remember] when those who disbelieve plotted against thee, to capture thee, or to slay thee, or to expel thee. They plotted, and God plotted. And God is the best of plotters. Ñ And when Our signs are recited unto them they say, “We have heard already. Had we willed, we could have said the like of this. This is naught but fables of those of old.” Ò And [remember] when they said, “O God, if this be the truth from Thee, rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment.” Ó But God will not punish them while thou art among them. And God will not punish them while they seek forgiveness. Ô What have they to keep God from punishing them, while they turn [others] from the Sacred Mosque though they are not its protectors? Its protectors are none but the reverent, but most of them know not. Õ Their prayer at the House is naught but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment for having disbelieved! Ö Truly those who disbelieve spend their wealth to turn [others] from the way of God. They will spend it; then it will be a source of regret for them, and then they will be overcome. And the disbelievers will be gathered unto Hell, × that God may separate the bad from the good, and place the bad one upon the other and heap them all together, and place them in Hell. It is they who are the losers. Ø Say to the disbelievers that, if they desist, what is past will be forgiven them, but if they relapse, then the wont of those of old has already passed. Ù And fight them until there is no strife, and religion is wholly for God. But if they desist, then truly God sees whatsoever they do. @ And if they turn away, know that God is your Master—an excellent Master, an excellent Helper! A And know that whatsoever you take as spoils, a fifth is for God and the Messenger, and for kinsfolk, orphans, the indigent, and the traveler, if you believe in God and what We sent down upon Our servant on the Day of Discrimination, the day the two hosts met—and God is Powerful over all things— B when you were on the near slope and they were on the far slope, and the caravan was below you. And had you made a tryst with each other, you would have failed the tryst. But [it came to pass] so that God may conclude a matter that was to be done, so that whosoever should perish, perishes according to a clear proof, and whosoever should live, lives according to a clear proof. And truly God is Hearing, Knowing. C [Remember] when God showed them in thy dream as being few. And hadst thou seen them as being many, you would have surely faltered and quarreled over the matter. But God delivered [you]. Truly He knows what lies within breasts. D And [remember] when He showed them to you, when you met them, as being few in your eyes, and made you appear to be few in their eyes, so that God may conclude a matter that was to be done. And unto God are all matters returned. E O you who believe! When you meet a company in battle, be firm and remember God much, that haply you may prosper. F And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel among yourselves lest you falter and your good fortune depart. And be patient; truly God is with the patient. G And be not like those who left their homes boastfully and to be seen of men, and to turn [others] from the way of God. And God encompasses whatsoever they do. H And [remember] when Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them, and said, “None among mankind shall overcome you today, and I am indeed your defender.” But when the two hosts saw each other, he turned on his heels and said, “I am quit of you! Truly I see what you see not. Truly I fear God, and God is severe in retribution.” I [Remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, “Their religion has deluded them.” But whosoever trusts in God, truly God is Mighty, Wise. P And if only thou couldst see when the angels take those who disbelieve, striking their faces and their backs, and [saying], “Taste the punishment of the burning! Q This is for what your hands sent forth, and because God wrongs not His servants.” R [Theirs was] like the way of the House of Pharaoh and those before them; they disbelieved in the signs of God; so God seized them for their sins. Truly God is Strong, severe in retribution. S That is because God never changes a blessing by which He blesses a people until they change what is in themselves, and because God is Hearing, Knowing. T [Theirs was] like the way of the House of Pharaoh and those before them; they denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and drowned the House of Pharaoh, for all were wrongdoers. U Truly the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who have disbelieved and will not believe, V those among them with whom thou madest a pact and who then break their pact every time, and who are not reverent. W So if thou comest upon them in war, use them to scatter those who will come after them, that haply they might be reminded. X And if thou fearest treachery from a people, withdraw from them in a just way. Truly God loves not the treacherous. Y And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they have outstripped [anyone]. Indeed, they thwart nothing. ` And prepare for them what you can of strength [of arms] and horses tethered [for battle], frightening thereby the enemy of God and your enemy, and others besides them whom you know not. God knows them. Whatsoever you spend in the way of God shall be paid unto you in full. And you shall not be wronged. a And if they incline toward peace, incline thou toward it, and trust in God. Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing. b And if they desire to deceive thee, then God suffices thee. He it is Who supports thee with His Help, and with the believers, c and joined their hearts. Hadst thou spent all that is on the earth, it would not have joined their hearts. But God joined them together. Truly He is Mighty, Wise. d O Prophet! God suffices thee and those believers who follow thee. e O Prophet! Rouse the believers to fight. If there be twenty steadfast among you, they shall overcome two hundred. And if there be one hundred of you, they shall overcome one thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who understand not. f Now God has lightened your burden, for He knows that there is weakness in you. And if there be one hundred steadfast among you, they shall overcome two hundred. And if there be one thousand, they shall overcome two thousand by God’s Leave. And God is with the steadfast. g It is not for a prophet to take captives until he overwhelms [his enemy] in the land. You desire the ephemeralities of this world, while God desires the Hereafter. And God is Mighty, Wise. h Were it not for a decree that had already gone forth from God, a great punishment would have befallen you for what you took. i So consume the spoils you have taken, lawfully and in a good way, and reverence God. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. p O Prophet! Say to those captives in your custody, “If God knows there to be any good in your hearts, He will give you what is better than that which was taken from you, and will forgive you. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.” q But if they desire treachery against thee, they have been treacherous with God before and He gave [thee] power over them. And God is Knowing, Wise. r Truly those who believe, and migrate, and strive with their wealth and themselves in the way of God, and those who sheltered and helped—they are protectors of one another. As for those who believe and did not migrate, you owe them no protection until they migrate. But if they ask your help for the sake of religion, then help is a duty upon you, except against a people with whom you have a covenant. And God sees whatsoever you do. s As for those who disbelieve, they are protectors of one another. Unless you do the same, there will be a strife in the land, and a great corruption. t As for those who believe, and migrate, and strive in the way of God, and those who sheltered and helped, it is they who truly are believers. Theirs is forgiveness and a generous provision. u As for those who believe after you and migrate and strive with you, they are [to be counted] among you. But family relations have the strongest claim on one another in the Book of God. Truly God is Knower of all things.

Commentary

¡ They question thee concerning the spoils. Say, “The spoils belong to God and the Messenger.” So reverence God and set matters aright among yourselves. And obey God and His Messenger, if you are believers.

1  This sūrah discusses events of the Battle of Badr, but does not always treat them in their chronological order (see 8:5c for the background to the battle). It is reported that at the end of the Battle of Badr, a group of Companions pursued the enemy as they fled, a second group remained to guard the Prophet, and a third group watched over the prisoners and the spoils. When the group of pursuers returned, they laid claim to the spoils by virtue of their having fought and given chase to the enemy, but the group protecting the Prophet claimed more right to the spoils by virtue of protecting the Prophet (Q). In another account, the disagreement pertained to certain Muslims who for various reasons were not present at the battle (e.g., two were sent by the Prophet on a scouting mission), but who were given spoils by the Prophet, to which others objected (R). Though differing in the details, all these accounts point to disagreements over how the spoils should be apportioned among those with varying levels of participation and exposure to danger in the battle.

The word for spoils here is anfāl, a word whose root generally means “excess” or “beyond what is necessary or required.” Some have connected this word with the Islamic belief that, among all religious communities, only Muslims were allowed to take spoils of war (R), based upon a ḥadīth stating that this was one trait by which the Prophet was distinguished. Some commentators have made a distinction between anfāl and ghanāʾim, the latter being a more common and inclusive term for spoils of war in Islamic Law (Q; see 8:41c). Other jurists have stated that anfāl refers to wealth received by means other than war (Q) or that it refers to the fifth of the spoils (khumus) mentioned in v. 41 (Q). According to some, anfāl does not refer to all spoils, but only to the spoils a warrior takes directly from his slain opponents, such as their armor and sword (R).

It is said that because of the disagreements regarding the anfāl, the Prophet was asked about the matter and this verse was revealed (Q). Some say that it was abrogated by v. 41: And know that whatsoever you take as spoils, a fifth is for God and the Messenger, and kinsfolk, orphans, the indigent, and the traveler. However, no question of abrogation arises if this verse is interpreted to mean that God and the Prophet have control over the distribution of the spoils, and v. 41 is read as specifying how the spoils will then be distributed (Q, R).

The question of spoils is a complex issue in classical Islamic Law and addresses such matters as the authority of a political or military leader to designate the distribution of spoils (both in promising beforehand what can be taken and in managing the distribution afterward); the kinds and amounts of items that can be taken (e.g., horses and weapons would be treated differently than land); how they are to be distributed; and to whom they are given (see 8:41c).

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* Only they are believers whose hearts quake with fear when God is mentioned, and when His signs are recited unto them, they increase them in faith, and they trust in their Lord,

2  Hearts that quake with fear are also mentioned in 22:35 and 23:60. The various ways in which the heart is described in the Quran is discussed in 2:7c; see also the introduction to Sūrah 47. The reactions of believers in their soul and even their physical body to hearing about God or listening to the Quran are mentioned in verses such as 5:83, 39:23, and 48:4. The idea of being “increased” in faith or belief (īmān) also appears in 3:173 and 9:124; similarly, one can also be “increased” in humility (17:109) and guidance (47:17).

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+ who perform the prayer and spend from that which We have provided them.

3  Cf. 2:3; 4:39; 13:22; 14:31; 22:35; 28:54; 32:16; 42:38.

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J It is they who truly are believers. For them are ranks in the sight of their Lord, and forgiveness and a generous provision.

4  This verse is similar to others that speak of people being ranked in the Sight of God, such as 12:76; 17:21; 18:48; 20:75; 46:19; 58:11; and in 40:15 God is spoken of as the Raiser of degrees (Rafīʿ al-darajāt).

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Z [Remember] how thy Lord brought thee forth from thy home in truth, while a group of the believers were averse,

5  According to the traditional account, after the hijrah (the migration of the Prophet and his Companions from Makkah, where they were persecuted by the Quraysh, to Madinah, where they found refuge), engaging in battle, which had been previously forbidden for the Muslim community, was now made permissible; see 4:74–77c; 22:39c; and the essay “Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran,” which discusses this question at length. At first this fighting was only in the form of raids on the caravans of the Quraysh, who were then the enemies of Muslims, but these raids were only modestly successful. However, a particularly large and rich caravan of goods led by Abū Sufyān (a notable Makkan of wealth and social position who was a leader of the forces against the Prophet) was returning from Syria to Makkah, and the Prophet made plans to attack it, but Abū Sufyān managed to send word to the Quraysh that the caravan might be attacked. In response the Makkans mustered an army of approximately one thousand men to come to the aid of the caravan. Many in Makkah had a personal financial stake in the caravan, and, moreover, they hoped to have a chance to eliminate the threat they perceived to be posed by Muhammad and the new Muslim community.

By the time the Prophet and his army reached Badr, a common stop on the caravan route (approximately 115 kilometers southwest of Madinah) where they planned to wage their attack, they realized that the Makkan army was already close and that there was no chance of a successful attack against Abū Sufyān’s caravan, which in any case had taken a route closer to the sea rather than through Badr. The Prophet and his Companions were thus presented with the choice of either turning back or facing a battle against a much larger force. When the Prophet consulted with his Companions regarding the new situation, a group of the believers were averse; that is, they were hesitant to press the fight, having been prepared to face only the relatively unarmed caravan, not an army of one thousand. According to traditional beliefs, the Prophet nevertheless received a sign from God to proceed and was given the promise of Divine Help.

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j disputing with thee concerning the truth after it had become clear, as though they were being driven to death as they looked on.

6  The truth after it had become clear refers to the fact that the Prophet had promised them victory, having received assurance from God, but they still disputed with him about it (R). Driven to death as they looked on means that it was as though they had certain knowledge that they were being compelled into death (Q).

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z And [remember] when God promised you that one of the two companies was to be yours, and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But God desires to verify the truth through His Words, and to cut off the last remnant of the disbelievers,

7  One of the two companies refers to the Makkan army and the caravan from Syria, the latter being the one that was unarmed. The prospect of taking the caravan seemed realistic, but some of the Prophet’s followers were less enthusiastic about facing the Makkan army and tried to persuade the Prophet not to go out to face the enemy (R). Rather than simply acquiring the fleeting wealth of the caravan, doing battle with the Makkan army would lead to a decisive victory that would fundamentally undermine the enemy and change the strategic balance between Muslims and their enemies (R).

Verify the truth refers to the rise and triumph of Islam (Q). The phrase can also be rendered “make true/real the truth” or “establish the truth.” In a larger sense this clause provides a justification for the use of force, namely, the strengthening and affirmation of the truth and the abolishment of falsehood. In Islamic Law, one of the fundamental necessities of human life that societies must protect is religion itself, an imperative to which allusion is made in 22:40, which speaks of the protection of monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein God’s Name is mentioned much as a reason for God’s repelling people, some by means of others. This is in addition to other causes justifying the use of force, such as people being expelled from their homes without right, only for saying, “Our Lord is God.”

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{ so that He may verify the truth and prove falsehood to be false, though the guilty be averse.

8  Here verify the truth (cf. v. 7) is paired with prove falsehood to be false (yubṭila al-bāṭil), which could also be translated “render vain what is vain” or “nullify what is false.”

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| When you sought succor from your Lord, He responded to you, “I shall aid you with a thousand angels rank upon rank.”

Ċ And God made it not save as a glad tiding, and that your hearts may be at peace thereby. And victory comes from God alone; truly God is Mighty, Wise.

9–10  The matter of the angels helping the believers during the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uḥud is discussed in 3:124–26c. It is generally accepted that angels fought during the Battle of Badr and not in other battles, but the precise nature of this Divinely ordained martial participation has varied accounts, some of which describe certain miraculous occurrences on the battlefield (R). With regard to whether the angels provided physical or spiritual help (discussed in 3:124–26c), this verse seems to support an understanding that the angels did not participate in a physical manner, but gave spiritual power and strength to the believers that were directed not at their bodies, but at their inner being, so that their hearts may be at peace thereby, producing, moreover, the opposite effect in the enemy. A later verse states that God will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve (v. 12).

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Ě Behold, He covered you with sleepiness, security from Him, and sent down upon you water from the sky to purify you thereby, to remove the defilement of Satan from you, to fortify your hearts, and to make firm your steps thereby.

11  Cf. 3:154, which also mentions sleepiness in the midst of battle and links it with security. It is said that the sleepiness descended the night before the battle, when anxiety would ordinarily have been at its highest. As discussed in 3:154c, commentators see this sleepiness as a kind of miracle that gave the practical advantage of physical rest before the battle and demonstrated in a most concrete fashion an attitude of contentment and trust.

There are disagreements regarding when the rain fell, but in any case the Muslims were able to benefit from it. In one account, before they had reached the wells that they were able to control and use to their advantage, rain fell to the point that it pooled and the believers were able to drink and also make their ablutions from its water (R). Moreover, the ground on which they stood, which was sandy and soft to the point of making it difficult to walk, was hardened by the water, enabling them to walk more easily upon it (Ṭ). It is further reported that the water had the opposite effect on the enemy, whose ground was constituted in such a way as to become muddy and more difficult to walk upon when it was drenched by rain (R).

The defilement of Satan is thought by some to refer to the state of ritual impurity that makes it necessary to perform ablutions with water (if water is available) as a condition for performing the canonical prayer (R, Ṭ). At a spiritual level, the defilement is seen as a result of the whisperings of Satan in the hearts of the believers, from which they are cleansed spiritually as water cleanses them bodily. Indeed, the ritual ablution by water in Islam (see 4:43c; 5:6c), far from being a simple matter of physical cleanliness, symbolizes and even actualizes the purification of the soul by the waters of the spirit, hence the language of water from the sky, which has both a literal and a symbolic significance, as the place it originates is understood as both physical heaven and spiritual Heaven. The water made their physical steps more firm and at the same time made their spiritual stance more secure and confident.

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Ī Behold, thy Lord revealed unto the angels, “Truly I am with you; so make firm those who believe. I shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. So strike above the neck, and strike their every fingertip.”

12  Truly I am with you is understood to address the angels directly or is meant to express more generally the fact that God is with the believers (R). Revealed can mean that God informed by way of inspiration, but since angels are themselves the means of revelation and inspiration, the very sending of the angels means that God is with the believers. God uses the angels to inspire and strengthen the souls of the believers just as He uses them to cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Moreover, since the message of I am with you is meant as a reassurance, it could not be directed at the angels themselves, since they are not subject to any manner of fear (R). The believers were made firm either by virtue of the angels telling the Prophet that they would achieve victory, an assurance that the Prophet then conveyed to the believers, or by the angels casting inspiration into their hearts, as opposed to Satan does when he whispers evil promptings to the soul (R). One interpretation of the last sentence of this verse is that it means that the believers should strike at their enemies however they can, from their head to the tips of their extremities (R).

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ĺ That is because they are in schism with God and His Messenger. And whosoever opposes God and His Messenger—truly God is severe in retribution.

Ŋ Thus it is, so taste it, and [know] that the disbelievers shall have the punishment of the Fire.

13–14  To be in schism with God and His Messenger is an idea that comes up in other verses such as 2:137; 22:53; 47:32; 59:4. Taste it means taste the aforementioned retribution (Z).

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Ś O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve arrayed [for battle], turn not your backs to them.

Ū And whosoever turns his back to them that day—unless it be a stratagem of battle or to withdraw to another company—shall certainly earn wrath from God. And his refuge shall be Hell. What an evil journey’s end!

15–16  These verses instruct believers, when they meet enemies in battle, to not retreat unless it is an intentional feint or unless they are joining another group from their own army with the intention of rejoining the battle (Q, Ṭ). Presumably this latter action is to be differentiated from an outright desertion, leaving the group to carry on the fight without help. In the context of the Battle of Badr, the stakes were such that a defeat might have cost the young community its very existence, since it had not yet established a base of power anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula outside of Madinah (indeed, all later generations of Muslims understood the Battle of Badr as a turning point in the very survival of Islam as such). To run away from the battlefield completely without seeking to rejoin some other group of fighters would have been tantamount to abandoning and forsaking the community as such.

Some commentators mention accounts that some warriors returned to the Prophet from having left the fighting and were afraid that they would be condemned as deserters, but the Prophet said, “I am your company (fiʾah)” (IK, Q); v. 16 uses the same term, fiʾah. Similar accounts are given regarding ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who lamented hearing that a certain warrior died while standing his ground though greatly outnumbered and said, “If he had returned, I would have been his company (fiʾah)” (IK). This may be part of the reason why many commentators consider the threat of punishment here for desertion to be specific to the participants of the Battle of Badr, though jurists are divided on the question of whether fleeing from the enemy is a grave sin (kabīrah) in general or not (Q, Ṭ). The question of forgiveness for fleeing from a battle is mentioned in the context of the Battle of Uḥud in 3:159.

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ź You did not slay them, but God slew them, and thou threwest not when thou threwest, but God threw, that He might try the believers with a beautiful trial from Him. Truly God is Hearing, Knowing.

17  This verse may be related to several accounts that describe the Prophet picking up a handful of pebbles or dust and throwing it at the enemy, saying, “Curse your faces!” (shāhat al-wujūh; Ṭ). In one version it is three pebbles, one cast to the right, one to the left, and one to the middle, and the disbelievers, struck by fear (in one account because of a voice from Heaven), fled. In another version the Prophet took a handful of dust and threw it, and the dust was carried by the wind and blinded them, at which they ran away (Ṭ). In another account, the “throwing” to which this verse refers took place at Uḥud. One of the prisoners of the Battle of Badr, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, was ransomed, but he vowed to kill the Prophet and told the Prophet he kept his horse ready every day to accomplish the deed. During the Battle of Uḥud, Ubayy charged the Prophet and some Companions intervened, but the Prophet told them to stand down, at which he personally hurled a spear at Ubayy and mortally wounded him (Th, Ṭ).

As a spiritual allegory, this verse has been interpreted as meaning that one cannot kill one’s carnal soul (i.e., one’s egotism and vices) with one’s own strength, but needs the Help of God to enable the spiritual grace to manifest itself in the soul (Aj). From another perspective, it is understood to mean that truly only God threw and only God killed, expressing a mystery about the relationship between God and His creation. In a famous sacred saying, or ḥadīth qudsī, God is described as saying of human beings, whom He loves, “I will be his hearing by which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hands by which he grasps, and his feet by which he walks.” Sufis also connect this verse with other Quranic verses, such as 2:115: Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of God; 28:88: All things perish, save His Face; 55:26–27: All upon it passes away. And there remains the Face of thy Lord, Possessed of Majesty and Bounty; 57:4: He is with you wheresoever you are; and 58:7: He is with them wheresoever they are.

V. 17 is used numerous times in Sufi writings. It is used in Sufism as a scriptural basis for the station of perfect submission, in which one’s actions become God’s Action and one’s will God’s Will. A Sufi such as Ibn ʿArabī points to the explicit negation in this verse, thou threwest not, coupled with the explicit affirmation, when thou threwest, to indicate the irreducible tension between the world’s nearness and the distance from God, or between its existential otherness and existential “identity” in relation to Him; that is, creation is not God, but is also not in its essential reality wholly other than God. This irreducibility is also expressed in 42:11, Naught is like unto Him, and He is the Hearer, the Seer, which is to say, it denies that God is like anything, but then affirms of Him the Qualities of hearing and seeing. Seen in this way, the verse hinders facile generalizations regarding the world’s identity with God, but also prevents one from seeing the world as a reality utterly separate from God in its essential reality. At a theological but no less mystical and esoteric level, scholastic theologians have seen in this verse a proof that God is the Creator of all acts and that human beings “acquire” (kasb) them from Him.

Some interpret this verse to mean that the effect of filling the eyes of the disbelievers was from God, since a single handful of dust thrown by a man would not have been enough under ordinary circumstances to accomplish this feat (R); or that death refers to the separation of the spirit from the body, which is the direct Act of God and not the result of the wound inflicted by human beings (R, Th).

The idea of a beautiful trial is often glossed as meaning “a beautiful blessing” (Q, R, Ṭ), in the sense that even good things such as victory are tests from God in response to which one can be either virtuous or vicious. For the role of trials in the spiritual life as mentioned in the Quran, see commentary on 29:2–3.

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Ɗ Thus it is, and [know] that God makes feeble the scheming of the disbelievers.

18  The weakness of the schemes of those who oppose God is also mentioned in 3:120; 4:76; 52:46.

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ƚ If you seek victory, then victory has come to you. And if you desist, it would be better for you. And if you return, We shall return, and your company will not avail you aught, even if they be many. And [know] that God is with the believers.

19  This verse is understood in three ways. Some see it as an address to the disbelievers, who also prayed for victory and who are thus ironically informed that victory has arrived—but with the disbelievers as the vanquished, not the victors. A second opinion sees it addressed to the believers, who are given victory, but who are warned against their conduct regarding the spoils (see 8:1c). A third opinion considers the first sentence to be addressed to the believers; then if you desist begins a new address to the disbelievers, meaning that they should desist from their hostility toward the Prophet (Q). And if you return, We shall return means that if the disbelievers return to hostilities, God will return as well. The last sentence of the verse is read by some as a continuation of v. 18, while others read it as meaning “Truly God is with the believers” (Z).

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Ȋ O you who believe! Obey God and His Messenger, and turn not away from him, even as you hear [him].

20  On the question of obeying the Prophet, see commentary on 3:32: Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” If they turn away, then truly God loves not the disbelievers. See also 4:80; 5:92; 24:54; 33:33; 47:33; 49:14; 64:12. Such passages describe obedience to the Prophet as second only to obedience to God and set in place the normative character of the Prophet’s teachings and actions.

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! And be not like those who say, “We hear,” though they hear not.

21  The commentators note that this verse describes different groups of people, from the idolaters who heard the Prophet’s message but paid it no heed, to the hypocrites who heard it with their ears and assented to it outwardly, but did not hear it with their hearts (R, Ṭ), that is, did not reflect and meditate upon what they had heard (Q). Moreover, one must act upon commandments or prohibitions or one cannot be said to have truly heard them (Q).

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" Truly the worst of beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb who understand not.

22  Many verses in the Quran mention being dumb or unable to speak (2:18, 171; 6:39), and spiritual deafness and blindness are also mentioned frequently (e.g., 5:71; 6:25, 39; 10:42–43); this blindness is a blindness of the heart, not the outward eyes (22:46). The loss of one’s spiritual, and hence properly human, faculties resulting in a state comparable to that of animals is also mentioned in 2:171; 7:176, 179; 62:5.

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# Had God known of any good in them, He would have caused them to hear; yet had He caused them to hear, they would have turned away in rejection.

23  This verse is said to have been revealed after the idolaters challenged the Prophet to resurrect the dead as proof of his prophethood (R, Q). It makes explicit a seeming tension between God’s allowing understanding to enter people’s hearts and people’s responsibility for their own actions. Commenting on this verse, some offer a somewhat predestinarian explanation, saying that they would not have believed given “His eternal Knowledge of their state of disbelief (kufr)” (Q, R). This would mean that in His eternal Knowledge God knows them to be disbelievers; so it would be impossible for them to become believers after being made to hear the truth, since this would entail God knowing something that was not (R). It is used as a support for the notion that some people are destined for Hell and that this is unchangeable. See the essay “The Quran and Islamic Schools of Theology and Philosophy.”

From another perspective, this verse evokes the Quranic theme that knowledge can be a trial and that, in a sense, it exposes the recipient of that knowledge to the danger of rejecting it. Jesus’ apostles are warned against this after they ask for a table from Heaven, to which God says in 5:115: I shall indeed send it down unto you. But whosoever among you disbelieves thereafter, I shall surely punish him. From one point of view it can be said that it is a mercy to conceal from someone, if only temporarily, a truth that they may reject, because such rejection could possibly cement in them an attitude of disbelief and rejection. From another perspective, as discussed in 2:7c, to be cut off from hearing or understanding the truth is a punishment as such, and not only because it leads to perdition in the Hereafter.

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$ O you who believe! Respond to God and the Messenger when he calls you unto that which will give you life. And know that God comes between a man and his heart, and that unto Him shall you be gathered.

24  That which will give you life is the truth, or the Quran itself (Ṭ), meaning something that gives life to the heart (Q) or that bears the commands and prohibitions that will lead to the mode of everlasting life in the Hereafter (Q). This verse could also mean that one should respond to the call to fighting in the way of God, since death in the way of God would lead to everlasting felicity (Q).

That God comes between a man and his heart is interpreted to mean that He comes between a disbeliever and faith, or between a believer and disbelief (Ṭ), or that nothing is hidden from God, even the innermost dimensions of one’s being (Ṭ). In this sense it resembles the statement in 50:16: We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. It can also mean that God has the power to change hearts, as when He changed the fear in the hearts of the participants of the Battle of Badr into a sense of security (Q; see v. 11). The notion of being gathered unto God is mentioned throughout the Quran (e.g., 2:203; 3:158; 5:96; 6:38; 23:79; 58:9; 67:24) and is related to the idea, also often mentioned in the Quran, of all things being returned to God (e.g., 2:210; 3:109; 8:44).

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% And be mindful of a trial that will not befall only those among you who do wrong; and know that God is severe in retribution.

25  Trial renders fitnah, a word that can also mean “temptation,” “sedition,” or “strife” (see 2:190–94c). Many interpret the verse as pertaining specifically to those participants in the Battle of Badr who later came to fight each other on the Battle of the Camel (i.e., the initial battle of the First Civil War during the caliphate of ʿAlī). One Companion is quoted as having referenced this verse in the context of that battle, “I did not know what was meant by that verse until today” (Q).

Al-Qurṭubī mentions a ḥadīth that sets forth the parable of a ship with some people above deck and others below. If, rather than ask those above for water, those riding below punctured a hole in the hull to get water themselves, the whole ship would sink (Q). This means that doing wrong and allowing wrong to be done can have an effect that spreads to those who had no role in it, since human beings often have no choice but to be affected by the actions and states of others with whom they exist in community.

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& And remember when you were few, deemed weak in the land, fearing that the people would snatch you away. Then He sheltered you, and strengthened you with His help, and provided you with good things, that haply you may give thanks.

26  This verse refers to the weak and persecuted state in which the Muslims were living in Makkah, before they migrated to Madinah, where they were sheltered and strengthened, as evidenced by their success at the Battle of Badr (IK, Q).

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' O you who believe! Betray not God and the Messenger, and betray not your trusts knowingly.

27  The significance of being faithful to one’s trust is also mentioned in 2:283, 4:58, 23:8; 70:32. Some commentators try to link this Command to have trust with certain historical incidents related to later battles, but those would seem to be out of sequence in what is essentially a discussion of the Battle of Badr.

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( And know that your property and your children are only a trial, and that God—with Him is a great reward.

28  This verse is similar in message to 64:14: Among your spouses and your children there is indeed an enemy unto you; so be wary of them. This verse would also reflect the general theme of this part of the sūrah that good things can also be trials, such as victory on the battlefield (v. 17) and the spoils of war (v. 1).

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) O you who believe! If you reverence God, He will make for you a criterion, and absolve you of your evil deeds, and forgive you. And God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty.

29  Criterion renders furqān, a word that has different shades of meaning in the Quran and is itself a name for the Quran; see 3:3–4c; 2:53, 185; 21:48; 25:1. Furqān comes from a root with the meaning of separation and division and can mean “discernment,” or that by which things are distinguished. It can also refer to a faculty or light within one’s heart by which one is able to separate truth from falsehood, as in 39:22, which speaks of one whose breast God has expanded for submission, such that he follows a light from his Lord (IK, R). This latter verse sets up illumination or knowledge as a consequence of reverence or goodness, and al-Rāzī says, “When the heart becomes illuminated by obedience to God, darkness falls away from it, because the knowledge of God is a light, and these faults are different kinds of darkness, and when light manifests itself it necessarily leads to the disappearance of darkness.”

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Ð And [remember] when those who disbelieve plotted against thee, to capture thee, or to slay thee, or to expel thee. They plotted, and God plotted. And God is the best of plotters.

30  This verse refers to the persecution that the Prophet personally suffered in Makkah, when, after losing the protection of his uncle Abū Ṭālib, he was often exposed to mortal danger and to sanctions that eventually resulted in the migration to Madinah, during which he was pursued by Makkans who wished to eliminate him. The final refrain of this verse is almost identical to 3:54, and a similar message about God’s plotting overcoming the plots of human beings can be found in 10:21; 13:42; 14:46; 16:26; 27:50; it is also related to 68:45: Truly My scheme is firm. When used of God, “plotter” (mākir) does not have the pejorative connotation usually connected with it. Rather, it means that God is a better “planner” than those who plot against Him.

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Ñ And when Our signs are recited unto them they say, “We have heard already. Had we willed, we could have said the like of this. This is naught but fables of those of old.”

31  The disbelievers’ attempts to dismiss the Quran as being nothing more than fables of those of old is also mentioned in 6:25; 23:83; 25:5; 27:68; 46:17; 68:15. The disbelievers’ claim that they could have said the like of this is also related to the question of the inimitability or miraculous nature of the Quran as a sacred book. See commentary on 2:23: If you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down unto Our servant, then bring a sūrah like it, and call your witnesses apart from God if you are truthful, and the essay “Obstacles Faced in the Translation of the Quran.” Similar challenges to produce something like the Quran are made in 10:38; 11:13; 17:88.

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Ò And [remember] when they said, “O God, if this be the truth from Thee, rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment.”

32  This verse contains an example of the type of cynical challenges, made by those who deny the Prophet, to bring down a punishment upon them if he is telling the truth, as in 17:90–93; 22:47; 26:204; 29:53; 37:176; 42:18; 51:14.

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Ó But God will not punish them while thou art among them. And God will not punish them while they seek forgiveness.

Ô What have they to keep God from punishing them, while they turn [others] from the Sacred Mosque though they are not its protectors? Its protectors are none but the reverent, but most of them know not.

33–34  When read in connection with the previous verse, these verses evoke the message of 29:31–32, where the destruction of Lot’s people takes place only after he and his family leave the city, as well as the account of Hūd in 11:58. In this case, on the one hand, the punishment is withheld by the presence of the Prophet or a sincere state of repentance among some of the people (while they seek forgiveness), but, on the other, unjust control and restriction of the Kaʿbah leave the Quraysh gravely liable to such punishment. While they seek forgiveness is interpreted to mean “If they seek forgiveness,” that is, on the condition that they seek forgiveness (IK, Ṭ). Or it can refer to either the believers who were still in Makkah and had not migrated to Madinah (Q, Ṭ) or the meager amount of repentance or forgiveness sought by those idolaters who at least had some notion of God, since they would also pray for forgiveness when they made their circumambulations around the Kaʿbah (Q).

The idolaters kept the Muslims who had migrated to Madinah from visiting the Kaʿbah to perform their rituals there. Being allowed to visit Makkah to perform the rites would later be made a condition of the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah (628); see 2:114c; 2:190–94c; and Sūrah 48. Protectors, which renders awliyāʾ (sing. walī), has here the sense of “custodians,” specifically referring to the Kaʿbah’s rightful protectors and custodians.

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Õ Their prayer at the House is naught but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment for having disbelieved!

35  It is said that while the Prophet was still in Makkah and would pray near the Kaʿbah, the idolaters would attempt to disrupt his prayer by whistling and clapping beside him (R). However, others said that the whistling and clapping was actually an established part of the pagan rituals performed at the Kaʿbah in pre-Islamic times (R).

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Ö Truly those who disbelieve spend their wealth to turn [others] from the way of God. They will spend it; then it will be a source of regret for them, and then they will be overcome. And the disbelievers will be gathered unto Hell,

36  The Makkans created and gave material support to the army that set out to fight the Prophet and his followers, since many had a stake in the caravan that was coming from Syria (Z; see 8:5c). Some think that this verse refers especially to Abū Sufyān, who used his wealth to fight the Prophet (R).

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× that God may separate the bad from the good, and place the bad one upon the other and heap them all together, and place them in Hell. It is they who are the losers.

37  Similar language is used in 3:179, which also speaks of God separating the bad from the good. The plain sense would seem to point to this separation taking place in the Hereafter, but some say it can also refer to good and bad being separated from each other in this world (IK), as when the fighting in the context of the Battle of Uḥud (3:179) separated the sincere followers of the Prophet from the hypocrites.

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Ø Say to the disbelievers that, if they desist, what is past will be forgiven them, but if they relapse, then the wont of those of old has already passed.

38  According to some commentators, this verse means that the disbelievers should stop their enmity and hostility and embrace Islam (IK). The last clause refers to God’s wont of destroying persistently corrupt and evil peoples (IK). Wont can also refer to both what people do and what they undergo. In a ḥadīth the Prophet said, “Submission (islām) cuts off what came before it, and repentance cuts off what came before it.”

However, this verse says nothing explicitly about the disbelievers becoming Muslims, and “forgiveness” can refer to the cessation of hostilities and the resolution of grievances. Cf. 2:192–93: But if they desist, then truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until there is no strife, and religion is for God. But if they desist, then there is no enmity save against the wrongdoers.

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Ù And fight them until there is no strife, and religion is wholly for God. But if they desist, then truly God sees whatsoever they do.

@ And if they turn away, know that God is your Master—an excellent Master, an excellent Helper!

39–40  For v. 39, see also the similar verse 2:193: And fight them until there is no strife, and religion is for God. But if they desist, then there is no enmity save against the wrongdoers. Al-Rāzī explains that strife (fitnah), which can also mean “trial” or “temptation,” refers to the persecution the Muslims endured at the hands of the Makkan idolaters, both before and after the hijrah. Even after the hijrah, Muslims still residing in Makkah were treated badly and oppressed severely by the idolaters. This verse orders the believers to fight until this strife or trial (fitnah) is gone. In al-Rāzī’s view, they must be fought until religion is wholly for God, but he understands it as pertaining only to the environs around Makkah and not extended to the whole world. According to al-Rāzī, the reason for fighting is the cessation of fitnah, which is only possible with the disappearance of the forces of disbelief.

Some gloss strife as meaning idolatry or polytheism (shirk; IK, Ṭ). Others maintain that, in keeping with al-Rāzī’s reasoning above, it means one should struggle until Muslims are not tried in their own religion (IK). On the question of fighting until there is no more fitnah, or strife, see 2:216c, and for a more general discussion of these topics see the essay “Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran.”

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A And know that whatsoever you take as spoils, a fifth is for God and the Messenger, and for kinsfolk, orphans, the indigent, and the traveler, if you believe in God and what We sent down upon Our servant on the Day of Discrimination, the day the two hosts met—and God is Powerful over all things—

41  Here take as spoils renders the verbal form of ghanīmah, which has the meaning of anything one acquires through exertion, but which has taken on the technical meaning in Sunni legal tradition of those things that are taken legitimately in war (Q). It is usually distinguished from fiʾah, which refers to anything that is taken through peaceful means, such as a property tax (kharāj) or the indemnity or tax on non-Muslims (jizyah). Others, however, consider the two terms to be synonymous (Q). This verse is usually discussed in relation to v. 1 (see 8:1c); some jurists believe that one abrogates the other, though most see v. 41 as a specification of the ruling given in v. 1 (Q, R).

Many maintain that the fifth that is for God and the Messenger is itself divided into five parts, the other four parts going to kinsfolk, orphans, the indigent, and the traveler, though a minority opinion states this fifth should be divided into six parts, with God and the Messenger receiving two individual sixths and the other four a sixth each (R). Most Sunnis accept that after the Prophet the political leader of the community assumes responsibility for this fifth and for the distribution of the spoils more generally. The commentators note that there is disagreement regarding the identity of kinsfolk (dhu’l-qurbā), but insofar as it concerns the degree of closeness to the Prophet, some restrict it to his immediate clan, the Banū Hāshim, while other opinions extend it to the entire tribe of Quraysh (IK, R, Tṣ).

Shiites have a much more expansive view of ghanīmah, and thus the fifth is taken from sources that extend to income beyond spoils of war, including minerals extracted from the land or from the sea (which is also applied in a much more restricted way by Sunnis); surplus income from trade or work beyond a certain level; and found treasure; as well as spoils of war (Ṭs). The recipients of this fifth, or khumus, include the descendants of the Prophet (ahl al-bayt); after the period of the Prophet and the Imams, it is the Shiite scholars (or more exactly the mujtahids, those who are qualified to independently interpret Islamic Law) who act as representatives of the Hidden Imam and who receive and distribute this wealth.

The Day of Discrimination (furqān) refers to the Battle of Badr, meaning that it was a day when truth was separated from falsehood (Q); “separation” is one of the meanings of furqān (see 8:29c). The two hosts refer to the armies of the believers and the idolaters (R).

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B when you were on the near slope and they were on the far slope, and the caravan was below you. And had you made a tryst with each other, you would have failed the tryst. But [it came to pass] so that God may conclude a matter that was to be done, so that whosoever should perish, perishes according to a clear proof, and whosoever should live, lives according to a clear proof. And truly God is Hearing, Knowing.

42  Near slope . . . far slope . . . caravan below: the two armies were on two sides of a valley with the caravan of Abū Sufyān below them in the direction of the sea (R). You would have failed the tryst means that the Muslims would not have agreed to go out to meet such a superior army in battle if they had prior knowledge of it (Q); for more detail on the events leading up to the battle, see 8:5c.

To live or perish according to a clear proof echoes the separation of the bad from the good in v. 37 and the idea that the Battle of Badr was a Day of Discrimination between one side and the other, in that the good and the bad, the true and the false, were put to the test and made manifest through the Battle of Badr.

The battle is described as a matter that was to be done, meaning that it necessarily had to come to pass (R). A clear proof is interpreted by some to refer to the rain that came just before the battle and miraculously reversed the advantage the Makkans had of being on firmer ground with the Muslims on softer ground (see 8:11c); others see it more broadly as the fact that the smaller and poorly equipped army of the Muslims defeated the well-armed contingent of Quraysh, which was three times its size (R).

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C [Remember] when God showed them in thy dream as being few. And hadst thou seen them as being many, you would have surely faltered and quarreled over the matter. But God delivered [you]. Truly He knows what lies within breasts.

43  According to commentators the Prophet had a dream before the battle in which he saw the opposing army as being relatively few in number, and he conveyed this message to the believers; a minority opinion states that this vision was not during sleep (usually denoted by the word used in this verse, manām), but occurred in a waking state (Q, R). The verse then switches from the second-person singular (hadst thou seen) to the second-person plural (you would have), denoting a shift from addressing the Prophet to addressing the believers as a whole, and repeats a message similar to that of v. 42, namely, that had they known what they would be facing, they would have lost heart and avoided the battle.

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D And [remember] when He showed them to you, when you met them, as being few in your eyes, and made you appear to be few in their eyes, so that God may conclude a matter that was to be done. And unto God are all matters returned.

44  In this verse it is the believers who are shown the opposing army as being few in number. It is reported that the Companion Ibn Masʿūd said to a man beside him, “Would you say they are seventy?” to which the man replied, “They are close to a hundred.” Later, they asked a prisoner how many they were, and he said, “We were a thousand” (Q); for more on the question of perceiving the opposing army as being of a different size, see 3:13c. Some interpret the verse to mean that God made each side appear smaller to the other, so that neither would shrink from the battle and God could conclude a matter that was to be done (see also v. 42; IK).

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E O you who believe! When you meet a company in battle, be firm and remember God much, that haply you may prosper.

45  This verse is understood to show the paramount importance of remembering God in even the most distracting and tumultuous situations and that one’s heart should never be empty of the remembrance of God (R). The idea of remembering God much is also mentioned in 26:227; 33:21, 35, 41; 62:10, the last of which is most similar to this verse. Some see this as being a more specific Command to pray to God for help and victory when they are going into battle (R). To truly prosper is not to seek after worldly spoils, but to achieve everlasting felicity, which is only possible through sincere intention and achieved through remembering God (R).

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F And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel among yourselves lest you falter and your good fortune depart. And be patient; truly God is with the patient.

46  Here good fortune renders rīḥ (lit. “wind”), which some commentators gloss as “a turn [in fortune]” (Z) or victory (Ṭ); it is an idiomatic usage denoting the passing of advantage or power from someone to someone else (Q). Some explain that the “wind” of the Companions departed at the Battle of Uḥud when they did precisely what this verse warns against (R). The wind is something over which one has no control (Aj) and thus can symbolize turns of fortune. Among the Arabs the “west wind” (dabūr), meaning from the west, was considered unpropitious, while the “east wind” (ṣabā), meaning from the east, was thought to be a harbinger of blessings. In this regard, some commentators mention a ḥadīth of the Prophet, “I was helped by the east wind, and the ʿĀd were destroyed by the west wind” (Q). The wind that destroyed them is mentioned in 41:16, 46:24, 51:41; 54:19; 69:6. The theme of the wind, which had a rich vocabulary even among the pre-Islamic Arabs, is an important theme in the Quran; see 30:48–49c.

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G And be not like those who left their homes boastfully and to be seen of men, and to turn [others] from the way of God. And God encompasses whatsoever they do.

47  This verse refers to the Makkans who left their homes to protect their caravan (see 8:5c) and to defeat the Prophet and his followers (Q). Here, as in many other instances, to turn (ṣadda) can have the meaning both of hindering someone from a path and of diverting oneself from a path. Therefore, though the most obvious sense of the verse is that the Makkans sought to stop the believers from following the way of God, the verb ṣadda can also be read to mean that they themselves abandoned and forsook the way of God. Encompasses (muḥīṭ) carries the sense of encompassing knowledge and awareness (R) as well as presence or power.

Regarding those who left their homes boastfully, it is reported that the Quraysh led by Abū Jahl were given the news that the caravan that they sought to protect was now safe, since it had taken the road near the sea, away from Badr, where the Muslims were planning to meet them. But the Makkans pressed on, and Abū Jahl was reported to have boasted that he would not turn back until they reached Badr, enjoyed wine and song, and let other groups of people remain in fear of them, that is, the Makkans (Q).

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H And [remember] when Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them, and said, “None among mankind shall overcome you today, and I am indeed your defender.” But when the two hosts saw each other, he turned on his heels and said, “I am quit of you! Truly I see what you see not. Truly I fear God, and God is severe in retribution.”

48  That Satan made their deeds seem fair unto them (cf. 16:63; 27:24; 29:38) is interpreted by some to mean that he whispered to them not physically, but inwardly to their souls (R). According to this interpretation, they were impelled by the pride and vanity mentioned in the previous verse, but when they came to the battlefield, their overconfidence disappeared, which caused them to suffer a defeat.

Other commentators mention an account in which Satan took the form of a leader of a tribe whom the Quraysh feared would attack them because they had killed one of its men; they were thus exposed to a two-front battle with the Muslims on one side and tribal enemies on the other. According to this version, Satan (in human form) promised the Makkans the help of his tribe, but left before the battle began (Q).

I see what you see not refers to seeing the angels who were on the side of the Muslims (R). According to the interpretation that the idolaters were goaded by the whisperings of Satan, this could mean that the power of the angels in giving strength and resolve to the believers was too great to resist; in any case Satan would not have had the best interests of the idolaters in mind, since they too were human beings created by God, all of whom Satan vowed to mislead (see 4:117–19c; 7:16–17c). Assuming that the angels did actually participate in battle, this would have meant an actual retreat by Satan from the battlefield in the form he had allegedly assumed.

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I [Remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, “Their religion has deluded them.” But whosoever trusts in God, truly God is Mighty, Wise.

49  Some commentators, such as al-Qurṭubī, believe that the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease are simply descriptions of the same people and do not refer to distinct groups (cf. 33:12). For others, the hypocrites refers to some members of the Madinan tribes of Aws and Khazraj, while those in whose hearts is a disease refers to certain Muslims who became Muslim while the Prophet was in Makkah, but whose faith was not strong enough to make them migrate to Madinah (R). These people are said to have believed that the Prophet and his followers were deluded, because they left with a little over three hundred people against a well-equipped army of a thousand (R); some commentators connect this alleged delusion with their small numbers being made to seem even smaller (Ṭ; see 8:44c), meaning they believed that the believers were deluded because they appeared to be even fewer than they were.

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P And if only thou couldst see when the angels take those who disbelieve, striking their faces and their backs, and [saying], “Taste the punishment of the burning!

50  At one level, the disbelievers, who themselves struck at the faces and the backs of the believers, will have the same punishment inflicted upon them after they die (R). Al-Rāzī gives a deeper interpretation of this verse, saying that striking at their faces refers to the fact that when the disbelievers are taken in death by the angels and face the Hereafter, all that is before them will be dark, and striking at . . . their backs means they will leave the worldly goods they love behind them and will long to recover them. See also 6:93: If thou couldst see when the wrongdoers are in the throes of death, and the angels stretch forth their hands, “Yield up your souls!”

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Q This is for what your hands sent forth, and because God wrongs not His servants.”

51  Cf. 3:182; 22:10. And because God wrongs not [His] servants, which is interpreted to mean that their punishment is just (Z), is understood grammatically by some to be a new sentence, so that it would read, “And truly God wrongs not . . .” (R).

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R [Theirs was] like the way of the House of Pharaoh and those before them; they disbelieved in the signs of God; so God seized them for their sins. Truly God is Strong, severe in retribution.

S That is because God never changes a blessing by which He blesses a people until they change what is in themselves, and because God is Hearing, Knowing.

T [Theirs was] like the way of the House of Pharaoh and those before them; they denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and drowned the House of Pharaoh, for all were wrongdoers.

52–54  Here the word way renders daʾb, which means a habit, custom, or practice; cf. 3:11. Some commentators understand this daʾb as both what they did as a matter of habit and what happened to them, namely, destruction or defeat for their evil actions (Q); that is, their way was both what they perpetrated and what they suffered.

In its most general sense, God never changes a blessing by which He blesses a people until they change what is in themselves means that God gives human beings intelligence, strength, free will, and good things in life, so that they can worship God and do good, but when they turn away from these blessings in favor of sin and lack of faith, they have changed what is in themselves (R; cf. 13:11). In this specific context, some see this verse as referring to God’s blessing the Quraysh by sending them a prophet who was one of them, in response to which they denied him and chased him out (Ṭ). For a longer account of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, see 7:103–36.

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U Truly the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who have disbelieved and will not believe,

55  On the worst of beasts, see v. 22.

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V those among them with whom thou madest a pact and who then break their pact every time, and who are not reverent.

56  It is thought that, beyond the general message, this verse is referencing the tribes of Naḍīr and Qurayẓah, who, though they had initially made an alliance with the Prophet, betrayed him by later cooperating with the idolaters (Q).

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W So if thou comest upon them in war, use them to scatter those who will come after them, that haply they might be reminded.

57  The instruction in this verse is to make an example of those who break pacts in order to give pause to those who would come after them and also would seek to break their pacts (Q, R, Ṭ).

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X And if thou fearest treachery from a people, withdraw from them in a just way. Truly God loves not the treacherous.

58  When the believers make a treaty and there are clear signs that the other group is going to act treacherously, the believers are commanded to give them fair warning that they will withdraw from the treaty, without acting under any pretense that they (the believers) are still abiding by the terms of the treaty. However, if the other side breaks the treaty first, there is no obligation to give them any warning (R). In discussing how suspicion, and not certainty, could lead to withdrawing from an agreement, al-Qurṭubī argues that if the other side withdraws patently by breaking the terms, withdrawal from the agreement is moot, since the treaty is broken by their very action. One enters into a treaty only when one has a reasonable expectation that the other side will uphold it, and conversely one can reasonably withdraw when that expectation no longer holds. The verse is worded as it is so that there will be an “equality of knowledge” between the two sides, meaning that the withdrawal will be done to bring the two sides back to their situation before the treaty was signed; the withdrawal is not to be used as a stratagem of war. In a just way renders ʿalā sawāʾ, and some commentators state that this phrase indicates that the reason for withdrawal is not to create an unfair advantage, but to make things equal or level (sawāʾ) between the two sides (Q).

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Y And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they have outstripped [anyone]. Indeed, they thwart nothing.

59  Some read the first part of this verse to mean, “Do not suppose that those who disbelieve have outstripped” (Q, R, Ṭ). “Outstrip” here is understood to mean something like “escape” (IK, Z). The notion of the disbelievers not being able to thwart or frustrate God or His signs appears several times in the Quran, including in 9:2–3; 11:20; 24:57; 29:22; 35:44; 42:31; 46:32; 72:12.

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` And prepare for them what you can of strength [of arms] and horses tethered [for battle], frightening thereby the enemy of God and your enemy, and others besides them whom you know not. God knows them. Whatsoever you spend in the way of God shall be paid unto you in full. And you shall not be wronged.

60  On horses tethered, see the discussion of ribāṭ (“tethering”) in 3:200c. Strength [of arms] refers to the weapons of war (Q). Some commentators interpret others . . . whom you know not to mean any unknown or yet to be known enemy (Q), but some say the unknown enemy here refers to the hypocrites who claimed to be Muslims, but kept their enmity toward the Prophet a secret (Ṭ). Others say that it refers to people in other lands (such as the Persians or Byzantines) or even to the jinn (Ṭ). Whatsoever you spend refers to the expenditure that the believers are commanded to make in order to prepare themselves for battle against the enemy, mentioned earlier in the verse (Aj). As with many passages dealing with warfare, this verse can also be interpreted symbolically and as a spiritual allegory, referring to the combat that the soul undertakes against its enemies—namely, its worldly desires and ignorance. According to this interpretation, others besides them whom you know not refers to the hidden vices of the soul, like secret pride (Aj). Whatsoever you spend . . . shall be paid unto you in full and similar phrases constitute a common refrain in the Quran (e.g., 2:281; 3:161; 16:111).

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a And if they incline toward peace, incline thou toward it, and trust in God. Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

61  Like other verses pertaining to peace and war with non-Muslims, there is disagreement over whether verses such as this one, which have a message of peace and reconciliation, are abrogated by verses thought to be revealed later in time that command the believers to fight. For some, this verse instructing the Muslims to incline toward peace if their enemies do the same is not abrogated and is consistent with the practice of accepting the jizyah (see 9:29)—an indemnity paid by non-Muslims living peacefully within the Islamic state; on these and similar questions see the essay “Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran.” Al-Qurṭubī points out that the Prophet and the early Companions accepted jizyah and left people as they were, even though they were capable of destroying them.

Al-Qurṭubī also discusses the notion of a truce or armistice (hudnah) with idolaters, such as the one the Prophet himself entered into at Ḥudaybiyah, whose term was ten years; see the introduction to Sūrah 48. Although there are various opinions regarding the term of such a truce, most specify ten years, following the Prophet’s example at Ḥudaybiyah; some, however, argue that it should be less than this, while others say there is no limit to how long a truce can last. He also mentions different kinds of arrangements, including those where no wealth or tax was transferred to the Islamic state, and even arrangements where the Muslims might pay the enemy, as in the case after the Battle of the Trench (5/627) when the Prophet gave a third of the date harvest of Madinah to the Ghaṭafān tribe, so that they would leave and forsake the Quraysh.

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b And if they desire to deceive thee, then God suffices thee. He it is Who supports thee with His Help, and with the believers,

62  This verse, which continues from the previous one, concerns the desire to deceive in the peace overtures (R). It is understood to mean that one should rely on the outward actions of those who incline toward peace (v. 61), which is to be distinguished from the fear of treachery mentioned in v. 58; that is, there is a difference between passive hypocrisy and a concrete intention to act maliciously. Al-Rāzī believes that v. 58 refers to the latter, while this verse refers to the former; see also 9:1–4c, which addresses the withdrawal from a treaty. With His help, and with the believers means that God supports the Prophet by means of help directly from Him and from the believers who follow him, which is to say both directly and indirectly (R).

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c and joined their hearts. Hadst thou spent all that is on the earth, it would not have joined their hearts. But God joined them together. Truly He is Mighty, Wise.

63  This verse is generally believed to refer to the Helpers (Anṣār), the Arab tribes of Madinah who embraced Islam and welcomed the Prophet and the Makkan Muslims who came with him (the Muhājirūn, or Emigrants). Madinah’s two main Arab tribes, the Aws and Khazraj, had a long history of conflict and hostility (see also 2:84; 3:100, 122) resulting from a vendetta culture of pride and honor (Q, R). That their enmity was overcome and replaced by mutual love and sacrifice is considered to be a proof of the Prophet’s veracity and sincerity (Q, R, Ṭ).

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d O Prophet! God suffices thee and those believers who follow thee.

e O Prophet! Rouse the believers to fight. If there be twenty steadfast among you, they shall overcome two hundred. And if there be one hundred of you, they shall overcome one thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who understand not.

f Now God has lightened your burden, for He knows that there is weakness in you. And if there be one hundred steadfast among you, they shall overcome two hundred. And if there be one thousand, they shall overcome two thousand by God’s Leave. And God is with the steadfast.

64–66  Most commentators take vv. 65–66 to constitute Commands and not only descriptions, because if they were descriptions of what actually happens, they would always hold true, since it is God speaking, but they do not in fact always hold true (Aj, R). In one interpretation of how these verses fit together, it is said that v. 65 was revealed and caused alarm among some Companions, who lamented their state of exile and weakness in the face of the enemy, after which God lightened their burden by revealing v. 66 (IK). According to some v. 65 refers to the time when Muslims were few in number, but later, when they became greater in number, the obligation was changed (R).

Those who deny any kind of abrogation (such as Abū Muslim al-Iṣfahānī) state that v. 65 was a Command, but with the condition that they be capable of patience and steadfastness in the face of ten-to-one odds, and that v. 66 shows that this patience was not present in them; thus v. 65 states what the Command is, given certain conditions (namely, the presence of that level of patience), while v. 66 shows that this level of patience was not reached, and God knew this weakness was in them. Another reason to suppose that there is no abrogation is that one verse immediately follows the other, and such abrogation is considered unusual and unlikely (R).

Al-Rāzī offers an interpretation “known only to those of spiritual discipline and vision,” namely, that those whose hearts are filled with spiritual knowledge and understanding are fearsome to creation, and when hearts are mastered by the light of knowing God, it strengthens and empowers them, and they are capable of actions not possible before.

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g It is not for a prophet to take captives until he overwhelms [his enemy] in the land. You desire the ephemeralities of this world, while God desires the Hereafter. And God is Mighty, Wise.

h Were it not for a decree that had already gone forth from God, a great punishment would have befallen you for what you took.

i So consume the spoils you have taken, lawfully and in a good way, and reverence God. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.

67–69  In most accounts, before deciding what to do with the seventy prisoners taken at the Battle of Badr, the Prophet consulted his Companions. Abū Bakr was in favor of letting them live and releasing them for ransom, arguing that even though they were enemies, they were still kin, that the money received for their release would strengthen the Muslim community, and that in the fullness of time perhaps they would even be guided to Islam. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb argued that they should be executed, because of their previous acts of aggression and persecution against the Prophet and his community, and because some of them were important leaders in this hostility (IK, Q, Ṭ). The prisoners were eventually ransomed.

One interpretation of this passage is that some of the believers were hasty in taking spoils. It is an Islamic belief that up until this point no prophet was permitted to take spoils (see 8:1c); rather, spoils were destroyed (Ṭ). This may refer to the herem ban in the Torah tradition that required certain conquered cities to be utterly destroyed, including any spoils; Saul is rebuked by Samuel for sparing the king of the Amalekites and keeping their best cattle (1 Samuel 15). You desire the ephemeralities of this world (spoken in the second-person plural, denoting the believers as a group) is understood as a reference to the haste with which the spoils were pursued, not by the Prophet, but by some of his followers.

The verb rendered by overwhelms has the sense both of manifesting power and of sapping the power of one’s opponent. It is often incorrectly translated “make wide slaughter,” but this meaning applies only when the verb is in a construction with the word “slaughter/killing,” which it is not here. To kill many of the enemy is an interpretation offered by some commentators (Ṭ), but this is not based upon the literal meaning of the word.

That God desires the Hereafter means that the Hereafter is superior to this world and is the greatest good (Q). Were it not for a decree is interpreted to mean either that the rules on taking spoils were already decided, or that there was a special dispensation for the participants of the Battle of Badr, or that in a general way God would not take anyone to account until they were first warned about the rightness or wrongness of a deed (Q). Some interpret this to mean that those who commit a deed that they believe to be forbidden, but that is not forbidden in the Eyes of God, are not punished for it (Q). For some it means that God first “rebuked” them for it, then made it permissible (Ṭ).

Al-Rāzī interprets vv. 67–69 to mean that the reason that the Prophet should not take prisoners until he becomes an overwhelming force that enervates his enemies is to create fear and awe in the disbelievers, so that they would not rise up in war against the believers again; according to this argument, taking prisoners and ransoming them would lead only to greater death and bloodshed in the future, because the enemy would be emboldened with a belief that they could still strike an effective blow, thus prolonging and widening the harm. One could further interpret this verse to mean that, if one has reached the point of taking prisoners, one is already in the situation of open war. Early in such hostilities, it is unlikely that the enemy would rest after paying ransom for prisoners. In fact, it is reported that some Companions, including ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, said regarding the prisoners of Badr, “If you wish, ransom them and enjoy the ransom, and have the like number of you become martyrs.”

As a spiritual allegory, this passage is interpreted to mean that for those on the spiritual path, their goal should not be to have followers or devotees over whom they could exert influence—rather they must totally dominate and slay the ego (Aj).

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p O Prophet! Say to those captives in your custody, “If God knows there to be any good in your hearts, He will give you what is better than that which was taken from you, and will forgive you. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.”

70  It is thought that this verse refers to the Prophet’s uncle ʿAbbās and others who were with him. According to one account, the Prophet demanded a certain amount of ransom for the release of ʿAbbās that was more than that requested for other prisoners. When ʿAbbās claimed to be unable to pay that amount, the Prophet said, “What about the gold you entrusted to your wife?” ʿAbbās, stunned that the Prophet could know what only his wife would know, testified that he must be a true prophet and accepted Islam (although some doubt the authenticity of this account). In any case, the ransom still had to be paid, and ʿAbbās’s ransom released ʿAbbās and three others (Q). The Prophet is commanded to say to them—meaning those who claimed to be Muslims, but who were still prisoners paying a ransom—that God will give you what is better than that which was taken from you, referring to material goods in this life, in comparison with the rewards of the Hereafter (Q).

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q But if they desire treachery against thee, they have been treacherous with God before and He gave [thee] power over them. And God is Knowing, Wise.

71  This is understood to mean that if the captives are not true in their attestations to faith and go back to their old ways, then they were treacherous before and God still gave the believers power over them; namely, He gave them a victory at the Battle of Badr (R).

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r Truly those who believe, and migrate, and strive with their wealth and themselves in the way of God, and those who sheltered and helped—they are protectors of one another. As for those who believe and did not migrate, you owe them no protection until they migrate. But if they ask your help for the sake of religion, then help is a duty upon you, except against a people with whom you have a covenant. And God sees whatsoever you do.

72  Those who migrate, and strive with their wealth and themselves in the way of God refers to the Emigrants, who migrated from Makkah with the Prophet to Madinah, and those who sheltered and helped refers to the Helpers, residents of Madinah who had already embraced Islam and received the Emigrants (Q, R, Ṭ). Here protection renders walāyah, which has multiple meanings, including friendship, closeness, political authority, protection, and even a relationship of inheritance. Many commentators consider this verse to refer to the relationship of inheritance that the Prophet established between the Emigrants and the Helpers: after the hijrah (the migration from Makkah to Madinah) he joined one Helper to each Emigrant in a symbolic brotherhood that entailed a relationship of inheritance and established filiations between them (see 4:33c).

Other commentators see the walāyah here as a reference to a relationship of rule or political responsibility, meaning that until the believers who still resided in Makkah migrated to Madinah, the believers in Madinah would have no political authority over them or claim to them (Q, R). Because it is a duty upon the Madinan believers to help the Makkan believers if they ask your help for the sake of religion, commentators such as al-Rāzī interpret you owe them no protection (walāyah) to be a command that is qualified by then [such] help is a duty upon you, except against a people with whom you have a covenant; that is, in general terms they cannot be treated with the same level of walāyah as those who migrated and helped, but neither are they to be left without support. One way of understanding al-Rāzī’s view is that the nonemigrating believers were not owed protection in an official or legal sense, but were nevertheless brothers in religion and were owed help as a moral and spiritual obligation. Disagreement over whether walāyah, rendered here as protection, refers to a relationship of inheritance, help, or political alliance has led to general disagreement among commentators over the interpretation of vv. 72–75.

As a spiritual allegory, those who believe, and migrate . . . and those who sheltered and helped refers to those who give their whole self to the spiritual life and plunge as deeply as they can into the mysteries of spiritual knowledge, while those who believe and did not migrate refers to ordinary believers who are unable to embark on that path, but who nonetheless can benefit from the first group of spiritual travelers in cases of religious doubt and bewilderment (Aj).

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s As for those who disbelieve, they are protectors of one another. Unless you do the same, there will be a strife in the land, and a great corruption.

73  This verse would seem to indicate that the word rendered as protection (walāyah) in the previous verse refers not to inheritance, but to help and support, and some commentators interpret it this way, while others hold to the interpretation that this verse means that the disbelievers inherit from one another (Q). Unless you do the same means unless you are protectors of one another. Warnings against strife (fitnah) or corruption (fasād) in the land are found throughout the Quran and refer to a state of conflict, fear, persecution, and mistrust. Corruption can refer to both political, moral, and social matters in addition to the degradation and destruction of the natural environment (see commentary on 2:11–12, 30, 205; and especially 30:41).

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t As for those who believe, and migrate, and strive in the way of God, and those who sheltered and helped, it is they who truly are believers. Theirs is forgiveness and a generous provision.

74  This verse is understood to exalt the Emigrants and the Helpers above all other categories of Muslims, and this rank is seen by most Muslims as forever restricted to them, based upon a ḥadīth that states, “There is no migration (hijrah) after the victory,” thought by most to refer to the conquest of Makkah, but by others to refer to the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, which enabled open travel between Makkah and Madinah for the two years previous to the final conquest of Makkah by the Prophet and his followers. Some commentators mention opinions that describe leaving one’s homeland to campaign in the way of God as a kind of hijrah (Q, R).

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u As for those who believe after you and migrate and strive with you, they are [to be counted] among you. But family relations have the strongest claim on one another in the Book of God. Truly God is Knower of all things.

75  Even after the initial migration of the Prophet and the Emigrants from Makkah, there was a period—before the conquest of Makkah, which ended the period of migration to Madinah (see 8:74c)—when Muslims in Makkah could still undertake the migration (hijrah) and join the other believers in Madinah.

But family relations have the strongest claim is often thought to refer to the rights of inheritance. Many commentators mention the relationship of kinship established by the Prophet between the Emigrants and the Helpers, which allowed them to inherit from each other while forbidding them to inherit from disbelievers even if they were blood relations (see 4:33c). Some thus interpret this verse to abrogate that legal situation and replace it with the system of inheritance through blood kinship outlined in 4:11–12. But even on this question there is disagreement; some jurists see family (lit. “womb”) relations as referring to the agnatic line (male inheritors through male relatives), while others viewed it as referring to female inheritors through female relations (Q). Still others believe that this verse was revealed to eliminate the practice among some people of the time of establishing inheritance relationships by declaration, where one party would agree to inherit from another party and vice versa (R).

Commentators such as al-Rāzī do not believe that there is any abrogation at all. He thus sees this verse as a way of making clear that the walāyah mentioned in the previous verses does not extend to inheritance, and that the rights of blood kinsfolk are to be respected. In this interpretation, the Book of God refers to the fact that these rules of inheritance are laid out explicitly in the Quran.