Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:10
And Allah made it not but good tidings and so that your hearts would be assured thereby. And victory is not but from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: wa-mā jaʿalahu llāhu illā bushrā wa-li-taṭmaʾinna bihi qulūbukum wa-mā l-naṣru illā min ʿindi llāhi inna llāha ʿazīzun ḥakīm (10) (And Allah made it only as glad tidings, and so that your hearts might be set at rest thereby. And victory comes only from Allah. Truly, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise) (10).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says: Allah made the sending of the angels one after another and their successive coming to you, O believers, as reinforcement for you — "only as glad tidings" for you, that is: a joyful message for you, gladdening you with Allah's help to you against your enemies — "and so that your hearts might be set at rest thereby" — He says: and so that your hearts might be calmed by their coming to you and be certain of Allah's help to you — "and victory comes only from Allah" — He says: and you are not helped against your enemy, O believers, except by Allah's helping you against them, not by the intensity of your might and strength, but by Allah's help to you, because that is in His hand and belongs to Him; He helps whom He wills of His creatures — "truly, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise" — He says: truly Allah, who helps you and in whose hand lies the help to whom He wills of His creatures, is "Almighty," nothing overpowers Him and no victor overcomes Him; rather, He overpowers all things and overcomes them, because He created them — "All-Wise" — He says: wise in His ordainment and in His helping of whom He helps and His forsaking of whom He forsakes of His creatures; into His ordainment there enters no weakness and no defect.
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And it is related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning this, that:
15757 — Al-Qāsim related to us; he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us; he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj; he said: Ibn Kathīr informed me that he heard Mujāhid say: The Prophet ﷺ was reinforced, of what Allah mentioned, with no more than a thousand angels, in succession; and the mention of "the three thousand" and "the five thousand" was glad tidings. They were not reinforced with more than these thousand which Allah, mighty and exalted is He, mentioned in "al-Anfāl." As for "the three thousand" and "the five thousand," that was glad tidings.
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And we have already dealt with that sufficiently in "Sūrat Āl ʿImrān."
