Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:27
O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَخُونُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوا أَمَانَاتِكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (27) (O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you, while you know (8:27)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says to the believers in Allah and His Messenger among the companions of His Prophet ﷺ: O you who have held Allah and His Messenger to be true = (do not betray Allah). Their betrayal of Allah and His Messenger consisted in this, that some among them outwardly displayed faith (īmān) and sincere loyalty to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and to the believers, while that person inwardly harbored disbelief (kufr) and deceit toward them: they pointed the polytheists (mushrikīn) to the weak points of the Muslims, and they gave them their report about what was hidden from them of their affairs.
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The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed over concerning whom this āyah was revealed, and over the occasion on which it was revealed.
Some of them said: It was revealed concerning a hypocrite (munāfiq) who wrote to Abū Sufyān and informed him of the secret of the Muslims.
* Mention of who said that:
15922 - Al-Qāsim ibn Bishr ibn Maʿrūf related to us, saying: Shabāba ibn Sawwār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Muḥrim related to us, saying: I met ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, and he related to me, saying: Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to me: that Abū Sufyān departed from Mecca, whereupon Jibrīl came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Abū Sufyān is in such-and-such a place!" Then the Prophet ﷺ said to his companions: "Abū Sufyān is in such-and-such a place, so march out against him and keep this secret!" He said: Then a man of the hypocrites wrote to Abū Sufyān: "Muḥammad wants to attack you, so take your precautions!" Thereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, revealed: (do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you).
Others said: No, rather it was revealed concerning Abū Lubāba, in connection with what took place between him and the Banū Qurayẓa.
* Mention of who said that:
15923 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to me, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning His statement: "do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you," he said: It was revealed concerning Abū Lubāba. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had sent him, and he made clear by a gesture toward his throat: it means the slaughter [that awaited the Banū Qurayẓa]. Al-Zuhrī said: Then Abū Lubāba said: No, by Allah, I shall not taste food or drink until I die, or until Allah accepts my repentance! Thus he remained for seven days, without tasting food or drink, until he fell down unconscious; then Allah accepted his repentance. Then it was said to him: O Abū Lubāba, your repentance has been accepted! He said: By Allah, I shall not unbind myself until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the one who unbinds me. Then he came to him and unbound him with his own hand. Afterwards Abū Lubāba said: Among my repentance is that I leave the dwelling-place of my people, where I committed the sin, and that I dispose of my property! He ﷺ said: "It suffices for you that you give a third of it as alms."
15924 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿUyayna, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid related to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Qatāda say: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you, while you know" was revealed concerning Abū Lubāba.
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Others said: No, rather it was revealed concerning the affair of ʿUthmān, may Allah have mercy upon him.
* Mention of who said that:
15925 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn al-Ḥārith al-Ṭāʾifī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAwn al-Thaqafī related to us, on the authority of al-Mughīra ibn Shuʿba, saying: This āyah was revealed concerning the killing of ʿUthmān, may Allah have mercy upon him: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger" — the āyah.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct view concerning this is that one says: Allah has forbidden the believers to betray Him, to betray His Messenger, and to betray that which is entrusted to them. It is possible that it was revealed concerning Abū Lubāba, and it is possible that it was revealed concerning someone else; we possess no transmission whose soundness must be accepted as binding as to which of those cases it was.
So the meaning of the āyah and its explanation is that which we have mentioned earlier.
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And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have expressed themselves.
* Mention of who said that:
15926 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger," he said: He has forbidden you to betray Allah and the Messenger, as the hypocrites did.
15927 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "do not betray Allah and the Messenger" — the āyah, he said: They heard the report from the Prophet ﷺ and spread it, until it reached the polytheists.
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They differed over the explanation of His statement: "nor betray the things entrusted to you, while you know."
Some of them said: Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, for that is a betrayal of what is entrusted to you and the loss of it.
* Mention of who said that:
15928 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you" — for when they betray Allah and the Messenger, then they have indeed betrayed that which was entrusted to them.
15929 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you, while you know" — that is to say: do not outwardly display to Allah the truth with which He is pleased of you, only to then inwardly oppose Him in it in favor of something else, for that is the loss of what is entrusted to you and a betrayal of your own selves.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: According to this explanation, His statement "nor betray the things entrusted to you" is in the naṣb case on the grounds of al-ṣarf (the turning toward another verb),
as the poet said:
Do not forbid a conduct, and then yourself commit the same — a great disgrace rests upon you, if you do that.
And it is also read as: "wa-taʾtiya mithlahu" (and then commit the same).
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Others said: Its meaning is: Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you, while you know.
* Mention of who said that:
15930 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you," he says: "do not betray" means: do not diminish anything thereof.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: According to this explanation, it is: Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you.
The exegetes differed over the meaning of "the trust (al-amāna)" which Allah mentioned in His statement: "nor betray the things entrusted to you."
Some of them said: They are the obligatory duties (farāʾiḍ) of Allah that are hidden from the eyes of the people.
* Mention of who said that:
15931 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "nor betray the things entrusted to you," and "the trust": the deeds in which Allah has entrusted the servants = that is to say: the obligatory duty (al-farīḍa). He says: "do not betray" means: do not diminish anything thereof.
15932 - ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "O you who believe, do not betray Allah," he says: by neglecting His obligatory duties = "and the Messenger," he says: by neglecting his customary practices (sunan) and committing disobedience toward him. He said: And he said another time: "do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray the things entrusted to you," and the trust: the deeds. Then he mentioned something similar to the transmission of al-Muthannā.
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Others said: The meaning of "the trust" here is the religion (al-dīn).
* Mention of who said that:
15933 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement: "nor betray the things entrusted to you" — your religion = "while you know," he said: The hypocrites did that, while they knew that they were disbelievers; they outwardly displayed faith. And he recited: وَإِذَا قَامُوا إِلَى الصَّلاةِ قَامُوا كُسَالَى (And when they stand up for prayer, they stand up lazily (4:142)). He said: These are the hypocrites; Allah and His Messenger entrusted them with His religion, but they committed betrayal: they outwardly displayed faith and kept disbelief hidden.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The explanation of the statement is thus: O you who believe, do not fall short toward Allah in His rights over you in obligatory duties, and do not fall short toward His Messenger in the obedience you owe him, but obey them both in what they have commanded and forbidden you — do not fall short toward either of them in anything = "nor betray the things entrusted to you," by falling short in your religions and in the deeds that are obligatory and binding upon you = "while you know" that those are binding and obligatory upon you on the basis of the proofs (ḥujaj) that Allah has established regarding you.