Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:34
But why should Allah not punish them while they obstruct [people] from al-Masjid al- Haram and they were not [fit to be] its guardians? Its [true] guardians are not but the righteous, but most of them do not know.
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.
On the explanation of His word: وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ("But what is it with them that Allah should not punish them, while they bar people from the Sacred Mosque").
The Arabic linguists differed regarding the reason why "an" (أن) is inserted in His word: "wa-mā lahum allā yuʿadhdhibahum Allah" ("and what is it with them that Allah should not punish them").
Some grammarians of Basra said: it is here redundant (zāʾida), and yet it has exerted grammatical effect just as "lā" (لا) exerts effect while being redundant. And it has occurred in poetry (1):
"Were it not for Ghaṭafān — it has no share in me — then the men of her nobility would have rebuked ʿUmar." (2)
Some linguists rejected this statement of his and said: "an" is inserted only for the sake of a valid meaning, for the meaning of "wa-mā lahum" ("and what is it with them") is: "what prevents them from being punished". He said: so "an" was inserted for the sake of this meaning, and it was expressed with "lā" so that one would know that it carries the meaning of negation, for the prevention is a negation. He said: and "lā" in the verse has a valid meaning, for when a negation falls upon a negation, it becomes an affirmation (khabar). (3)
And he said: do you not see your statement: "mā Zaydun laysa qāʾiman" ("Zayd is not not standing"), by which you have in fact affirmed the standing? He said: and likewise is "lā" in this verse. (4)
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On the explanation of His word: وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلا الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ ("And they were not His protectors; His protectors are none but the God-fearing, but most of them do not know") (34).
Abū Jaʿfar said: the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: and what is it with these polytheists (mushrikīn) that Allah should not punish them, while they bar people from the Sacred Mosque, and they were not the protectors of Allah. "In awliyāʾuhu" (5), He says: the protectors of Allah are none "illā al-muttaqūn" ("but the God-fearing"), that is: those who fear Allah by fulfilling His obligations and avoiding disobedience to Him. (6)
"Wa-lākin aktharahum lā yaʿlamūn" ("but most of them do not know"), He says: but most of the polytheists do not know that the protectors of Allah are the God-fearing; rather, they suppose that they themselves are the protectors of Allah.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16018 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "wa-mā kānū awliyāʾahu in awliyāʾuhu illā al-muttaqūn" ("and they were not His protectors; His protectors are none but the God-fearing") — these are the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
16019 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: "in awliyāʾuhu illā al-muttaqūn" ("His protectors are none but the God-fearing") — whoever they may be and wherever they may be.
16020 - Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
16021 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: "wa-mā kānū awliyāʾahu in awliyāʾuhu illā al-muttaqūn" ("and they were not His protectors; His protectors are none but the God-fearing") — those who observe her sanctity (7) and perform the ritual prayer (ṣalāh) at her; that is: you — by which the Prophet ﷺ is meant — and whoever believes in you. He says: "wa-lākin aktharahum lā yaʿlamūn" ("but most of them do not know"). (8)
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Footnotes:
(1) That is al-Farazdaq.
(2) The verse and its source-reference have occurred earlier, 5:302, 303, and its transmission there read: "idhan lal-lāma dhawdu aḥsābihā", and I explained it there, and I held that "al-dhunūb" with a fatḥa on the dhāl carries the meaning of: the share and portion in nobility, descent, and manly virtue.
But the transmission of the verse as it occurs here and in the dīwān requires that "al-dhunūb" be the plural of "dhanb" (sin). This is the difference between the two transmissions and the two meanings.
(3) By his word "khabar" he means: an affirmation (ithbāt).
(4) See Maʿānī al-Qurʾān of al-Farrāʾ 1:163-166, and what has occurred earlier from the tafsīr, 5:300-305.
(5) See the explanation of "walī" in what has occurred earlier in the lexical indexes (w-l-y).
(6) And the explanation of "al-taqwā" in what has occurred earlier in the lexical indexes (w-q-y).
(7) In the printed edition and the manuscript, in place of "yuḥarrimūna ḥurmatahu" ("they observe her sanctity") the reading is "yakhrujūna minhu" ("they go out of it") — and this is one of the marvelous corruptions arising from abridgment!! The correct reading comes from the Sīra of Ibn Hishām.
(8) The report 16021 - Sīra of Ibn Hishām 2:325, 326, and it is a continuation of the preceding report number 16003.
