Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:40
But if they turn away - then know that Allah is your protector. Excellent is the protector, and Excellent is the helper.
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: وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَوْلاكُمْ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ (And if they turn away, then know that Allah is your Protector; excellent is the Protector and excellent is the Helper) (40).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And if these polytheists (mushrikīn) turn away from that to which you have called them, O believers — namely, belief in Allah and His Messenger and the cessation of their fighting against you on account of their disbelief — and they refuse anything other than to persist in disbelief and in fighting against you, then fight against them, and be certain that Allah supports you against them and helps you. نعم المولى (excellent is the Protector), He is that for you; He says: excellent is the Helper for you and for those under His protection. ونعم النصير (and excellent is the Helper), and He is the Helper.
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16086 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وإن تولوا (and if they turn away) from your command, toward that upon which they persist of their disbelief — then Allah is indeed your Protector, who has given you might and has helped you against them on the day of Badr, despite the multitude of their number and the smallness of your number. نعم المولى ونعم النصير (excellent is the Protector and excellent is the Helper).
