Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:46
And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.
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: وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ (46) ("And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute with one another, lest you lose heart and your strength depart. And be patient; truly, Allah is with the patient." (8:46))
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says to those who believe in Him: Obey, O believers, your Lord and His Messenger in what He has commanded you and what He has forbidden you, and do not oppose either of them in any matter. وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا ("and do not dispute with one another, lest you lose heart"), He says: and do not become divided among yourselves, so that you fall apart and your hearts become divided. فَتَفْشَلُوا ("lest you lose heart"), He says: so that you become weak and cowardly. وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart").
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This is a figurative expression. It is said of a man when something good that he loves and rejoices in comes to him: "the wind (al-rīḥ) blows favorably for him," by which is meant: that which he loves. Among this is the verse of ʿUbayd ibn al-Abraṣ:
As we protected you on the day of al-Naʿf at Shaṭab, and excellence belongs to the people who possess strength (rīḥ) and number.
He means: strength and numerousness.
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In this place what is meant by it is: and your strength and might would depart, so that you become weak and weakness and deficiency penetrate into you.
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وَاصْبِرُوا ("And be patient"), He says: be patient together with the Prophet of Allah ﷺ at the encounter with your enemy, and do not flee from him and do not abandon him. إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ("truly, Allah is with the patient"), He says: be patient, for I am with you.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16163 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart"), he said: your victory. He said: and the strength (rīḥ) of the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ departed when they disputed with him on the day of Uḥud.
16164 - Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart"), and he mentioned something similar.
16165 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar - except that he said: the strength of the companions of Muḥammad when they abandoned him on the day of Uḥud.
16166 - 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: وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and do not dispute with one another, lest you lose heart and your strength depart"), he said: your fighting spirit and your resolve.
16167 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart"), he said: the wind of war.
16168 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart"), he said: "al-rīḥ" (the wind) is the victory. There was never a victory except through a wind that Allah sends and that strikes the faces of the enemy; and when that happens, they have no standing firm left.
16169 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا ("and do not dispute with one another, lest you lose heart"), that is to say: do not dispute with one another, so that your affair falls apart. وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ("and your strength depart"), so that your fighting spirit departs. وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ ("And be patient; truly, Allah is with the patient"), that is to say: I am with you when you do that.
16170 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا ("and do not dispute with one another, lest you lose heart"), he said: al-fashal (loss of heart) is weakness in the jihād against one's enemy and yielding before them; that is "al-fashal".
