Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:47
And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And Allah is encompassing of what they do.
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 Statement concerning the explanation of His saying: وَلا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ بَطَرًا وَرِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌ (47) ("And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people (riyāʾ), and who turn away from the path of Allah; and Allah encompasses what they do." (47))
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is an instruction from Allah, whose praise is exalted, to those who believe in Him and in His messenger, that they should perform no deed except solely for Allah and in seeking what is with Him, not to be seen by the people, as the company of the polytheists (mushrikīn) did in their march to Badr, seeking to be seen by the people. That was because they — the messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, and his companions — received word that the caravan (al-ʿīr) had escaped, and it was said to them: "Turn back, for the caravan you came out to aid is safe!" But they refused and said: "We are going to Badr and will drink the wine there, and the singing-girls (al-qiyān) will sing for us, and the Arabs will speak of us there." Then, instead of the wine, they were given the cups of death to drink, as —
16171 - ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: Abān related to us, saying: Hishām ibn ʿUrwa related to us, on the authority of ʿUrwa, who said: Quraysh, before the Prophet, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, met them on the day of Badr, had already received a rider from Abū Sufyān and from the caravan-men who were with him: "We have passed the company by, so turn back." Then the caravan-men whom Abū Sufyān had sent, who commanded Quraysh to turn back, arrived at al-Juḥfa, and they said: "By Allah, we will not turn back until we descend at Badr and stay there three nights, and whoever among the people of the Ḥijāz meets us sees us; for no Arab shall see us and what we have gathered and then fight us." They are those of whom Allah said: "those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people." And they and the Prophet, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, met one another, and Allah granted His messenger the victory, humiliated the leaders of unbelief, and healed the hearts of the believers concerning them.
16172 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me — in a narration that he mentioned — saying: Muḥammad ibn Muslim, ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar, ʿAbdallāh ibn Abī Bakr, and Yazīd ibn Rūmān related to me, on the authority of ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr and others of our scholars, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When Abū Sufyān saw that he had brought his caravan to safety, he sent word to Quraysh: "You went forth only to protect your caravan, your men, and your possessions, and Allah has saved them, so turn back!" But Abū Jahl ibn Hishām said: "By Allah, we will not turn back until we arrive at Badr" — and Badr was one of the fairs of the Arabs, where a market gathered for them every year — "and stay there three days, and slaughter the slaughter-camels (al-juzur), and distribute the food, and pour out the wines, and the singing-girls sing for us, and the Arabs hear of us, so that they will continue to fear us forever. So march on."
16173 - Ibn Ḥumayd said: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq said: "And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people" — that is to say: be not like Abū Jahl and his companions who said: "We will not turn back until we arrive at Badr and slaughter the slaughter-camels and pour out the wine there and the singing-girls sing for us and the Arabs hear of us, so that they will continue to fear us" — that is to say: let not your affair be ostentation (riyāʾ) or the seeking of fame, nor the pursuit of what is with the people, but devote to Allah the sincere intention and the seeking of reward with Him in supporting your religion and assisting your prophet; that is to say: act only for Allah, and seek nothing other than Him.
16174 - Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra al-Asadī related to me, saying: ʿUbaydallāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us — and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people" — he said: the men of Badr.
16175 - 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, his saying: "in arrogance and to be seen by the people" — he said: Abū Jahl and his companions on the day of Badr.
16176 - 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, the same. Ibn Jurayj said, and ʿAbdallāh ibn Kathīr said: they are the polytheists of Quraysh, and that was their going forth to Badr.
16177 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people" — that is to say: the polytheists who fought the messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, on the day of Badr.
16178 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: "they went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people" — he said: they are Quraysh and Abū Jahl and his companions, who went forth on the day of Badr.
16179 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people and who turn away from the path of Allah; and Allah encompasses what they do" — he said: the polytheists of Quraysh who fought the prophet of Allah on the day of Badr went forth with wrongdoing (baghy) and boasting. And on that day it had been said to them: "Turn back, for your caravan has departed and you have prevailed." They said: "No, by Allah, not until the people of the Ḥijāz speak of our march and our number!" He said: And it has been related to us that the prophet of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, said on that day: "O Allah, verily Quraysh has come forth with its boasting and its haughtiness to defy You and Your messenger!"
16180 - 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, who said: He mentioned the polytheists and what they fed at the wells, and said: "And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people and who turn away from the path of Allah."
16181 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh al-Faḍl ibn Khālid say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying: "those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance" — he said: they are the polytheists, who went forth to Badr in insolence (asharan) and arrogance (baṭaran).
16182 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Maʿshar related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, who said: When Quraysh went forth from Mecca to Badr, they went forth with the singing-girls and the tambourines, and Allah revealed: "And be not like those who went forth from their dwellings in arrogance and to be seen by the people and who turn away from the path of Allah; and Allah encompasses what they do."
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The explanation of the statement, then, is: And be not, O you who believe in Allah and in His messenger, in acting with ostentation (riyāʾ) and the seeking of fame and the neglect of sincerely devoting the deed to Allah and seeking reward for it, like the army of the people of unbelief in Allah and His messenger, who went forth from their abodes in arrogance and to be seen by the people with their pomp, their possessions, their great number, and their powerful following. "And who turn away from the path of Allah," that is to say: and who hinder the people from following the religion of Allah and entering Islam, by fighting them and by torturing those of the people of faith in Allah whom they get into their power. "And Allah, what they do" — of ostentation and of turning away from the path of Allah and other of their deeds — "encompasses it," that is to say: He is all-knowing of all that, nothing of it remains hidden from Him, for all things lie open before Him and nothing of it escapes Him; and so He will punish them for it and torment them on account of it.