Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:49
[Remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease said, "Their religion has deluded those [Muslims]." But whoever relies upon Allah - then indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
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 the statement of the Exalted: When the hypocrites (munāfiqūn) and those in whose hearts is a disease said: Their religion has deluded these people. And whoever relies upon Allah, then indeed Allah is Almighty, All-Wise (8:49).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says, exalted is His remembrance: And indeed Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing, in these circumstances = (and when the hypocrites said); and He resumed with His statement (when the hypocrites said) His statement: when Allah showed them to you in your sleep as few = (and those in whose hearts is a disease), that is to say: doubt about Islam—their certainty was not sound and their breast was not expanded by faith (īmān) = (their religion has deluded these people), that is to say: the religion of these who fight the polytheists (mushrikīn), namely the companions of Muḥammad—Allah's blessing and peace be upon him—has deluded them out of themselves = and that is Islam.
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And it is reported that those who said these words were a group of those who had professed Islam with their tongues among the polytheists of Quraysh, while Islam had not become firmly rooted in their hearts.
* Mention of who said that:
16193 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, concerning this verse: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: their religion has deluded these people), he said: They were people of the inhabitants of Mecca who had professed Islam with their tongues, and they went out with the polytheists on the day of Badr. When they saw the fewness of the Muslims, they said: (their religion has deluded these people).
16194 - Isḥāq ibn Shāhīn related to me, he said: Khālid related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿĀmir, the like of it.
16195 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: their religion has deluded these people), he said: A group of Quraysh: Abū Qays ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra, and Abū Qays ibn al-Fākih ibn al-Mughīra, and al-Ḥārith ibn Zamʿa ibn al-Aswad ibn al-Muṭṭalib, and ʿAlī ibn Umayya ibn Khalaf, and al-ʿĀṣī ibn Munabbih ibn al-Ḥajjāj. They went out with Quraysh from Mecca while they were in doubt, and their doubt held them back. When they saw the fewness of the companions of the Messenger of Allah—Allah's blessing and peace be upon him—they said: (their religion has deluded these people), until these attained what they attained, despite their small number and the large number of their enemy. Thus through them He put to flight those behind them.
16196 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: their religion has deluded these people), he said: They are people who did not attend the battle on the day of Badr, and that is why they were called "hypocrites" (munāfiqīn). = Maʿmar said: And some of them said: They are people who had acknowledged Islam when they were in Mecca, and they went out with the polytheists on the day of Badr. When they saw the fewness of the Muslims, they said: (their religion has deluded these people).
16197 - Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said) up to His statement: (indeed Allah is Almighty, All-Wise), he said: They saw a throng of believers who had scattered for the sake of Allah's cause. And it was reported to us that Abū Jahl, the enemy of Allah, when he caught sight of Muḥammad—Allah's blessing and peace be upon him—and his companions, said: "By Allah, Allah will not be worshipped after today!", out of hardness of heart and insolence.
16198 - Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, he said: Ibn Jurayj said, concerning His statement: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said), he said: They were people of the hypocrites in Mecca. They said it on the day of Badr, and they were then three hundred and some ten men.
16199 - ... he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His statement: (when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said), he said: When the two parties drew near to each other, Allah made the Muslims appear few in the eyes of the polytheists, and made the polytheists appear few in the eyes of the Muslims. Then the polytheists said: (their religion has deluded these people). And they said that only because of their fewness in their eyes, and they supposed that they would defeat them, having no doubt about it. Then Allah said: (and whoever relies upon Allah, then indeed Allah is Almighty, All-Wise).
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And as for His statement: (and whoever relies upon Allah), its meaning is: and whoever surrenders his affair to Allah, relies upon Him, and is content with His decree, then indeed Allah is his protector and his helper = because He is "Almighty" (ʿazīz): nothing overcomes Him and no one subdues Him, so the one to whom He grants protection is unassailable, and whoever relies upon Him is provided for.
And this is a command from Allah, praised be His praise, to the believers under Him, among the companions of the Messenger and others, that they entrust their affair to Him and submit to His decree, so that He may safeguard them against their enemies, and that those who are hostile to them may not humiliate them, because He is "Almighty," not to be overcome, so the one to whom He grants protection is not to be subdued = "All-Wise" (ḥakīm), that is to say: He is wise in that which He decrees concerning the affair of His creation, and in His governance no deficiency occurs.
