Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:64
O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allah and for whoever follows you of the believers.
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: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (64) ("O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you, and for those of the believers who follow you.") (64)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: (O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you), and sufficient for those of the believers who follow you is Allah. He, exalted be His praise, says to them: go forth to meet your enemy, for Allah is sufficient for you in their affair, and let neither their great number nor your small number strike fear into you, for Allah supports you with His help.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of explanation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16265 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Shawdhab Abū Muʿādh, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī concerning His word: (O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you, and for those of the believers who follow you), he said: Allah is sufficient for you and sufficient for those of the believers who follow you.
16266 - Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Ḥakīm al-Awdī related to me, he said: ʿUbaydallāh ibn Mūsā related to us, he said: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Shawdhab, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī concerning His word: (O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you, and for those of the believers who follow you), he said: Allah is sufficient for you, and sufficient for those who are with you.
16267 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿUbaydallāh related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Shawdhab, on the authority of ʿĀmir, something similar — except that he said: Allah is sufficient for you, and sufficient for those who were present with you.
16268 - Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, on the authority of Ibn Zayd concerning His word: (O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you, and for those of the believers who follow you), he said: O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you, and sufficient for those of the believers who follow you; indeed, sufficient for you and for them is Allah.
* * *
Thus "man" in His word (and for those of the believers who follow you), according to this explanation that we have related on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, is in the accusative (naṣb), as a connection to the meaning of the "kāf" in His word (Allah is sufficient for you), not to its utterance, for it stands outwardly in the genitive (khafḍ), but in meaning in the accusative, because the meaning of the word is: Allah is sufficient for you, and is sufficient for those of the believers who follow you.
* * *
And some of the people of Arabic linguistics have said concerning "man" that it stands in the nominative (rafʿ), as a connection to the name "Allah," as if He said: Allah is sufficient for you, as also are those who follow you to the jihād against the enemy, of the believers, to the exclusion of those among them who lag behind from you. And he adduced as proof for the correctness of this statement His word: حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ ("Urge the believers to fight").
