Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:67
It is not for a prophet to have captives [of war] until he inflicts a massacre [upon Allah 's enemies] in the land. Some Muslims desire the commodities of this world, but Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter. And 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 His statement: مَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ أَسْرَى حَتَّى يُثْخِنَ فِي الأَرْضِ تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الآخِرَةَ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (67) ("It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land. You desire the fleeting goods of this world, but Allah desires the Hereafter. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise." (8:67))
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: It is not for a prophet to hold fast a disbeliever whom he has overcome and who has fallen into his power — from among the idolaters — with a view to ransom or pardon.
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And "al-asr" (captivity) means in the language of the Arabs: holding fast. From this they say: "maʾsūr" (captive), by which is meant: one held fast. And one also hears from them the expression: "May Allah strike him with asr." (36)
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Allah, praised be His praise, said this only to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, to make him know that the killing of the polytheists (mushrikīn) whom he ﷺ had taken captive on the day of Badr and whom he then ransomed for a ransom would have been more correct than accepting ransom from them and releasing them.
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And His statement: (until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), He says: until he kills the polytheists abundantly therein and subjugates them through victory and force.
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From this they say: "So-and-so has thoroughly prevailed (athkhana) in this matter", when he has been abundant therein. And it has been transmitted: "I struck him thoroughly with knowledge", in the meaning of: I killed him in a certain manner.
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=(You desire), He says to the believers among the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: (you desire), O believers, (the fleeting goods of this world), by taking the polytheists captive — and that is what accrues to a person therefrom of property and goods. (37) He says: you desire, by accepting ransom from the polytheists, the fleeting goods of this world and its enjoyment =(but Allah desires the Hereafter), He says: and Allah desires for you the adornment of the Hereafter and what He has prepared for the believers and the people of His friendship in His gardens, through your killing of them and your thorough subduing in the land. He says to them: strive then for what Allah desires for you and act for His sake, (38) not for what the desires of your souls call you to of longing for this world and its causes =(and Allah is Almighty), He says: if you desire the Hereafter, no enemy will overcome you, for Allah is Almighty, He is neither subjugated nor overcome = and He is (All-Wise) (39) in His disposing of the affair of His creatures.
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And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
16286 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), and that was on the day of Badr, when the Muslims were few in number on that day. When they became numerous and their might became strong, Allah, blessed and exalted is He, revealed after this concerning the captives: فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً [Surah Muḥammad: 4] ("Then either [grant] pardon afterward, or [accept] ransom"). Thus Allah gave the Prophet and the believers free choice concerning the affair of the captives: if they wished, they killed them; if they wished, they enslaved them; and if they wished, they ransomed them for a ransom.
16287 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land. You desire the fleeting goods of this world), the verse, he said: The companions of the prophet of Allah ﷺ desired the ransom on the day of Badr, and they ransomed them for four thousand, four thousand per person. (40) And by my life, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had not yet thoroughly subdued [the enemy] on that day! And it was the first battle he fought against the polytheists.
16288 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī ʿAmra, from Mujāhid, he said: "Al-ithkhān" (the thorough subduing), is the killing. (41)
16289 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His statement: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), he said: when you take them captive, do not ransom them for a ransom until you have killed thoroughly among them.
16290 - ... he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, from Mujāhid: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives), the verse, the permission was revealed afterward: if you wish then pardon, and if you wish then ransom for a ransom.
16291 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying, he said: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His statement: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), he means: those who were taken captive at Badr.
16292 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives), of his enemy =(until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), that is to say: he subdues his enemy thoroughly until he drives them out of the land =(you desire the fleeting goods of this world), that is to say: the goods and the ransom by taking the men =(but Allah desires the Hereafter), by killing them, for the sake of the victory of the religion which they wish to extinguish, the religion through which one attains the Hereafter. (42)
16293 - Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, from Abū ʿUbayda, from ʿAbd Allāh, he said: When it was the day of Badr and the captives were brought, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: What do you say concerning these captives? Abū Bakr said: O Messenger of Allah, they are your people and your kin; let them live and wait with them, (43) perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. And ʿUmar said: O Messenger of Allah, they have denied you and driven you out; bring them forward and strike off their heads! And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa said: O Messenger of Allah, seek out a valley full of firewood, drive them into it and then set the fire over them. Thereupon al-ʿAbbās said to him: May your kinship be severed! He said: Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fell silent and gave them no answer, and then went inside. Some people said: he will adopt the opinion of Abū Bakr. And others said: he will adopt the opinion of ʿUmar. And yet others said: he will adopt the opinion of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to them and said: "Verily, Allah softens the hearts of some men, until they are softer than milk, and verily, Allah hardens the hearts of some men, until they are harder than stone! And verily, your likeness, O Abū Bakr, is as the likeness of Ibrāhīm, he said: فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ [Surah Ibrāhīm: 36] ('Whoever then follows me, he belongs to me, and whoever disobeys me — truly, You are Forgiving, Merciful'). And your likeness, O Abū Bakr, is as the likeness of ʿĪsā, he said: إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ [Surah al-Māʾida: 118] ('If You punish them, then they are Your servants'), the verse. And your likeness, O ʿUmar, is as the likeness of Nūḥ, he said: رَبِّ لا تَذَرْ عَلَى الأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا [Surah Nūḥ: 26] ('My Lord, leave not upon the earth a single one of the disbelievers'). And your likeness is as the likeness of Mūsā, he said: (44) رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلا يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الأَلِيمَ [Surah Yūnus: 88] ('Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts, so that they do not believe until they see the painful punishment')." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: You are today in need, (45) so let none of them escape except for ransom or the striking off of the neck. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said: Except Suhayl ibn Bayḍāʾ, for I have heard him mention Islam! Thereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fell silent, and on no day have I felt more afraid that the stones would fall upon me from heaven than on that day, until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Except Suhayl ibn Bayḍāʾ. He said: Then Allah revealed: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), to the end of the three verses. (46)
16294 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: [ʿUmar ibn Yūnus al-Yamāmī related to us], saying: ʿIkrima ibn ʿAmmār related to us, saying: Abū Zumayl related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās related to me, saying: When they had taken the captives, that is to say on the day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Where are Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿAlī? He said: What is your opinion concerning the captives? Abū Bakr said: O Messenger of Allah, they are the cousins and the clan, and I am of the opinion that you accept ransom from them, which will be a strength for us against the disbelievers; and perhaps Allah will guide them to Islam! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: What is your opinion, O son of al-Khaṭṭāb? He said: No, by Him besides Whom there is no god, I am not of the opinion of what Abū Bakr holds, O prophet of Allah, but I am of the opinion that you give us power over them, so that you give ʿAlī power over ʿAqīl, that he may strike off his neck, and you give Ḥamza power over al-ʿAbbās, that he may strike off his neck, and you give me power over so-and-so — a kinsman of ʿUmar — that I may strike off his neck. For these are the leaders of disbelief and its chiefs. But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ inclined to what Abū Bakr had said and did not incline to what I had said. (47) ʿUmar said: When it was the next day, I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and behold, he and Abū Bakr were sitting weeping. I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me about what you and your companion are weeping over, for if I find cause for weeping, I will weep, and if I find no cause for weeping, I will force myself to weep! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I weep over what has befallen my companions through the accepting of the ransom; indeed, your punishment was shown to me, nearer than this tree! — a tree near the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then Allah, mighty and exalted is He, revealed: (It is not for a prophet to hold captives until he has thoroughly subdued [the enemy] in the land), up to His statement: حَلالا طَيِّبًا ("lawful and good"), and Allah made the war booty (ghanīma) lawful for them. (48)