Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:7
[Remember, O believers], when Allah promised you one of the two groups - that it would be yours - and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbelievers
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: وَإِذْ يَعِدُكُمُ اللَّهُ إِحْدَى الطَّائِفَتَيْنِ أَنَّهَا لَكُمْ وَتَوَدُّونَ أَنَّ غَيْرَ ذَاتِ الشَّوْكَةِ تَكُونُ لَكُمْ (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And remember, O people — (when Allah promised you one of the two groups), that is: one of the two parties: the party of Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb and the caravan, and the party of the polytheists (mushrikīn) who had set out from Mecca to protect their caravan.
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And His word: (that it would be yours), He says: that what they have with them as spoils (ghanīma) would be yours — (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), He says: and you loved that the group which had no "shawka" — that is: which has no sharpness, that is: no strength, and in which there is no fighting — would be yours. He says: you wished that the caravan, in which there was no fighting for you, would be yours, and not the group of the Quraysh who had come to protect their caravan, at whose encounter lay fighting and war.
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The origin of "al-shawka" is derived from "al-shawk" (the thorn).
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
15719 — ʿAlī ibn Naṣr and ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad both related to us, they said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, he said: Abān al-ʿAṭṭār related to us, he said: Hishām ibn ʿUrwa related to us, on the authority of ʿUrwa: that Abū Sufyān and the riders of the Quraysh who were with him arrived from Syria, and they took the coastal road. When the Prophet ﷺ learned of them, he summoned his companions and told them about the wealth they had with them and about their small number. They set out wanting nothing but Abū Sufyān and the caravan with him, and saw in it nothing but spoils for them; they did not suspect that there would be a great battle when they would see them. And that is the one concerning whom Allah revealed (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours).
15720 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Muslim al-Zuhrī, ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatāda, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr, Yazīd ibn Rūmān, on the authority of ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr and others of our scholars, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās — each of them related to me a part of this report, and their reports came together in what I have brought forward concerning the report of Badr. They said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ learned that Abū Sufyān was arriving from Syria, he summoned the Muslims to them and said: This is the caravan of the Quraysh, in it is their wealth; set out, perhaps Allah will give it to you as spoils! Thereupon the people responded; some were swift, some hesitated, and that was because they did not suspect that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would meet with a war. Abū Sufyān, when he approached the Ḥijāz, was on his guard and searched for news and questioned those of the riders whom he met, out of fear for the people's wealth, until he learned the news from one of the riders: "that Muḥammad had summoned his companions against you and your caravan"! Thereupon he was warned and hired Ḍamḍam ibn ʿAmr al-Ghifārī, sent him to Mecca, and commanded him to seek out the Quraysh to summon them to their wealth, and to inform them that Muḥammad had lain in wait for it with his companions. Ḍamḍam ibn ʿAmr set off swiftly to Mecca. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out with his companions, until he reached a valley called "Dhafirān"; he set out from it, until, when he was in a part of it, he halted, and the news about the Quraysh reached him concerning their advance to protect their caravan. The Prophet ﷺ consulted the people and informed them about the Quraysh. Then Abū Bakr — may Allah's pleasure be upon him — stood and spoke, and spoke well. Then ʿUmar — may Allah be pleased with him — stood and spoke, and spoke well. Then al-Miqdād ibn ʿAmr stood and said: O Messenger of Allah, go forth to where Allah has commanded you, for we are with you; by Allah, we shall not say as the Children of Israel said to Mūsā: (Go, you and your Lord, and fight, both of you; we shall remain sitting here) [Sūrat al-Māʾida: 24], but: go, you and your Lord, and fight, both of you; we shall fight along with you both! By Him who has sent you with the truth, if you were to march with us to Birk al-Ghimād — that is: a city of Abyssinia — then we would fight along with you all who are between us and it until you reach it! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke good to him and prayed for him for good. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Advise me, O people! — and by that he meant the Anṣār, and that was because they were the majority of the people, and because, when they had pledged allegiance to him at al-ʿAqaba, they had said: "O Messenger of Allah, we are released from our obligation toward you until you reach our dwellings; but when you arrive among us, you are under our protection, and we protect you against that against which we protect our sons and our women." It was as though the Messenger of Allah ﷺ feared that the Anṣār did not hold that they were obliged to support him except against whoever attacked him in Medina with his enemy, and that it was not their obligation that he should march with them against an enemy outside their land. He said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that, Saʿd ibn Muʿādh said to him: It seems as though you mean us, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Indeed! He said: We have believed in you and held you to be truthful, and we have testified that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our covenants and pledges thereupon of hearing and obeying. So march forth, O Messenger of Allah, to whatever you wish; for by Him who has sent you with the truth, if you were to take us to this sea and wade into it, we would wade into it with you; not a single man of us would remain behind. And it is not displeasing to us that you should have us meet our enemy tomorrow; we are steadfast in war, truthful at the encounter. Perhaps Allah will show you from us what will delight your eye. So march with us under Allah's blessing! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rejoiced at the words of Saʿd, and that delighted him. Then he said: March forth under Allah's blessing and be glad, for Allah has promised me one of the two groups; and by Allah, it is as though I now already see the places where the people will fall tomorrow!
15721 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: that Abū Sufyān arrived with a caravan from Syria in which were the merchandise of the Quraysh, and it was the laṭīma (the perfume-goods caravan). It reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that it had arrived, and he summoned the people, and they set out with him: three hundred and some ten men. He sent out a scout of his from the Juhayna, an ally of the Anṣār, who was called "Ibn Urayqiṭ," and this man brought him the news about the people. It reached Abū Sufyān that Muḥammad ﷺ had set out, and he sent to the people of Mecca to call for their aid; he sent a man of the Banū Ghifār who was called Ḍamḍam ibn ʿAmr. The Prophet ﷺ set out without realizing the setting out of the Quraysh, but Allah informed him of their setting out. Thereupon he feared that the Anṣār would abandon him and would say: "We have made a covenant that we would protect you if anyone wished to do you harm in our land"! He turned to his companions and consulted them about pursuing the caravan, and Abū Bakr — may Allah's mercy be upon him — said to him: I have traveled this road and know it; the man has left them at such and such a place. The Prophet ﷺ fell silent, and then he returned and consulted them, and they began to advise him to follow the caravan. When the deliberation grew great, Saʿd ibn Muʿādh spoke and said: O Messenger of Allah, I see you consulting your companions, and they advise you, and you return and consult them again; it is as though you are not content with what they advise you, and as though you fear that the Anṣār will remain behind you! You are the Messenger of Allah, and the Book has been sent down upon you, and Allah has commanded you to fight and promised you victory, and Allah does not break the promise. March forth to what you have been commanded; for by Him who has sent you with the truth, not a single man of the Anṣār will remain behind you! Then al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad al-Kindī stood and said: O Messenger of Allah, we do not say to you as the Children of Israel said to Mūsā: (Go, you and your Lord, and fight, both of you; we shall remain sitting here) [Sūrat al-Māʾida: 24], but we say: go forward and fight, we shall fight along with you! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rejoiced at that and said: My Lord has promised me the people, and they have set out, so march to them! And they marched forth.
15722 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), he said: The two groups — one of them was Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb when he arrived with the caravan from Syria, and the other group was Abū Jahl, with him a host of the Quraysh. The Muslims were averse to the armed force and the fighting, and they loved that they should meet the caravan; but Allah willed what He willed.
15723 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups), he said: The caravan of the people of Mecca arrived — he means: from Syria — and that reached the people of Medina; they set out and with them the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they wanted the caravan. That reached the people of Mecca, and they hastened their march toward it, so that the Prophet ﷺ and his companions would not overpower it. The caravan got ahead of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Allah had promised them one of the two groups; and that they should meet the caravan was dearer to them, and with less armed force, and lay closer to spoils. When the caravan had passed him by and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had escaped, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ marched forth with the Muslims and wanted the people; but the people were averse to their march because of the armed force among the people.
15724 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), he said: They wanted the caravan. He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Medina in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, and Kurz ibn Jābir al-Fihrī made a raid and wanted the grazing herd of Medina, until he reached al-Ṣafrāʾ. That reached the Prophet ﷺ, and he went up upon his track, but Kurz ibn Jābir got ahead of him. The Prophet ﷺ returned and remained that year. Then Abū Sufyān arrived from Syria with a caravan of the Quraysh, until, when he was near Badr, Jibrīl descended upon the Prophet ﷺ and revealed to him: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours). The Prophet ﷺ set out with all the Muslims, and they were that day three hundred and thirteen men, of whom two hundred and seventy were of the Anṣār and the rest of the Muhājirūn. The news reached Abū Sufyān while he was at Iḍam, and he sent to all the Quraysh, while they were in Mecca, and the Quraysh set out and were enraged.
15725 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), he said: Jibrīl — peace be upon him — had descended and informed him about the advance of the Quraysh, who wanted their caravan, and He had promised him either the caravan or the Quraysh, and that was at Badr. They seized the water-carriers and questioned them, and these informed them. That is His word: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours) — that is the people of Mecca.
15726 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), to the end of the verse: The Prophet ﷺ set out toward Badr, and they wanted to intercept a caravan of the Quraysh. He said: And Satan went out in the form of Surāqa ibn Jaʿsham, until he came to the people of Mecca and seduced them and said: Muḥammad and his companions have lain in wait for your caravan! And he said: No one of the people can overcome you today, and I am your protector against being in a state that Allah hates! They set out and proclaimed that none of them should remain behind, or else they would destroy his house and declare him an outlaw! And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions seized at al-Rawḥāʾ a scout of the people, and this man informed him about them. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Allah has promised you the caravan or the people! And the caravan was dearer to the people than the people; the fighting lay in the armed force, and the caravan, in it was no fighting. And that is the word of Allah, mighty and exalted: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours). He said: "al-shawka" is the fighting, and "ghayr al-shawka" (the unarmed) is the caravan.
15727 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb ibn Muḥammad al-Zuhrī related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb related to us, on the authority of Ibn Lahīʿa, on the authority of Ibn Abī Ḥabīb, on the authority of Abū ʿImrān, on the authority of Abū Ayyūb, he said: Allah, mighty and exalted, revealed: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours). When He promised us one of the two groups that it would be ours, our hearts were set at rest. And "the two groups" are the caravan of Abū Sufyān, or the Quraysh.
15728 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, he said: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Ibn Lahīʿa, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb, on the authority of Aslam Abī ʿImrān al-Anṣārī — I think that he said: Abū Ayyūb said: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), they said: "al-shawka" is the people and "ghayr al-shawka" (the unarmed) is the caravan. When Allah promised us one of the two groups, either the caravan or the people, our hearts were set at rest.
15729 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb ibn Muḥammad related to me, he said: more than one related to me concerning His word: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), that "al-shawka" is the Quraysh.
15730 — 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, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His word: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), that is the caravan of Abū Sufyān; the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wished that the caravan would be theirs and that the fighting would be turned away from them.
15731 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (while you wished that the unarmed group would be yours), that is: the spoils without the war.
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As for His word: (that it would be yours), the [annahā] is vocalized with a fatḥa because of the repetition of "yaʿid" (He promises), and that is because His word: (Allah promises you) has already operated upon "one of the two groups." The meaning of the sentence is thus: (And when Allah promised you one of the two groups), He promises you that one of the two groups is yours, as He said: هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلا السَّاعَةَ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمْ بَغْتَةً (Do they await anything but the Hour, that it should come upon them suddenly?) [Sūrat al-Zukhruf: 66].
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He said: (while you wished that the unarmed group [ghayr dhāt al-shawka] would be yours), and He made "dhāt" feminine, because by it the group (al-ṭāʾifa) is intended. And the meaning of the sentence is: and you wished that the group which is the unarmed one would be yours, and not the armed group.
The explanation of His word: وَيُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُحِقَّ الْحَقَّ بِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَيَقْطَعَ دَابِرَ الْكَافِرِينَ (7) (And Allah wishes to establish the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers (7))
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And Allah wishes to establish Islam and to raise it up — "by His words," He says: by His command to you, O believers, to fight the disbelievers (kuffār), while you want the spoils and the wealth. And His word: (and to cut off the root of the disbelievers), He says: He wishes to uproot the root of those who deny the oneness of Allah.
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And we have already previously set forth the meaning of "dābir" (root, posterity), namely that it is the one who comes after, and that the meaning of "cutting it off" is: descending upon all of them.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
15731 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word of Allah: (And Allah wishes to establish the truth by His words), namely that He wished to kill these, whose root He wished to cut off; this is better for you than the caravan.
15732 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (And Allah wishes to establish the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers), that is: the blow that He dealt to the chiefs of the Quraysh and their leaders on the day of Badr.
