Tafseer of The Spoils of War · Al-Anfaal · 8:71
But if they intend to betray you - then they have already betrayed Allah before, and He empowered [you] over them. And Allah is Knowing 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 word: وَإِنْ يُرِيدُوا خِيَانَتَكَ فَقَدْ خَانُوا اللَّهَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَأَمْكَنَ مِنْهُمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (71) ("But if they intend to betray you, then they have already betrayed Allah before, whereupon He gave you power over them; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise." (71))
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says to His Prophet ﷺ: And if these captives who are in your hands "intend to betray you" — that is: to act treacherously toward you, devising trickery and deceit by showing you in word the opposite of what is in their hearts — "then they have already betrayed Allah before," that is: then they had already transgressed Allah's command before the Battle of Badr, and He gave the believers power over them at Badr. "And Allah is All-Knowing," concerning what they say with their tongues and conceal in their hearts, "All-Wise" (ḥakīm), in His disposal over them and in His disposal of the affairs of His creatures besides them.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
16328 — Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "But if they intend to betray you" — this means: al-ʿAbbās and his companions in their saying: "We believe in that with which you have come, and we testify that you are the Messenger of Allah; we will sincerely support you against our own people." He says: if their saying is treachery, "then they have already betrayed Allah before, whereupon He gave you power over them," that is: they had become unbelievers and fought you, whereupon Allah gave you power over them.
16329 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "But if they intend to betray you," the entire ayah. He said: It has been transmitted to us that a man used to write for the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, then deliberately turned to hypocrisy and joined the polytheists (mushrikīn) at Mecca, and then said: "Muḥammad only wrote what I wanted!" When a man of the Anṣār heard that, he made a vow that he would strike him with the sword if Allah gave him power over him. When the Day of the Conquest came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted safe conduct to all, except ʿAbdallāh ibn Saʿd ibn Abī Sarḥ, Miqyas ibn Ṣubāba, Ibn Khaṭal, and a woman who used to curse the Prophet ﷺ every morning. Then ʿUthmān came with Ibn Abī Sarḥ — who was his foster-brother, or: his brother through suckling — and said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is so-and-so; he has come repentant and regretful!" But the Prophet of Allah ﷺ turned away. When the Anṣārī learned of him, he drew near, his sword girded on, and circled about him, while he kept looking toward the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the hope that he would give him a sign. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stretched out his hand and accepted his oath of allegiance (bayʿa). Then [the Anṣārī] said: "By Allah, I waited for your sign on his account, that I might fulfill my vow!" He said: "O Prophet of Allah, I held you in awe; had you only given me a sign!" Whereupon he said: "It does not befit a prophet to give a sign covertly."
16330 — 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: "But if they intend to betray you, then they have already betrayed Allah before, whereupon He gave you power over them." He says: they had already become unbelievers in Allah and broken His covenant, whereupon He gave you power over them at Badr.
