Surah Al-anfal in english | The spoils of war

Verse 41

And know that whatever spoils you have taken, [you have] seized from the disbelievers by force, the fifth of it is for God, to have it dispensed as He will, and for the Messenger and for the kinsmen, the kinsmen of the Prophet (s) from among the Banū Hāshim and the Banū [‘Abd] al-Muttalib, and the orphans, children of Muslims, those whose fathers have passed away and are in poverty, and the needy, those Muslims in [dire] need, and the traveller, those Muslims cut off during travel — in other words it [the fifth] is due to the Prophet (s) and [those of] these four categories in the way that he used to apportion it: a fifth of the fifth for each one and the remaining four fifths for those who had captured the spoils, if you believe in God, then be aware of that, and that which (wa-mā is a supplement to bi’Llāhi, ‘in God’) We sent down upon Our servant, Muhammad (s), in the way of angels and signs, on the Day of Discrimination, that is, the day of [the battle of] Badr, which discriminated between truth and falsehood, the day the two armies, the Muslims and the believers, met. And God has power over all things, including giving you victory despite your being few and their being greater in number.

Verse 42

When (idh substitutes for yawma, ‘the day’) you were on the nearer bank, the one nearer to Medina (read ‘udwa or ‘idwa, meaning ‘the side of a valley’), and they were on the yonder bank, the one further from it, and the cavalcade, the caravan, was, in a place, below you, the coastal side; and had you, and the [enemy] band, agreed to meet, for battle, you would have surely failed to keep meeting; but, He brought you together at a different time, that God might conclude a matter that was to be done, through His knowledge — namely, the victory of Islam and the obliteration of unbelief — He did this so, that he who perished might perish, might be a disbeliever [even], after a clear proof, that is, after a manifest proof has been established against him, namely, the triumph of the believers, despite their small number, over the larger [enemy] army; and that he who survived might live, might believe, after a clear proof; surely God is Hearing, Knowing.

Verse 43

Remember, when God showed them to you in your dream, in your sleep, as few, and so you informed your companions of this, and they were delighted, and had He shown them to you as many, you would have faltered, shrunk in cowardice, and quarrelled, fallen into disagreement, over the matter, the matter of fighting; but God saved, you, from faltering and quarrelling. He knows that which is in the breasts, that which is in the hearts.

Verse 44

And when God made you see them, O believers, when you met — in your eyes as few, as 70 or 100, when they were [in fact] 1000, so that you would advance against them; and He made you seem as few in their eyes, so that they would advance and not turn back from fighting you — this was before close combat had begun, but when it began, He made them [the disbelievers] see these [believers] as twice their number, as stated in sūrat Āl ‘Imrān [Q. 3:13] — so that God might conclude a matter that was to be done; and to God all things are returned, reverting.

Verse 45

O you who believe, when you meet a host, a group of disbelievers, then stand firm, to fight them and do not [flee in] retreat, and remember God much, call upon Him for victory, that you may succeed, [that you may] triumph.

Verse 46

And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with one another, do [not] fall into dispute with one another, lest you falter, become cowardly, and your strength, your power and dominion, fade; and be patient. Surely God is with the patient, giving them victory and assistance.

Verse 47

And do not be like those who went forth from their dwellings, to defend their caravan and but did not return after it had passed safely, in recklessness and to show off to men — when they said, ‘We will not return until we have drunk wine, sacrificed the camels, and have been entertained by singers at Badr, and [until] people have heard about this — barring, people, from the way of God, while God encompasses, in knowledge, what they do (ya‘malūna, also read ta‘malūna, ‘you do’), and will requite them for it.

Verse 48

And, mention, that Satan, Iblīs, adorned their deeds for them, by encouraging them [to go] to meet the Muslims, when they had feared to set out on account of their enemy, the Banū Bakr, and said, to them: ‘Today no person shall overcome you, for I shall be your protector’, from among the [Banū] Kināna — he appeared to them in the form of Surāqa b. Mālik, the chieftain of that region. But when the two armies, the Muslims and the disbelievers, sighted each other, [when] they met and he [Satan] saw the angels, his hand clasping that of al-Hārith b. Hishām, he turned his back, he withdrew, in flight, saying — when they had said to him, ‘Are you abandoning us in such a predicament?’, ‘I am quit of you, of being your protector, for I see what you do not see, in the way of angels. I fear God, lest He destroy me; and God is severe in retribution’.

Verse 49

When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a sickness, a weakness of faith, said, ‘Their religion has deluded them’, that is, the Muslims, for they had set out to fight a large army despite their small number, in the mistaken belief that they will be victorious because of this. God, exalted be He, says in response to them: but whoever relies on God, [whoever] puts his trust in Him, he will triumph; for truly God is Mighty, His way will prevail, Wise, in His actions.

Verse 50

And if you could only see, O Muhammad (s), when the angels take (read either as yatawaffā or tatawaffā) the disbelievers, beating (yadribūna is a circumstantial qualifier) their faces and their backs, with hooked iron rods, and, they say to them: ‘Taste the chastisement of burning, that is, the Fire (the response to the [clause beginning with] law, ‘if’, would be la-ra’ayta amran ‘azīman, ‘you would truly have seen an terrible sight’).

Verse 51

That, chastisement, is for what your hands have sent before you — He refers to this [their actions] exclusively with these [hands], because most actions are accomplished with them — and [know] that God is never unjust to His servants’, such that he would punish them for no sin.

Verse 52

The way of these people is, like the way of Pharaoh’s folk and those before them: they disbelieved in God’s signs and so God seized them, with chastisement, because of their sins (the sentence beginning with kafarū, ‘they disbelieved’, explains the previous one). Truly, God is strong, in what He wills, severe in retribution.

Verse 53

That, chastisement of the disbelievers, is because God would never change a grace that He had conferred on a people, substituting it with affliction, until they have changed that which is in themselves, [until] they have exchanged the grace conferred upon them for unbelief, in the way that the Meccan disbelievers exchanged their being ‘fed against hunger’, their being made ‘safe from fear’ [cf. Q. 106:4] and the sending of the Prophet (s) to them, for unbelief, [for] barring against the way of God and [for] fighting Muslims; and [know] that God is Hearing, Knowing.

Verse 54

Like the way of Pharaoh’s folk and those before them: they denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned the folk of Pharaoh, his people together with him, and all, disbelieving communities, were evildoers.

Verse 55

The following was revealed regarding [Banū] Qurayza: Surely the worst of beasts in God’s sight are the ungrateful who will not believe,

Verse 56

those of them with whom you have made a pact, not to support the idolaters, and then break their pact every time, they conclude one, and they are not fearful, of God, in their treachery.

Verse 57

So if (fa-immā: here the letter nūn of the conditional particle in, ‘if’, has been assimilated with the extra mā) you come upon them, [if] you find them, anywhere in the war, [deal with them so as to] cause those, fighters, behind them to scatter, to disperse, by making an example of them and punishing them, so that they, the ones behind them, might remember, [that they might] take heed from their example.

Verse 58

And if you fear, from any folk, who have concluded a pact with you, some treachery, in a pact, through some indication that comes to you, then cast it back to them, dissolve their pact, with fairness (‘alā sawā’ is a circumstantial qualifier), that is to say, while you and they have equal knowledge that the pact has been broken, by your apprising them thereof, lest they accuse you of treachery. Truly God does not love the treacherous.

Verse 59

The following was revealed regarding those who escaped capture on the day of Badr: And do not, O Muhammad (s), let those who disbelieve suppose that they have outstripped, God, that is, [that] they have eluded Him: indeed they cannot escape, they cannot elude Him (a variant reading has wa-lā yahsabanna, ‘and do not let them suppose’, so that the first direct object is omitted, actually being [an implied] anfusahum, ‘themselves’ [sc. ‘and do not let them suppose themselves to have outstripped’]; and according to another [variant reading] anna is read [instead of inna] with an implicit lām [sc. ‘because they cannot escape’]).

Verse 60

Make ready for them, for fighting them, whatever force you can, the Prophet (s) said that this refers to ‘archers’, as reported by Muslim, and of horses tethered (ribāt is a verbal noun, meaning, ‘restraining them [for use] in the way of God’) that thereby you may dismay, terrify, the enemy of God and your enemy, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, and others besides them, that is, other than those — namely, the hypocrites or the Jews, whom you know not: God knows them. And whatever thing you expend in the way of God, its requital, shall be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged, [you will not] be diminished anything thereof.

Verse 61

And if they incline to peace (read silm or salm, meaning, ‘settlement’), then incline to it, and conclude a pact with them: Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘This has been abrogated by the “sword verse” [Q. 9:5]’; Mujāhid said, ‘This [stipulation] applies exclusively in the context of the People of the Scripture, for it was revealed regarding the Banū Qurayza; and rely on God, put your trust in Him; truly He is the Hearer, of words, the Knower, of actions.

Verse 62

And if they desire to trick you, by making a [peace] settlement in order to make preparations [for war] against you, then God is sufficient for you. He it is Who strengthened you with His help and with the believers;

Verse 63

and reconciled, brought together, their hearts, after old feuds [had divided them]. Had you expended all that is in the earth, you could not have reconciled their hearts, but God reconciled their hearts, through His power. Truly He is Mighty, His way prevailing, Wise, nothing being beyond [the scope of] His wisdom.

Verse 64

O Prophet, God suffices you, and the believers who follow you, suffice you.

Verse 65

O Prophet, urge on, exhort, the believers to fight, the disbelievers. If there be twenty of you, steadfast, they will overcome two hundred, of them. If there be (read as yakun or takun) a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, for they are a people who do not understand (this [sentence] is predicative, but functions as an imperative, in other words, let the twenty of you fight the two hundred [of them], and the hundred [of you], the thousand [of them], and let them stand firm against them; but when they became numerous this was abrogated by God’s saying):

Verse 66

Now God has lightened [the burden] for you, for He knows that there is weakness (read du‘fan or da‘fan) in you, [making you unable] to fight ten times your number. So if there be (read as yakun or takun) a hundred of you, steadfast, they will overcome two hundred, of them; and if there be a thousand of you, they will overcome two thousand by the leave of God, by His will (this is predicative, functioning as an imperative, in other words: fight twice your number and stand firm against them). And God is with the steadfast, by His support [of them].

Verse 67

The following was revealed when they ransomed those taken captive at Badr: It is not for any Prophet to have (read as an takūna lahu or an yakūna lahu) prisoners until he has made slaughter in the land, going all the way in fighting disbelievers. You, O believers, desire the transient things of this world, its ephemeral gains, by ransoming, while God desires, for you, the Hereafter, that is, its reward, through your killing them; and God is Mighty, Wise: this was abrogated by His words [and set them free] afterward either with grace or by ransom [Q. 47:4].

Verse 68

Had it not been for an ordinance from God which had preceded, making spoils and the taking of captives lawful for you, an awful chastisement would have afflicted you for what you took, as ransom.

Verse 69

Now eat of what you have plundered, as lawful and good, and fear God. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.

Verse 70

O Prophet, say to those captives who are in your hands: (asrā, may also be read as asārā) ‘If God knows of any good, any faith or sincere devotion, in your hearts He will give you better than that which has been taken from you, by way of ransom, by His multiplying it for you in this world and rewarding you in the Hereafter, and will forgive you, your sins. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful’.

Verse 71

And if they, the captives, desire to betray you, through words which they speak [to you], they have betrayed God before, before Badr, through unbelief; but He has given [you] power over them, at Badr, through slaying and capture, so let them anticipate the like if they return [to betrayal]; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in His actions.

Verse 72

Truly those who believed and emigrated and strove with their wealth and their lives in the way of God, these being the Emigrants, and those who provided refuge, for the Prophet (s), and assisted, these being the Helpers, those are allies of one another, in terms of [mutual] support and inheritance. And those who believed but did not emigrate — you have no duty to make an alliance (read wilāya or walāya) with them, and so there is no inheriting between you and them and no share of the spoils for them, until they emigrate, this was abrogated by the end of this sūra; but if they ask you for assistance in the matter of religion then it is your duty to assist, them against the disbelievers, except against a folk between whom and you there is a covenant, a pact: in which case, do not assist them against these others and so break your pact; and God sees what you do.

Verse 73

And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, in terms of [mutual] support and inheritance, and so there is no inheriting between you and them. Unless you do this, [unless] you ally yourselves with the believers and sever relations with the disbelievers, there will be sedition in the land and great corruption, with disbelief gaining power and Islam becoming weak.

Verse 74

And those who believed and emigrated and strove for the way of God, and those who provided refuge and assisted — those are the true believers, and for them is forgiveness and a generous provision, in Paradise.

Verse 75

And those who believed afterwards, that is, after the first believers and emigrants, and emigrated and strove with you — they are of you, O Muhājirūn and Ansār; and those related by blood, kinsmen, are nearer to one another, in terms of inheritance, than [those who share] inheritance on account of [their common] faith and emigration mentioned in the previous verse, according to the Book of God, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz). Truly God is Knower of all things, including the wisdom regarding [the rules of] inheritance.

Verse 1

This is: A declaration of immunity from God and His Messenger to, reach, the idolaters with whom you made a pact, a pact for an indefinite period of time, or one for [a period of] less than, or more than, four months; the annulment of the pact shall be as God mentions in His saying:

Verse 2

‘Journey freely, travel in security, O idolaters, in the land for four months — beginning with [the month of] Shawwāl, on the basis of what will come shortly — after which there will be no security for you, and know that you cannot escape God, that is, you shall [not] elude His punishment, and that God degrades the disbelievers’, humiliating them in this world by having them killed, and in the Hereafter, by [sending them to] the Fire.

Verse 3

A proclamation, a notification, from God and His Messenger to mankind on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage, the Day of Sacrifice (yawm al-nahr), that God is free from obligation to the idolaters, and their pacts, and [so is] His Messenger, also free from obligation: in that same year, year 9 [of the Hijra], the Prophet (s) sent forth ‘Alī, who proclaimed these verses on the Day of Sacrifice at Minā, and also [he proclaimed] that after this year no idolater will [be allowed to] make pilgrimage or circumambulate the House naked, as reported by al-Bukhārī. So, if you repent, of unbelief, it will be better for you; but if you turn away, from belief, then know that you cannot escape God. And give tidings to — inform — those who disbelieve of a painful chastisement, namely, [of] slaughter or capture in this world, and of [punishment in] the Fire in the Hereafter.

Verse 4

Excepting those of the idolaters with whom you have made a pact, and who have not diminished [their commitment to] you in anyway, with regard to the terms of the pact, nor supported, assisted, anyone, from among the disbelievers, against you; [as for these] fulfil your pact with them until, the completion of, the term, to which you have agreed. Truly God loves those who fear [Him], by fulfilling pacts.

Verse 5

Then, when the sacred months have passed — that is, [at] the end of the period of deferment — slay the idolaters wherever you find them, be it during a lawful [period] or a sacred [one], and take them, captive, and confine them, to castles and forts, until they have no choice except [being put to] death or [acceptance of] Islam; and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush, [at every] route that they use (kulla, ‘every’, is in the accusative because a [preceding] genitive-taking preposition has been removed). But if they repent, of unbelief, and establish prayer and pay the alms, then leave their way free, and do not interfere with them. God is Forgiving, Merciful, to those who repent.

Verse 6

And if any one of the idolaters (ahadun, ‘one’, is in the nominative because of the [following] verb [istajāraka, ‘seeks your protection’] that validates it) seeks your protection, requests security from you against being killed, then grant him protection, provide security for him, so that he might hear the words of God — the Qur’ān — and afterward convey him to his place of security, that is, the dwelling-places of his folk, if he does not believe, so that he might reflect upon his situation — that, which is mentioned, is because they are a people who do not know, the religion of God, and so they must [be made to] hear the Qur’ān in order to [come to] know [religion].

Verse 7

How can the idolaters have a pact with God and His Messenger — they cannot —while they disbelieve in God and His Messenger, acting treacherously; except for those with whom you made a pact at the Sacred Mosque?, the day of al-Hudaybiyya — these were Quraysh, for whom an exception was made earlier [Q. 9:4]. So long as they are true to you, keeping to the pact and not breaking it, be true to them, by fulfilling it (fa-mā, ‘so long as’: the mā is a conditional particle). Truly God loves the God-fearing: the Prophet (s) had kept to the pact made with them until they broke it by supporting the Banū Bakr against Khuzā‘a.

Verse 8

How, can they have a pact, when, if they get the better of you, [if] they have the upper hand over you, they do not respect, [they do not] take into consideration, any bond, kinship, or treaty, pact, with regard to you, but will instead harm you as much as they can (the conditional sentence [‘if they …’] is [also] a circumstantial qualifier), pleasing you with their tongues, with charming words, while their hearts refuse, to be true to these [words]; and most of them are wicked, violators of pacts.

Verse 9

They have purchased with the signs of God, the Qur’ān, a small price, of this world, that is, they have refrained from following them in favour of passions and whims, and have barred [people] from His way, His religion. Truly evil is that, deed of theirs, which they are wont to do.

Verse 10

They respect neither bond [of kinship] nor treaty with regard to a believer; those, they are the transgressors.

Verse 11

Yet if they repent and establish prayer and pay the alms, then they are your brothers in religion; and We detail, We explain, the signs for a people who know, [who] reflect.

Verse 12

But if they break, [if] they violate, their oaths, their covenants, after [making] their pact and assail your religion, slander it, then fight the leaders of unbelief, its heads (here an overt noun [‘the leaders of unbelief’] has replaced the [third person] pronominalisation) — verily they have no [binding] oaths, [no] pacts (a variant reading [for aymān, ‘oaths’] has the kasra inflection [for the alif, sc. īmān, ‘[no] faith’]) — so that they might desist, from unbelief.

Verse 13

Will you not (a-lā, ‘will not’ or ‘is not’, denotes incitement) fight a people who broke, violated, their oaths, their pacts, and intended to expel the Messenger, from Mecca — for they discussed this between them in their council assembly — initiating, combat, against you first?, when they fought alongside Banū Bakr against Khuzā‘a, your allies? So what is stopping you from fighting them? Are you afraid of them? God is more worthy of your fear, when you fail to fight them, if you are believers.

Verse 14

Fight them, and God will chastise them, He will have them killed, at your hands and degrade them, humiliate them through capture and subjugation, and He will give you victory against them, and He will heal the breasts of a people who believe, [removing the harm] done to them — these are the Banū Khuzā‘a.

Verse 15

And He will remove the rage, the grief, in their hearts. God turns [in forgiveness] to whomever He will, when they return to Islam, as in the case of Abū Sufyān. And God is Knowing, Wise.

Verse 16

Or (am has the meaning of the [initial a-] hamza used to express disavowal) did you suppose that you would be left [in peace] when God does not yet know, that is, through knowledge outwardly manifested, those of you who have struggled, sincerely, and have not taken, besides God and His Messenger and the believers, an intimate friend?, as a confidant or an ally? In other words: when it has not yet become manifest who the sincere ones are — those described in the exclusive way mentioned. And God is aware of what you do.

Verse 17

It is not for the idolaters to attend God’s places of worship (masājid, is also read in the singular, masjid), entering them or sitting in them, bearing witness, against themselves, to unbelief; those, their works have failed, [their works] are invalid, and in the Fire they shall abide.

Verse 18

Only he shall attend God’s places of worship who believes in God and the Last Day, and observes prayer, and pays the alms, and fears none but God alone; it may be that those will be among the rightly guided.

Verse 19

Do you reckon the giving of water to pilgrims and the attendance of the Sacred Mosque, that is, [do you reckon] those who do such things, to be the same as he who believes in God and the Last Day and struggles in the way of God? They are not equal, in merit, in God’s sight; and God guides not the evildoing, the disbelieving, folk: this was revealed to refute those who claimed this, such as al-‘Abbās and others.

Verse 20

Those who believe, and have emigrated, and have struggled in the way of God with their possessions and their lives are greater in degree, in rank, with God, than others; and those, they are the triumphant, the ones who will attain good.

Verse 21

Their Lord gives them good tidings of mercy from Him and beatitude; for them shall be gardens wherein is enduring, everlasting, bliss,

Verse 22

therein they shall abide forever (khālidīna is an implied circumstance). Surely with God is a tremendous reward.

Verse 23

The following was revealed regarding those who refrained from emigrating because of their families and trade: O you who believe, do not take your fathers and brothers for your friends, if they prefer, if they have chosen, disbelief over belief; whoever of you takes them for friends, such are the evildoers.

Verse 24

Say: ‘If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers, and your wives, and your clan, your kinsmen (‘ashīratukum: a variant reading has ‘ashīrātukum), and the possessions which you have acquired, and merchandise for which you fear there may be no sale, no longer viable, and dwellings which you love, are dearer to you than God and His Messenger and struggling in His way, so that you have refrained from emigrating and struggling for the sake of such [things], then wait until God brings about His command — this is meant as a threat to them. And God does not guide the wicked folk’.

Verse 25

God has already helped you on many fields, of battle, such as Badr, and [against] Qurayza and al-Nadīr, and, remember, on the day of Hunayn — a valley between Mecca and Tā’if; that is, [remember] the day on which you fought Hawāzin — this was in Shawwāl in year 8 [of the Hijra], when (idh substitutes for yawma, ‘the day’) your vast numbers were pleasing to you, such that you were saying, ‘We shall not be defeated today, not on account of our being few’: and they numbered 12,000, while the disbelievers were 4,000); but it availed you nothing and the earth, for all its breadth (bi-mā rahubat, the mā refers to the verbal noun, in other words [understand it as being] ma‘a rahbihā, ‘despite its breadth’), it was straitened for you, such that you could not find a place in which you felt secure, because of the severe fear that afflicted you; then you turned back, retreating, fleeing: the Prophet (s), however, on his white mule remained firm, with only al-‘Abbās by his side, while Abū Sufyān was charging on his mount.

Verse 26

Then God sent down His Spirit of Peace, His reassurance, upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and so they turned back towards the Prophet (s), after al-‘Abbās called them, with his [the Prophet’s] permission, and they fought [once again]; and He sent down legions, of angels, you did not see, and chastised the disbelievers, with slaughter and capture, and that is the requital of the disbelievers.

Verse 27

Then afterwards God will relent to whom He will, from among them, by [their acceptance of] Islam. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

Verse 28

O you who believe, the idolaters are indeed unclean, [they are] filth, on account of their inner vileness, so do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque, that is, let them not enter the Sanctuary, after this year of theirs, year 9 of the Hijra. If you fear impoverishment, poverty, as a result of the cessation of their commerce with you, God will surely enrich you from His bounty, if He will: and He indeed enriched them through conquests and [the imposition of] the jizya. God is Knowing, Wise.

Verse 29

Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, for, otherwise, they would have believed in the Prophet (s), and who do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, such as wine, nor do they practise the religion of truth, the firm one, the one that abrogated other religions, namely, the religion of Islam — from among of those who (min, ‘from’, explains [the previous] alladhīna, ‘those who’) have been given the Scripture, namely, the Jews and the Christians, until they pay the jizya tribute, the annual tax imposed them, readily (‘an yadin is a circumstantial qualifier, meaning, ‘compliantly’, or ‘by their own hands’, not delegating it [to others to pay]), being subdued, [being made] submissive and compliant to the authority of Islam.

Verse 30

The Jews say: Ezra is the son of God; and the Christians say: The Messiah, Jesus, is the son of God. That is the utterance of their mouths, for which they have no support, nay, imitating the utterances of those who disbelieved before [them], from among their forefathers, mimicking them. God assail, curse, them! How they are deviated!, turned away from the truth, despite the proofs having been established.

Verse 31

They have taken their rabbis, the scholars among the Jews, and their monks, the devout among the Christians, as lords beside God — following them in making lawful what God has made unlawful and making unlawful what He has made lawful — and the Messiah, son of Mary, when they were not commanded, in the Torah and the Gospel, except to worship One God: there is no god except Him; glory be to Him, as an affirmation of His transcendence [high], above what they associate [with Him].

Verse 32

They desire to extinguish God’s light, His Law and His proofs, with their tongues, with what they say about Him; and God refuses but to perfect, to make manifest, His light, even though the disbelievers be averse, to this.

Verse 33

He it is Who has sent His Messenger, Muhammad (s), with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may manifest it, make it prevail, over every religion, all the religions which oppose it, even though the disbelievers be averse, to this.

Verse 34

O you who believe, many of the rabbis and monks indeed consume, take, people’s goods by false means, as in the case of bribes [paid] for judgements, and bar, people, from the way of God, [from] His religion. And those who (wa’lladhīna is the subject) hoard up gold and silver, and do not expend them, these treasure-hoards, in the way of God, that is, they do not pay from it what is due to Him by way of alms and charity — give them tidings, inform them, of a painful chastisement.

Verse 35

On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of Hell and therewith their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded, burnt — their skins will be stretched until these [hoards of gold and silver] can be placed on them entirely, and it will be said to them: ‘This is what you hoarded up for yourselves: so taste now what you used to hoard!’, that is, [taste] its requital.

Verse 36

Verily the number of months, used to reckon the year, with God is twelve months in the Book of God, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), from the day that He created the heavens and the earth; four of them, that is, the months, are sacred, inviolable: Dhū’l-Qa‘da, Dhū’l-Hijja, Muharram and Rajab. That, making of them sacred, is the right, the upright, religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them, during these sacred months, with acts of disobedience, for their burden [of sin] is greater therein; but it is also said to mean [do not wrong yourselves] at any time during all the months [of the year]. And fight the idolaters altogether, all of them, throughout the months, even as they fight you altogether; and know that God is with those who fear Him, supporting and assisting [them].

Verse 37

Postponement [of the sacred month] — that is, the deferment of the sacredness of a given month to another, as they used to do during paganism, such as postponing the sacredness of Muharram, if it arrives while they are at war, to Safar — is only an excess of unbelief, because of their rejection of God’s ruling thereof, whereby those who disbelieve are led astray (yudallu may also be read yadillu, ‘[they] go astray’), one year they make it, the month postponed, profane, and hallow it another, that they may make up, by profaning one month and hallowing another in its place, the number, of months, which God has hallowed, such that they do not hallow more, or less, than the four months, but without observing the individual months themselves; and so they profane what God has hallowed. Their evil deeds have been adorned for them, such that they deem them to be good [deeds]; and God does not guide the disbelieving folk.

Verse 38

When the Prophet (s) summoned men for the Tabūk campaign, and they thought it too burdensome, because of the hardship and the extreme heat from which they were suffering, the following was revealed: O you who believe, what is wrong with you that, when it is said to you, ‘Go forth in the way of God,’ you sink down heavily (iththāqaltum: the original tā’ [of tathāqaltum] has been assimilated with the thā’, and the conjunctive hamza has been supplied), in other words, you hesitate and are disinclined to [participate in] the struggle, to the ground, to stay sitting upon it? (the interrogative is meant as a rebuke). Are you so content with the life of this world, and its delights, rather than with the Hereafter?, that is, in place of its bliss? Yet the enjoyment of the life of this world is, in, comparison with the enjoyment of, the Hereafter but little, trivial.

Verse 39

If (illā: lā has been assimilated with the nūn of the conditional particle in, in both instances [here and in the next verse]) you do not go forth, [if you do not] set out with the Prophet (s) for the struggle, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement, and He will substitute [you with] another folk other than you, that is, He will bring them in your place, and you will not hurt Him, that is, God, or [‘him’ as being] the Prophet (s), at all, should you neglect to help him [to victory], for God [Himself] will indeed bring victory to His religion; for God has power over all things, including bringing victory to His religion and His Prophet.

Verse 40

If you do not help him, that is, the Prophet (s), [know that] God has already helped him, when the disbelievers drove him forth, from Mecca, that is, they made him resort to leaving, when they desired to kill him or imprison him or banish him at the council assembly — the second of two (thāniya ithnayn: this is a circumstantial qualifier), that is, one of two, the other being Abū Bakr: in other words, just as God helped him in such a situation, He will not forsake him in another; when (idh substitutes for the previous idh) the two were in the cave — a breach in the mountain called Thawr — when (idh substituting again), he said to his companion, Abū Bakr — who, upon perceiving the [sound of the] feet of the idolaters [nearby], had said to him, ‘If one of them should merely look below his feet, he will definitely see us!’ — ‘Do not despair; verily God is with us’, assisting [us]. Then God sent down His Spirit of Peace upon him, His reassurance — some say this means upon the Prophet, others, that it means upon Abū Bakr — and supported him, that is, the Prophet (s), with legions, of angels, you did not see, [both] in the cave and in the locations in which he fought battles; and He made the word of those who disbelieved, that is, the call to idolatry, the nethermost, the one vanquished, and the Word of God, that is, the profession of His Oneness (shahāda), was the uppermost, the one prevailing and triumphant. And God is Mighty, in His Kingdom, Wise, in His actions.

Verse 41

Go forth, light and heavy!, that is, energetically or not; it is also said [to mean], [go forth] strong or weak, or rich or poor — but this was abrogated by the verse, The weak would not be at fault … [Q. 9:91]. Struggle in the way of God with your possessions and your lives: that is better for you, if only you knew, that it is better for you; so do not sink down heavily.

Verse 42

The following was revealed regarding the hypocrites who stayed behind [away from the campaign]: Had it — that to which you summon them — been a near, easily acquired, gain, a transient pleasure of this world, and an easy journey, of moderate [length], they would have followed you, seeking spoils; but the distance, the hardship, was too great for them, and so they stayed behind. Still they will swear by God, when you return to them: [saying]: ‘Had we been able, to go forth, we would have gone forth with you,’ destroying their souls, by swearing false oaths, and God knows that they truly are liars, in this saying of theirs.

Verse 43

The Prophet (s), exercising his personal judgement, had given leave to a group to stay behind, and so the following was revealed as a reprimand for him, but with the pardon first, in order to reassure his heart: May God pardon you! Why do you give them leave, to stay behind; why did you not leave them, until it was clear to you which of them spoke the truth, in their excuse, and you knew those who were lying, in it?

Verse 44

Those who believe in God and the Last Day do not ask leave of you, to stay behind, that they may struggle with their possessions and their lives; and God knows the pious.

Verse 45

They alone ask leave of you, to stay behind, who do not believe in God and the Last Day, and whose hearts are doubtful, uncertain, about religion, so in their doubt they waver, they are confused.

Verse 46

If they had desired to go forth, with you, they would have made some preparation for it, some equipment, such as tools and provisions, but God was averse that they should be sent forth, that is, He did not want them to go forth, so He slowed them down, He made them [feel] lethargic, and it was said, to them: ‘Stay back with those who stay back!’, [with] the sick, the women and the children: in other words, God decreed this.

Verse 47

Had they gone forth among you, they would only have caused you more trouble, [more] corruption, by abandoning the believers, and would have hurried to and fro among you, that is, they would have hastened to spread slander among you, seeking, desiring, to stir up sedition, by casting enmity, between you; and among you there are some who would listen to them, to what they say, listening in readiness to accept it; and God knows the evildoers.

Verse 48

Indeed, they sought to stir up sedition, against you, already before, when you first came to Medina, and scrutinised your affairs, that is, they thought long and hard how to plot against you and invalidate your religion, until the truth, the [victorious] help, came, and God’s command, His religion, prevailed, stood mighty, they still being averse, to it [His religion], entering it superficially.

Verse 49

And there are some of them who say, ‘Grant me leave, to stay behind, and do not lead me into temptation’: this was al-Jadd b. Qays, to whom the Prophet (s) said, ‘Will you do battle against the Byzantines?’, and to which he replied, ‘I am infatuated with women, and I fear that if I were to see these Byzantine women, I shall not be able to stay away from them and be led into temptation’. God, exalted be He, says: Surely they have [already] fallen into temptation!, by staying behind (a variant reading [for saqatū, ‘they have fallen’] has [the singular form] saqat, ‘he has fallen’). And surely Hell shall encompass the disbelievers, for whom there shall be no escape therefrom.

Verse 50

If good fortune, such as a victory or [a taking of] some spoils, befalls you, it vexes them; but if an affliction, some hardship, befalls you, they say, ‘We took our precaution, judiciously — when we stayed behind — before’, before this act of disobedience; and they turn away, rejoicing, at what has afflicted you.

Verse 51

Say, to them: ‘Nothing shall afflict us but that which God has decreed for us, that we be afflicted thereby; He is our Protector, our Helper and the One in charge of our affairs; in God let the believers put their trust’.

Verse 52

Say: ‘Are you waiting (tarabbasūn: one of the two original tā’ letters [in tatarabbasūn] has been omitted) for anything, to occur, for us but one of the two fair things, [the two fair] outcomes? (husnayayn is the dual form of husnā, which is the feminine form of ahsan), that is, victory or martyrdom? We are waiting in your case too, for God to afflict you with a chastisement from Him, with a calamity from the heaven, or at our hands, should we be given permission to fight you. So wait, for this to [befall] us, we are also waiting with you’, your end.

Verse 53

Say: ‘Expend, in obedience to God, willingly or unwillingly, it, what you expend, shall not be accepted from you; you are surely a wicked folk’ (the imperative statement here [also] functions as a predicate).

Verse 54

And nothing prevents their expenditure from being accepted (read as yuqbala or tuqbala) from them, but that they (innahum is the subject of the verb, while an tuqbala, ‘being accepted’ constitutes the object) have disbelieved in God and His Messenger, and that they do not come to [perform] prayer save as idlers, sluggishly, and that they do not expend without their being reluctant, to expend, for they consider it a financial penalty.

Verse 55

So do not let their wealth or their children please you, that is, do not deem fair Our graces to them, for this is a [way of] drawing [them] on by degrees [to punish them]: God only desires thereby to chastise them in the life of this world, by way of the hardship that they encounter in amassing such [wealth and children] and the calamities [they suffer] as a result thereof; and that their souls should depart while they are disbelievers, so He punishes them in the Hereafter with the worst punishment.

Verse 56

And they swear by God that they truly are of you, that is, [that they are] believers; but they are not of you; they are a folk who are afraid, that you should deal with them as you have done with the idolaters, and so they swear merely in pretence, in order to protect themselves.

Verse 57

If they could find a shelter, in which to seek refuge, or some caverns, underground chambers, or any place to enter, they would turn and bolt away to it, they would hasten to enter it and get away from you with the undeterred speed of an indomitable steed.

Verse 58

Some of them defame you concerning the, apportioning of, voluntary almsgivings; if they are given a share of them, they are content, but if they are given none then they are enraged.

Verse 59

If only they had been content with what God and His Messenger have given them, in the way of spoils and the like, and had said, ‘Sufficient for us is God; God will give us from His bounty, and His Messenger [will also give us], from other spoils, what will suffice us; to God we are suppliants’, that He enrich us (the response of [the conditional] law, ‘if only’, is la-kāna khayran lahum, ‘it would have been better for them’).

Verse 60

The voluntary almsgivings, the alms to be dispensed, are only for the poor, who cannot find anything to suffice them in the least, and the needy, who cannot find anything to suffice them, and those who work with them, that is, [with] these alms, in other words, the one who collects [them], the one who takes the oaths [from those who claim them], the slave to be manumitted by contract, as well as the tax-summoner; and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, so that they might become Muslims, or that Islam might be firmly established, or that their peers might become Muslims, or that they might defend Muslims, all of whom are [classed according to different] categories. According to al-Shāfi‘ī, may God be pleased with him, the first and the last [of these categories] are no longer given [of the alms-tax] today, because of the [established] power of Islam; in contrast, the other two [categories] are given [of the alms-tax], according to the sounder [opinion]; and for, the manumission of, slaves, that is, [for] slaves to be manumitted by contract, and for the debtors, those in debt, if they have taken out a debt without intending thereby an act of disobedience, or those who have repented but have nothing with which to fulfil [the penalty of expiation], or to set things right between people, even if they be wealthy; and, for the way of God, that is, [for] those who are engaged in the struggle, of those for whom there is no [share of the] booty (fay’), even if they be wealthy; and for the traveller, the one cut off [from resources] during his journey — a duty imposed by God (farīdatan, ‘a duty’, is in the accusative because of an implied verb [sc. faradahā, ‘which He has imposed’]). And God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in His actions. Thus, it is impermissible to dispense these [alms-proceeds] other than to these [categories], or to deny [these proceeds to] any one of these [categories] if they exist. The Imam must divide these [proceeds] among them equally, but he is permitted to give priority to certain individuals over others within any one category. The lām [of li’l-fuqarā’, ‘for the poor’] indicates that it is obligatory to include every individual [of these categories in the distribution of the proceeds]; it is not, however, obligatory [to do so] when the person in charge of the monies has to apportion it but [finds that] it is insufficient. Indeed [in such a situation] it suffices to give three individuals from each category, but anything less than that is not sufficient, as is indicated by the plural form. The Sunna shows that the prerequisite condition for receiving [a share] of such [monies] is that the person be a Muslim, but not a Hashimī or a Muttālibī.

Verse 61

And of them, the hypocrites, are those who injure the Prophet, by casting aspersions on him and communicating [to others] what he says [in confidence], saying, when they are forbidden from [doing] this, lest it should reach him: ‘He is only a listener!’, that is, he listens to anything that is said, and accepts it, so that when we swear to him that we have not communicated [to others] a particular thing, he believes us. Say, he is, ‘A listener, who listens, to good for you, and not one who listens to evil, one who believes in God and has faith, he trusts, in the believers, in what they inform him, and not in others (the lām [of li’l-mu’minīna, ‘in the believers’] has been added to distinguish between belief in the sense of ‘submitting [to God]’ (islām), and in other senses [such as ‘trusting’]) and who is a mercy (read rahmatun, in the nominative, as a supplement to udhunun, ‘a listener’, or rahmatin, in the genitive, as a supplement to khayrin, ‘to good’) to those of you who believe. Those who injure God’s Messenger, for them there is a painful chastisement’.

Verse 62

They swear by God to you, O believers, that what has reached you of the Messenger being injured they did not do, so that they might please you, but God and His Messenger are more deserving that they should please them, through obedience, if they are, true, believers (the merging of the pronouns into one [in yurdūhu, ‘their pleasing them’] is because the ‘pleasure’ of both [God and His Messenger] are mutually dependent; [either that] or it is because the predicate of Allāhu wa-rasūluhu, ‘God and His Messenger’, has been omitted).

Verse 63

Do they not know that, the fact is that, whoever opposes God and His Messenger, for him shall be the fire of Hell, as a requital, to abide therein? That is the great abasement.

Verse 64

The hypocrites are cautious, they fear, lest a sūra should be revealed to them, that is, [to] the believers, informing them of what is in their [the hypocrites’] hearts, of hypocrisy, and yet despite this they persist in mockery. Say: ‘Keep mocking! (this is an imperative of threat) God will bring out, He will make manifest, that, hypocrisy of yours, of which you are fearful’, lest it be brought out.

Verse 65

And if (la-in: the lām is for oaths) you question them, about their mockery of you and of the Qur’ān while they were journeying with you towards Tabūk, assuredly they will say, making excuses: ‘We were only engaging [in idle talk] and jesting’, in conversation, in order to pass [the time of] the road, and we did not mean it. Say, to them: ‘Were you then mocking God, and His signs, and His Messenger?

Verse 66

Make no excuses, for that. You have disbelieved after believing, that is, your disbelief has become manifest even as you have manifested belief. If We forgive (read passive yu‘fa, ‘it is forgiven’, or active [first person plural] na‘fu, ‘We forgive’) a party of you, because of its sincerity and its repentance, as in the case of Jahsh b. Humayyir, We will chastise (read either [passive] tu‘adhdhab, ‘[it] shall be chastised’, or nu‘adhdhib) another party because they were sinners’, persisting in hypocrisy and mockery.

Verse 67

The hypocrites, both men and women, are of one another, that is, they resemble one another in religion, as pieces of an individual entity, they enjoin indecency, unbelief and acts of disobedience, and forbid decency, faith and obedience; and they withhold their hands shut, from expending in obedience [of God]; they have forgotten God, they have abandoned obedience of Him, so He has forgotten them, He has deprived them of His grace. Truly the hypocrites, they are the wicked.

Verse 68

God has promised the hypocrites, both men and women, and the disbelievers, the fire of Hell, to abide therein: it will suffice them, as a requital and a punishment. And God has cursed them, He has removed them from His mercy, and theirs will be a lasting, perpetual, chastisement.

Verse 69

You, O hypocrites, are, like those before you, who were far mightier than you, and more abundant in wealth and children. They enjoyed their share, their lot in this world. So you enjoy, O hypocrites, your share, just as those before you enjoyed their share, and you indulge [in vain talk], in falsehood and defamation of the Prophet (s), just as they indulged [in vain talk]. Those, their works have become invalid in this world and in the Hereafter; and those, they indeed are the losers.

Verse 70

Has not the tidings, the tale, of those before them reached them — the folk of Noah, and ‘Ād, the folk of Hūd, and Thamūd, the folk of Sālih, and the folk of Abraham, and the dwellers of Midian, the folk of Shu‘ayb, and the Deviant [cities]?, the cities of the folk of Lot, meaning, its inhabitants. Their messengers brought them clear proofs, with miracles, but they denied them, and so were destroyed. God would never have wronged them, by punishing them for no sin [on their part], but they wronged themselves, by committing sin.

Verse 71

And the believers, both men and women, are allies of one another; they enjoin decency and forbid indecency; they observe prayer and pay the alms, and they obey God and His Messenger. Those, God will have mercy on them. Truly God is Mighty, nothing can prevent Him from fulfilling His promise and His threat; Wise, He puts everything in its proper place.

Verse 72

God has promised the believers, both men and women, Gardens underneath which rivers flow, to abide therein, and blessed dwellings in the Gardens of Eden, for residence, and beatitude from God is greater, is superior to all of that. That is the supreme triumph.

Verse 73

O Prophet, struggle against the disbelievers, with the sword, and the hypocrites, with words and [definitive] arguments, and be harsh with them, through rebuke and aversion [towards them]; for their abode will be Hell, an evil journey’s end, [an evil] resort it is!

Verse 74

They, the hypocrites, swear by God that they said nothing, of the defamation that has reached you [as being] from them; but they did indeed say the word of disbelief and did disbelieve after their submission [to God]: they did indeed manifest disbelief after having manifested submission [to God]. And they purposed that which they never attained, in the way of assassinating the Prophet on the night of al-‘Aqaba, upon his return from Tabūk — there were about ten to twenty of them, and ‘Ammār b. Yāsir struck the faces of their riding camels when they came against him and were thus repulsed; and they were only spiteful, they detested, that God and His Messenger should have enriched them of His bounty, by way of spoils, when they had been in dire need: the meaning is that this was all that they attained from him, which is nothing to be spiteful about. So if they repent, of hypocrisy and believe in you, it will be better for them; but if they turn away, from belief, God will chastise them with a painful chastisement in this world, by having them killed, and in the Hereafter, in the Fire, and they have none on earth as protector, to guard them from Him, or helper, to defend them.

Verse 75

And some of them have made a covenant with God [saying]: ‘If He gives us of His bounty, we will give voluntary alms (la-nassaddaqanna: the original tā’ [of natasaddaqanna] has been assimilated with the sād) and become of the righteous’: this was Tha‘laba b. Hātib, who asked the Prophet (s) to supplicate on his behalf so that God would give him wealth, of which he would give every needy person his due. He [the Prophet] thus supplicated for him and he became wealthy, but stopped attending the Friday prayer and congregational prayers and refused to pay the alms-tax, as God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 76

Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they became niggardly with it and turned away, from obedience to God, in aversion.

Verse 77

So He made the consequence in their case hypocrisy, fixed, in their hearts, until the day they meet Him, that is, God, on the Day of Resurrection, because they failed God in what they promised Him and because, of that concerning which, they lied: he [Tha‘laba] then brought [the payment of] his alms to the Prophet (s), who said to him, ‘God has forbidden me to accept [it] from you’; so he [Tha‘laba] began to throw earth on his head [in remorse]. He then approached Abū Bakr with it, who did not accept it. He then went to ‘Umar [b. al-Khattāb], who also did not accept it. He went to ‘Uthmān [b. ‘Affān], but he did not accept it; he died during the latter’s reign.

Verse 78

Did they, the hypocrites, not know that God knows their secret, what they conceal within themselves, and their confidential talks, what they confide in each other, and that God is the Knower of the hidden things?, what is concealed from the eyes.

Verse 79

When the verse concerning ‘voluntary alms’ [Q. 9:75] was revealed, a man came and gave a large amount as voluntary alms, so the hypocrites said, ‘He is [merely] showing off!’ Another man then came and gave a [moderate] measure [of food], and so they said, ‘God has no need of this man’s charity!’ The following was then revealed: Those who (alladhīna is the subject) find fault with, defame, the believers who offer alms voluntarily, performing supererogation, and such as find nothing [to offer] but their endeavours, [nothing but] what they are capable of, and offer it; and deride them (and the predicate [of the mentioned subject] is [the following]) — God [Himself] derides them, He has requited them for their derision, and theirs will be a painful chastisement.

Verse 80

Ask forgiveness for them, O Muhammad (s), or do not ask forgiveness for them: this leaves the choice of asking forgiveness, or refraining, up to him; the Prophet (s) said, ‘I have been given the choice, and I made it’, meaning [the choice] to ask forgiveness, as reported by al-Bukhārī. If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them: it is said that the ‘seventy’ is intended to express [by hyperbole] a great frequency of asking forgiveness. In [the Sahīh of] al-Bukhārī there is a hadīth [which states]: ‘If I was sure that were I to ask more than seventy times, God would forgive [them], I would have done so’. It is also said, however, that the very number [seventy] is actually meant, on account of this other hadīth of his: ‘I shall ask more than seventy times’, whereupon it was made clear to him [the Prophet] that the matter regarding forgiveness had been concluded by the verse, [Q. 63:6] Alike it will be regarding them: whether you ask forgiveness for them or you do not ask forgiveness for them [God will not forgive them]; that is because they disbelieved in God and His Messenger; and God does not guide the wicked folk.

Verse 81

Those who were left behind, from [the journey to] Tabūk, rejoiced at remaining behind the Messenger of God, and were averse to striving with their wealth and their lives in the way of God. And they said, that is, they said to one another, ‘Do not go forth, do not set off to [join] the fight, in the heat!’ Say: ‘The fire of Hell is hotter, than Tabūk, and more worthy for them to guard against, by not staying behind, did they but understand’, this, they would not have stayed behind.

Verse 82

But let them laugh a little, in this world, and weep much, in the Hereafter, as a requital for what they used to earn (the sentence is predicative of their state, expressed in the form of an imperative).

Verse 83

So if God brings you back, from Tabūk, to a party of them, of those hypocrites who stayed behind in Medina, and they ask leave of you to go forth, with you on some other campaign, say, to them: ‘You shall never more go forth with me, and you shall never fight with me against an enemy. You were content to stay behind the first time, so stay behind with those who stay behind’, away from [military] campaigns, such as women and children and others.

Verse 84

When the Prophet (s) prayed over [the dead body of ‘Abd Allāh] Ibn Ubayy, the following was revealed: And never pray over any one of them when he is dead, nor stand over his grave, at a burial or as a visit; lo! they disbelieved in God and His Messenger, and died while they were wicked, [they died] disbelieving.

Verse 85

And let not their wealth and their children please you; God desires only to chastise them thereby in this world, and that their souls should depart while they are disbelievers.

Verse 86

And when a sūra, that is, a section of the Qur’ān, is revealed, saying: ‘Believe in God and strive with His Messenger’, the affluent among them ask leave of you, saying, ‘Leave us to be with those who sit at home’.

Verse 87

They are content to be with those who stay behind (khawālif is the plural of khālifa, meaning the women who ‘stay behind’ [takhallafna] at home) and a seal has been set upon their hearts, so they do not understand, [what is] good.

Verse 88

But the Messenger and those who believe with him strive with their wealth and their lives: for them are the good things, in this life and in the Hereafter; those, they are the successful, the triumphant.

Verse 89

God has prepared for them Gardens underneath which rivers flow, to abide therein: that is the supreme triumph.

Verse 90

And those Bedouins who had an excuse (al-mu‘adhdhirūn: the original tā’ has been assimilated with the dāl, in other words [it would usually be read as] al-mu‘tadhirūn, which [itself] is a variant reading), those [of them who were] excused, [came] to the Prophet (s), asking for leave, to stay behind on account of their excuses, and so he gave them leave to do so. And those who lied to God and His Messenger, by feigning belief, [those] hypocrites among the Bedouin, stayed behind, [refraining] from coming to give [their] excuses — a painful chastisement shall befall those of them who disbelieve.

Verse 91

As for the weak, such as the old, and the sick, the blind and the chronically ill, and those who find nothing to expend, for the struggle, no blame, no sin, falls upon them, should they stay away from it, if they remain true to God and to His Messenger, when they stay behind, by not spreading false rumours or impeding [others from joining the struggle], but by [adhering to] obedience. There is no way [of blame], no way of reproach, against those who are virtuous, through such [behaviour]. And God is Forgiving, Merciful, to them, by granting them such leeway [in this matter].

Verse 92

Nor against those who, when they came to you so that you might give them a mount, [to ride] with you on the raid — these were seven men of the Ansār; but it is also said that they were the Banū Muqrin — you having said to them, ‘I cannot find [a mount] whereon to mount you’ (this [last sentence] is a circumstantial qualifier), turned back (this is the response to the [clause beginning with] idhā, ‘when’), that is, they departed, their eyes flowing, pouring, with tears (min al-dam‘i: min is explicative) for sorrow that they could not find the means to expend, for the [campaign] struggle.

Display Arabic below the English verses
Display phonetic below the English verses

Tafsir (commentary) language
Show tafsir below each verse

Salam'aleykoum et bienvenue sur la version 2 de Le-Coran.com

Juz 10 | AL-ANFAL 8:41 -> AT-TAWBAH 9:92

Surah 8 AL-ANFAL

Surah 9 AT-TAWBAH

Support Le-Coran.com and its humanitarian, socially impactful projects

Make a donation

Donation summary

Messages from donors

Tafsir

Verse 41

Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 44

Verse 45

Verse 46

Verse 47

Verse 48

Verse 49

Verse 50

Verse 51

Verse 52

Verse 53

Verse 54

Verse 55

Verse 56

Verse 57

Verse 58

Verse 59

Verse 60

Verse 61

Verse 62

Verse 63

Verse 64

Verse 65

Verse 66

Verse 67

Verse 68

Verse 69

Verse 70

Verse 71

Verse 72

Verse 73

Verse 74

Verse 75

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33

Verse 34

Verse 35

Verse 36