The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal)
Verses 9-14 GROUP_305 8.9-14
9
إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلآئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ
When you prayed to your Lord for help, He answered, ‘I am sending to your aid a thousand angels in succession.’
10
وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللّهُ إِلاَّ بُشْرَى وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلاَّ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
God only did this to give you good news, and so that your hearts might be set at rest, for help comes from God alone. Surely, God is Mighty and Wise.
11
إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّن السَّمَاء مَاء لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الأَقْدَامَ
He brought drowsiness upon you to give you His reassurance and sent down water from the sky upon you, so that He might thereby purify you and remove Satan’s pollution from you, and make your hearts strong and your feet firm.
12
إِذْ يُوحِي رَبُّكَ إِلَى الْمَلآئِكَةِ أَنِّي مَعَكُمْ فَثَبِّتُواْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ سَأُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الرَّعْبَ فَاضْرِبُواْ فَوْقَ الأَعْنَاقِ وَاضْرِبُواْ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ
When your Lord commanded the angels, saying, ‘I am with you, so make those who believe stand firm. I will instill fear in the hearts of those who deny the truth: so strike their necks and strike all their finger joints!’a
13
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ شَآقُّواْ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
That was because they defied God and His Messenger. He who defies God and His Messenger shall be severely punished by God.
14
ذَلِكُمْ فَذُوقُوهُ وَأَنَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابَ النَّارِ
That is your punishment, taste it then; and know that for those who deny the truth there is the punishment of the Fire.
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Commentary
(a) The battle of Badr took place under very critical conditions. Only 313 Muslims were pitted against about one thousand well-armed enemies. The Muslims were scantily armed. The enemies had already reached the venue of battle (Badr) and had captured a vantage point and the spring of water. Seeing this, the Muslims were beset by doubts that perhaps they would not be supported by God in the mission for which they had been sacrificing their lives. Had truth been on their side, God would not have helped the enemies on this critical occasion and all the favourable opportunities would have slipped from their grasp and passed on to their enemies. But at that time, Almighty God caused heavy rains to fall in the area of Badr. Muslims made ponds and stored the water. The enemy had deprived Muslims of the water of the land; God then arranged for them to have water from the sky. God furthermore blessed them with an extraordinary favour—that of sleep. Sleep is very necessary for a man to be refreshed, but the conditions in the battlefield are so terrible that it is impossible to have sound sleep. In spite of this, Almighty God blessed them with His special succour; on the eve of the battle, He made it possible for them to have sound sleep. In the night they slept free of all mental pressure and got up in the morning fully refreshed. Out of conditions which were causing Muslims to have misgivings, God created such possibilities that they developed new faith and a sense of self-reliance.