Verses 30–40

Chapter 8: Al-Anfāl (The Spoils of War) · Printed edition: Volume 17, pp. 83–115

These verses carry on from the previous verses. They are all linked to the previous verses and the verses at the beginning of the chapter, apart from verses (“O Allah, if this be the truth…”), since these verses appear separate, as we shall discuss, God willing.

وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ ٣٠

(8:30) [Remember] when those who rejected faith plotted against you (yamkuru bika), to capture you (li-yuthbitūka) or kill you or expel you. They plotted, and Allah plotted—and Allah is the best of plotters.

Al-Rāghib says:

Makr (“plot”) means to divert someone from their aim through trickery. It has two [forms, senses]. It can be used in a positive sense; for instance, for a goodly effort, as in the verse And Allah is the best of plotters (). It can also be negative sense; that is, for something reprehensible, as in the verse And an evil plot does nothing but turn back on its plotters ().

When those who rejected faith plotted against you: Look at how their plot turned out. It speaks of two things: they plotted, and We plotted. It has been said: “Part of God’s ‘plot’ is granting a person respite and inundating them with worldly things. For that reason, the Commander of the Faithful—may God be pleased with him—said, ‘Whenever someone’s worldly situation is improved, while he does not know that he is being plotted against, that person has been deluded.’”

Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:

Ithbāt means “to confine” or “to imprison”. One can say: “He shot him and ‘imprisoned’ him (ramāhu fa-athbatahu), meaning he pinned him down on the spot.” Athbatahu fī al-ḥarb means to severely wound someone in war.

The context requires that when those who rejected faith plotted… be linked to previous verses ([Remember] when Allah promised you that one of the two companies would be yours…, ). Therefore, this verse is in the context of proclaiming the blessings God has showered upon them and how God has assisted them in ways that did not transpire from their own selves.

The verse means: Remember—or let them remember—when the Qurayshi faithless plotted to annihilate your call by besetting you with one of three things: imprisonment, assassination, or exile. They plotted, and God plotted—and God is the best plotter.

The vacillation between these three words—imprisonment, assassination, and exile—shows that they had taken council on how to handle the Prophet and snuff out the light of his call, thereby reinforcing narrations on why this verse was revealed which tell of their conniving at Dār al-Nadwah. This shall be discussed presently, in the section on narrations, God willing.

وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا قَالُوا قَدْ سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَٰذَا ۙ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ٣١

(8:31) When Our signs are recited to them, they say, “We have heard. If we pleased, we could say something similar (mithla hādhā). This is nothing but the fables (asāṭīr) of the ancients.”

Asāṭīr (sing. usṭūrah) are tales; the word is usually used to refer to made-up fables. “We have heard”, “if we pleased”, and “we could say something similar” are all spoken by them [the Qurayshi faithless]. It says mithla hādhā rather than mithla hādhihi or mithla-hā to indicate that they are mocking the signs of God and the position of being a divine messenger. The same occurs in the next sentence.

The verse means: When Our signs [the Qur’anic verses] are recited to them, they doubtlessly prove that they emerge from Us. They reveal that We will the true religion for them. However, they insist on attacking and belittling it. They say, “We have heard, and we understand—what you are saying is untrue; it is but an old fairy tale. If we wanted, we could say something similar. We just don’t see the point in it; we have no interest in this kind of superstitious story.”

وَإِذْ قَالُوا اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَٰذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ٣٢ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ٣٣

(8:32-33) [Remember] when they said, “O Allah, if this be the truth from You, then rain down (amṭir) stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment.” But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them, nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness.

Imṭār means to send down something from above. It is usually used for rain, or, metaphorically, for a deluge of other things, such as stones. In any case, when they say, “Rain down stones upon us from the sky”, the use of the word sky indicates that it is referring to a sign from the heavens –utter divine destruction.

Raining down stones is one form of punishment. But others remain, included in or bring us a painful punishment. Punishment is in the indefinite form, thereby left unspecified to encompass all other types of punishment. They are saying: “Rain down stones upon us from the heavens, or bring us a different kind of punishment that is painful.” Raining down stones from the heavens is identified specifically, rather than being implied in the generality of a painful punishment, because it causes both bodily and spiritual pain, insofar as it humbles and humiliates.

“O Allah, if this be the truth from You: This indicates that what they used to hear from the Prophet explicitly or implicitly was the statement “this is the truth from God,” which implies exclusivity. It would have been different if he had told them, “This is truth from God”. The second statement is for those who do not believe in heavenly religion and divine prophecy, as the polytheists, who were pagans, used to say: Allah has not sent down anything to any human (). As for the first statement, the one who is confronted with it is the one who believes that there is a true religion from God and a divine message that conveys the truth from Him, but he denies that what the Prophet brought or some of what he brought is the truth from God. Both their claims are rejected by this statment. First, it asserts that it is a divinely revealed religion and that the Prophet is a divinely sent prophet proclaiming the truth from God. Then, while they deny some or all of what the prophet brought is the truth from God, this asserts that it is from God and no one else. After that, conditions are put forward (“…then rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment”).

Most likely, these words do not literally recount what one of the polytheists said but which would have reflected their joint view and would have been the sort of thing they would all have been fine with. Rather, it is as if they were uttered by an apostate—someone who had accepted Islam then left it—or by one of the People of the Book, who actually believed in a divinely revealed religion. You may ponder this.

This view is reinforced by the subsequent verse, which says: But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them, nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness (). But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them means that God will not punish the Qurayshi faithless in Mecca before the Prophet migrates to Medina; that the presence of the Prophet among them is what is forestalling punishment. “Punishment” is something other than what would come from the Prophet’s hand; that is, it does not involve battle or being taken as prisoners of war. This is similar to how God has described “punishment” previously:

Say: Do you await for us but one of two most excellent things? And we await for you that Allah will afflict you with punishment from Himself or by our hands. So wait; we too will wait with you. ()

“Punishment” is extinction through a sign from the heavens, just like in the times of the ancient prophets. God warns them of being wiped out in many verses, such as:

But if they turn aside, then say: “I have warned you of a scourge like the scourge of ʿĀd and Thamūd.” ()

How else would it fit with the likes of warnings such as Allah will not chastise them while you are among them, if it did not mean punishing the Qurayshi faithless and Arab polytheists while the Prophet is in Mecca?

Possibly, it could be taken to mean punishing all the Arabs or the Muslim nation (ummah), with while you are among them meaning “while the Prophet is alive”. That is, it would mean: “God will not punish this nation while you are alive, among them.” The next clause—nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness—could be understood to reinforce that. That is, the verse asserts that the entire ummah will not be chastised. However, it does not rule out the possibility that some of them will be chastised. For instance, fighting is referred to as “punishment” (ʿadhāb) in previous verses. Similarly, it is related that God has punished some of them, such as Abū Lahab, and the ones who mocked the Prophet. With this in mind, the verse would not include those who say, “O Allah, if this be the truth from You” (). Specifically, it would not include people whom narrations say are the ones who said this such as Abū Jahl (in Ṣaḥīh al-Bukhārī) or al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥarith ibn Kaladah (as in some other narrations). These two people merited punishment and met death at the Battle of Badr. Therefore, in this interpretation, this verse would have no relationship with those people who said “O Allah, if this be the truth from You…” even though the verse is in the context of a statement and a reply.

It becomes more problematic when one considers what has been narrated regarding the reasons for revelation. For instance, it is said that “O Allah, if this be the truth from You, then rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment” () was revealed, followed by One demanding, demanded the chastisement which must befall the faithless; there is none to avert it (). This will be discussed later. Other narrations regarding the reasons of revelation will be discussed in the section on narrations, God willing.

One exegete has averred that, through examining the contents of the verse, one understands that God sent the Prophet Muḥammad as a mercy to the worlds and blessing for these people, not as retribution or punishment.

However, the problem with this is that the Prophet’s being a mercy to the worlds does not necessitate that he neglect what is best for the faith and be silent in the face of oppression, especially given what he faced, the way the righteous were tormented, and the way that the worldly and religious order was turned topsy-turvy. God Himself says: My mercy extends to all things ()—but this did not prevent divine wrath from befalling the ancients, as is mentioned in the Qur’an.

Although God uses the word “punishment” to refer to the battle and defeat of the Qurayshi faithless at Badr, this poses no contradiction to And We have only sent you as a mercy to the worlds (). He also threatens the Muslim nation with unilateral punishment in Sūrah Yūnus—and Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ, Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ, Sūrah al-Rūm, Sūrah al-Maʿārij, and elsewhere. This does not conflict with the Prophet being a mercy to all the worlds, for who would object to punishment befalling a group uttering nonsense like “O Allah, if this be the truth from You…”? For mercy necessitates giving all their just due—which includes taking tyrants to task for their tyranny.

Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness: Overtly, this is a negation in the future tense, as implied by [will] chastise them (muʿadhdhibahum). While they are seeking forgiveness presents itself as a continual matter and is an adverbial clause (jumlah ḥāliyyah). It means: God shall not bring punishment to them as long as they continually seek forgiveness from Him.

However the verse is understood, it does not actually mesh with the situation of the Meccan polytheists, who were stubborn and unyielding to truth, and who were not going to seek forgiveness for their crimes. The situation is not improved by the narrations telling that those who said this regretted it and then sought forgiveness from God by saying, “Your pardon, O God!”

Apart from the fact that the reliability of this account is not established, God does not heed pleas for forgiveness from those who associate partners with Him, especially their ringleaders. Their seeking forgiveness would have no effect. Otherwise, it would render null and void their audacity in saying, “O Allah, if this be the truth from You, then then rain down stones upon us from the sky….” (). No grounds would remain to condemn or admonish them in these verses, whereas the verses do appear in the context of condemning them for their violations against the Prophet and the faithful.

Furthermore, two verses later, God says, Why shouldn’t Allah punish them, when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque… (). This does not fit with the view that these two verses dispense with the idea of punishment, for the most apparent meaning of the verse is that “punishment” is specifically restricted to battle—that is, that would be meted out through the hands of the faithful—as does the next verse, which says: So taste the punishment for what you used to deny (). At that point, if the ones who were saying, “O Allah, if this be the truth…” were the Qurayshi polytheists—all of them or some of them—this would mean than “punishment” was a celestial punishment. This, in turn, would not agree with the verses speaking of “punishment” through battle and similar. If this verse is taken as emphatic, it would mean that they would have been more deserving of being punished, especially since they have committed other offenses such as barring people from the Sacred Mosque. However, this sort of sophistry would be better applied to argue that they would be punished, not that they would be exonerated from punishment.

If “not being punished” were taken to mean that they will not endure battle or similar things, then there would be a more evident clash between these verses:

Why shouldn’t Allah punish them… ()

So taste the punishment for what you used to deny. ()

But Allah will not chastise them… ()

Possibly, some exegetes understood the verse to mean this with the idea that But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them () meant that God would not punish them before the migration to Medina, whereas nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness () meant that God would not punish humanity as a whole after the hijrah, insofar as a group maintains faith and seeks forgiveness. For that reason, some argue that the first part of this verse was revealed before the migration to Medina, and the second part afterwards!

However, this view falters, since there was a group of believers in Mecca with the Prophet seeking forgiveness, even before the migration. Similarly, after the migration, the Prophet was still among the people. Therefore, there is no reason to divide the verse in half.

Suppose one takes these two verses to mean that (a) God will not punish the Muslim nation (ummah) as long as the Prophet remains among them, due to the blessings of his existence, (b) God will not punish the Muslim nation after him due to the blessings of their seeking forgiveness from God, and (c) “punishment” means obliteration. There would then be a disagreement between these two verses and what [excuse] have they that Allah should not punish them….

From the lengthy discussion above, it is clear that these two verses ([Remember] when they said, “O Allah, if this be the truth from You”… But Allah will not punish them..., ) do not share in the previous and subsequent verses that are mentioned in the discussion on the faithless among the Quraysh in the same context, and they were not revealed with them.

It is more likely that the dialogue in this verse (But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them…) is not about the polytheists. Rather, it is about the People of the Book, or some of those who accepted Islam, then recanted.

Some narrations reinforce this view. That is, they say that that the speaker here was al-Ḥārith ibn al-Nuʿmān al-Fihrī. We quoted this narration from Tafsīr al-Thaʿlabī and Majmaʿ al-Bayān in the discussion about the end of this verse:

O Messenger! Convey what has been sent to you from your Lord… ().

With that understanding in mind, when it says they will not be punished, it means that, unlike previous nations, the Muslim nation will not be wiped out by punishment from the heavens. God will not punish the Muslim nation as long as the Prophet is alive, among them, or, after him, as long as they seek forgiveness from God.

The verse But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them, nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness is included among verses which portend chastisement for the Muslim nation—for instance, the verses about the future of this nation, beginning with And every nation had a messenger; so when their messenger came, the matter was decided between them with justice and they shall not be dealt with unjustly (). This foretells that, eventually, this nation will cease seeking forgiveness from God. The faithful shall no longer be among them, and then punishment shall descend.

وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلَّا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ ۚ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ٣٤

(8:34) Why shouldn’t Allah punish them (wa mā lahum allā yuʿadhdhibuhum Allāh), when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque, while they are not its guardians. Only the reverent may be its guardians; however, most of them do not know.

This question conveys astonishment and disavowal. Either the phrase wa mā lahum is governed by an elided verb, with allā yuʿadhdhibuhum as its object, or it is an example of poetic license (taḍmīn) in the phrasing, as in the grammatical construction of Would you purify yourself (hal laka ilā an tazakkā) ()?

In any case, it essentially means: “It has been established. This is what they deserve. Why shouldn’t God punish them when they are barring people from the Sacred Mosque and keeping the faithful from entering it, while they aren’t its guardians?”

When they are barring is an adverbial clause describing the pronoun suffix them in punish them. While they are not its guardians is an adverbial clause describing the pronoun they in they are barring.

Only the reverent may be its guardians: This elaborates upon while they are not its guardians, meaning that it is not for them to take it upon themselves to oversee the House such that they may allow whoever they wish to enter but not others, since this House was founded upon reverence to God. Therefore no one may have authority over it unless they are reverent—and that is not them.

Only the reverent may be its guardians is a subject-predicate sentence explaining what has been said, with an obvious implied command. It is not a conditional sentence implying that the reverent may have guardianship; this is evinced by the next clause, which says: however, most of them do not know.

“Punishment” here either means killing or something more general, according to the context and the way the verse is linked with the succeeding verses. It has already been mentioned that the verse does not come across as being linked to what precedes it, and that verses (When Our signs are recited to them… “bring us a painful punishment”) are outside the context of the overall flow of verses. Evidence for this has already been mentioned.

Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:

Some might ask how it is possible to reconcile between these two verses and the beginning, since one part denies that they will be punished and the other affirms it.

The answer has three parts. Firstly, the first mention of punishment refers to annihilation, as was done to the ancient, whereas the second mention of punishment refers to being killed by the sword, taken captive, or similar things after the faithful are no longer among them. Secondly, it means to ask: why shouldn’t God punish them in the hereafter, whereas the first part is referring to punishment in this world. This is from al-Jubbāʾī. Third, the first mention is a way of encouraging seeking forgiveness.

It means that they shall not be punished in this world or in the hereafter as long as they seek forgiveness and turn towards God. Should they not do that, then they shall be punished. Then it explains that they deserve punishment for barring people from the Sacred House.

A brief response: However, a problem with this view is that it is built upon the assumption that the verse is linked with what comes before it, whereas, as we have discussed, it is not linked.

A more detailed response: With respect to the first point, the context of the first verse is severe, as we discussed. Therefore, it does not fit with this to say that they will not be punished, while it then says they will be punished, even if it is some other sort of punishment.

Second, the context of the verse shows that what is meant is not punishment in the hereafter. This is especially clear when looking at the third verse—which is in the same context of the first verse—and which says: So taste the punishment for what you used to deny ().

Third, this clearly opposes the overt meaning of the verse, insofar as the verse establishes that they should seek forgiveness continually, and encourages them to continue that. This much is clear.

وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً ۚ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ ٣٥

(8:35) Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling (mukāʾan) and clapping (taṣdiyatan). So taste the punishment for what you used to deny.

Mukāʾ means “whistling.” A mukkāʾ (the greater hoopoe-lark or Alaemon alaudipes) is a very whistly bird that lives in the Hijaz, as mentioned in the proverb: “give your children the desert-lark’s share and give me the greater hoopoe-larks’ share” (banīki ḥammirī wa makkikīnī).

Taṣdiyah means “clapping the hands against each other.”

Their prayer: “They” refers to the people who bar others from the Sacred House, as mentioned in the previous verse; that is, the Qurayshi polytheists. So taste the punishment for what you used to deny pronounces impending punishment for them, as indicated by the conjunction fa- at the beginning of the clause.

This reinforces the view that the two verses are linked together as a single statement. Verse , which begins with mā kānā, is an adverbial clause (jumlah ḥāliyyah), meaning: “Why shouldn’t God punish them while they are barring God’s faithful servants from the Sacred House, and while their prayer at the House is nothing but playing about, with clapping and whistling? If it be such, then let them taste the punishment for what they used to deny.” The shift from third person to the second person plural in taste the punishment emphasizes the severity of the statement.

From these two verses, it can be deduced that if the Sacred House is left empty due to being barred, it will bring about some sort of divine punishment. In part of his last testament, ʿAlī said: “By God, by God, [look after] the House of your Lord. If it is abandoned, you shall not be looked to.”

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَسَيُنْفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ ٣٦

(8:36) Those who reject faith spend their wealth to hinder people from the way of Allah. They will spend it, then regret, then be overcome; and those who reject faith shall be gathered in hell

This describes the situation of those who reject faith and how their efforts to wipe out the call to God and those who tread the path of God will go awry. This is further explained by they will spend it, then regret, then be overcome….

In this context, it is clear that those who reject faith shall be gathered in hell acts as an explanation. It means that rejecting faith shall impel them to strive to destroy the divine call and to bar people from the path of truth, let alone lead them to oppression and wickedness—and no form of wickedness can bring success or salvation. This is in accordance with Allah’s natural law (sunnah) built upon cause and effect. They shall spend their wealth for these corrupt goals, and they shall waste their wealth in these aims, which will make them regret. Then they shall be overcome. They shall not benefit from it. And that is what will make the faithless gather in hell. The cause will be what they did in this world: gathering to promote evil and marching out to fight God and His Messenger will make them march towards hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.

They will spend it, then regret, then be overcome…: This verse is one of the prophecies in the Qur’an. This verse in Sūrah al-Anfāl was revealed after the Battle of Badr. It seems to allude to what will happen at the Battle of Uḥud or elsewhere. With this in mind, they will spend it, then regret refers to the Battle of Uḥud, or another encounter. Then be overcome refers to the conquest of Mecca. Those who reject faith shall be gathered in hell refers to those who shall never embrace Islam.

لِيَمِيزَ اللَّهُ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَيَجْعَلَ الْخَبِيثَ بَعْضَهُ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فَيَرْكُمَهُ جَمِيعًا فَيَجْعَلَهُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ٣٧

(8:37) So that Allah can separate (yumayyizu) the impure (khabīth) from the good (ṭayyib), and put the impure, some atop another, and pile it up together (fa-yarkumahu), then cast it into hell; it is they who are the losers.

Khabīth is the antonym (opposite) of ṭayyib. These two words have already been discussed. Yumayyizu means to separate a thing from its opposite and place it with its own kind. Rakm (yarkumahu) means to pile one thing atop another. For instance, clouds are markūm (“piled”), meaning that they are heaped on top of each other. Tarākum (“buildup”, “accumulation”) means to overlay, superimpose, or stack up things.

This verse explains what was said in the previous verse about the situation of the faithless; that is, they are subject to the laws of creation. Namely, they are impelled to struggle with all their might to extinguish the light of God and block others from the way of God. However, their struggles are in vain. Thus, they exhaust their money and efforts in that cause. Their wealth, efforts, and deeds go to waste, leaving them regretful and defeated.

It is so, because their wanton acts are subject to the divine law (sunnah) which executes the divine will throughout the created universe: namely, through the order flowing throughout creation, God distinguishes the evil from the good, the wicked from the righteous. Then, the wicked shall be heaped atop each other and tossed into hell, which is the end of the line for the caravan of evil. They shall all end up there, in that wasteland, just as the good and the righteous shall end up in the Garden: losers and winners.

From this, it is clear that so that Allah can separate the impure from the good is similar in import to the verses in which God gives a parable about truth and falsehood:

He sends down water from the sky. Then watercourses flow according to their measure, and the torrent bears along the swelling foam, and from what they melt in the fire for the sake of making ornaments or an apparatus arises a scum like it. Thus does Allah compare truth and falsehood. Then the scum passes away as a worthless thing, what profits the people tarries in the earth. ()

This verse indicates the universal divine law that every branch springs from its root.

قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ وَإِنْ يَعُودُوا فَقَدْ مَضَتْ سُنَّتُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ٣٨

(8:38) Tell those who reject faith that if they desist (yantahū), their past (mā qad salafa) shall be forgiven; and if they return—then the wont (sunnah) of those of old has already passed.

Yantahū means “to stop doing something because it is disallowed”. Salafa means “what has preceded”. Sunnah means “path” or “way”.

The Prophet is commanded to pronounce this to them. It can either hearten or frighten them. In essence, he is telling them that if they cease fighting and sedition, God will forgive them for how they fought and tormented the faithful. However, if they do not stop doing what they have been forbidden to do, then they must beware what happened to the ancients: they were utterly destroyed, their efforts laid waste.

وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لِلَّهِ ۚ فَإِنِ انْتَهَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ٣٩ وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَوْلَاكُمْ ۚ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ ٤٠

(8:39-40) Fight them until there is no more strife (fitnah), and religion is entirely for Allah. However, if they desist—Allah sees what they do. And if they turn back, then know that Allah is your guardian: the most superb guardian and the most superb helper.

These two verses outline the responsibilities of the faithful, just as the responsibilities of the faithless were outlined in the previous verse.

These two verses mean: Tell them that if they stop menacing God and His Messenger, God will forgive them their past. However, if they go back to what they were doing, they should mind what happened to those before them. Tell them this. But as for you and the faithful—do not lose morale in your efforts to establish the faith and a healthy environment for the faithful. Fight them until their daily assaults ceases and are no more. If they stop, then God will recompense them for what He sees of their deeds. But if they then resume fighting, then also resume fighting. Know that God is the best Guardian; do not fear or sorrow.

Fitnah means “a thing which tries and pains a person”. It is usually used for fighting, insecurity, and violating peace treaties. Before the migration to Medina, the Qurayshi faithless used to apprehend those who believed in the Prophet, torture them, and try to force them to leave Islam. This even continued in Mecca for some time after the migration, and is what is meant here by fitnah.

From the context, it is clear that fight them until there is no more strife is a figure of speech meaning “weaken them by fighting until their faithlessness no longer deludes them, until they stop assaulting the faithful and religion entirely is for God, with no one calling towards anything opposing Him.”

However, if they desist—Allah sees what they do: Meaning, if they stop fighting. Similarly, it also says Allah sees what they do—meaning that when God passes His decree regarding them because He witnesses their actions.

If they turn back…: Meaning, that if they go back to what they were forbidden from—that is, they do not cut out their fighting and strife—then know that God is your guardian and helper. Fight them, certain of God’s aid, for He is the best guardian and helper.

And religion is entirely for Allah: There is no conflict between this verse, and the People of the Book professing their faith, as long as they enter under the protection (dhimmah) of the Muslims and pay the jizyah. Therefore, there is no reason to consider this verse and until they pay the jizyah by hand while they are subjugated () to be an example of abrogation in the Qur’an.

Some exegetes have put forward other views on the meaning of “desist” (intihāʾ), “forgiveness” (maghfirah), and other terms in these three verses; however, there is not much benefit in mentioning them, so we have left them out here.

According to some narrations, the most superb guardian (niʿm al-mawlā) and the most superb helper (niʿm al-naṣīr) are two of the beautiful Names of God. Here, “name” does not mean an ordinary noun [since this grammatical construction is not a noun]. This is similar to what was narrated about neither sleep nor slumber overtakes Him () and the beautiful Names. This was discussed in the exegesis of the end of verse —and to Allah belong the beautiful Names.

Examining Narrations

1. According to Tafsīr al-Qummī, [Remember] when those who rejected faith plotted against you… () was revealed in Mecca before the migration.
2. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, regarding [Remember] when those who rejected faith plotted against you… (), Ibn Jarīr and Abū al-Shaykh relate from Ibn Jurayḥ, may God be pleased with him:

This was revealed in Mecca.

Author’s comments: This is also conveyed in a narration from ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd from Muʿawiyah ibn Qurrah. However, you have already seen, the context of the verses does not support this view.

3. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, regarding [Remember] when those who rejected faith plotted against you… (), ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Aḥmad, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn Mundhir, al-Ṭabarānī, Abū al-Shaykh, Ibn Mardawayh, Abū Nuʿaym in al-Dalāʾil, and al-Khaṭīb relate from Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both:

One night, the Quraysh took council in Mecca.

Some of them said, “When morning comes, seize him and fetter him.” By “him”, they meant the Prophet.

Others said, “No, kill him.”

Others said, “No, expel him.”

God informed his Prophet about that, and so ʿAlī—may God be pleased with him—slept in the Prophet’s bed, while the Prophet left and travelled until he reached a cave. The polytheists spent the night eagerly guarding ʿAlī—may God be pleased with him—thinking he was the Prophet. When morning dawned, they stormed in on him. But when they saw it was ʿAlī—may God be pleased with him—and that God had foiled their plot, they demanded, “Where is your companion?”

He said, “I don’t know.”

They tracked his footsteps until they came to a mountain, whereupon they got mixed up. So they climbed the mountain and saw a spiderweb at [the cave’s] mouth. They said, “If he had gone in, there wouldn’t be a spiderweb here.” So he remained there for three nights.

4. Tafsīr al-Qummī says:

This verse was revealed when the Prophet proclaimed his call in Mecca, and the Aws and the Khazraj tribes came to him. The Messenger of God said to them, “Are you ready to defend me and be my neighbors, so I can recite the Book of God for you, and God shall reward you with Paradise?”

They said, “Yes. Make any conditions you want for your Lord and yourself.”

He said, “Meet us at ʿAqabah at night halfway through the days of tashrīq [that is, on the night of 12 Dhū al-Ḥijjah].”

After performing pilgrimage to the Kaʿbah, they left for Minā. Many men were among them. When it was the second day of tashrīq, the Messenger of God said to them, “After nightfall, come to the house of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib in al-ʿAqabah. Be careful not to wake anyone, and come stealthily, one by one.”

Seventy men from the Aws and the Khazraj came to the house. The Messenger of God said to them, “Will you defend me and be my neighbor, so I can recite the Book of my Lord for You, and God will reward you with Paradise?”

Asʿad ibn Zurārah, al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr, and ʿAbd Allah ibn Ḥarām said, “Yes, O Messenger of God! Put whatever conditions for you and your Lord that you please.”

He replied, “The condition I am placing for my Lord is that you worship Him and do not associate any partners with Him whatsoever. The condition I place for myself is that you defend me the same way you would defend yourselves, and that you defend my family the same way you would defend your families and children.”

They said, “What will we receive in return?”

He said, “In the hereafter, Paradise. In this world, you shall be kings of the Arabs, and the non-Arabs shall flock to your religion. And you shall be kings in Paradise.”

They said, “We agree.”

He said, “Send me twelve of your chiefs to bear witness for you, just like Moses took oaths from twelve chiefs of the Israelites, whom Gabriel specified”

They said, “This chief, and that chief,” until they named nine of the Khazraj and three of the Aws. From the Khazraj, they were Asʿad ibn Zurārah, al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥarām (the father of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh), Rāfiʿ ibn Mālik, Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah, al-Mundhir ibn ʿUmar, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah, Saʿd ibn Rabīʿ, and ʿUbādah ibn Ṣāmit. From the Aws, they were Abū al-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihān, who was from Yemen; Usayd ibn Ḥaṣīn; and Saʿd ibn Khaythamah.

After they had gathered and paid allegiance to the Messenger of God, Iblīs screeched, “O Quraysh! O Arabs! This Muḥammad and his hooligans from Yathrib are at the pillar (jamrah) of ʿAqabah paying allegiance to him to fight you.” His voice reached all the people of Minā, and the Quraysh marched forth with their weapons.

The Messenger of God also heard the cry and told the Anṣār, “Disperse.”

They said, “O Messenger of God, if you command us to greet them with our swords, we will.”

The Messenger of God said, “I have not been commanded to do that, and God has not given me permission to fight them.”

They said, “Will you come with us?”

He said, “I will await the command of God.”

Weapons in hand, the Quraysh swarmed the area. Ḥamzah and the Commander of the Faithful took their swords and met them at ʿAqabah. When the Quraysh saw them, they said, “What are you two doing here—what is this gathering for?”

Ḥamzah said, “There isn’t any gathering. No one else is here. By God, if anyone tries to pass through ʿAqabah, I will strike him with my sword.”

So they returned to Mecca and said, “We do not think he is going to cause any harm to us or that any of the chieftains of the Quraysh would join the religion of Muḥammad.”

Then they took counsel at Dār al-Nadwah. No one was allowed to enter Dār al-Nadwah unless he was at least forty years old. Forty heads of the Quraysh assembled there, and Iblīs came in the form of an old man.

The door-guard asked him, “Who are you?”

He said, “I am a shaykh from the people of Najd. I have never held back from giving you the correct view. When I heard that you had gathered to discuss this man, I came to share in your counsel.”

The gateman said, “Enter,” so Iblīs went in.

After they had taken their seats, Abū Jahl said, “O Quraysh! None of the Arabs are more esteemed than us. We are God’s folk. Twice a year, the Arabs come to us and honour us. While we are in the God’s sanctuary, no one could connive against us. It has always been like this—until that Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh popped up among us. We used to call him ‘the trustworthy’ because he was a do-gooder—peaceable and honest-tongued—until what happened, happened. We honored him—but he claimed to be a messenger of God and that news came to him from the heavens. He discredited our beliefs, mocked our gods, ruined our youth, divided our flocks, and swore that our ancestors who had died were in Hell. Nothing more atrocious could have befallen us. This is my view.”

They said, “What is your view?”

He [someone else] said, “I think that we should send one of our men to infiltrate his ranks and wipe him out. Then, if the Banū Hāshim demand blood-money from us, we will give them ten times the amount.

The despicable one [Iblīs] said, “What a wretched idea!”

They asked, “Why?”

He said, “Because, doubtlessly, anyone who kills Muḥammad will be slain. Which of you is going to sacrifice yourself to kill him? If anyone kills Muḥammad, the Banū Hāshim will band together with their allies from the Khuzāʿah and not rest while the killer of Muḥammad still walks the earth. War will break out among you, in your sanctuary, and you will be wiped out.”

Someone else said, “I have another idea.”

He said, “And what is it?”

He said, “Let’s imprison him in a house and cast him some morsels until death takes him, like how [the poets] Zuhayr, Nābighah, and Imruʾ al-Qays died.”

Iblīs said, “This is an even worse idea.”

They said, “Why?”

He said, “Banū Hāshim will never allow that. When one of the travel-seasons comes when the Arabs come to Mecca, they will ask them for help, and, altogether, they will break Muḥammad out of prison.”

Someone else said, “No, let’s just expel him from our lands and devote ourselves to worshipping our gods.

Iblis said, “This is even worse than the other two ideas.”

They asked, “Why?”

He said, “Because you’re plotting against the most silver-tongued, handsome, smooth-spoken man. If you drop him off in the desert valleys of the Arabs, he will bewitch them with his tongue. Then they will take you unaware, with horses and men.”

They remained perplexed for a while. Then they asked Iblīs, “What do you advise, O shaykh?”

He said, “I only have one view.”

They said, “What is it?”

He said, “Take a man from each clan of the Quraysh, including Banū Hāshim. Arm each man with a knife, an iron rod, or a sword. Then, let them swoop down on him and strike him in one fell blow, so that his blood is split among all the Quraysh, and the Banū Hāshim cannot seek vengeance. Thus, you will all have shared in the deed. If they petition for blood-money, give it three-fold.”

“Yes—even ten-fold,” they said. “This is a good idea, O shaykh from Najd.”

Thus, they resolved upon that, and Abū Lahab, the uncle of the Prophet, joined them [as the man from Banū Hāshim].

Then, Gabriel descended to the Messenger of God and informed him that the Quraysh had conspired against him at Dār al-Nadwah, whereupon God revealed: [Remember] when those who rejected faith plotted against you, to capture you or kill you or expel you. They plotted, and Allah plotted—and Allah is the best of plotters ().

The Quraysh decided to come upon him at night and kill him, so they made for the sanctuary, whistling, clapping, and traipsing around it, whereupon God revealed Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping (). This verse is linked by a conjunction to verse , although it was recorded after many other verses.

When night fell, the Quraysh neared the Prophet’s abode. Abū Lahab said, “I won’t let you burst in on him at night. There are women or children inside, and we can’t be sure that they won’t be hit accidentally. Let’s guard him all night, and, at morning, we can swarm him.” So they slept, surrounding the Prophet’s chamber, but the Prophet had told ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib to put his life on the line and sleep in his place instead.

ʿAlī had said, “Yes, O Messenger of Good.”

The Prophet had told him, “Sleep on my bed, and cover yourself with my cloak.”

So ‘Alī slept on the Prophet’s bed, wrapped up in the Prophet’s cloak.

Then, Gabriel came. Taking the Messenger of God by the hand, he led him away from the Quraysh while they were sleeping, while [the Prophet was] reciting over them: “And We set before them and behind them a barrier, and have covered them so they do not see” (). Gabriel told him, “Take the road to Thawr”—which is a mountain on the way to Minā with a hump shaped like a bull (thawr). So he entered the cave, and what happened, happened.

When the Quraysh awoke, they burst into the chamber, making for the Prophet’s bed. Leaping up into their faces, ʿAlī said, “What do you mean by this?”

“Where is Muḥammad?” they demanded.

“Have you made me his keeper?” ʿAlī said. “Didn’t you say you were going to kick him out of your lands? He’s gone.”

They rounded on Abū Lahab, beating him. “You deceived us last night!” they accused him.

Then they dispersed into the mountains. Among them was a skilled tracker from the Khuzāʿah tribe called Abū Karz. “Abū Karz,” they told him, “today is your day.” So he led them to the mouth of the Prophet’s cave. He told them, “This is Muḥammad’s footprint. By God, this is the same footprint that is in the sanctuary.”

[That night], Abū Bakr had met the Prophet, so the Prophet had taken him with him [to the cave]. Abū Karz said, “This is either Ibn Abī Quḥāfah’s [Abū Bakr’s] footprint, or his father’s. Someone else’s footprint is also here.” Then he led them to the cave, and said, “They haven’t passed beyond this spot. Either they have ascended to the heavens, or they have disappeared into the earth.” For God had sent a spider to weave its web over the mouth of the cave. Then some angels came in the form of horsemen and said, “No one’s in this cave.” So they dispersed, and thus God turned them away from His messenger. After that, God allowed the Prophet to migrate to Medina.

Author’s comments: An abridged version of similar meaning is related in al-Durr al-Manthūr from Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Ḥātim, Abū Nuʿaym, and al-Bayhaqī altogether in al-Dalāʾil from Ibn ʿAbbās. However, in it, Abū Jahl says what the old man from Najd says here. Then it says that from the old man from Najd supported Abū Jahl’s view, and the group agreed to follow it.

Many Sunni and Shiʿi narrations relate that Iblīs came to them at Dār al-Nadwah in the guise of an old man from Najd.

With respect to what Abū Karaz said—that this is Muḥammad’s footprint, this is Abū Bakr’s footprint, and this is someone else’s footprint—narrations relate that the third person was Hind ibn Abū Hālah, the step-son of the Messenger of God whose mother was Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, may God be pleased with her.

5. Shaykh [al-Ṭūsī] relates in his Amālī with a chain of narration from Abū ʿUbaydah ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, from his father and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Rāfiʿ, altogether from ʿĀmmār ibn Yāsir and Abū Rāfiʿ, and from Sinān ibn Abī Sinān, from Ibn Hind ibn Abī Hālah. The narrations from ʿAmmār, Abū Rāfiʿ, and Hind have intermingled. It is a long hadith on the migration of the Prophet. An excerpt says:

The Messenger of God had Abū Bakr ibn Abī Quḥāfah and Hind ibn Abi Hālah follow him. He told them to sit and wait for him at a specific place on the way to the cave. The Messenger of God then remained [in his house] with ʿAlī and told him to wait until after they had prayed the evening and night-time prayers. Then, after darkness fell, the Messenger of God left, while the Quraysh were lying in wait for him. They had surrounded his house and were waiting for midnight when all eyes would be asleep. When he left, he was reciting this verse—and We set before them and behind them a barrier, and have covered them so they do not see ()—and clasping a fistful of dust. Then he cast it towards their heads, whereupon they detected him not, and he left. Then he continued until he reached Hind and Abū Bakr. They got up, and they all went to the cave. Then Hind returned to Mecca at the Prophet’s command, and the Prophet and Abū Bakr entered the cave.

The story continues. Then:

The next night, after the sun’s rays had wholly departed, in the first third of the night, ʿAlī and Hind ibn Abī Ḥālah went to see the Prophet in the cave. The Prophet told Hind to buy two camels—one for himself, and one for his companion. Abū Bakr said, “I’ve already readied one mount for you and one mount for me, O Prophet of God, so we can ride them to Yathrib.”

He said, “I will only take them for a price.”

He said, “Agreed—it is yours.”

Then the Messenger of God told ʿAlī to pay Abū Bakr for it, and told ʿAlī to look after his trusts and obligations. For, in the time of ignorance, the Quraysh used to call Muḥammad “the Trustworthy” (al-amīn), and used to entrust their wealth and goods with him for him to look after. This continued after prophethood and messengership descended upon him, when the Arabs came to Mecca during the pilgrimage season. Therefore, he told ʿAlī to stand and call out, morning and evening, “Whoever has left a trust with or has a claim on Muḥammad—come hither, and we shall return it to you.”

For the Messenger of God had said, “O ʿAlī! The people of Mecca will not harm you until you come to me in Medina. So take care of my trusts that the people are waiting for and return them to their owners. I also entrust my daughter Fāṭimah to you. Look after her, and I entrust both of you to my Lord and His protection.” Then he said, “Buy riding-animals for yourself, the girls named Fāṭimah, and for whoever else from the Banū Hāshim who wishes to migrate with you.”

Abū ʿUbaydah related:

I said to ʿUbayd Allāh—meaning Ibn Abī Rāfiʿ—“Did the Prophet have enough money for that?”

He replied, “I asked my father the same thing when he was telling me this narration. He said, ‘Have you forgotten about Khadījah’s wealth?’”

ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Rāfiʿ said:

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib recalled how he spent the night sleeping on the Prophet’s bed and how the Prophet stayed in the cave for three nights:

I shielded the best person ever to walk the earth,

And the one who ever circled the Ancient House and the Black Stone—Muḥammad. When he feared their plot against him,

My Lord protected him—the Lord of Might—from treachery.

I spent the night watching them as they surrounded me,

While I had prepared myself to be taken or killed,

And the Prophet stayed in the cave, safe—

In the protection of God, and in secret.

He remained for three days, then reined his camel,

Gravel flying wherever he went.

These verses have been narrated from ʿAlī with a few variations in al-Durr al-Manthūr from al-Ḥākim, from ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn.

6. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, regarding the best of plotters (), Zurārah and Ḥamrān relate from Imām al-Bāqir and Imām al-Ṣādiq:

The Messenger of God had been tried greatly by his people, to the point where they came to him one day, while he was prostrating, and cast a sheep’s uterus on him. His daughter came while he will still prostrating—he hadn’t raised his head—and took it off him, then wiped it off him. After that, God showed him what he loved: at Badr, they only had one horseman, whereas, when they retook Mecca, they numbered twelve thousand, which made Abū Sufyān and the polytheists cry out for aid.

7. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim from al-Suddī, may God be pleased with him:

Al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith used to frequent al-Ḥīrah and listen to the rhymed prose there and what was being said. When he went to Mecca and heard the Prophet speak and the Qur’an, he said, “We have heard this. If we wanted to, we could compose something like it; this is nothing but legends of yore.”

Author’s comments: Some other narrations also say that al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith was the one who said this, and that he was killed at Badr.

8. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from al-Bukhārī, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū al-Shaykh, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqī in al-Dalāʾil, that Anas ibn Mālik said:

Abū Jahl ibn Hishām said: “O Allah, if this be the truth from You, then rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment” (). Then it was revealed: But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them, nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ().

Author’s comments: Al-Qummī relates something similar in his tafsīr, as does al-Suyūṭī in al-Durr al-Manthūr. There, he relates something similar from Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Abī Ḥātim, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, and from Ibn Jarīr from ʿĀṭāʾ—that the one who said “O God, if this be the truth from You…” was al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith; this was discussed previously with respect to the context of the verse.

9. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Jarīr that Yazīd ibn Rūmān and Muḥammad ibn Qays said:

The Quraysh said to each other, “God thinks Muḥammad is better than the rest of us? O Allah, if this be the truth from You, then rain down stones upon us from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment” ().

When night fell, they regretted their words and said, “Forgiveness, O God!” Then God revealed: Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness. Why shouldn’t Allah punish them, when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque, while they are not its guardians. Only the reverent may be its guardians; however, most of them do not know. ().

10. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Abū al-Shaykh from Ibn Ubzā, may God be pleased with him:

The Messenger of God was in Mecca when God revealed But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them (). When he left for Medina, God revealed: nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ().

After they had marched forth [to Badr], God revealed: Why shouldn’t Allah punish them, when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque, while they are not its guardians. Only the reverent may be its guardians; however, most of them do not know (). Then, God allowed him to retake Mecca; this was the punishment they had been promised.

11. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Abū al-Shaykh from ʿAṭiyyah, may God be pleased with him:

But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them ()—Meaning the polytheists, until they expel you.

Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness.—Meaning, the faithful.

Then God returns to the polytheists and says: Why shouldn’t Allah punish them, when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque? ()

12. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Abī Ḥātim that al-Siddī said regarding the verse nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ():

Had they sought forgiveness and confessed to their sins, they would have been believers.

13. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, regarding Why shouldn’t Allah punish them, when they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque? (), it says:

[It means]: Why shouldn’t I punish them, since they are not seeking forgiveness?

14. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from ‘Abd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Abū al-Shaykh from Mujāhid regarding:

But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them ()—Meaning, in their midst.

Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ()—Meaning, they become Muslims.

15. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Jarīr from Abū Mālik:

But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them ()—Meaning, the people of Mecca.

Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ()—Meaning, while there are faithful among them, seeking forgiveness.

16. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim relate from ʿIkrimah and al-Ḥasan:

Nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness ()—This verse was abrogated by the next verse: Why shouldn’t Allah punish them… (). Thus, they were slain in Mecca, afflicted by hunger, and besieged.

Author’s comments: However, this conflicts with the context and literal meaning of the verses. Their desire to preserve the sequencing of the verses—that is, to make them all about the Meccan polytheists—impelled them to this sort of finagling. It is deeply strange that they describe the reconquest of Mecca as “punishment”, since it was nothing but mercy for the polytheists and faithful alike.

17. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from al-Tirmidhī that Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī said:

The Messenger of God said, “God revealed to me two guarantees of safety for my nation (ummah): But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them and nor will Allah chastise them while they are seeking forgiveness (). So after I pass away, they may continue seeking forgiveness until the Day of Judgment.”

Author’s comments: The contents of the narration befit the verse. Something similar is related from Abū Hurayrah and Ibn ʿAbbās from the Prophet, and also in Nahj al-Balāghah from [Imam] ʿAlī.

However, there is something off towards the end of the narration, since the Qur’an says that punishment will befall the Muslim nation before the Day of Judgment. For this to happen, it would require that seeking forgiveness is withdrawn from them before the Day of Judgment.

18. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Aḥmad from Faḍḍālah ibn ʿUbayd that the Prophet said:

The servant [of God] is secure from divine chastisement as long as he is seeking forgiveness from God.

19. In al-Kāfī, it is related from ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm, from his father, from Ḥannān ibn Sadīr, from his father, that Imām al-Bāqir said that the Messenger of God said:

It is good for you if I remain among you, since God says But Allah will not chastise them while you are among them (9.33). But it is also good for you if I leave.

They said, “O Messenger of God, it is good for you to be among us. But how is it good for us if you leave us?”

He said, “It is good for you if I leave because your deeds will be presented to me every Thursday and Monday. If they are good, God will praise them, and if they are evil, God will forgive them.”

Author’s comments: Something similar is related from al-ʿAyyāshi in his tafsīr and al-Shaykh in his Amālī from Ḥannān ibn Sadir, from his father, from him [Imām al-Bāqir]. In their narration, the person asking is Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī. It is also related in al-Kāfī via a chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn Abī Ḥamzah and others from Imām al-Bāqir.

20. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Jarīr relate from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr:

The Quraysh used to clash with the Prophet when circling the Kaʿbah, laughing, and whistling, and clapping. So God revealed: Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping ().

21. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Abū al-Shaykh, from Nubayṭ, who was one of the Companions:

Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment for what you used to deny. ()—They used to circle the Sacred House while whistling.

22. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from al-Ṭastī from Ibn ʿAbbās:

Someone said to Nāfiʿ ibn al-Azraq, “Tell me about the verse nothing but whistling (mukāʾ) and clapping (tāṣdiyah) ().”

He said, “Mukāʾ is the sound a desert-lark makes. Tāṣdiyah is the sound that sparrows make and sounds like clapping. This is because when the Messenger of God used to stand for prayer in Mecca, he would pray standing between the Ḥijr and the Yemeni pillar (al-rukn al-yamānī). Then, two men would come from Banū Sahm. One would stand on his right and the other on his left. One would shriek out lark-whistles, while the other would slap and clap out bird-noises, to try to ruin his prayers.”

23. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is related from Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Yamānī, from whoever related it to him, from Imām al-Bāqir:

When they are barring [people] from the Sacred Mosque, while they are not its guardians ()—Meaning that the polytheists are not guardians of the Sacred House.

Only the reverent may be its guardians ()—Since they are worthier of being its guardians than the polytheists.

Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping ()—Meaning, sounding out whistles and claps (taṣfīr wa taṣfīq).

24. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and al-Bayhaqī in al-Dalāʾil all from the same chain of narration that al-Zuhrī, Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ḥannān, and ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatādah said that al-Ḥaṣīn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar said:

After the Quraysh had been decimated at the Battle of Badr, and those who had fled the battle returned to Mecca, and Abū Sufyān returned with his convoy, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabīʿah, ʿIkrimah ibn Abū Jahl, and Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah went with a group of Qurayshi men to whoever had trade goods and said, “O Quraysh! Muḥammad has slain your kin and heroes. Donate your wealth to this war so that we can take vengeance on him.”

Thus, they did. Hence it is related from Ibn ʿAbbās that God revealed about them: Those who reject faith spend their wealth to hinder people from the way of Allah. They will spend it, then regret, then be overcome; and those who reject faith shall be gathered in hell ().

25. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Mardawayh from Ibn ʿAbbās regarding Those who reject faith spend their wealth to hinder people from the way of Allah ():

This was revealed regarding Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb.

26. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Saʿd, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū al-Shaykh, and Ibn ʿAsākir from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr regarding Those who reject faith spend their wealth to hinder people from the way of Allah ():

This verse was revealed about Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb. For the Battle of Uḥud, he hired two thousand mercenaries from the Banū Kinānah allied clans to fight the Messenger of God, alongside the Arabs who joined the army. Then God revealed this verse about him. They are the ones whom Kaʿb ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, recited these verses about:

We came to the wave of a sea and in its midst.

There were unarmored and masked men from the clans.

They numbered three thousand, while we were the pithy remnants:

Three hundred, or maybe up to four hundred.

Author’s comments: An abridged version has been related from Ibn Isḥāq and Ibn Abī Ḥātim from ʿAbbād ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr.

27. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, regarding Fight them until there is no more strife, and religion is entirely for Allah (), it is related from Zurārah and others that Imām al-Bāqir said:

The deeper meaning (ta’wīl) of this verse has not yet come to pass. Were our qāʾim to arise, and those who journey towards him reach him, it would happen swiftly: the religion of Muḥammad would be proclaimed in such a way that, by nightfall, no one on earth would associate partners with God.

Author’s comments: ʿAyyāshī has also related this in his tafsīr from Zurārah from him. There is something similar in meaning in al-Kāfī, with a chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn Muslim from Imām al-Bāqir. Al-ʿAyyāshī also relates something similar from ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Ḥalabī from Imām al-Bāqir in a long narration.

The narration from Ibrāhīm al-Laythī has already been mentioned regarding the exegesis of So that Allah can separate the impure from the good… () along with some of what relates to it regarding the end of the verse just as He created you, you shall return () in the eighth [Arabic] volume of this work.

---

1. Namely, “This is nothing but the fables of the ancients,” which also uses the pronoun hādhā. [Trans.] ↩︎

2. Whereas the verses say that God will not punish people as long as the Prophet is among them. [Trans.] ↩︎

3. Rather than being followed by . [Trans.] ↩︎

4. See volume 6 of the Arabic edition. [Trans.] ↩︎

5. The proverb is used for a situation where a person should divide things equally between people, but instead gives one person a lion’s share, since the desert-lark is bigger than the greater hoopoe-lark. It refers to a story of a woman dividing dates between her children and husband in a time of hunger. [Trans.] ↩︎

6. In Arabic, ism means both “name” and “noun”. In his exegesis of , ʿAllāmah also says that “one may question whether any of God’s names is purely a proper name” (p. 236 of the English edition). [Trans.] ↩︎

7. The narration being referred to is as follows: Imam al-Ṣādiq said: “God has created a name that is not pronounced through letters, that is not uttered by words, that is not embodied in a person, that is not described by any analogy, and that is not colored by any color. Sides and locations do not apply to it; definitions are far from it; and the senses of all thinkers are veiled from it. It is covered without having a covering. He made it a complete word based on four concomitant parts that none precedes the others. He manifested three of them due to His creatures’ need of them, and He veiled one of them which is the name that is concealed and reserved. So these are the names that have appeared. These manifest names are Allāh, Tabāraka (He is Blessed) and Taʿālā (He is Exalted). God has subordinated four pillars for each of these names, making twelve pillars [in total]. He created thirty names for each pillar, as actions that are attributable to that [pillar]. He is (1) al-Raḥmān, (2) al-Raḥīm, (3) al-Malik, (4) al-Quddūs, (5) al-Khāliq, (6) al-Bāriʾ, (7) al-Muṣawwir, (8) al-Ḥayy, (9) al-Qayyūm, (10) Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinah wa lā nawm (no nap or sleep overtakes Him), (11) al-ʿAlīm, (12) al-Khabīr, (13) al-Samīʿ, (14) al-Ḥakīm, (15) al-ʿAzīz, (16) al-Jabbār, (17) al-Mutakabbir, (18) al-ʿAlī, (19) al-ʿAẓīm, (20) al-Muqtadir, (21) al-Qādir, (22) al-Salām, (23) al-Muʾmin, (24) al-Muhaymin, (25) al-Bāriʾ, (26) al-Munshiʾ, (27) al-Badīʿ, (28) al-Rafiʿ, (29) al-Jalīl, (30) al-Karīm, (31) al-Rāziq, (32) al-Muḥyī, (33) al-Mumīt, (34) al-Bāʿith, (35) al-Wārith….” Regarding this narration, ʿAllāmah notes that some of the divine names in this hadith are verbs and phrases, not nouns. Thus they are not “names” (that is, nouns) in the linguistic sense but in the sense that they denote God’s essence from the angle of a particular quality. (See pp. 271-274 of the English edition.) [Trans.] ↩︎

8. This section of the exegesis appears in the eighth volume of the Arabic edition. [Trans.] ↩︎

9. That is, the footprint was the same as Abraham’s footprint at Maqām Ibrāhīm. [Trans.] ↩︎

10. The capital of the Lakhmid kingdom which was a vassal state of the Sassanian Empire. It was in modern-day Iraq. It is said that al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith learned to play and sing to the lute there, and then imported those arts to the Arabian Peninsula, whereupon the Arabs began to purchase singing-girls. It is also said that whenever people would hear the Prophet’s words, he would bring them to his slave-girl, ask her to sing for them, and tell them that this was better than what the Prophet had said. ↩︎