Appearance
Verses 67–71
Here, God reproves [the Muslims] who fought at Badr for taking some of the idolators captive and suggesting to the Prophet that, rather than kill them, they take them for ransom to better their situation and fortify themselves against the enemies of the faith. Although it is a scathing censure, it replies to their request and allows them to make use of the spoils of war, including ransom.
The latter section of the verses is encouraging. Should the captives accept Islam, it grants them a beauteous promise. Should they think to trick the Prophet, God has no need of them.
مَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ أَسْرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ يُثْخِنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ تُرِيدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ٦٧ لَوْلَا كِتَابٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِيمَا أَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ٦٨ فَكُلُوا مِمَّا غَنِمْتُمْ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٦٩
(8:67-69) It is not for a prophet to take captives (asrā) until he subdues (yuthkhina) the land. You [pl.] desire the fleeting things (ʿaraḍ) of this world, while Allah desires the hereafter [for you], and Allah is mighty, wise. Were it not for an ordinance from Allah that had already gone forth, an awful doom would have befallen you because of what you [pl.] took. Eat then of what you have acquired in war, lawful and good (ḥalālan ṭayyiban), and mind Allah; Allah is forgiving, merciful.
The word asr means to apprehend and tie up an enemy fighter. An asīr is an enemy captive who is bound. Its plurals are asrā, asrāʾ, usārā, and asārā. Some also say that asārā is a plural of plurals (that is, it denotes groups of captives). The word sabī (“prisoner”) is more general in usage than asr since it can be used for unbound captives, such as children.
Thikhan means “to conquer mercilessly”.
It is used in the expressions athkhanathu al-jirāḥ (“the wounds overwhelmed him”) and athkhanahu al-maraḍ (“the illness consumed him”). In al-Mufradāt, al-Rāghib says:
The verb thakhuna takes a direct object, which can then be spoken of as a thakhīn. It means the stoppage of the flow of a thing becuase of thickness, so it can no longer continue on. It is used in the expressions athkhantuhu ḍarban wa istikhfāfan (“I stopped him by beating and insulting”).
God says: It is not for a prophet to take captives until he subdues (yuthkhina) the land () and when you have overcome them (athkhantumūhum), then make [them] prisoners (). By “subduing the land”, it means establishing his religion among the people, as if the religion is a weighty thing, which solidifies and establishes itself, succeeding something which was thin and ephemeral, feared over, trickling away, evanescing with the tide.
The word ʿaraḍ is used for things that come and go quickly. For that reason, it is used for the chattels of life since they soon vanish into oblivion. Ḥalāl is the adjective of the word ḥill (“untying”), which is the antonym of ʿaqd (“tying”) and ḥurmah (“prohibition”). It is as if a ḥalāl thing had its prohibitions untied from it. Ṭayyib is something which is suitable to eat.
Exegetes have understood these verses in varying ways, although they concur they were revealed after the Battle of Badr to reprove the fighters and allow them to make use of the spoils of war. They disagree due to the differing narrations on why they were revealed and the varying accounts on the narrations. Even if the narrations are authentic, their careful study shows a surprising liberty in the transmission of hadith by content rather than by word, to the extent that they seem like contradictory reports.
Since understandings of the verses differ due to the varying narrations, the reproval is understood to be directed at either (a) the Prophet and all the faithful, (b) the Prophet and all the faithful, except for ʿUmar, or except for ʿUmar and Saʿd ibn Maʿādh, (c) the faithful but not the Prophet, or (d) the individual or individuals who concocted and proposed the idea of taking ransom.
Refuting a view: Some say that the verses chide them for taking ransom and the spoils of war before receiving permission from God. In this case, the Prophet would have been part and parcel of the act, since he would have agreed to this. However, this view is incorrect since the Muslims took the ransom after the verses were revealed, not beforehand; otherwise, they would not have been censured for something they had not yet done. The Prophet is also above declaring something permissible before God had revealed it to be so. Heaven forbid that the divine, in His Truth and Exaltation, would threaten His Prophet with chastisement when he had done nothing wrong, and while He had protected him from sins, especially since divine chastisement only befalls those who commit grave sins. It is also not correct to say—as some do—that this is referring to lesser sins.
Rather, it is more apt to say that it is not for a prophet to take captives until he subdues the land is an axiom that the previous prophets adhered to. Whenever they fought and conquered their enemies, they killed them, so it would ward off others, and get them to cease and desist from threatening God and His Messenger. They would only take prisoners after they had firm control of the land and their religions had taken root among the people. By that time, there would be no reason not to take prisoners—either for ransom, or whom they could release graciously. This is what God revealed to the Prophet after Islam had established a firm foothold in the Ḥijaz and Yemen:
So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make [them] prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom [themselves]…. ()
The context of the verse leads to the conclusion that the reproval, in the first verse, is for taking captives. This is bolstered by an awful doom would have befallen you because of what you [pl.] took, in the second verse. That is, an awful doom would have befallen them for taking prisoners. When the verse was revealed, they had already taken prisoners but had not yet ransomed them. Therefore, they were not being reproved for taking ransom, as some have proffered.
This is also bolstered by verse , which commences with the conjunction fa- denoting a shift branching off from the previous verse. This verse allows taking the spoils of war, which includes ransom. It indicates that they had suggested to the Prophet that, instead of killing the prisoners, they ransom them, just like, in the verse at the beginning of the sūrah, they had asked him to give them the spoils of war (anfāl). How could one imagine that they asked him for the spoils of war but not ransom, especially since—according to narrations—nearly 280,000 dirhams of ransom money had already been taken?
They had asked the Prophet to give them the spoils of war, and to collect ransom and give it to them. Therefore, God censures them at the outset for taking captives; then He allows them to exchange them for ransom. However, the Prophet was not among those being censured in the verse: he did not decide, on his own, that they had permission to take the prisoners for ransom, or take part in what they were doing.
Textual evidence for this from the verse is as follows. The Prophet was not one of the people being reproved in the verse, since the verse is chiding them for taking captives, and there is no evidence in it that he spoke with them about this or was happy with it. Nothing in the narrations says that he advised them to take captives or suggests that he was at all pleased with it. Rather, it was part of the customs of war among the Migrants and the Helpers: when they vanquished their enemy, they would take the survivors as prisoners so they could enslave them or ransom them. In narrations, it is related that used to vie with each other to take captives and that each man would guard his own captive, so that no one would do anything to him—apart from ʿAlī, who felled many men and did not take any captives.
It is not for a prophet—it has not been the way of God with His prophets. To take captives—for it to be suitable for him to capture them and extract something from that. Until he subdues—has a firm grasp over—the land—and his religion has been established among the people. You desire— you, O fighters at Badr! This address is in the plural because the reprimand is directed at everyone, since most them had put forward this idea to the Prophet—the fleeting things of this world—its quickly vanishing goods—while Allah desires the hereafter—establishing the dictates of religion and commanding battle against the faithless. Regarding this way of doing things (sunnah) which they are informed of in his verse, Allah is mighty—never overpowered—wise; He does not err in his perfect rulings.
Were it not for an ordinance from Allah that had already gone for: God shall not rain down punishment on them or obliterate them. Still, the expression is left vague since this makes for a sharper reprimand: it leads the listener’s mind in any possible way, and keeps them from making light of the divine command by limiting it to a specific circumstance. An awful doom—This indicates the enormity of transgression, since divine chastisement only befalls those who commit mortal sins. Would have befallen you because of what you took—The captives you took, since the spoils of war and ransom money had not yet been collected before the revelation of these verses, which pronounce them lawful and wholesome. Eat then of what you have acquired in war—spend whatever you have earned during wartime, whether it be taken from the property of the idolaters or taken as ransom. Lawful and good—since it is lawful and wholesome, permitted by God. And mind Allah; Allah is forgiving, merciful—this either elaborates on Eat then of what you have acquired in war…, or it elaborates on all that came before it. In the first case, it would mean: “We have forgiven you and had mercy upon you, so spend the war-booty.” In the second case, it would mean, “God shall not punish you. Rather, He has permitted this, for He is forgiving, merciful.”
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِمَنْ فِي أَيْدِيكُمْ مِنَ الْأَسْرَىٰ إِنْ يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يُؤْتِكُمْ خَيْرًا مِمَّا أُخِذَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٧٠
(8:70) O Prophet! Tell the captives who are in your hands, “If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you, and forgive you; Allah is forgiving, merciful.”
Since the captives are described as being “in their hands”, this indicates that they had been wholly defeated, just as, when a person holds a thing in his hand, he can turn it whichever way he wishes.
“If Allah knows any good in your hearts: This is a figure of speech denoting faith, or following the truth, which goes hand in hand with faith. For God promises them forgiveness at the end of the verse, and polytheism and forgiveness do not go together. God says: Allah does not forgive that someone should associate something with Him, but He forgives whatever He wills, apart from that… ().
The verse means: “O Prophet! Tell those captives who are in your hands whom you have control over and have taken ransom for: ‘If faith establishes itself firmly in your hearts—and God knows best whether it has taken root and actualized—God will give you something better than the ransom that has been taken from you. He will forgive you; God is forgiving, merciful.’”
وَإِنْ يُرِيدُوا خِيَانَتَكَ فَقَدْ خَانُوا اللَّهَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَأَمْكَنَ مِنْهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ٧١
(8:71) And if they intend to betray you, they have betrayed Allah before, but Allah gave you power over them (amkana minhum). Allah is knowing, wise.
Amkana minhum means to be given power over them. God first says betray you because they had been planning to ransom themselves in order to round up a second alliance and attack the Prophet. Then, they have betrayed Allah before refers to their denial [of Islam, of monotheism], their insistence on extinguishing the light of God, and their plots and schemes.
The verse means: “If they believe in God, and faith establishes itself firmly in their hearts, God will grant them something better than what was taken from them: He will forgive them. And if they intend to betray you and return to what they were doing—obduracy and wickedness—then [know that] they have previously betrayed God. Therefore, God gave you power over them now, and He is able to give you power over them again. God knows their treachery, should they betray you, and is wise in giving you power over them.
Examining Narrations
- Regarding It is not for a prophet to take captives… (), Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
At the Battle of Badr, seventy of the polytheists fell. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib killed twenty-seven of them, and there were seventy prisoners of war. None of the Prophet’s companions were taken prisoner. So they rounded up the prisoners, roped them together, and marched them on foot.
Nine of the Prophet’s companions were killed, including Saʿd ibn Khaythamah, who was one of the chiefs of the Aws tribe.
Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq says that at the Battle of Badr, eleven Muslims were martyred—four of the Quraysh, and seven of the Helpers. Some also say eight, and that forty-odd of the polytheists were killed.
It is related from Ibn ʿAbbās: “When evening fell at Badr, and the captives were bound, the Prophet remained awake for the first part of the night. His companions asked him, ‘Why don’t you sleep?’ He said, ‘I have heard the wailing of my uncle ʿAbbās in his bonds.’ So they untied him, and he settled down. Then, the Prophet slept.”
It is related from ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī: “At the Battle of Badr, the Messenger of God told his companions regarding the captives, ‘If you want, you can kill them; and if you want, you can exchange them for ransom, but the same number of men that you keep as captives will be martyred from you.’ They had seventy captives.
“They said, ‘No, we will exchange them for ransom, so that we can get something out of this and fortify ourselves against our enemy; let the same number of men on our side be martyred.’”
ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī continued: “They sought the best of both worlds. [As the Prophet predicted] seventy on their side were killed at the Battle of Uḥud.”
The book of ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm says: “When the Messenger of God [gave the command to] kill al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith and ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayyiṭ, the Helpers feared that he would execute the prisoners. They said, ‘O Messenger of God! We have slain seventy—while they are your kinsfolk and relatives. Are you trying to eradicate that line? O Messenger of God, ransom them instead!’ They asked that after they had already taken whatever loot they could find from the camp of the Quraysh.
“After they made that request, the verses were revealed: It is not for a prophet to take captives… (). Thus, they were allowed [to take captives]. The largest amount of ransom was forty thousand dirhams, and the smallest amount of ransom was one thousand dirhams.
“The members of the Quraysh pooled whatever ransom money they could, less or more, in accordance with their circumstances. One of the Quraysh who did so was Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of God, in order to secure the release of her husband, al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ. She sent some of her necklaces, which Khadījah had outfitted her with as part of her bridal trousseau; Abū al-ʿĀṣ was the son of Khadījah’s sister.
“When the Messenger of God saw the necklaces, he said, ‘May God have mercy upon Khadījah. She gave her these necklaces for her wedding.’ Then the Messenger of God freed him on the condition that he send Zaynab to him, and that no one should impede her. He promised that and kept his promise.”
It is narrated: “The Prophet abhorred taking ransom. When Saʿd ibn Maʿādh saw the dislike in his face, he said, ‘O Messenger of God, this is the first battle we have faced a contingent of polytheists in. Dealing them a harsh blow is better than letting them live.’
“ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, ‘O Messenger of God, they have lied to you and expelled you, so bring them and strike their necks. Put ʿAlī in charge of ʿAqīl and have him strike his neck, and put me in charge of so-and-so, and I will strike his neck, for these are the leaders of faithlessness.’
“Abū Bakr said, ‘These are your kinsfolk and relatives. Trust them and let them live, and exchange them for ransom instead, so we can gain some strength against the rejectors (kuffār).’
“Ibn Zayd said that the Messenger of God said, ‘Were God to rain down chastisement from the heavens, none of you would be saved, apart from ʿUmar and Saʿd ibn Maʿādh.’”
Abū Jāʿfar [Imām] al-Bāqir said, “At the Battle of Badr, each of the polytheists was ransomed for forty ūqiyah, and each ūqiyah equalled forty mithqāl [a tiny weight].
“This was except for al-ʿAbbās; he was ransomed for one hundred ūqiyah. Furthermore, when he was captured, twenty ūqiyah of gold were taken from him. The Prophet had said, ‘These are part of the spoils of war, so you have to pay for the release of yourself and the two sons of your brother, Nawfal and ʿAqīl.’
“He [al-ʿAbbās] replied, ‘I have nothing.’
“He [the Prophet] asked, ‘What about the gold you entrusted with Um al-Fāḍl and told her, “If anything happens to me, this is for you, al-Faḍl, ʿAbd Allāh, and Qutham”?’
“He [al-ʿAbbās] said, ‘Who told you about that?’
“He [the Prophet] said, ‘God.’
“He [al-ʿAbbās] said, ‘I bear witness that you are the Messenger of God and that no one knew about this but God.’”
Author’s comments: There are many Sunni and Shiʿi narrations of a similar meaning. We have abstained from mentioning them all here for the sake of brevity.
- In Qurb al-Isnād, by al-Ḥimyārī, it is related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn from Imām al-Ṣādiq that his father [Imām al-Bāqir] said:
When the Prophet was given some wealth in dirhams, he told al-ʿAbbās, “O ʿAbbās, spread out a robe and take some of this money.” So he spread out a robe and took a portion of it. Then the Messenger of God said, “O ʿAbbās, this is part of what God—the blessed and exalted—declared in: O Prophet! Tell the captives who are in your hands, “If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you, and forgive you; Allah is forgiving, merciful” (). This verse was revealed about al-ʿAbbās, Nawfal, and ʿAqīl.
At the Battle of Badr, the Messenger of God forbade them to kill any of the Banū Hāshim or Abū al-Bakhtārī. Therefore, they took them prisoner and sent ʿAlī [to the captives].
He [ʿAlī] asked, “Who here is from the Banū Hāshim?” He walked by [his brother] ʿAqīl ibn Abī Ṭālib, but turned away from him. ʿAqīl called him and said, “O son of my mother, ʿAlī, by God, you have seen where I stand.”
Then he went back to the Messenger of God and told him, “Abū al-Faḍl is in the hands of so-and-so, ʿAqīl is in the hands of so-and-so, and Nawfal is in the hands of so-and-so”—meaning Nawfal ibn al-Ḥārith.
When the Messenger of God came to ʿAqīl, he said, “O Abū Yazīd, Abū Jahl has been slain!”
He [ʿAqīl] replied, “Fine, then you should have no more quarrel with the province.”
He [the Prophet] said, “Either destroy them, or ride on their shoulders [a figure of speech meaning ‘pay or die’].”
Al-ʿAbbās was brought and was told, “Ransom yourself and the son [alt. two sons] of your brother.”
He said, “O Muḥammad! Let me ask the Quraysh for the money.”
The Prophet told him, “Pay it from what you left with Um al-Faḍl when you told her, ‘If anything happens to me, use this money for your children and yourself.’”
He [al-ʿAbbās] said, “O son of my brother, who told you that?”
He said, “[The angel] Gabriel.”
He [al-ʿAbbās] said, “I swear, no one but me knew that. I bear witness that you are the Messenger of God.”
All of the captives returned as polytheists except for al-ʿAbbās, ʿAqīl, and Nawfil ibn al-Ḥārith. About them, the verse was revealed: Tell the captives who are in your hands… ().
Author’s comments: Something similar is related in al-Durr al-Manthūr, through varying chains, from the companions. Ibn Saʿd and Ibn ʿAsākir also relate from Ibn ʿAbbās that the verse was revealed about al-ʿAbbās and the two sons of his brother. The amount of the ransom for each of the captives and the story of the ransom of al-ʿAbbās and the two sons of his brother is related by al-Ṭabrisī in Majmaʿ al-Bayān from Imām al-Bāqir, as in the narration.
A measure similar to an ounce. Cf. Latin uncia. [Trans.] ↩︎