8- SPOILS OF WAR [AL-ANFAL]
Revealed at Al-Madînah, [75 verses]
Al-AnfAl, “The Spoils,” takes its name from the first
verse by which it is proclaimed that property taken in war
belongs “to Allah and His messenger” that is to say, to the
theocratic State, to be used for the common weal. The date
of the revelation of this Sûrah is established, from the nature
of the contents, as the time that elapsed between the battle of
Badr and the division of the spoils a space of only one month
in the second year of the Hijrah. The concluding verses are
of later date and lead up to the subject of Sûrah [9].
A Meccan caravan was returning from Syria, and its
leader, Abû Sufyan, fearing an attack from Al-Madînah, sent a
camel-rider on to Mecca with a frantic appeal for help; which
must have come too late, considering the distances, if, as
some writers even among Muslims have alleged, the Prophet
had always intended to attack the caravan.
Ibn Ishâq (apud Ibn Hishâm) when treating of the Tabûk
expedition, says that the Prophet announced the destination
on that occasion, whereas it was his custom to hide his real
objective. Was not the real objective hidden in this first
campaign? It is a fact that he only advanced when the army
sent to protect the caravan, or rather (it is probable) to punish
the Muslims for having plundered it, was approaching Al-
Madînah. His little army of three hundred and thirteen men,
ill-armed and roughly equipped, traversed the desert for three
days till, when they halted near the water of Badr, they had
news that the army of Qureysh was approaching on the other
side of the valley. Then rain fell heavily upon Qureysh so
that they could not advance further on account of the muddy
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state of the ground, lightly on the Muslims, who were able
to advance to the water and secure it. At the same time Abû
Sufyan, the leader of the caravan, which was also heading for
the water of Badr, was warned by one of his scouts of the
advance of the Muslims and turned back to the coast-plain.
Before the battle against what must have appeared to all men
overwhelming odds, the Prophet gave the Ansar, the men
of Al-Madînah, whose oath of allegiance had not included
fighting in the field, the chance of returning if they wished;
but they were only hurt by the suggestion that they could
possibly forsake him. On the other hand, several of Qureysh,
including the whole Zuhri clan, returned to Mecca when
they heard the caravan was safe, having no grudge otherwise
against the Prophet and his followers, whom they regarded as
men who had been wronged.
Still the army of Qureysh outnumbered the Muslims by
more than two to one, and was much better mounted and
equipped, so that their leaders counted on an easy victory.
When the Prophet saw them streaming down the sandhills, he
cried: “O Allah! Here are Qureysh with all their chivalry and
pomp, who oppose You and deny Your messenger. O Allah!
Your help which You have promised me! O Allah! Make them
bow this day!”
The Muslims were successful in the single combats with
which Arab battles opened. But the mêlée at first went hard
against them; and the Prophet stood and prayed under the
shelter which they had put up to screen him from the sun,
and cried: “O Allah! If this little company is destroyed, there
will be none left in the land to worship You.” Then he fell into
a trance and, when he spoke again, he told Abû Baler, who
was with him, that the promised help had come. Thereupon
he went out to encourage his people. Taking up a handful of
gravel, he ran towards Qureysh and flung it at them, saying:
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“The faces are confounded!” on which the tide of battle
turned in favour of the Muslims. The leader of Qureysh and
several of their greatest men were killed, many were taken
prisoner, and their baggage and camels were captured by
the Muslims. It was indeed a day to be remembered in the
early history of Al-Islâm, and there was great rejoicing in Al-
Madînah. But the Muslims are warned in this Sûrah that it is
only the beginning of their struggle against heavy odds. In
fact, in the following year at Mt. Uhud (referred to in Sûr. 3),
the enemy came against them with an army of three thousand,
and in the fifth year of the Hijrah, an allied army of the pagan
clans, amounting to 10,000, besieged Al-Madînah in the “War
of the Trench” (see Sûr. 33, “The Clans”).
The date of revelation is the second year of the Hijrah
for the most part. Some good Arabic authorities hold that
vv. 30-40, or some of them, were revealed at Mecca just
before the Hijrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
1. They ask you [O Muhammad] of the spoils of war. Say:
The spoils of war belong to Allah and the messenger, so
fear Allah, and adjust the matter of your difference, and
obey Allah and His messenger, if you are [true] believers.
2. They only are the [true] believers whose hearts feel fear
when Allah is mentioned, and when the verses of Allah
are recited to them their faith is increased, and who rely on
their Lord;
3. Who establish prayer and spend of that We have provided
them.
4. Those are they who are in truth believers. For them are
grades [of honour] with their Lord, and forgiveness, and a
bountiful provision.
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5. Even as your Lord caused you [Muhammad] to go forth
from your home with the Truth, and lo! a party of the
believers were averse [to it],
6. Disputing with you of the Truth after it had been made
manifest, as if they were being driven to death while they
were looking [at it].
7. And when Allah promised you one of the two bands[1] [of
the enemy] that it should be yours, and you longed that
other than the armed one might be yours. And Allah willed
that He should cause the Truth to triumph by His words,
and cut the root of the disbelievers;
8. That He might cause the Truth to triumph and bring
falsehood to nothing, even if the criminals hate it;
9. When you sought help of your Lord and He answered you
[saying]: I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank
on rank.
10. And Allah made it only as good tidings, and that your
hearts thereby might be at rest. Victory comes only by the
help of Allah. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.
11. When he made the slumber fall upon you as a reassurance
from Him and sent down water from the sky upon you,
that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you
the evil of Satan, and make steadfast your hearts and firm
[your] feet thereby.
12. When your Lord inspired the angels, [saying:] I am with
you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw
fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite
the necks and smite of them each finger.
13. That is because they opposed Allah and His messenger.
Whoso opposes Allah and His messenger, [for him] lo!
Allah is severe in punishment.
[1] Either the army or the caravan.
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14. That [is the award], so taste it, and [know] that for
disbelievers is the torment of the Fire.
15. O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve
in battle, turn not your backs to them.
16. Whoso on that day turns his back to them, unless
manoeuvring for battle or intent to join a company, he
truly has incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation
will be Hell, and wretched is the destination.
17. You [Muslims] killed them not, but Allah killed them.
And you [Muhammad] threw not when you did throw,
but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair
test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.
18. That [is the case]; and [know] that Allah [it is] who makes
weak the plan of disbelievers.
19. [O Disbelievers!] If you sought a victory, now has the
defeat come to you. And if you cease [from persecuting
the believers] it will be better for you, but if you return [to
the attack] We also shall return. And your host will avail
you nothing, however numerous it be, and [know] that
Allah is with the believers.
20. O you who believe! Obey Allah and His messenger, and
turn not away from him when you hear [him speak].
21. Be not as those who say, We hear, and they hear not.
22. Lo! the worst of living creatures in Allah’s sight are the
deaf, the dumb, who have no sense.
23. Had Allah Known of any good in them He would have
made them hear, but had He made them hear they would
have turned away, averse.
24. O you who believe! Respond to Allah and the messenger
when He calls you to that which quickens you, and know
that Allah intervenes between the man and his own heart,
and that He it is to Whom you will be gathered.
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25. And guard yourselves against a trial which cannot fall
exclusively on those of you who are wrong-doers, and
know that Allah is severe in punishment.
26. And remember, when you were few and oppressed in
the land, and were in fear lest men should abduct you,
how He gave you refuge, and strengthened you with His
victory, and made provision of good things for you, that
you might be thankful.
27. O you who believe! Betray not Allah and His messenger,
nor knowingly betray your trusts.
28. And know that your possessions and your children are a
trial, and that with Allah is immense reward.
29. O you who believe! If you fear Allah, He will give you
criterion [to judge between right and wrong] and will rid
you of your evil thoughts and deeds, and will forgive you.
Allah is of Great Bounty.
30. And when those who disbelieve plot against you [O
Muhammad] to restrain you, or to kill you or to drive you
out; they plan, but Allah [also] plans; and Allah is the best
of planners.
31. And when Our verses are recited to them they say: We
have heard. If we wish we can speak the like of this. Lo!
this is nothing but fables of the men of old.
32. And when they said: O Allah! If this be indeed the truth
from You, then rain down stones on us or bring on us
some painful doom!
33. But Allah would not punish them while you are with them,
nor will He punish them while they seek forgiveness.
34. What [plea] have they that Allah should not punish them,
when they debar [His servants] from the Al-Masjid-al-
Haram [at Mecca], though they are not its fitting guardians.
Its fitting guardians are those only who fear Allah. But
most of them know not.
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35. And their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and
hand clapping. Therefore [it is said to them]: Taste the
doom for what you disbelieved.
36. Lo! those who disbelieve spend their wealth in order that
they may debar [men] from the way of Allah. They will
spend it, then it will become an anguish for them, then
they will be conquered. And those who disbelieve will be
gathered unto Hell,
37. That Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good.
The wicked will He place piece upon piece, and heap
them all together, and consign them to Hell. Such verily
are the losers.
38. Tell those who disbelieve that if they cease [from
persecution of believers] that which is past will be forgiven
them; but if they return [thereto] then the example of the
men of old has already gone [before them, for a warning].
39. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion
is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo! Allah is Seer of
what they do.
40. And if they turn away, then know that Allah is your Protector–
a Transcendent Protector, a Transcendent Helper!
?. 41 And know that whatever you take as spoils of war, lo! a
fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger[1] and for
the kinsmen [who has need] and orphans and the needy and
the wayfarer; if you believe in Allah and that which We sent
down to Our slave on the Day of Criterion, the day when
the two armies met. And Allah is Able to do all things.
42. When you were on the near side [of the valley] and they
were on the farther side, and the caravan was below you
[on the coast plain]. And had you trysted to meet one
another you surely would have failed to keep the tryst, but
[it happened, as it did, without the forethought of either
[1] i.e. for the State, to be used for the common weal.
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of you] that Allah might conclude a thing that must be
done; that he who perished [on that day] might perish by
a clear proof [of His Sovereignty] and he who survived
might survive by a clear proof [of His Sovereignty]. Lo!
Allah in truth is Hearer, Knower.
43. When Allah showed them to you [O Muhammad] in your
dream as few in number, and if He had shown them
to you as many, you [Muslims] would have faltered and
would have disputed in the matter. But Allah saved [you].
Lo! He knows what is in the breasts [of men].
44. And when He made you [Muslims], when you met [them],
see them with your eyes as few, and lessened you in their
eyes, [it was] that Allah might conclude a thing that must
be done. To Allah all matters are brought back.
45. O you who believe! When you meet an army, hold firm
and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.
46. And obey Allah and His messenger, and dispute not one
with another lest you falter and your strength departs
from you; but be patient! Lo! Allah is with the patient.
47. Be not as those who came forth from their homes
boastfully and to be seen of men, and debar [men] from
the way of Allah, while Allah is surrounding all they do.
48. And when Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and
said: No-one of mankind can conquer you this day, for I
am your protector. But when the armies came in sight of
one another, he took flight, saying: Lo! I am guiltless of
you. Lo! I see that which you see not. Lo! I fear Allah.
And Allah is severe in punishment.
49. When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease
said: Their religion has deluded these. Whoso puts his
trust in Allah [will find that] lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.
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50. If you could see how the angels receive those who
disbelieve, smiting their faces and their backs and [saying]:
Taste the punishment of burning!
51. This is for that which your own hands have sent before
[to the Judgment], and [know] that Allah is not unjust to
His slaves.
52. [Their way is] as the way of Pharaoh’s folk and those before
them; they disbelieved the signs of Allah, and Allah took
them in their sins. Lo! Allah is Strong, severe in punishment.
53. That is because Allah never changes the grace He has
bestowed on any people until they first change that which
is in their hearts, and indeed Allah is Hearer, Knower.
54. [Their way is] as 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. All were wrong-doers.
55. Lo! the worst of living creatures in Allah’s sight are those
who disbelieved and they will not believe;
56. Those of them with whom you made a treaty, and then
at every opportunity they break their pledge, and they do
not fear Allah.
57. If you come on them in the war, deal with them so as to
strike fear in those who are behind them, that perhaps
they may remember.
58. And if you fear treachery from any folk, then throw back to
them [their treaty] fairly. Lo! Allah loves not the treacherous.
59. And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can
outstrip [Allah’s purpose]. Lo! they cannot escape.
60. Make ready for them all you can of [armed] force and of
horses tethered, that thereby you may dismay the enemy
of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom
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you know not. Allah knows them. Whatsoever you spend
in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and you
will not be wronged.
61. And if they incline to peace, incline you also to it, and rely
upon Allah. Lo! He is the Hearer, the Knower.
62. And if they would deceive you, then lo! Allah is Sufficient
for you. He it is Who supports you with His help and
with the believers,
63. And [as for the believers] He has attuned their hearts. If
you had spent all that is in the earth you could not have
attuned their hearts, but Allah has attuned them. Lo! He
is Mighty, Wise.
64. O Prophet! Allah is Sufficient for you and those who
follow you of the believers.
65. O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of
you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred,
and if there be of you a hundred [steadfast] they shall
overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because
they [the disbelievers] are a folk who do not understand.
66. Now has Allah lightened your burden, for He knows that
there is weakness in you. So if there be of you a steadfast
hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there
be of you a thousand [steadfast] they shall overcome two
thousand by permission of Allah. Allah is with the steadfast.
67. It is not for any prophet to have captives until he has
made slaughter in the land. You desire the good of this
world and Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter, and Allah
is Mighty, Wise.
68. Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which had gone
before, an awful doom had come upon you on account of
what you took.
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69. Now enjoy what you have won of war spoils, as lawful and
good, and fear Allah. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.[1]
70. O Prophet! Say to those captives who are in your hands:
If Allah knows any good in your hearts He will give you
better than that which has been taken from you, and will
forgive you. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
71. And if they would betray you, they betrayed Allah
before, and He gave [you] power over them. Allah is
Knower, Wise.
72. Lo! those who believed and emigrated and strove with
their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah, and
those who took them in and helped them; these are
allies one of another. And those who believed but did
not leave their homes, you have no duty to protect them
till they emigrate; but if they seek help from you in the
matter of religion then it is your duty to help [them]
except against a folk between whom and you there is a
treaty. Allah is Seer of what you do.
73. And those who disbelieve are protectors one of another–
If you do not so, there will be confusion in the land, and
great corruption.
74. Those who believed and emigrated and strove for the cause
of Allah, and those who took them in and helped them
these are the believers in truth. For them is forgiveness,
and a bountiful provision.
75. And those who afterwards believed and emigrated and
strove along with you, they are of you; and those who are
akin are nearer one to another in the ordinance of Allah.
Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.
[1] vv. 67-69 were revealed when the Prophet had decided to spare the lives
of the prisoners taken at Badr and hold them to ransom, against the
wish of Omar, who would have executed them for their past crimes. The
Prophet took the verses as a reproof, and they are generally understood
to mean that no quarter ought to have been given in that first battle.
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9- REPENTANCE [AT-TAWBAH]
Revealed at Al-Madînah, [129 verses]
At-Taubah, “Repentance”, takes its name from v. 104. It
is often called Barâ’a (Immunity), from the first word. It is
the only Sûrah which is without the Bi’smi’llahi’r-Rahmâni’r-
Rahîm (“In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful”)
which is generally considered to be on account of the stern
commandments against idolaters which it contains. Vv. 1-12,
forming the proclamation of immunity from obligation
toward the idolaters, were revealed after the pilgrims had
started for Mecca in the ninth year of the Hijrah and sent by
special messenger to Abû Bakr, leader of the pilgrimage, to
be read out by Ali to the multitudes at Mecca. It signified the
end of idolatry in Arabia. The Christian Byzantine Empire
had begun to move against the growing Muslim power, and
this Sûrah contains mention of a greater war to come, and
instructions with regard to it. Vv. 38-99 refer to the Tabûk
campaign, and especially to those Arab tribes who failed to
join the Muslims in that campaign. The “Hypocrites,” as the
half-hearted supporters of Al-Islâm were called, had long
been a thorn in the side of the Muslims. They had even at one
time gone the length in dissent of forming a congregation
and building a mosque of their own surreptitiously. On
the Prophet’s return from Tabûk they invited him to visit
that mosque. This is referred to in vv. 107 ff. The date of
revelation is the ninth year of the Hijrah.
???
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1. Freedom from [all] obligations [is proclaimed] from Allah
and His messenger toward those of the polytheists with
whom you made a treaty:
2. Travel freely in the land four months, and know that
you cannot escape Allah and that Allah will disgrace the
disbelievers.
3. And a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger to all
people on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah
is free from obligation to the polytheists, and [so is] His
Messenger. So, if you repent, it will be better for you; but
if you are averse, then know that you cannot escape Allah.
Give tidings [O Muhammad] of a painful doom to those
who disbelieve.
4. Excepting those of the polytheists with whom you
[Muslims] have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing
of your right nor have supported anyone against you. [As
for these], fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo!
Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him].
5. Then, when the sacred months have passed, kill the
polytheists wherever you find them, and take them [captive],
and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But
if they repent and establish prayer and pay the poor-due,
then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
6. And if anyone of the polytheists seeks your protection [O
Muhammad], then protect him so that he may hear the
word of Allah; and afterward convey him to his place of
safety. That is because they are a folk who know not.
7. How can there be a treaty with Allah and with His messenger
for the polytheists save those with whom you made a treaty
at the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at Mecca]? So long as they are
true to you, be true to them. Lo! Allah loves the righteous
[who fear Him].
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8. How [can there be any treaty for the others] when, if they
have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor
honour in respect of you? They satisfy you with their
mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them
are wrong-doers.
9. They have purchased with the verses of Allah a little gain,
so they debar [men] from His way. Lo! evil is that which
they are used to do.
10. And they observe toward a believer neither kinship nor
pact. These are they who are transgressors.
11. But if they repent and establish prayer and pay the poordue,
then they are your brothers in religion. We detail the
verses for a people who have knowledge.
12. And if they break their oaths after their covenant [has
been made with you] and attack your religion, then fight
the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths -
in order that they may cease.
13. Will you not fight a folk who broke their solemn oaths,
and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack
you first? What! Do you fear them? Now Allah has more
right that you should fear Him, if you are believers.
14. Fight them! Allah will punish them at your hands, and He
will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He
will heal the breasts of folk who are believers.
15. And He will remove the anger of their hearts. And
Allah turns in forgiveness to whom He wills. Allah is
Knower, Wise.
16. Or deemed you that you would be left [in peace] when
Allah yet knows not those of you who strive, choosing
for intimates none save Allah and His messenger and the
believers? Allah is Acquainted of what you do.
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17. It is not for the polytheists to maintain Allah’s mosques,
bearing witness against themselves of disbelief. As for such,
their deeds are vain and in the Fire they will abide eternally.
18. He only shall maintain Allah’s mosques who believes in
Allah and the Last Day and establishes prayer and pays
the poor-due and fears none save Allah. For such [only] is
it possible that they can be of the rightly guided.
19. Count you the slaking of a pilgrim’s thirst and maintenance
of the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at Mecca] as [equal to the
worth of him] who believes in Allah and the Last Day,
and strives in the way of Allah? They are not equal in the
sight of Allah. Allah guides not wrong-doing folk.
20. Those who have believed, emigrated and striven with their
wealth and their lives in Allah’s way are of much greater
worth in Allah’s sight. These are they who are triumphant.
21. Their Lord gives them good tidings of mercy from Him,
and acceptance, and Gardens where enduring pleasure
will be theirs;
22. There they will abide for ever. Lo! with Allah there is
immense reward.
23. O you who believe! Take not your fathers nor your
brothers for allies if they take pleasure in disbelief rather
than faith. And whoso of you takes them for allies, such
are wrong-doers.
24. Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers,
and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth you have
acquired, and merchandise for which you fear that there
will be no sale,[1] and dwellings you desire are dearer to
you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His
way: then wait till Allah brings His command to pass.
Allah guides not wrong-doing folk.
[1] It was objected that, if idolaters were forbidden to make the
pilgrimage, the trade of Mecca would decline.
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25. Allah has given you victory on many battle-fields and on
the day of Huneyn,[1] when you exulted in your multitude
but it availed you nothing, and the earth, vast as it is, was
straitened for you; then you turned back in retreat;
26. Then Allah sent His tranquillity of reassurance down
upon His messenger and upon the believers, and sent
down hosts you could not see, and punished those who
disbelieved. Such is the reward of disbelievers.
27. Then afterward Allah will accept repentance from whom
He wills; for Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
28. O you who believe! The polytheists only are unclean.
So let them not come near the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at
Mecca] after this their year. And if you fear poverty [from
the loss of their merchandise] Allah shall enrich you of
His bounty if He wills. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise.
29. Fight against such of those who believe not in Allah nor the
Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah has forbidden by
His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until
they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.
30. And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the
Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is
their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of
those who disbelieved of old. Allah’s curse be upon them.
How are they deluded!
31. They have taken as lords besides Allah their rabbis and
their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they
were commanded to worship only One God. There is
no deity save Him. Be He glorified from all that they
associate [with Him]!
32. They want to put out the light of Allah with their mouths,
but Allah disdains [anything] save that He shall perfect
His light, however much the disbelievers are averse.
[1] The Muslim army, ambushed at Huneyn, gained a great victory after
being nearly routed.
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33. He it is Who has sent His messenger with the guidance and
the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over
all religion, however much the polytheists may be averse.
34. O you, who believe! Lo! many of the [Jewish] rabbis and the
[Christian] monks devour the wealth of mankind unjustly
and debar [men] from the way of Allah. They who hoard
up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, to
them give tidings [O Muhammad] of a painful doom,
35. On the day when it will [all] be heated in the fire of Hell,
and their foreheads and their flanks and their backs will
be branded therewith [and it will be said to them]: Here
is that which you hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of
what you used to hoard.
36. Lo! the number of the months with Allah is twelve
months by Allah’s ordinance in the day that He created
the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred: that is
the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them. And
wage war on all the polytheists as they are waging war
on all of you. And know that Allah is with the righteous
[who fear Him].
37. Postponement [of a sacred month][1] is only an excess of
disbelief whereby those who disbelieve are misled, they
allow it one year and forbid it [another] year, that they
may make up the number of the months which Allah
has sanctified, so that they allow that which Allah has
forbidden. The evil of their deeds is made fair-seeming
to them. And Allah guides not the disbelieving folk.
38. O you who believe! What ails you that when it is said to
you: Go forth in the cause of Allah, you are bowed down
to the earth with heaviness. Take you pleasure in the life
[1] The idolaters would postpone a sacred month in which war was
forbidden, when they wanted to make war, and make up for it by
hallowing another month.
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of the world rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort
of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter.
39. If you go not forth He will afflict you with a painful doom,
and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. You
cannot harm Him at all. Allah is Able to do all things.
40. If you help him not, still Allah helped him when
those who disbelieve drove him forth, the second of
two;[1] when they were in the cave, when he said to his
companion: Grieve not. Lo! Allah is with us. Then Allah
caused His tranquillity of reassurance to descend upon
him and supported him with hosts you cannot see, and
made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest,
while Allah’s word it was that became the uppermost.
Allah is Mighty, Wise.
41. Go forth, light [being healthy, young and wealthy] and
heavy [being ill, old and poor], and strive with your wealth
and your lives in the cause of Allah! That is best for you
if you but knew.
42. Had it been a near gain and an easy journey they had
followed you, but the distance seemed too far for them.[2]
Yet will they swear by Allah [saying]: If we had been able
we would surely have set out with you. They destroy their
souls, and Allah knows that they verily are liars.
43. May Allah pardon you [O Muhammad]! Wherefor did you
grant them leave before those who told the truth were
manifest to you and you did know the liars?
44. Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day ask no leave
of you lest they should strive with their wealth and their
lives. And Allah is Aware of those who fear Him.
[1] The Prophet and Abû Bakr during the Flight from Mecca to Al-
Madînah.
[2] The reference is to the Tabûk expedition. Tabûk is half-way between
Al-Madînah and Damascus.
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45. They alone ask leave of you who believe not in Allah and
the Last Day, and whose hearts feel doubt, so in their
doubt they waver.
46. And if they had wished to go forth they would assuredly
have made ready some equipment, but Allah disliked their
being sent forth and held them back and [it was said to
them]: Remain [behind] with those who remain!
47. Had they gone forth among you they had added to you
nothing save trouble and had hurried to and fro among
you, seeking to cause sedition among you; and among you
there are some who would have listened to them. Allah is
Knowing of the wrong-doers.
48. Formerly they sought to cause sedition and raised
difficulties for you till the Truth came and the ordinance
of Allah was made manifest, though they were averse.
49. Of them is he who says: Grant me leave [to stay at home] and
tempt me not.[1] Surely it is into temptation that they [thus]
have fallen. Lo! hell verily is all around the disbelievers.
50. If good befalls you [O Muhammad] it afflicts them, and
if calamity befalls you, they say: We took precaution, and
they turn away rejoicing.
51. Say: Nothing befalls us save that which Allah has decreed
for us. He is our Protector. Upon Allah let believers rely.
52. Say: Do you await for us [anything] save one of two good
things [death or victory in Allah’s way]? While we await for
you that Allah will afflict you with a doom from Him or at
our hands. Await then! Lo! We are awaiting with you.
53. Say: Spend [in Allah’s cause], willingly or unwillingly, it will
not be accepted from you. Lo! you were ever froward folk.
[1] The temptation here referred to is generally explained as being
the beauty of the women of Syria, the country against which the
campaign was directed.
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54. And nothing prevents that their contributions should be
accepted from them save that they have disbelieved in
Allah and in His messenger, and they come not to prayer
save as idlers, and spend not save reluctantly.
55. So let not their riches nor their children please you [O
Muhammad]. Allah thereby intends but to punish them
in the life of the world and that their souls shall pass away
while they are disbelievers,
56. And they swear by Allah that they are in truth of you,
when they are not of you, but they are folk who are afraid.
57. Had they but found a refuge, or caves, or a place to enter,
they surely had resorted thither swift as runaways.
58. And of them is he who defames you in the matter of the
alms. If they are given thereof they are content, and if
they are not given thereof, behold! they are enraged.
59. [How much more seemly] had they been content with that
which Allah and His messenger had given them and had
said: Allah suffices us. Allah will give us of His bounty,
and [also] His messenger. Unto Allah we are desirous.
60. The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those
who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be
reconciled,[1] and to free the captives and the debtors,
and for the cause of Allah, and [for] the wayfarers; a duty
imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.
61. And of them are those who annoy the Prophet and
say: He is only a hearer. Say: A hearer of good for you,
who believes in Allah and is true to the believers, and a
mercy for such of you as believe. Those who annoy the
messenger of Allah, for them there is a painful doom.
[1] A special portion of the Alms was allotted to the people of Mecca,
the former enemies of Al-Islâm, who were converted en masse after
the capture of the city, and whose “hearts were to be reconciled.”
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62. They swear by Allah to you [Muslims] to please you, but
Allah, and His messenger, has more right that they should
please Him if they are believers.
63. Know they not that whoso opposes Allah and His
messenger, his verily is Hell, to abide eternally therein?
That is the extreme disgrace.
64. The hypocrites fear lest a sûrah should be revealed
concerning them, proclaiming what is in their hearts. Say:
Mock [your fill]! Lo! Allah is disclosing what you fear.
65. And if you ask them [O Muhammad] they will say: We did
but talk and jest. Say: Was it at Allah and His verses and His
Messenger that you did mock?
66. Make no excuse. You have disbelieved after your [confession
of] belief. If We forgive a party of you, a party of you We
shall punish because they have been criminals.
67. The hypocrites, both men and women, are one from
another. They enjoin the wrong, and they forbid the right,
and they withhold their hands [from spending for the cause
of Allah]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten
them. Lo! the hypocrites, they are the transgressors.
68. Allah promises the hypocrites, both men and women,
and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will
abide eternally. It will suffice them. Allah curses them,
and theirs is lasting doom.
69. Even as those before you were mightier than you in
strength, and more affluent than you in wealth and
children. They enjoyed their lot awhile, so you enjoy your
lot awhile even as those before you did enjoy their lot
awhile. And you prattle even as they prattled. Such are
they whose deeds have perished in the world and the
Hereafter. Such are they who are the losers.
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70. Has not the news of those before them reached them–
the folk of Noah, A’âd, Thamûd, the folk of Abraham,
the dwellers of Midian and the towns overturned? Their
messengers [from Allah] came to them with proofs [of
Allah’s Sovereignty]. So Allah surely wronged them not,
but they did wrong themselves.
71. And the believers, men and women, are allies one of
another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and
they establish prayer and they pay the poor-due, and they
obey Allah and His messenger. As for these, Allah will
have mercy on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.
72. Allah promises to the believers, men and women, Gardens
underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide
eternally– blessed dwellings in Gardens of Eden. And -
greater [far]! - acceptance from Allah. That is the supreme
success.
73. O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites!
Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is Hell, and
wretched is the destination.
74. They swear by Allah that they said nothing [wrong], yet
they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after
their acceptance of Islâm. And they purposed that which
they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that
Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty.
If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn
away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the
world and the Hereafter, and they have no protector nor
helper in the earth.
75. And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah
[saying]: If He should give us of His bounty We will give
alms and become of the righteous.
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76. Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they hoarded it
and turned away, averse;
77. So He has made the consequence [to be] hypocrisy in their
hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because
they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him,
and because they used to lie.
78. Did they not know that Allah knows both their secret
and the thought that they confide, and that Allah is the
Knower of the Unseen?
79. Those who point at such of the believers as give the alms
willingly and such as can find nothing to give but their
endeavours, and ridicule them– Allah [Himself] ridicules
them. Theirs will be a painful doom.
80. Ask forgiveness for them [O Muhammad], or ask not
forgiveness for them; though you ask forgiveness for
them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. That is
because they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and
Allah guides not the wrong-doing folk.
81. Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind
the messenger of Allah, and were averse to striving with
their wealth and their lives in Allah’s cause. And they said:
Go not forth in the heat! Say: The heat of Hell is more
intense of heat, if they but understood.
82. Then let them laugh a little: they will weep much, as the
award of what they used to earn.
83. If Allah brings you back [from the campaign] to a party
of them and they ask of you leave to go out [to fight],
then say to them: You shall never more go out with me
nor fight with me against an enemy. You were content
with sitting still the first time. So sit still, with those who
stay behind.
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84. And never [O Muhammad] pray for one of them who dies,
nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and
His messenger, and they died while they were defiantly
disobedient.
85. Let not their wealth nor their children please you! Allah
purposes only to punish them thereby in the world, and
that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers.
86. And when a sûrah is revealed [which says]: Believe in Allah
and strive along with His messenger, the men of wealth
among them still ask leave of you and say: Leave us to be
with those who sit [at home].
87. They are content that they should be with who remain behind
and their hearts are sealed, so that they understand not.
88. But the messenger and those who believe with him strive
with their wealth and their lives. Such are they for whom
are the good things. Such are they who are the successful.
89. Allah has made ready for them Gardens underneath which
rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally. That is the
supreme triumph.
90. And those among the wandering Arabs who had an
excuse came in order that permission might be granted
them. And those who lied to Allah and His messenger
sat at home. A painful doom will fall on those of them
who disbelieve.
91. Not to the weak nor to the sick nor to those who can find
nothing to spend is any fault [to be imputed though they
stay at home] if they are true to Allah and His messenger.
Not to the good is there any cause [of blame]. And Allah
is Forgiving, Merciful.
92. Nor to those whom, when they came to you [asking]
that you should mount them, you did tell: I cannot find