Surah Anfal
Contents
They ask you about the spoils of war. Say, “The spoils are for God and the messenger. So be conscious of God, and reconcile dissension among you. And obey God and God’s messenger, if you are believers.” [8:1]
The only believers are those whose hearts tremble when God is mentioned, and who are increased in faith when the signs of God are recited to them, and who trust in their Lord; [8:2]
those who pray regularly, and give of what We have provided them. [8:3]
They are the ones who are truly believers; there are ranks in the presence of their Lord for them, and forgiveness, and a generous provision; [8:4]
like when your Lord sent you forth from your house rightly, though a faction of the faithful were certainly averse, [8:5]
arguing with you about right after it had been clarified, as if they were being driven to death right before their eyes. [8:6]
And when God promised one of the two parties would be yours, you wanted the unarmed one to be yours, but God wants to verify right through divine words and cut the root of the scoffers, [8:7]
to verify right and prove deception futile, even if the guilty take offense. [8:8]
Then you asked for help from your Lord, who answered you, “I will assist you with a thousand angels, one after another.” [8:9]
God only made it good news, to set your hearts at rest. And there is no victory but from God. for God is almighty, most wise. [8:10]
Then God covered you with sleepiness as security from the divine, and caused water to shower on you from the sky, to purify you with it and drive the taint of Satan from you, and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet steady thereby. [8:11]
Then your Lord inspired the angels, “I am with you, so steady those who believe. I will cast fear into the hearts of those who scoff, so strike above their necks, and strike off their fingertips.” [8:12]
That is because they contended with God and the messenger of God; and for anyone who contends with God and the messenger of God, God is severe in punishment: [8:13]
“There you are; so taste it— for the atheists there’s the torment for the fire.” [8:14]
O believers, when you meet the atheists on the march, never turn your backs to them. [8:15]
Whoever turns his back on that day, except when turning to fight or withdrawing to regroup has brought down wrath from God; and his abode is hell, and what a miserable destination! [8:16]
So you have not killed them; rather, it was God who killed them. And you did not throw when you threw; rather, it was God who threw, to test the believers with a fair trial from God; for God is all-hearing, all-knowing. [8:17]
That, and because God is the one who undermines the strategy of atheists. [8:18]
If you asked for judgment, now judgment has come upon you: if you desist, that is best for you; but if you resume, We will resume; and your army, however numerous, will avail you nothing, for God is with the believers. [8:19]
Relievers, obey God and the messenger of God, and do not turn away from him when you hear him. [8:20]
And don’t be like those who say, “We hear,” when they are not listening. [8:21]
For the worst of animals to God are the deaf and dumb who are not rational. [8:22]
If God had recognized any good in them, God would have made them hear; but if God had made them hear, they would have turned away, refusing. [8:23]
Believers, respond to God and the messenger when they call you to what will give you life. And know that God comes between a man and his heart, and that it is to God that you will be gathered. [8:24]
And be wary of temptation, which does not afflict only those of you who have gone wrong; and know that God is severe in retribution. [8:25]
Remember when you were few, deemed weak in the world, fearing that people would seize you, when God took care of you and strengthened you with divine assistance, and provided you with goods that you might be grateful. [8:26]
Believers, do not be unfaithful to God and the messenger, or knowingly be unfaithful to your pledges. [8:27]
And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial, and that there is a higher reward in the presence of God. [8:28]
Believers, if you are conscious of God, God will provide you a criterion, and pardon your evils, and forgive you. And God has the greatest grace. [8:29]
And when the atheists have plotted against you, to keep you under arrest, or kill you, or expel you, as they plot, God plans too; and God is the best of planners. [8:30]
And when Our signs are recited to them, they say, “We’ve heard. If we wanted, we could say something similar, for these are just myths of the ancients.” [8:31]
And they have said, “O God, if this is the truth from You, then shower stones on us from the sky, or visit us with a painful affliction.” [8:32]
But God would not punish them while you were in their midst; and God would not punish them while they sought forgiveness. [8:33]
But what excuse do they have that God should not punish them for blocking entry to the sacred mosque, when they are not its guardians? Its guardians are only the conscientious, but most of them do not know. [8:34]
And their prayer in the House was nothing but whistling and clapping: “So taste the penalty for being atheistic.” [8:35]
For those who scoff spend their money to block the way of God. So they will spend it, then distress will be upon them, and then they will be overcome. And those who scoffed will be herded into hell, [8:36]
that God may separate the corrupt from the wholesome, and set the corrupt upon one another, then gather them all in a heap and throw them into hell: those are the ones who are the losers. [8:37]
Say to those who scoff, “If you desist, what is past will be forgiven you; but if you resume, the example of the ancients has already occurred.” [8:38]
Fight them until there is no more civil strife and all faith is in God. Now if they desist, God surely sees what they do. [8:39]
If they turn away, know that God is your protector: an excellent protector, and an excellent savior. [8:40]
And know that a fifth of anything you gain as spoils is for God and the messenger, and for relatives, and orphans, and the poor, and the traveler, if you do believe in God and what We sent down to Our servant on the day of distinction, the day of the meeting of the two armies; for God has power over everything. [8:41]
When you were on the near side of the valley and they were on the far side, with the caravan below you, even had you made a mutual appointment you would have missed it; it was so God could settle a matter already done, to destroy those who passed away by way of proof, and give life to those who lived by way of proof. For God is all-hearing, all-knowing. [8:42]
When God showed them to you as few in your dream, had God showed you them as many, you would have been disheartened and fallen out over the matter. But God granted deliverance, for God is well aware of what is in hearts. [8:43]
And when God showed them to you as trifling in your eyes when you met them, and made you seem trifling in their eyes, it was so God could settle a matter already done. And all matters are dependent on God. [8:44]
Believers, stand firm when you meet an army, and remember God often, that you may be successful. [8:45]
And obey God and God’s messenger, and do not dispute with each other, lest you lose heart and your power leave you; but be patient, for God is with the patient. [8:46]
And do not be like those who have left their homes vainly, to be seen by the people, while blocking the way of God. For God encompasses what they do. [8:47]
When Satan made their acts seem good to them, he said, “No one can defeat you while I am near you.” But when the two armies saw each other, he retreated and said, “I have nothing to do with you! For I see what you do not see; as for me, I fear God, for God is severe in punishment.” [8:48]
Note how the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts say, “Their religion has deluded them.” But for any who trust in God, God is truly mighty, wise. [8:49]
If only you could see when the angels take the souls of those who scoffed; they strike their faces and their backs— “Taste the torment of the blaze! [8:50]
“That is for what your hands brought about; for God is not unjust to servants. [8:51]
“Such was the habit of the people of Pharaoh and those before them; they scoffed at the signs of God, so God punished them for their sins; for God is powerful, severe in punishment. [8:52]
“That is because God is not about to change the blessing bestowed on a people until they change what is in themselves; and because God is all-hearing, all-knowing.” [8:53]
Such was the habit of the people of Pharaoh and those before them; they denied the signs of their Lord, so We annihilated them for their wrongs, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh; all of them were offenders. [8:54]
For the worst of beasts, to God, are those who scoff and do not believe: [8:55]
those with whom you made an agreement, then they break their promise every time, without pangs of conscience. [8:56]
So if you prevail over them in war, then disperse their followers with them, that they may take a lesson. [8:57]
And if you really fear treachery from a people, default on them equally; for God does not like the treacherous. [8:58]
Let those who scoff not figure they are ahead, for they will not cause frustration. [8:59]
And prepare what power you can against them, including cavalry to terrify God’s enemies and yours, and others beside them whom you do not know, but whom God knows. And whatever you spend on the cause of God will be repaid to you, and you will not be wronged. [8:60]
Now if they incline toward peace, then incline to it, and place your trust in God, for God is the all-hearing, the all-knowing. [8:61]
And if they mean to deceive you, surely you can count on God, the one who strengthened you with divine aid and with the believers, [8:62]
having harmonized their hearts. Even if you spent everything on earth you would not have harmonized their hearts, but God harmonized them, for God is mighty, God is wise. [8:63]
O Prophet! Count on God, and the believers who follow you. [8:64]
O Prophet, rouse the believers to battle: if there are twenty of you who persevere patiently, they will defeat two hundred; and if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who scoff, because these are people who do not understand. [8:65]
At present God has relieved you, knowing there is weakness in you. Yet if there are a hundred of you who persevere patiently, they will overcome two hundred; and if there are a thousand of you they will overcome two thousand, with God’s permission. And God is with the patient. [8:66]
It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has subdued the land. You aim for the goods of the world, but God aims for the hereafter; and God is almighty, most wise. [8:67]
Had not a decree from God gone forth before, a heavy penalty would have hit you for what you took. [8:68]
So enjoy what you’ve won, as legitimate and wholesome, but be conscious of God. For God is forgiving, most merciful. [8:69]
O Prophet, say to the captives in your hands, “If God recognizes good in your hearts, God will give you better than what was taken from you, and God will forgive you. And God is very forgiving, most merciful.” [8:70]
But if they intend to betray you, they have already betrayed God; so God has given power over them. And God is all-knowing, most wise. [8:71]
As for those who believed and went into exile, and struggled in the cause of God with their possessions and their persons, and those who provided shelter and assistance, they are friends to one another. As for those who believed but did not go into exile, you owe them no protection until they go into exile. But if they ask you for help in religion, you are obliged to help them, except against people with whom you have a treaty. And God sees what you do. [8:72]
As for those who are atheists, they are helpers of each other. Unless you do this, there will be discord in the land, and much corruption. [8:73]
As for those who believed and went into exile and struggled for the sake of God, and those who gave shelter and assisted, they are the ones who are really believers; there is forgiveness for them, and a generous provision. [8:74]
As for those who believed later on, then went into exile and struggled along with you, they are of your number. But those with blood relations have more rights on each other in the decree of God. For God is cognizant of every single thing. [8:75]