Translation of the meanings of surah Al-Anfaal

(1) (1) They ask you, [O Muḥammad], about the bounties [of war]. Say, "The [decision concerning] bounties is for Allāh and the Messenger." So fear Allāh and amend that which is between you and obey Allāh and His Messenger, if you should be believers.

(2) (2) The believers are only those who, when Allāh is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely -

(3) (3) The ones who establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend.

(4) (4) Those are the believers, truly. For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision.

(5) (5) [It[437] is] just as when your Lord brought you out of your home [for the battle of Badr] in truth, while indeed, a party among the believers were unwilling,

[437]- Referring to a dispute which occurred among the Muslims over distribution of war booty.

(6) (6) Arguing with you concerning the truth after it had become clear, as if they were being driven toward death while they were looking on.

(7) (7) [Remember, O believers], when Allāh promised you one of the two groups[438] - that it would be yours - and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allāh intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbelievers

[438]- i.e., either the caravan of Quraysh or their army.

(8) (8) That He should establish the truth and abolish falsehood, even if the criminals disliked it.

(9) (9) [Remember] when you were asking help of your Lord, and He answered you, "Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another."

(10) (10) And Allāh made it not but good tidings and so that your hearts would be assured thereby. And victory is not but from Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

(11) (11) [Remember] when He overwhelmed you with drowsiness [giving] security from Him and sent down upon you from the sky, rain by which to purify you and remove from you the evil [suggestions] of Satan and to make steadfast your hearts and plant firmly thereby your feet.

(12) (12) [Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."[439]

[439]- By which they grasp and manipulate their weapons. Also interpreted as "all extremities," i.e., their hands and feet.

(13) (13) That is because they opposed Allāh and His Messenger. And whoever opposes Allāh and His Messenger - indeed, Allāh is severe in penalty.

(14) (14) "That [is yours], so taste it." And indeed for the disbelievers is the punishment of the Fire.

(15) (15) O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing [in battle], do not turn to them your backs [in flight].

(16) (16) And whoever turns his back to them on such a day, unless swerving [as a strategy] for war or joining [another] company, has certainly returned with anger [upon him] from Allāh, and his refuge is Hell - and wretched is the destination.

(17) (17) And you did not kill them, but it was Allāh who killed them.[440] And you threw not, [O Muḥammad], when you threw, but it was Allāh who threw[441] that He might test the believers with a good test.[442] Indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

[440]- i.e., Your strength was insufficient to overcome them, but Allāh supported you and gave you victory. [441]- When the Prophet (ﷺ) threw a handful of dust into the faces of the disbelievers, Allāh caused it to fill the eyes and nose of every soldier, preventing their advance. [442]- So that they would appreciate Allāh's favor to them.

(18) (18) That [is so], and [also] that Allāh will weaken the plot of the disbelievers.

(19) (19) If you [disbelievers] seek the decision [i.e., victory] - the decision [i.e., defeat] has come to you. And if you desist [from hostilities], it is best for you; but if you return [to war], We will return, and never will you be availed by your [large] company at all, even if it should increase; and [that is] because Allāh is with the believers.

(20) (20) O you who have believed, obey Allāh and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order].

(21) (21) And do not be like those who say, "We have heard," while they do not hear.

(22) (22) Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allāh are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason [i.e., the disbelievers].

(23) (23) Had Allāh known any good in them, He would have made them hear. And if He had made them hear, they would [still] have turned away, while they were refusing.

(24) (24) O you who have believed, respond to Allāh and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allāh intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.

(25) (25) And fear a trial[443] which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know that Allāh is severe in penalty.

[443]- i.e., an affliction or punishment during life upon this earth. When corruption spreads among a people, its consequences will affect everyone.

(26) (26) And remember when you were few and oppressed in the land, fearing that people might abduct you, but He sheltered you, supported you with His victory, and provided you with good things - that you might be grateful.

(27) (27) O you who have believed, do not betray Allāh and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].

(28) (28) And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allāh has with Him a great reward.

(29) (29) O you who have believed, if you fear Allāh, He will grant you a criterion[444] and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allāh is the possessor of great bounty.

[444]- By which to judge between truth and falsehood. Also interpreted as a "way out" of difficulties.

(30) (30) And [remember, O Muḥammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allāh plans. And Allāh is the best of planners.

(31) (31) And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, "We have heard. If we willed, we could say [something] like this. This is not but legends of the former peoples."

(32) (32) And [remember] when they said, "O Allāh, if this should be the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment."

(33) (33) But Allāh would not punish them while you, [O Muḥammad], are among them, and Allāh would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.

(34) (34) But why should Allāh not punish them while they obstruct [people] from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām and they were not [fit to be] its guardians? Its [true] guardians are not but the righteous, but most of them do not know.

(35) (35) And their prayer at the House [i.e., the Kaʿbah] was not except whistling and handclapping. So taste the punishment for what you disbelieved [i.e., practiced of deviations].

(36) (36) Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to avert [people] from the way of Allāh. So they will spend it; then it will be for them a [source of] regret; then they will be overcome. And those who have disbelieved - unto Hell they will be gathered.

(37) (37) [It is] so that Allāh may distinguish the wicked from the good and place the wicked some of them upon others and heap them all together and put them into Hell. It is those who are the losers.

(38) (38) Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] peoples has already taken place.[445]

[445]- This is a warning that punishment is always the result of rebellion against Allāh and His messengers.

(39) (39) And fight against them until there is no fitnah[446] and [until] the religion [i.e., worship], all of it, is for Allāh.[447] And if they cease - then indeed, Allāh is Seeing of what they do.

[446]- Persecution. See footnote to 2:191. [447]- i.e., until polytheism is no longer dominant.

(40) (40) But if they turn away - then know that Allāh is your protector. Excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper.

(41) (41) And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger[448] and for [his] near relatives[449] and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler,[450] if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant[451] on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.

[448]- To be spent in Allāh's cause. [449]- The tribes of Banū Hāshim and Banū Muṭṭalib, who were not eligible for zakāh. [450]- The remaining four fifths are divided among the soldiers. [451]- Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ).

(42) (42) [Remember] when you were on the near side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was lower [in position] than you. If you had made an appointment [to meet], you would have missed the appointment. But [it was] so that Allāh might accomplish a matter already destined - that those who perished [through disbelief] would perish upon evidence and those who lived [in faith] would live upon evidence; and indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

(43) (43) [Remember, O Muḥammad], when Allāh showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many, you [believers] would have lost courage and would have disputed in the matter [of whether to fight], but Allāh saved [you from that]. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.

(44) (44) And [remember] when He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes, and He made you [appear] as few in their eyes so that Allāh might accomplish a matter already destined. And to Allāh are [all] matters returned.

(45) (45) O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allāh much that you may be successful.

(46) (46) And obey Allāh and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allāh is with the patient.

(47) (47) And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allāh. And Allāh is encompassing[452] of what they do.

[452]- In knowledge. See footnote to 2:19.

(48) (48) And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, "No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector." But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, "Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed, I fear Allāh. And Allāh is severe in penalty."

(49) (49) [Remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease [i.e., arrogance and disbelief] said, "Their religion has deluded those [Muslims]." But whoever relies upon Allāh - then indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

(50) (50) And if you could but see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved...[453] They are striking their faces and their backs and [saying], "Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.

[453]- This sentence is left incomplete for additional effect. Its conclusion is left to the imagination of the reader or listener and estimated as "...you would see a dreadful sight."

(51) (51) That is for what your hands have put forth [of evil] and because Allāh is not ever unjust to [His] servants."

(52) (52) [Theirs is] like the custom of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them. They disbelieved in the signs of Allāh, so Allāh seized them for their sins. Indeed, Allāh is Powerful and severe in penalty.

(53) (53) That is because Allāh would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

(54) (54) [Theirs is] like the custom of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh. And all [of them] were wrongdoers.

(55) (55) Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allāh are those who have disbelieved, and they will not [ever] believe-

(56) (56) The ones with whom you made a treaty but then they break their pledge every time, and they do not fear Allāh.

(57) (57) So if you, [O Muḥammad], gain dominance over them in war, disperse by [means of] them those behind them that perhaps they will be reminded.[454]

[454]- i.e., kill them and make an example of them to discourage those who follow them.

(58) (58) If you [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw [their treaty] back to them, [putting you] on equal terms.[455] Indeed, Allāh does not like traitors.

[455]- When you see signs of treachery from those with whom you have made a treaty, announce to them its dissolution so they will know exactly where they stand.

(59) (59) And let not those who disbelieve think they will escape. Indeed, they will not cause failure [to Allāh].

(60) (60) And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war[456] by which you may terrify the enemy of Allāh and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allāh knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allāh will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.

[456]- Or equipment which serves the same purpose.

(61) (61) And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon Allāh. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing.

(62) (62) But if they intend to deceive you - then sufficient for you is Allāh. It is He who supported you with His help and with the believers

(63) (63) And brought together their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have brought their hearts together; but Allāh brought them together. Indeed, He is Exalted in Might and Wise.

(64) (64) O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allāh and for whoever follows you of the believers.

(65) (65) O Prophet, urge the believers to battle. If there are among you twenty [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you one hundred [who are steadfast], they will overcome a thousand of those who have disbelieved because they are a people who do not understand.

(66) (66) Now, Allāh has lightened [the hardship] for you, and He knows that among you is weakness. So if there are from you one hundred [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you a thousand, they will overcome two thousand by permission of Allāh. And Allāh is with the steadfast.

(67) (67) It is not for a prophet to have captives [of war] until he inflicts a massacre [upon Allāh's enemies] in the land. You [i.e., some Muslims] desire the commodities of this world,[457] but Allāh desires [for you] the Hereafter. And Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

[457]- i.e., material benefit, such as the ransom paid for prisoners.

(68) (68) If not for a decree from Allāh that preceded,[458] you would have been touched for what you took by a great punishment.

[458]- Three interpretations of the "decree" are given: that by which the companions of Badr were forgiven, that by which indeliberate errors in judgement by believers are not punished, and that which made lawful the spoils of war.

(69) (69) So consume what you have taken of war booty [as being] lawful and good, and fear Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

(70) (70) O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, "If Allāh knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful."

(71) (71) But if they intend to betray you - then they have already betrayed Allāh before, and He empowered [you] over them. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.

(72) (72) Indeed, those who have believed and emigrated and fought with their wealth and lives in the cause of Allāh and those who gave shelter and aided - they are allies of one another. But those who believed and did not emigrate - for you there is no support of them until they emigrate. And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty. And Allāh is Seeing of what you do.

(73) (73) And those who disbelieved are allies of one another. If you do not do so [i.e., ally yourselves with other believers], there will be fitnah [i.e., disbelief and oppression] on earth and great corruption.

(74) (74) But those who have believed and emigrated and fought in the cause of Allāh and those who gave shelter and aided - it is they who are the believers, truly. For them is forgiveness and noble provision.

(75) (75) And those who believed after [the initial emigration] and emigrated and fought with you - they are of you. But those of [blood] relationship are more entitled [to inheritance] in the decree of Allāh.[459] Indeed, Allāh is Knowing of all things.

[459]- This applies to Muslim relatives only. Others may be given by bequest. See 4:11.