Al-Anfal 8:19–24

It is interesting that these dimwitted people were under the impression that they were the ones higher and superior and better-guided as compared to Muslims, therefore, they surmised that the prayer they were making was in their own favour. They actually wanted that Allah would, through their prayer, give His verdict as to who was true and who was false. Thus, when they win, their victory would become the Divine verdict on their being on the side of truth.

But, they did not know that the prayer they were making was really a curse for their own selves, and that it was a supplication for the good of Muslims. After the end of the battle came, the Qur'an told them: إِن تَسْتَفْتِحُوا فَقَدْ جَاءَكُمُ الْفَتْحُ (If you pray for victory, "victory" has come upon you) that is, 'if you are looking for a Divine verdict, that is before you - truth has triumphed and falsehood has been defeated. Then: وَإِن تَنتَهُوا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ‌ لَّكُمْ (if you give up it is better for you) that is, 'now is the time when, if you abandon your disbelief and hostility, it will turn out to be better for you.' And, if you still decide to revert back to your wickedness and the threat of armed aggression, then, Allah too will revert back and support Muslims: وَإِن تَعُودُوا نَعُدْ (And if you repeat, We shall repeat). In that case, the consequence would be: وَلَن تُغْنِيَ عَنكُمْ فِئَتُكُمْ شَيْئًا وَلَوْ كَثُرَ‌تْ (And your people shall not suffice you at all, even though they are many in number) that is, 'your numerical superiority and group strength shall be of no avail against the help and, support given by Allah.' As for the help and support of Allah: ti; (Allah is with the believers) that is, 'how can any group or power work for you when Allah Ta` ala, the very possessor of absolute power, is with the Muslims?'

Commentary

The event of the battle of Badr which has been described in a somewhat detailed manner in the previous verses contains many lessons in hard advice and wisdom both for those who adhere to Islam and those who stick to disbelief. These appear intermittently during the course of relevant narrations and serve as warning signals.

For example, in the previous verses, after having recounted the defeat and disgrace of the disbelievers of Makkah, it was said: ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ شَاقُّوا اللَّهَ وَرَ‌سُولَہ (That is because they were hostile to Allah and His Messenger - 13). It means that the disbelievers of Makkah were defeated despite their numerical and logistic strength and the real reason behind it was that they had elected to act hostile to Allah and His Messenger. In this, there lies a chastening lesson for people who bypass the most perfect power of the Creator and Master of the heavens and the earth - the power that is visible and the power that is invisible - and who opt for placing their reliance on material strengths only, or just choose to cheat their own selves by hoping and praying that the help and support of Allah will be by their side despite all their acts of disobedience to Him.

In the present verse, the other side of this very problem has been taken up by addressing Muslims. Stated briefly, the truth of the matter is that Muslims were blessed with this great victory despite their low numbers and ill-equipped fighting force only through the help and support of Allah Almighty - and this Divine help and support is the outcome of their obedience to Allah. This obedience is what Muslims have been obligated with and to this they have to adhere firmly: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَ‌سُولَهُ ( O those who believe, obey Allah and His Messenger). In the sentence which follows, the same subject has been further emphasized by saying: وَلَا تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَأَنتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ (and do not turn away from him while you are listening). The sense is that once you have listened to the Qur'an, the true word of Allah, do not go about doing things against the norms of genuine obedience.

Listening denotes listening to what is the truth and it has four degrees in terms of effective response. (1) The hearer with ears simply heard some voice but neither tried to understand it, nor understood it, nor believed in or relied upon it, nor did he act accordingly. (2) He heard it through his ears all right, even understood it, but did neither believe in it nor acted accordingly. (3) He heard, he understood, even believed and trusted, but did not act accordingly. (4) He heard, he understood, he believed, he trusted - and acted accordingly as well.

It is obvious that the real purpose of listening is fully realized only through the fourth degree - which is the station of perfect believers. As for the earlier three degrees, the act of listening described there is imperfect and incomplete which, in a manner of saying, could be set aside as just not listening - as readily pointed to in the verses appearing next. The third degree mentioned above has the ingredients of hearing the truth, understanding it and believing in it, but lacks corresponding deeds. Here, the real purpose of listening is though not realized as it should be, yet belief has its own importance and cannot be rejected as useless. This degree pertains to sinning Muslims. Then there is the second degree where we find only listening and under-standing but no belief and no corresponding deed. This degree is that of the munafiqin (hypocrites) for they do listen to the Qur'an, understand it too, even have a feigned claim to desired belief and deed, but the reality is that they do not believe and do what is right and due. Finally, the first degree is that of polytheists and disbelievers who listened to the message of truth and the 'ayat of the Qur'an with their own ears but were never motivated enough to understand and think about that.

In the verse cited above (20), the address is to Muslims who have been told that they do listen to the message of truth after all, that is, the initial requirement of listening, understanding and believing is present in their attitude as it is, but they have to do more than that. They must act, do what must be done and do it fully and faithfully. They have been asked not to do anything which would take them away from the path of obedience so that the real purpose of listening to the word of truth stands realized fully.

For added emphasis on the same subject, it was said in the second verse (21): وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ﴿21﴾ (and do not be like those who say, "we have heard" while they do not listen). Meant here are common disbelievers who claim to be listening but make no such claim about believing. Also meant here are the hypocrites who go beyond the elementary listening which they already do. In fact, they also claim to understand what that they listen to and to believe in it as well. But, the truth of the matter is that they both remain deprived of genuine deliberation and correct understanding. Therefore, their listening falls under the category of not listening. So, Muslims have been forbidden from becoming like them.

The third verse (22) strongly condemns those who do not listen to what is the truth thoughtfully and let it go unaccepted. The Qur'an has declared such people to be worse than animals. The words used are: إِنَّ شَرَّ‌ الدَّوَابِّ عِندَ اللَّهِ الصُّمُّ الْبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿22﴾ (Surely, the worst of all animals in the sight of Allah are the deaf and the dumb who do not understand).

The word: دوابّ (dawabb) is the plural form of: دَآبَّۃ (dābbah). Literally, everything that walks on the earth is called 'dābbah.' But, in usage, only quadruped animals are called 'dābbah.' So, the sense of the verse is that the worst quadrupeds in the sight of Allah are the ones deaf against listening to the truth and dumb when it comes to accepting it. Even someone deaf and dumb could, if he has the least fund of reason in him, make himself understood by simple gestures in a two-way communication. But, these people are not only deaf and dumb, they are short on reason also. It is obvious that for a person, who is deaf, dumb; and devoid of reason too, the lines of communication shall remain blocked and there will be no way they would understand or be made to understand.

In this verse, Allah Ta` ala has made it clear that human beings have been created with the best of destiny. They have been made the superior-most among the created and the universe has been placed at their service. These are great blessings which lie embedded in and dependent on listening to truth and obeying it. Once human beings turn their backs on listening to the truth, understanding and accepting it, all these blessings are sucked away from them and they are relegated to some species worse than animals.

It appears in Tafsir Ruh al-Bay-an that human beings are, in terms of their original creation, superior to all animals, but are lower in rank as compared to angels. But, when human beings strive on the pathway of obedience to Allah, their creator, they rise higher in status than angels too. However, should they turn away from the pathway of obedience to Allah, they are condemned to become the lowest of the low, far too worse than animals.

In the fourth verse (23), it was said: وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرً‌ا لَّأَسْمَعَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّوا وَّهُم مُّعْرِ‌ضُونَ ﴿23﴾ (And had Allah seen in them some good, He would have made them listen. And had He made them listen, they would have turned away paying no heed). In other words, the sense of the verse is: Had Allah seen in them some pliability towards receiving good counsel, He would have blessed them with the ability to listen with faith - and if, in their present state of being with no desire to receive truth, He were to make them listen to what is true, they would have certainly turned away from it paying no heed.

The word: خَیر (khayr: good) at this place means the desire to find out the truth, for it is the quest for truth which opens the doors of deliberation and understanding and it is this very quest which enables one to believe and act. Thus, whoever has no quest for truth is as if he has no good in him. If such people did have some good in them, it is obvious that it would have been within the knowledge of Allah Ta` ala. Now, when they have no good in them as borne by the knowledge of Allah Ta` ala, it tells us that they stand deprived of every possible good in the real sense. Therefore, if they were to be invited to ponder, deliberate and believe in the truth within this state of deprivation, they would have never accepted it - rather, they would have turned away from it and run. This aversion, that is, would not be because of any flaw in the religion they may have noticed which made them reject it. In fact, they just did not pay heed to what was the truth.

Incidentally, the stipulation made above also helps remove the nagging logical doubt which bothers many a learned people. They surmise that this is the first form of analogical deduction where the surrender of the middle premise seems to be yielding the wrong outcome. The answer is that the middle premise has not been repeated here because the sense of the first word لَّأَسْمَعَهُمْ (la asma'ahum: He would have made them listen) is separate from the second: وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ (wa lau asma'ahum: and had He made them listen) which carries its own sense apart from the first. Meant in the first is listening to accept and listening to benefit from, while the sense of the second is bland listening with nothing to it.

In the fifth verse (24), believers have been addressed once again. Commanded to obey Allah and His Messenger in a particular manner, they have been told that the thing to which Allah and His Messenger invite you is something which brings no benefit to Allah and His Messenger per se. Instead of that, all Divine injunctions have been prescribed for nothing but their own benefit. So, said in the manner pointed to above, was: اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّ‌سُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ (respond to Allah and the Messenger when He calls you to what gives you life).

What is the 'life' mentioned in this verse? Since several probabilities exist in its interpretation, learned commentators have taken different interpretive positions. According to Suddiyy, that life-giving thing is 'Imān (faith) because the disbeliever is dead. Qatadah said: That is Qur'an in which lies all life and success of both the worlds, Dunya and 'Akhirah. Mujahid said: That is truth. Ibn Ishaq said: It means Jihad through which Allah Ta` ala conferred honour on Muslims. All these probabilities mentioned here are sound as they are. There is no contradiction in them. The larger sense is that ‘Imān, Qur'an or the following of truth are things which put life into the heart and the life of the heart is nothing but that everything which becomes a barrier between the Creator and the created, barriers like inertia and desire, should be removed from the way of truth leaving it free from whatever obstructions there are in order that the heart is filled with the light of insight into the Creator.

Based on a narration from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ Tirmidhi and Al-Nasa'i have reported that on a certain day, the Holy Prophet ﷺ sent for Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ ، who was busy with his Salah at that time. However, he completed his Salah sooner than he would have normally done and presented himself before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He asked: 'Why did you come so late despite that I called you?' Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ submitted his excuse: 'I was in the state of Salah.' He said: 'Did you not hear what Allah Ta` ala has said in: اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّ‌سُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ (Respond to Allah and the Messenger when He calls you)?' Sayyidna Ubayy ibn Ka'b ؓ so, said: 'I shall obey it from now on. If you call me, even when I am making my Salah, I shall present myself before you immediately.'

It is on the basis of this Hadith that some Muslim jurists have said that anything done during Salah in obedience to the command of the Messenger of Allah would not be taken as interference in Salah. However, there are other jurists who say that Salah would though be terminated due to doings contrary to the standard rules governing Salah and it would have to be offered later as qada قَضَا (replaced for the missed or terminated Salah). But, the proper thing to do is that should the Holy Prophet ﷺ call someone, even if he is in the state of Salah, then, he should terminate his Salah and obey the call.

As for this form of obedience, it is exclusive to the Rasul of Allah. But, there are other occasions when one may apprehend the danger of serious loss coming to someone, then, at that time too, Salah should be terminated and amends be made later by offering qada'. For example, if a person in the state of Salah sees that a blind man is about to reach and fall in a well or ditch, then, he should immediately terminate his Salah and go to save the handicapped man.

At the end of the verse, it was said: وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْ‌ءِ وَقَلْبِهِ (and be sure that Allah intervenes between man and his heart). This sentence can have two meanings, and both vibrate with great wisdom and good counsel, something one should always remember and live by.

One possible sense of the sentence is: When you are blessed with the opportunity of doing something good, or staying safe from sin, then, go ahead and do it immediately - make no delay and take the lease of time so granted to be a blessing, because there are occasions when Divine decree becomes an intervening factor between man and his intention and he cannot succeed in doing what he intends to do. May be, a sickness overtakes, or death itself does, or some preoccupation emerges out of nowhere and one just does not get the time to do that good or avoid that sin. Therefore, human beings should welcome the leave granted in terms of the years of life and access to time and refuse to put off until tomorrow what must be done today - for, who knows what is going to happen tomorrow?

من نمی گویم زیان کن یا بفکر سود باش ای زفرصت بےخیر در ھرچہ باشی زود باش

I do not say that you run into some loss or go for your gain

Whatever be your option, 0 man unaware of time, be quick!

The second possible meaning emerges from the indication given by the sentence that Allah Ta` ala is very near to His servant. In fact, in another verse of the Qur'an (Qf, 50:16): نَحْنُ أَقْرَ‌بُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِ‌يدِ Allah Ta` ala says that He is close to man, much closer than his jugular vein.

Thus, the sense is that the heart of man is, in a special way, at the discretionary disposal of Allah Ta` ala all the time. When He wills to keep a servant of His protected from evils, He puts a barrier between his heart and sins, and when misfortune is fated for someone, the barrier is placed between his heart and any possible good deeds by him. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ used to include the following prayer frequently when he prayed:

یَا مُنقَلِّبَ القُلُبِ ثَبِّت قَلبِی عَلٰی دِینِکَ

0 reverser of hearts! Keep my heart firm on the Faith chosen by You.

The ultimate outcome of this too is no other but that one should not delay doing what must be done in obedience to the injunctions of Allah and His Rasul, rather, one should take the lease of time given to him as a God-given opportunity and just go ahead and do it, for no one knows whether or not the surge and urge of this good deed remains active later on.