8. Al-Anfaal

Know, O believers, that whatever you take by force from the disbelievers when striving in Allah’s path shall be divided into five. Four-fifths shall be distributed to those who strove in Allah’s path and the remaining fifth shall be further divided into five portions and distributed equally between the following: Allah and His Messenger, to be spent on the general expenses of the Muslims; the relatives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from the Children of Hāshim and the Children of Al-Muţţalib; orphans; the poor and destitute; and travellers who are stranded. Obey this if you have faith in Allah and what He revealed to His servant, Muhammad (peace be upon him), on the day of the Battle of Badr, when Allah made a clear distinction between truth and falsehood by giving you victory over your enemies.

Remember, O believers, when you were on the near side of the valley that was facing Medina, the idolaters were on the far side that was facing Makkah and the caravan was at a spot lower than you facing the Red Sea. If you and the idolaters made an appointment with each other to meet at Badr, neither of you would have kept to it: your lack of numbers as compared to your enemy would have kept you back, and the fear of facing Allah’s Messenger would have kept them back. But Allah, may He be glorified, gathered you at Badr without an appointment, so that He may carry out a matter that was already determined: the victory of the believers and the defeat of the disbelievers – bringing honour to His religion and humiliation to idolatry. This was so that those who died from amongst them would die after evidence was established by the believers’ victory against them, despite their lack of numbers and preparation, and so that those who lived would live with clear evidences that Allah made obvious to them, and no one would have any evidence against Allah that they could use as an argument. Allah hears the statements of everyone and knows their actions. Nothing is hidden from Him and He will repay them for that.

Remember, O Messenger, Allah’s favour upon you, and upon the believers, when He showed you a dream in which the idolaters were few in number. You informed the believers about this and they took it as a good sign, and their determination to face the enemy in battle was strengthened. If Allah had shown the idolaters to you to be many, the determination of your Companions would have become weak and they would have become afraid of fighting. But Allah saved you all from that and protected them from losing courage. He therefore made them seem few in number in the eye of His Messenger (peace be upon him). He knows what the hearts contain and what the souls hide.

Remember, O believers, when Allah showed the idolaters to you, when you met them, as few and made you bravely go forward towards fighting them; and He made you seem few in their eyes, so that they came forward to fight you, without thinking of leaving. This was so that Allah could bring about a matter that was predetermined by taking retribution from the idolaters by them being killed or taken prisoners, and by favouring the believers with victory and defeat of their enemies. All matters are returned to Allah alone and He will repay the one who does evil for his wrongdoing and the one who does good for his good deeds.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, when you fight against a group of disbelievers be patient when you meet them and do not become cowardly. Remember Allah much and call on Him, because He is the One Who can help you against them; and pray to Him to grant you what you desire and protect you from what you fear.

Observe Allah’s obedience and the obedience of His Prophet in all of your statements, actions and circumstances. Do not argue with one another because dispute leads to weakness, cowardliness and the diminishing of your strength. Be patient when facing the enemy because Allah supports and assists the patient. Whoever Allah is with will definitely be victorious.

Remember, O believers, Allah’s favour on you when Satan made the actions of the idolaters seem good to them and encouraged them to face the Muslims in battle by saying to them, ‘No one can defeat you today because I am your supporter and I will protect you from your enemy’. When the two parties – the believers who had the angels as their support and the idolaters who had Satan who was going to desert them – met, Satan turned back fleeing and said to the idolaters: I have nothing to do with you. I can see the angels who have come to support the believers and I am afraid that Allah will destroy me. Allah’s punishment is harsh and no one is able to bear it.

Remember when the hypocrites and those of weak faith were saying: The religion of these people – which promised them victory over their enemies despite their lack of numbers and preparation as compared to the huge number and the strength of their enemies – has deceived them. They have not understood that the person who places reliance upon Allah alone and who has faith in the victory that Allah has promised, Allah will assist such a person and will never desert them no matter how weak they may be. Allah is Mighty and no one can overcome Him. He is Wise in His decree and sacred laws.

If only you, O Messenger, could see those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers at the time when the angels remove their souls, striking their faces when they face towards them and striking their backs when they try to run away, and saying to them: Taste, O disbelievers, the burning punishment! If you had to see that, you would see a serious heart-wrenching sight.