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Name The Surah
takes its name AL-ANFAL (The Bounties) from the first verse. The
Period of Revelation It
was revealed in 2 A. H. after the Battle of Badr, the first battle between Islam
and kufr. As it contains a detailed and comprehensive review of the Battle,
it appears that most probably it was revealed at one and the same time. But it
is also possible that some of the verses concerning the problems arising as a
result of this Battle might have been revealed later and incorporated at the proper
places to make it a continuous whole. At any rate, in the whole Surah there is
nothing that might show that it is a collection of a couple of discourses, that
have been patched up together.
Historical Background Before
reviewing the Surah, it is worthwhile to consider the events that led to the Battle
of Badr. During
the first decade or so of the Prophethood at Makkah, the Message had proved its
firmness, and stability. This was the result of two things. First, the Messenger,
who possessed the highest qualities of character, was performing his Mission with
wisdom, foresight and magnanimity. He had shown by his conduct that he had made
up his mind to carry the movement to a successful end and, therefore, was ready
to face all sorts of dangers and obstacles in the way. Secondly, the Message was
so charming that it attracted the minds and hearts of the people irresistibly
towards itself. So much so that all obstacles of ignorance, superstition and petty
prejudices failed to check, its advance. That is why the Arab upholders of the
ways of "ignorance,' who looked down upon it in its initial stages, had'
begun to reckon it as a serious menace during the last period of the stay of the
Holy Prophet at Makkah, and were bent on crushing it with all the force at their
command. But in spite of the above-mentioned strength, the movement still lacked
certain things to lead it to victory:- First,
it had not yet been fully proved that it had gathered round it a sufficient number
of such followers who not only believed in its truth, but also had such an intense
devotion to its principles that they were ready to expend all their energies and
all that they possessed in the struggle for its success and establishment. So
much so that they were ready to sacrifice their lives in the fight against the
whole world itself even though they should be their own nearest relative. It is
true that the followers of Islam had endured the severest persecutions at the
hands of the Quraish of Makkah and had given a good proof of the firmness of their
faith and their strong relation with Islam, yet further trials were required to
show that Islam had succeeded in acquiring such a band of followers which considered
nothing dearer than its ideal and was ready to sacrifice life for it. Secondly,
though the voice of Islam had reached' every part of the country, its effects
were yet scattered and its acquired strength was spread here and there: it had
not yet gathered sufficient force essential for a decisive conflict with the old
established order of "ignorance". Thirdly,
Islam had yet no home of its own and had not established itself firmly anywhere
in the land where it could consolidate its power and make it a base for further
action. For the Muslims were scattered all over the country and were living among
the unbelievers as aliens whom their bloodthirsty enemies wanted to uproot from
their own homes. Fourthly,
the Muslims had not yet had an opportunity to demonstrate practically the blessings
of the system of life based on Islam. There was neither any Islamic culture, nor
any social, economic or political system; nor were there any established principles
of war and peace for their guidance. Therefore the Muslims had no opportunity
for demonstrating those moral principles on which they intended to build their
entire system of life; nor had it been proved on the touchstone of trial that
the Muslims as a community were sincere in their proclamation of the Message.
Allah created opportunities
for making up these deficiencies. During
the last four years or so of the Prophet's stay at Makkah, the voice of Islam
had been proving effective at Yathrab and the people for various reasons had been
accepting the message more readily than other clans of Arabia. So much so that
in the twelfth year of Prophethood on the occasion of Haj a deputation
of 75 people met the Holy Prophet in the darkness of night. These people not only
accepted Islam, but also offered to give him and his followers a home. As this
was a most epoch making opportunity provided by Allah, the Holy Prophet took advantage
of it. The significance
of this offer was quite clear to the people of Yathrab, and they fully realized
that this was not an invitation to a mere fugitive, but to the Messenger of Allah
so that he should become their leader and ruler. Likewise they knew that they
were not inviting the Muslim refugees to give them shelter from persecution but
to assemble them from all over the country for their integration with themselves
to form an organized community. Thus the offer of the people of Yathrab was to
make Yathrab the "City of Islam." Accordingly the Holy Prophet accepted
their invitation and made it the first "City of Islam" in Arabia.
And the people of Yathrab
were fully aware of the implications of this offer. It was indeed a declaration
of war against the whole of Arabia, and an invitation to their own social and
economic boycott as well. And when the Ansar from Yathrab declared their
allegiance to the Holy Prophet at Aqabah, they knew fully well its consequences.
During the course of the formal declaration of allegiance, Asad-bin- Zurarah,
the youngest of all the delegates from Yathrab, stood up and said, "0 people
of Yathrab! Just listen to me and consider the matter carefully in all its aspects.
Though we have come to him, regarding him only as a Messenger of Allah, we should
know that we shall be inviting the enmity of the whole of Arabia. For when we
take him away to Yathrab, we shall be attacked and our children may be put to
the sword. Therefore if you have the courage in your hearts to face it, then and
then only, you should declare your allegiance to him and Allah will give you its
reward. But if you love your lives more than him and his Message, then leave this
matter and frankly excuse yourselves, for at this time Allah may accept your excuses."
Abbas bin Ubadah
bin Naalah, another member of the delegation, reiterated the same thing, saying,
Do you understand
the implication of the declaration of your allegiance to this person?" (Voices,
"Yes, we know it.") "You are challenging the whole world to war
by your declaration of allegiance to him. There is every likelihood of a serious
menace to your lives and properties. Therefore consider it well. If you have any
idea lurking in your minds that you will then hand him over to his enemies, it
is much better to leave him alone now, because that conduct shall bring shame
and disgrace to you in this world and the next. On the other hand, if you have
sincerely resolved that you will endure all kinds of consequences that will follow
as a result of this invitation, then it would be the best thing to take the oath
of allegiance to him because, by God, this will surely bring good to you in this
world as well as in the next world." At
this all the members of the delegation cried with one voice, "We are ready
and prepared to risk all our wealth and our noble kith and kin for his sake."
It was then that
the famous oath of allegiance, which is known as the "Second Oath of Allegiance
at Aqabah" was taken. On
the other side, the people of Makkah also understood fully well the implications
of this matter from their own point of view. They realized that Muhammad (Allah's
peace be upon him), who, they knew well, had a great personality and possessed
extraordinary abilities, was going to gain a strong footing, by this allegiance.
For this would help integrate his followers, whose constancy, determination, and
unwavering fidelity to the Messenger had been tried, into a disciplined community
under his wise leadership and guidance. And they knew that this would spell death
for their old ways of life. They also realized the strategic importance of. Al-
Madinah to their trade, which was their chief means of livelihood. Its
geographical position was such that the Muslims could strike with advantage at
the caravans traveling on the trade route between Yaman and Syria, and thus strike
at the root of their economy and that of other pagan clans very effectively. The
value of the trade done by the people of Makkah alone on this route, not to count
that of raif and other places, amounted to about two hundred thousand dinars
annually. As the
Quraish were fully aware of the implications of the oath of allegiance at Aqabah,
they were greatly perturbed when they got wind of it the same night. At first
they tried to win over the people of Al-Madinah to their side. But when they saw
that the Muslims were migrating to Al- Madinah in small groups, they realized
that the Holy Prophet was also going to emigrate soon from there. Then they decided
to adopt an extreme measure to prevent this danger. A
few days before his migration, the Quraish held a council to consider the matter.
After a good deal of argument; they decided that one person should be taken from
each of the families of Quraish other than that of Banu Hashim to put an end to
the life of the Holy Prophet. This was to make it difficult for the family of
the Holy Prophet to fight alone with all the other families of the Quraish and
thus to force them to accept blood-money for his murder-instead of taking revenge
from them, but by the grace of Allah their plot against the life of the Holy Prophet
failed because of his admirable foresight and full trust in Allah, and he reached
Al- Madinah safe and sound. When they could not prevent his emigration, it occurred
to them to exploit Abdullah bin Ub`ai who had begun to cherish a grievance against
the Holy Prophet since his arrival at Al-Madinah. He was an influential chief
of Al-Madinah and the people had agreed to make him their king. But when the majority
of Aus and Khazraj clan became Muslims and acknowledged the Holy Prophet as their
leader, guide and ruler, all his hopes of becoming a king came to an end. Therefore
the Quraish wrote to him, "As you have given shelter to our enemy, we tell
you plainly that you should either fight with him yourself or exile him from your
city otherwise we swear by God that we will invade your city, kill your males
and make your females our slave girls." This letter added fuel to the flames
of his jealousy and he was inclined to do some mischief, but the Holy Prophet
took timely precautions and defeated his evil designs. The
Quraish got another opportunity to hold out a threat. When Sa'ad bin Mu'az, another
chief of Al-Madinah, went to Makkah to perform `Umrah, Abu Jahl interrupted
him at the very door of the Kabah, saying, "Do you think we will let you
perform `Umrah in peace while you give shelter and help to renegades
from us? Had you not been a guest of Ummayyah bin Khalf, you would not have gone
alive from here." Sa'ad replied, "By Allah, if you prevent me from this,
I will retaliate in a worse manner and block your route near Al-Madinah."
This incident virtually led to a declaration from the people of Makkah that they
would prevent the Muslims from a pilgrimage to the Kabah, and from the people
of Al- Madinah that as a retaliation they would block their trade route to Syria
against the opponents of Islam. As a matter of fact there was no other alternative
for the Muslims than to keep a strong hold on this route so as to force the Quraish,
and the other clans, whose interests were vitally bound with this route, to reconsider
their inimical and antagonistic attitude towards them. That is why the Holy Prophet
attached the greatest importance to this problem. As soon as he was free from
making the preliminary arrangements for organizing the newly formed Muslim Community
and settling peace terms with the neighboring Jewish habitations, he adopted two
measures in this connection:- First,
he entered into negotiations with those clans who lived between the Red Sea and
this route so as to make alliances with them or at east to persuade them to make
treaties of neutrality with the Muslims. He was successful in this, and he entered
into a treaty of non-alignment with Juhainah, which was a very important clan
of the hilly tract near the sea coast. Then, at the end of the first year of Hijrah,
he made a treaty of defensive alliance with Bani Damrah, who lived near Yanb'u
and Zawal Ushairah. In 2 A. H. Bani Mudlij also joined the alliance, as they were
the neighbors and allies of Bani Damrah. Then ii so happened that quite a large
number of these people were converted to Islam as a result of the missionary work
done by the Muslims. Secondly,
he successively sent small bands of his men on this route to serve as a warning
to the Quraish, and himself accompanied some of them. In the first year of Hijrah,
four expeditions were sent there, that is, the expedition under Hamzah, the expedition
under Ubaidah bin Harith, the expedition under Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas and the Al-Abwa'
expedition under the Holy Prophet himself. In the first month of the second year
two more incursions were made on the same route. These are known as Buwat Expedition
and Zawal Ushairah Expedition. Two things about all these expeditions are noteworthy.
First, no blood was shed and no caravans were plundered in any of these expeditions.
This proves that the real object of these expeditions was to show to the Quraish
which way the wind was blowing. Secondly, not a single man from the people of
Al-Madinah was sent by the Holy. Prophet on any of these incursions. All the bands
consisted purely of the immigrants from Makkah so that the conflict should remain
between the people of the Quraish themselves and should not further spread by
the involvement of other clans. On the other side, the Quraish of Makkah tried
to involve others also in the conflict. When they sent bands towards Al-Madinah,
they did not hesitate to plunder the people. For instance, an expedition under
the leadership of Kurz bin Jabir al-Fihrl plundered the cattle of the people of
Al-Madinah from the very vicinity of the city to show what their real intentions
were. This was the
state of affairs when, in Sha'aban, 2 A. H. (February or March, 623 A. D.) a big
trade caravan of the Quraish, carrying goods worth $50,000 or so, with only a
guard of thirty to forty men, on its way back from Syria to Makkah, reached the
territory from where it could be easily attacked from Al-Madinah. As the caravan
was carrying trade goods worth thousands of pounds, and was scantily guarded,
naturally Abu Sufyan, who was in charge of it, from his Past experience feared
an attach from the Muslims. Accordingly, as soon as he entered the dangerous territory,
he despatched a camel rider to Makkah with a frantic appeal for help. When the
rider reached Makkah, he, following an old custom of Arabia, tore open the ears
of his camel, cut open his nose and overturned the saddle. Then rending his shirt
from front and behind, he began to cry aloud at the top of his voice, "O
people of Quraish despatch help to protect your caravan from Syria under the charge
of Abu Sufyan, for Muhammad with his followers is in pursuit of it; otherwise
I don't think you will ever get your goods. Run, run for help." This caused
great excitement and anger in the whole of Makkah and all the big chiefs of the
Quraish got ready for war. An army, consisting of 600 armored soldiers and cavalry
of 100 riders with great pomp and show marched out for a fight. They intended
not only to rescue the caravan but also to put to an end, once for all, the new
menace from the Muslims who had consolidated themselves at Al-Madinah. They wanted
to crush that rising power and overawe the clans surrounding the route so as to
make it absolutely secure for future trade. Now
the Holy Prophet, who always kept himself well informed of the state of affairs,
felt that the decisive hour has come and that was the right time when he must
take a bold step; otherwise the Islamic Movement would become lifeless for ever
and no chance would be left for it to rise again. For if the Quraish invaded Al-Madinah,
the odds would be against the Muslims. The condition of the Muslim Community was
still very shaky because the immigrants (Muhajirin) had not been able
to stabilize their economy during the short period (less than two years) of their
stay at Al-Madinah; their helpers, (the Ansar) had not yet been tried;
and the neighboring Jewish clans were antagonistic. Then there was a strong group
of hypocrites and mushriks in Al- Madinah itself; above all, the surrounding
clans lived in awe of the Quraish and had all their religious sympathies with
them. The Holy Prophet, therefore, felt that the consequences of this possible
invasion would not be favorable to the Muslims. The
second possibility was that they would not invade Al-Madinah but try only to escort
their caravan safely and securely by a mere show of force. In that case, too,
if the Muslim remained inactive, it would affect their reputation adversely. Obviously,
this weak stand in the conflict would embolden the other Arabs also and make the
position of the Muslims very insecure in the country and the surrounding clans
would, at the instance of the Quraish, start hostilities against them, and the
Jews, the hypocrites and the mushriks of Al- Madinah would openly rise
against them and not only endanger their security of life, property and honor
but make it difficult for them even to live there. The
Muslims would not be able to inspire the enemy with awe so as to keep safe from
them their life, property and honor. A careful study of the situation led the
Holy Prophet to make up his mind to take a decisive step and go into the battle
with whatever little strength he could muster, for thus and thus only could he
show whether the Muslim Community had the right to survive or was doomed to perish.
When he arrived
at this momentous decision, he called the Muhajirin and the Ansar
together and placed the whole position before them, without any reservation. He
said, "Allah has promised that you will confront one of the two, the trade
caravan coming from the north or the army of the Quraish marching from the south.
Now tell me which of the two you want to attack!" A large majority of the
people replied that they wanted to attack the caravan. But the Holy Prophet who
had something else before him, repeated the same question. At this Miqdad bin
'Amr, a Muhajir, stood up and said, "0 Messenger of Allah! Please
march to the side to which your Lord commands you; we will accompany you wherever
you go. We will not say like the Israelites, 'Go and let you and your Lord fight
we will wait'. In contrast to them we say, 'Let you and your Lord fight; we will
fight by your side to our last breath'." Even then he did not announce any
decision but waited for a reply from the Ansar who had not yet taken
any part in any battle of Islam. As this was the first opportunity for them to
prove that they were ready to fulfill their promise of fighting for the cause
of Islam, he repeated the question without directly addressing them. At this,
Sa'ad bin Mu'az, an Ansar, stood up and said, "Sir, it appears that
you are putting the question to us." When the Holy Prophet said, "Yes",
the Ansar replied, "We have believed in you and confirmed that what
you have brought is the Truth, and have made a solemn pledge with you that we
will listen to you and obey you. Therefore, 0 Messenger of Allah, do whatever
you intend to do. We swear by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth that we are
ready to accompany you to the sea shore and if you enter it, we will plunge into
it. We assure you that not a single one of us will remain behind or forsake you,
for we will not hesitate at all to go to fight, even if you should lead us to
the battlefield tomorrow. We will remain steadfast in the battle and sacrifice
our lives in the fight. We do hope that by the grace of Allah our behavior will
gladden your heart. So, trusting in Allah's blessing, take us to the battlefield."
After these speeches
it was decided that they should march towards the army of the Quraish and not
towards the trade caravan. But it should be noted that the decision was of an
ordinary nature. For the number of people, who came forward to go to the battlefield,
was only a little more than three hundred (86 Muhajirs, 62 from Aus and
170 from Khazraj). Then the little army was ill-armed and hardly equipped for
battle. Only a couple of them had horses to ride and the others had to take their
turn in threes and fours on the back of a camel, out of the 70 they had in all.
Above all, they had not got enough weapons for the battle; only 60 of them had
armors. It is, therefore, no wonder that with the exception of those who were
prepared to sacrifice their lives for the cause of Islam, the majority of those
who had joined the expedition, were so filled with fear that they felt as if they
were knowingly going into the jaws of death. Then there were people who always
looked at things from a selfish point of view. Though they had embraced Islam,
they did not realize that their faith would demand the sacrifice of their lives
and properties from them; they were of the opinion that it was a mad expedition
prompted by irrational enthusiasm for religion. But the Holy Prophet and the true
Believers had realized the urgency of that critical hour which required the risk
of life: therefore they marched straight to the south-west, wherefrom the army
of the Quraish was coming. This is a clear proof of the fact that from the very
beginning they had gone out to fight with the army and not to plunder the caravan.
For if they had aimed at plundering the caravan they would have taken the north-
westerly direction and not the south- westerly one. The
two parties met in combat at Badr on the seventeenth of Ramadan. When the two
armies confronted each other and the Holy Prophet noticed that the Quraish army
outnumbered the Muslims by three to one and was much better equipped, he raised
his hands up in supplication and made this earnest prayer with great humility:
"0 Allah! Here are the Quraish proud of their war material: they have come
to prove that Thy Messenger is false. 0 Allah! now send that success that Thou
hast promised to give me. 0 Allah!If this little army of Thy servants is destroyed,
then there will be left none in the land to worship Thee." In
this combat the emigrants from Makkah were put to the hardest test for they had
to fight against their own near and dear relatives and put to the sword their
fathers, their sons, their paternal and maternal uncles and their brothers. It
is obvious that only such people could have come out successful in this hardest
of tests as had accepted the Truth sincerely and cut off all relations with falsehood.
And in another way the test to which the Ansar were put was not less
hard. So far they had only alienated the powerful Quraish and their allies by
giving shelter to the Muslims against their wishes but now, for the first time,
they were going to give fight to them and to sow the seeds of a long and bitter
war with them. This was indeed a very hard test for it meant that a small town
with a population of a few thousand inhabitants was going to wage a war with the
whole of Arabia. It is obvious that only such people could take this bold step
who believed in the Truth of Islam so firmly that they were ready to sacrifice
every personal interest for its sake. So
Allah accepted the self-sacrifices of the Muhajirin and the Ansar
because of their true faith, and rewarded them with His success. The proud, well-
armed Quraish were routed by these ill-equipped devotees of Islam. Seventy men
of their army were killed and seventy captured as prisoners and their arms and
equipment came into the hands of the Muslims as spoils of war. All their big chiefs,
who were their best soldiers and who had led the opposition to Islam, were killed
in this Battle. No wonder that this decisive victory made Islam a power to be
reckoned with. A Western research scholar says that before the Battle of Badr,
Islam was merely a religion and a state but after the Battle it became the state
religion, nay, the state itself.
Topics of Discussion It
is this great Battle that has been reviewed in this Surah. But let it be noted
that in some respects this review is quite different from the reviews that are
usually made by the worldly commanders after a great victory.
1.
Instead of gloating over the victory,
the moral weaknesses that had come to the surface in that expedition have been
pointed out so that the Muslims should try their best to reform themselves.
2.
It has been impressed upon them that
the victory was due to the success of Allah rather -than to their own valor and
bravery so that the Muslims should learn to rely on Him and obey Allah and His
Messenger alone.
3.
The moral lesson of the conflict between
the Truth and falsehood has been enunciated and the qualities which lead to success
in a conflict have been explained.
4.
Then the Surah addresses the mushriks,
the hypocrites, the Jews and the prisoners of this war in a very impressive manner
that should teach them a good lesson.
5.
It also gives instructions in regard
to the spoils of war. The Muslims have bean told not to regard these as their
right but as a bounty from Allah. Therefore they should accept with gratitude
the share that is granted to them out of it and willingly accede to the share
which Allah sets apart for His cause and for the help of the needy.
6.
Then it also gives normal instructions
concerning the laws of peace and war for these were urgently needed to be explained
at the stage which the Islamic Movement had entered. It enjoined that the Muslims
should refrain from ways of "ignorance" in peace and war and thus should
establish their moral superiority in the world. It also meant, to demonstrate
to the world in actual practical life the morality which it had been preaching
to the world from the very beginning of Islam and had been enjoining that practical
life should be based on the same.
7.
It also states some articles of the
Islamic Constitution which help differentiate the status of the Muslims living
within the limits of Dar-ul-Islam (the Abode of Islam) from that of the
Muslims living beyond its limits.
Subject: Problems of Jihad This
surah enunciates general principles of war (one aspect of Jihad) and
peace while reviewing the Battle of Badr and uses them for the moral training
of the Muslims.
Topics and their Interconnection This
portion deals with the problems of the "Spoils of War". The Quran says
that these are not the spoils of war but the "Bounties of Allah" and
proves this by showing that the victory at Badr (and in all other battles, too,)
was won by His succour and not by the efforts of the Muslims. It also declares
(in v. 40) that the war aim of the Muslims should be to eliminate all unfavourable
conditions for the establishment of Islam and not to gain spoils. Moreover, the
spoils, being the bounties of God, belong to Allah and His Messenger and they
alone are entitled to allocate them. Then after conditioning the Muslims to accept
these things, the different shares have been allocated in v. 41. 1 - 41
The Battle of Badr
was ordained by Allah so that Islam should triumph over "ignorance".
The lesson from this is that the Muslims should trust in God and prepare themselves
for war and should not be beguiled by Satan as the disbelievers were. 42
- 54 Sanctity
of treaties has been enjoined and the Muslims commanded to observe them as long
as the other party does not break them. 55 - 59 The
Muslims should always be prepared for war on every front, but should be ready
to make peace if the other party is inclined towards it. 60 - 66
In these verses,
instructions about prisoners of war have been given. 67 - 71
In order to
keep the Muslims joined together against their enemies, they have been taught
to have cordial relations with one another. 72 - 75 |
