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Sura Viii. Anfal, Or The Spoils Of War

*
"The Holy Quran", tr. by Yusuf Ali, [1934],

p. 415

Sra Viii.

Anfl, Or The Spoils Of War.

In the name of God, Most Gracious,

Most Merciful.

1.
They ask thee concerning

(Things taken as) spoils of war.

Say: "(Such) spoils are

At the disposal of God

And the Apostle: so fear

God, and keep straight

The relations between yourselves:

Obey God and His Apostle,

If ye do believe.
"

2. For, Believers are those

Who, when God is mentioned,

Feel a tremor in their hearts,

And when they hear

His Signs rehearsed, find

Their faith strengthened,

And put (all) their trust

In their Lord;

3.
Who establish regular prayers

And spend (freely) out of

The gifts We have given

Them for sustenance:

4. Such in truth are the Believers:


They have grades of dignity

With their Lord, and forgiveness,

And generous sustenance:

p. 416

5.
Just as thy Lord ordered thee

Out of thy house in truth,

Even though a party among

The Believers disliked it,

6.
Disputing with thee concerning

The truth after it was made

Manifest, as if they were

Being driven to death

And they (actually) saw it.

7.
Behold! God promised you

One of the two (enemy) parties,

That it should be yours:

Ye wished that the one

Unarmed should be yours,

But God willed

To justify the Truth

According to His words,

And to cut off the roots

Of the Unbelievers;--

8.
That He might justify Truth

And prove Falsehood false,

Distasteful though it be

To those in guilt.

p. 417

9.
Remember ye implored

The assistance of your Lord,

And He answered you:


"I will assist you

With a thousand of the angels,

Ranks on ranks."

10.
God made it but a message

Of hope, and an assurance

To your hearts: (in any case)

There is no help.

Except from God:


And God is Exalted in Power,

Wise.

Section 2.

11.
Remember He covered you

With a sort of drowsiness,

To give you calm as from

Himself, and he caused

Rain to descend on you

From heaven, to clean you

Therewith, to remove from you

The stain of Satan,

To strengthen your hearts,

And to plant your feet

Firmly therewith.

12.
Remember thy Lord inspired

The angels (with the message):

"I am with you: give

Firmness to the Believers:

p. 418

I
will instil terror

Into the hearts of the Unbelievers:

Smite ye above their necks

And smite all their

Finger-tips off them.

13.
This because they contended

Against God and His Apostle:

If any contend against God

And His Apostle, God

Is strict in punishment.

14.
Thus (will it be said): "Taste ye

Then of the (punishment):

For those who resist God,

Is the penalty of the Fire."

15. O
ye who believe!

When ye meet

The Unbelievers

In hostile array,

Never turn your backs

To them.

16.
If any do turn his back

To them on such a day--

Unless it be in a stratagem

Of war, or to retreat

To a troop (of his own)--

He draws on himself

The wrath of God,

And his abode is Hell,--

An evil refuge (indeed)!

17.
It is not ye who

Slew them; it was God:

p. 419

When thou threwest (a handful

Of dust
), it was not

Thy act, but God's:


In order that He might

Test the Believers

By a gracious trial

From Himself: for God

Is He Who heareth

And knoweth (all things).

18.
That, and also because

God is He Who makes feeble

The plans and stratagems

Of the Unbelievers.

19. (o Unbelievers!
) if ye prayed

For victory and judgment,

Now hath the judgment

Come to you: if ye desist

(From wrong), it will be

Best for you: if ye return

(To the attack), so shall We.

Not the least good

Will your forces be to you

Even if they were multiplied:

For verily God

Is with those who believe!

p. 420

Section 3.

20. O
ye who believe!

Obey God and His Apostle,

And turn not away from him

When ye hear (him speak).

21.
Nor be like those who say,

"We hear," but listen not:

22.
For the worst of beasts

In the sight of God

Are the deaf and the dumb,--

Those who understand not.

23.
If God had found in them

Any good, He would indeed

Have made them listen:


(As it is), if He had made them

Listen, they would but have

Turned back and declined (faith).

24. O
ye who believe!

Give your response to God

And His Apostle, when He

Calleth you to that which

Will give you life;

And know that God

Cometh in between a man

And his heart, and that

It is He to Whom

Ye shall (all) be gathered.

p. 421

25.
And fear tumult or oppression,

Which affecteth not in particular

(Only) those of you who do wrong:

And know that God

Is strict in punishment.

26.
Call to mind when ye

Were a small (band),

Despised through the land,

And afraid that men might

Despoil and kidnap you;

But He provided a safe asylum

For you, strengthened you

With His aid, and gave you

Good things for sustenance:

That ye might be grateful.

27. O
ye that believe!

Betray not the trust

Of God and the Apostle,

Nor misappropriate knowingly

Things entrusted to you.

28.
And know ye

That your possessions

p. 422

And your progeny

Are but a trial;

And that it is God

With whom lies

Your highest reward.

Section 4

29. O
ye who believe!

If ye fear God,

He will grant you a Criterion

(To judge between right and wrong),

Remove from you (all) evil

(That may afflict) you,

And forgive you:

For God is the Lord

Of grace unbounded.

30.
Remember how the Unbelievers

Plotted against thee, to keep

Thee in bonds, or slay thee,

Or get thee out (of thy home).

They plot and plan,

And God too plans,

But the best of planners

Is God.

31.
When Our Signs are rehearsed

To them, they say: "We

Have heard this (before):


If we wished, we could

Say (words) like these:

These are nothing

But tales of the ancients.
"

p. 423

32. Remember how they said:


"O God! if this is indeed

The Truth from Thee,

Rain down on as a shower

Of stones from the sky,

Or send us a grievous Penalty.

33.
But God was not going

To send them a Penalty

Whilst thou wast amongst them;

Nor was He going to send it

Whilst they could ask for pardon

34.
But what plea have they

That God should not punish

Them, when they keep out

(Men) from the Sacred Mosque--

And they are not its guardians?

No men can be its guardians

Except the righteous; but most

Of them do not understand.

35.
Their prayer at the House

(Of God) is nothing but

Whistling and clapping of hands:

(Its only answer can be),

"Taste ye the Penalty

Because ye blasphemed."

36.
The Unbelievers spend their wealth

To hinder (men) from the path

Of God, and so will they

Continue to spend; but

In the end they will have

(Only) regrets and sighs;

p. 424

At length they will be overcome:

And the Unbelievers will be

Gathered together to Hell;--

37.
In order that God may separate

The impure from the pure,

Put the impure, one on another,

Heap them together, and cast them

Into Hell. They will be

The ones to have lost.

Section 5.

38.
Say to the Unbelievers,

If (now) they desist (from Unbelief),

Their past would be forgiven them;

But if they persist, the punishment

Of those before them is already

(A matter of warning for them).

39.
And fight them on

Until there is no more

Tumult or oppression,

And there prevail

Justice and faith in God

Altogether and everywhere;

But if they cease, verily God

Doth see all that they do.

40.
If they refuse, be sure

That God is your Protector--

The Best to protect

And the Best to help.

p. 425

41.
And know that out of

All the booty that ye

May acquire (in war),

A fifth share is assigned

To God,--and to the Apostle,

And to near relatives,

Orphans, the needy,

And the wayfarer,

If ye do believe in God

And in the revelation

We sent down to Our Servant

On the Day of Testing,--

The Day of the meeting

Of the two forces.

For God hath power

Over all things.

42.
Remember ye were

On the hither side

Of the valley, and they

On the farther side,

And the caravan

On lower ground than ye.

Even if ye had made

A mutual appointment

To meet, ye would certainly:


Have failed in the appointment:

p. 426

But (thus ye met),

That God might accomplish

A matter already enacted;

That those who died might

Die after a clear Sign

(Had been given), and those who lived

Might live after a Clear Sign

(Had been given). And verily

God is He who heareth

And knoweth (all things).

43.
Remember in thy dream

God showed them to thee

As few: if He had shown

Them to thee as many,

Ye would surely have been

Discouraged, and ye would

Surely have disputed

In (your) decision: but God

Saved (you): for He knoweth

Well the (secrets) of (all) hearts.

44.
And remember when ye met,

He showed them to you

As few in your eyes,

And He made you appear

As contemptible in their eyes:


That God might accomplish

A matter already enacted.

For to God do all questions

Go back (for decision).

Section 6.

45. O
ye who believe!

When ye meet a force,

Be firm, and call God

In remembrance much (and often);

That ye may prosper:

46.
And obey God and His Apostle;

And fall into no disputes,

p. 427

Lest ye lose heart

And your power depart;

And be patient and persevering:

For God is with those

Who patiently persevere:

47.
And be not like those

Who started from their homes

Insolently and to be seen of men,

And to hinder (men)

From the path of God:


For God compasseth round about

All that they do.

48.
Remember Satan made

Their (sinful) acts seem

Alluring to them, and said:


"No one among men

Can overcome you this day,

While I am near to you
":


But when the two forces

Came in sight of each other,

He turned on his heels,

And said: "Lo! I am clear

Of you; to! I see

What ye see not;

Lo! I fear God; for God

Is strict in punishment.

Section 7.

49.
Lo! the Hypocrites say, and those

In whose hearts is a disease:

"These people,--their religion

Has misled them.
" But

If any trust in God, behold!

God is Exalted in might, Wise.

p. 428

50.
If thou couldst see,

When the angels take the souls

Of the Unbelievers (at death),

(How) they smite their faces

And their backs, (saying):

"Taste the Penalty of the blazing Fire--

51.
\"Because of (the deeds) which

Your (own) hands sent forth:

For God is never unjust

To His servants:

52.
\"(Deeds) after the manner

Of the People of Pharaoh

And of those before them:


They rejected the Signs of God,

And God punished them

For their crimes: for God

Is Strong, and Strict in punishment:

53.
\"Because God will never change

The Grace which He hath bestowed

On a people until they change

What is in their (own) souls:

And verily God is He

Who heareth and knoweth (all things)."

54.
\"(Deeds) after the manner

Of the People of Pharaoh

And those before them":


They treated as false the Signs

Of their Lord: so We

p. 429

Destroyed them for their crimes,

And We drowned the People

Of Pharaoh: for they were all

Oppressors and wrong-doers.

55.
For the worst of beasts

In the sight of God

Are those who reject Him:


They will not believe.

56.
They are those with whom

Thou didst make a covenant,

But they break their covenant

Every time, and they have not

The fear (of God).

57.
If ye gain the mastery

Over them in war,

Disperse, with them, those

Who follow them,

That they may remember.

58.
If thou fearest treachery

From any group, throw back

(Their Covenant) to them, (so as

To be
) on equal terms:

For God loveth not the treacherous.

Section 8.

59.
Let not the Unbelievers

Think that they can

Get the better (of the godly):


They will never frustrate (them).

p. 430

60.
Against them make ready

Your strength to the utmost

Of your power, including

Steeds of war, to strike terror

Into (the hearts of) the enemies,

Of God and your enemies,

And others besides, whom

Ye may not know, but whom

God doth know. Whatever

Ye shall spend in the Cause

Of God, shall be repaid

Unto you, and ye shall not

Be treated unjustly.

61.
But if the enemy

Incline towards peace,

Do thou (also) incline

Towards peace, and trust

In God: for He is the One

That heareth and knoweth

(All things).

62.
Should they intend

To deceive thee,--verily God

Sufficeth thee: He it is

That hath strengthened thee

With his aid and

With (the company of)

The Believers;

63.
And (moreover) He hath put

Affection between their hearts:

p. 431

Not if thou hadst spent

All that is in the earth,

Couldst thou have produced

That affection, but God

Hath done it: for He

Is Exalted in might, Wise.

64. O
Apostle! Sufficient

Unto thee is God,--

(Unto thee) and unto those

Who follow thee

Among the Believers.

Section 9.

65. O
Apostle! rouse the Believers

To the fight. If there are

Twenty amongst you, patient

And persevering, they will

Vanquish two hundred: if a hundred,

They will vanquish a thousand

Of the Unbelievers: for these

Are a people without understanding.

p. 432

66.
For the present, God

Hath lightened your (task),

For He knoweth that there is

A weak spot in you:


But (even so), if there are

A hundred of you, patient

And persevering, they will

Vanquish two hundred, and if

A thousand, they will vanquish

Two thousand, with the leave

Of God: for God is with those

Who patiently persevere.

67.
It is not fitting

For an Apostle

That he should have

Prisoners of war until

He hath thoroughly subdued

The land. Ye look

For the temporal goods

Of this world; but God

Looketh to the Hereafter:


And God is Exalted in might, Wise.

68.
Had it not been for

A previous ordainment

p. 433

From God, a severe penalty

Would have reached you

For the (ransom) that ye took.

69.
But (now) enjoy what ye took

In war, lawful and good:

But fear God: for God

Is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Section 10.

70, O
Apostle! say to those

Who are captives in your hands:

"If God findeth any good

In your hearts, He will

Give you something better

Than what has been taken

From you, and He will

Forgive you: for God

Is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."

71.
But if they have

Treacherous designs against thee,

(O Apostle!), they have already

Been in treason against God,

And so hath He given

(Thee) power over them.

And God is He who hath

(Full) knowledge and wisdom.

72.
Those who believed,

And adopted exile,

p. 434

And fought for the Faith,

With their property

And their persons,

In the cause of God,

As well as those

Who gave (them) asylum

And aid,--these are (all)

Friends and protectors,

One of another.

As to those who believed

But came not into exile,

Ye owe no duty

Of protection to them

Until they come into exile;

But if they seek

Your aid in religion,

It is your duty

To help them,

Except against a people

With whom ye have

A treaty of mutual alliance.

And (remember) God

Seeth all that ye do.

73.
The Unbelievers are

Protectors, one of another:

Unless ye do this,

(Protect each other),

There would be

Tumult and oppression

On earth, and great mischief.

p. 435

74.
Those who believe,

And adopt exile,

And tight for the Faith,

In the cause of God,

As well as those

Who give (them) asylum

And aid,--these are (all)

In very truth the Believers:

For them is the forgiveness

Of sins and a provision

Most generous.

75.
And those who

Accept Faith subsequently,

And adopt exile,

And fight for the Faith

In your company,

They are of you.

But kindred by blood

Have prior rights

Against each other

In the Book of God.

Verily God is well-acquainted

With all things.

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