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Surah 8 · Madinah · 75 āyāt

Phase 05 · Hijrah and the building of Madinah(1–5 AH) — view in timeline

Al-AnfālThe Spoils of War

الأنفال

Revealed in the aftermath of Badr, the first pitched battle between the fledgling Muslim community and Quraysh. The surah opens on a dispute among the fighters over how the captured spoils should be divided, and uses that dispute to re-narrate the whole battle from Allah's vantage point: the reluctant departure from Madīnah, the angels sent as reinforcement, the sleep and the rain that steadied hearts, and the throw that was not really Muḥammad's ﷺ throw. It closes with the practical constitution of a fighting, sheltering, allied community — discipline in the ranks, obedience over dispute, and loyalty defined by hijrah, shelter and support rather than blood alone.

Why it was revealed

Three hundred and some Muslims, poorly armed and expecting only to intercept a trade caravan, instead met a Makkan force three times their number outside the wells of Badr. The victory was total and unexpected, and it was followed almost immediately by disagreement among the fighters over who deserved a share of the abandoned Makkan equipment and goods.

Drawn fromMuslim, commentary chains on the battle of Badr; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1748; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1748 (Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ); Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2737 & Musnad Aḥmad (ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit); Ibn Kathīr on 8:1; Ibn Kathīr on 8:11; Ibn Kathīr on 8:17; Ibn Kathīr on 8:5–6; Ibn Kathīr on 8:63; Ibn Kathīr on 8:72; Ibn Kathīr on 8:9–12; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Anfāl; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah (via Ibn Isḥāq)

Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ reported that when he took a sword at Badr, he asked the Prophet ﷺ to grant it to him, while ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit described a broader dispute over the spoils between those who fought the enemy, those who collected the booty, and those who guarded the Prophet ﷺ. The surah opens by settling the matter — declaring that the spoils belong to Allah and His Messenger — before recounting the battle itself.

Cited toṢaḥīḥ Muslim 1748 (Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ); Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2737 & Musnad Aḥmad (ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit); Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Anfāl

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

GuidanceRamaḍān 2 AH · Age About 55 · Badr / Madīnah

The dispute over the spoils

Fighters disagreed over the division of what Quraysh had left behind; the surah opens by removing the question from personal claim altogether — the spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger — and commands reconciliation and obedience instead.

Recalled in āyah 1

يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَنفَالِ ۖ قُلِ ٱلْأَنفَالُ لِلَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ ۖ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَصْلِحُوا۟ ذَاتَ بَيْنِكُمْ ۖ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

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.

Cited toṢaḥīḥ Muslim 1748; Ibn Kathīr on 8:1

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–4

Who owns the spoils? Reconciliation before reward

They ask you about the bounties of war. Say: the bounties belong to Allah and the Messenger, so fear Allah, set right what is between you, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are believers. The dispute is answered not with a division formula first, but with a call to repair broken relationships and submit to authority.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 8:1; Ibn Kathīr on 8:1

1

يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَنفَالِ ۖ قُلِ ٱلْأَنفَالُ لِلَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ ۖ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَصْلِحُوا۟ ذَاتَ بَيْنِكُمْ ۖ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

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.

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From the tafsīr

The occasion was disagreement among the fighters at Badr over who deserved the captured goods; the āyah removes ownership from individual claim and places the decision with Allah and His Messenger.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:1

'Set right what is between you' is placed before any ruling on distribution, showing that communal harmony takes priority over the settlement of material claims.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 8:1

Key takeaways

Reflect

What dispute in your own life have you tried to settle with a formula before repairing the relationship?

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Question 1 of 2

What does al-Qurṭubī note about the order of 8:1?

Question 2 of 2

What triggered the revelation of 8:1?

THEME 02Āyāt 5–8

Brought out of your home in truth

Just as your Lord brought you out of your home in truth, while a party of the believers were unwilling — the surah likens the reluctance before Badr to the reluctance some had shown toward the Qur'an's guidance, and insists that the outcome Allah intends can look, at first, like the harder path.

Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī on 8:6; Ibn Kathīr on 8:5–6

5

كَمَآ أَخْرَجَكَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَيْتِكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَكَـٰرِهُونَ

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[It 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,

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From the tafsīr

Some of the believers had set out expecting only to intercept an undefended caravan, and were uneasy on realizing an armed relief force had arrived instead; the āyah compares their reluctance to face the Makkan army with their dissatisfaction over the division of spoils, emphasizing that Allah's command in both cases was for their ultimate good.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:5–6

'As if they were being driven to death while they were looking on' describes the fear in the ranks before the lines met, later replaced by the calm that Allah sent down.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī on 8:6

Key takeaways

Reflect

Where have you resisted a command whose wisdom only became clear afterward?

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Question 1 of 1

What had the Muslims originally expected when they set out from Madīnah?

THEME 03Āyāt 9–14

A thousand angels, sleep and rain

As the small Muslim force called out to their Lord, Allah answered with a promise of reinforcement by a thousand angels, sent drowsiness as security, and rain to purify them, remove the whispers of Shayṭān, and firm their hearts and feet — provision that steadied a heavily outnumbered army before a single blow was struck.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 8:11; Ibn Kathīr on 8:9–12

9

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ

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[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."

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11

إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ ٱلنُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِۦ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ ٱلْأَقْدَامَ

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[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.

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From the tafsīr

The angels' role, as understood by the majority of commentators, was chiefly to strengthen the believers' hearts and cast terror into the enemy, rather than to be the primary agents of killing.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:9–12

Sleep, ordinarily a sign of weakness, became a mercy here because Allah made it a source of calm rather than vulnerability — the same event can be harm or provision depending on when and how it is sent.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 8:11

Key takeaways

Reflect

What ordinary means has Allah used in your life as unseen provision at a hard moment?

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Question 1 of 2

Why does al-Saʿdī describe the sleep in 8:11 as a mercy rather than a weakness?

Question 2 of 2

According to Ibn Kathīr, what was the chief role of the angels at Badr?

THEME 04Āyāt 15–19

'You did not throw when you threw'

And you did not kill them, but Allah killed them, and you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw — that He might test the believers with a good test. The surah locates ultimate causation with Allah even in an act performed by the Prophet's ﷺ own hand, so that no one, including him, could take personal credit for what only Allah accomplished.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 8:17; Ibn Kathīr on 8:17

17

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِىَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَآءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

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

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From the tafsīr

The occasion was the Prophet's ﷺ throw of a handful of dust or pebbles toward the Makkan ranks, an act whose effect exceeded ordinary human capability, credited entirely to Allah.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:17

The āyah affirms both the reality of the human action — 'when you threw' — and Allah's overriding causation, without collapsing one into the other; this is the balance the Sunnah holds between human effort and divine decree.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 8:17

Key takeaways

Reflect

Where have you claimed personal credit for an outcome that was, in truth, provision from Allah?

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Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

How does al-Qurṭubī read the relationship between 'when you threw' and 'Allah threw' in the same āyah?

Question 2 of 2

What act of the Prophet ﷺ does 8:17 refer to?

THEME 05Āyāt 45–48

Stand firm, do not dispute, and be patient

O you who have believed, when you meet a company in battle, stand firm and remember Allah often, that you may succeed. Obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute among yourselves, lest you lose courage and your strength depart — and be patient, for Allah is with the patient. Internal discord, not the enemy's numbers, is named as the greater danger to victory.

Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī on 8:46; Ibn Kathīr on 8:45–46

45

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةً فَٱثْبُتُوا۟ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

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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.

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46

وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَلَا تَنَـٰزَعُوا۟ فَتَفْشَلُوا۟ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ۖ وَٱصْبِرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

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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.

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From the tafsīr

Steadfastness and remembrance are paired because fear scatters focus; the constant mention of Allah in battle keeps the heart oriented and disciplined.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:45–46

'Your strength would depart' (rīḥukum, literally 'your wind') is explained as the loss of momentum and standing that follows internal dispute, regardless of numerical or material advantage.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī on 8:46

Key takeaways

Reflect

What internal dispute in your community or family is quietly draining its collective strength?

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Question 1 of 1

What does 8:46 identify as the consequence of internal dispute?

THEME 06Āyāt 62–64

Hearts joined that wealth could not buy

And He brought together their hearts. If you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have brought their hearts together, but Allah brought them together — a description of the bond forged between the Muhājirūn and Anṣār, tribes that had fought each other for generations before Islam.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 8:63; Ibn Kathīr on 8:63

63

وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ ۚ لَوْ أَنفَقْتَ مَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مَّآ أَلَّفْتَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

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.

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From the tafsīr

The āyah is understood to describe the specific unity achieved between the Aws and Khazraj of Madīnah, whose pre-Islamic wars al-Ḥarb (the war of Buʿāth) had run for decades, and between them and the Muhājirūn from Makkah.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:63

The point is not merely social cohesion but that true unity of hearts is a divine gift beyond the reach of wealth, diplomacy or shared interest alone.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 8:63

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which relationship in your life required more than effort or money to mend — a gift you can now recognise as from Allah?

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Question 1 of 1

Whose historic enmity does 8:63 chiefly describe as reconciled?

THEME 07Āyāt 72–75

Allies through hijrah, shelter and support

Those who believed and emigrated and strove with their wealth and lives, and those who gave shelter and aid, are allies of one another; but those who believed and did not emigrate hold no claim of guardianship over you until they emigrate. The closing āyāt of the surah define the bonds of the new Muslim polity in concrete terms of sacrifice and reciprocity, not blood alone.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 8:72; Ibn Kathīr on 8:72

72

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَهَاجَرُوا۟ وَجَـٰهَدُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاوَوا۟ وَّنَصَرُوٓا۟ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَمْ يُهَاجِرُوا۟ مَا لَكُم مِّن وَلَـٰيَتِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ حَتَّىٰ يُهَاجِرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِنِ ٱسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلنَّصْرُ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍۭ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُم مِّيثَـٰقٌ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

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.

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From the tafsīr

This division of walāyah (allied guardianship) reflected the reality of the early state, where mutual inheritance and defence obligations at first ran along the lines of hijrah and support, before later rulings widened them.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 8:72

The exception for a people with whom there is a treaty shows that Islamic loyalty operates within, not above, prior binding agreements — obligations are not simply overridden by the call for solidarity.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 8:72

Key takeaways

Reflect

What does 'shelter and support' look like in practice for those who bear more of the community's burden?

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Question 1 of 2

What limits the duty to help fellow believers 'in the religion' according to 8:72?

Question 2 of 2

What did the walāyah described in 8:72 originally govern, per Ibn Kathīr?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ن ف ل

āyāt 1

bounty, extra gift

  • الأنفالthe bounties of war
  • نافلةsupererogatory (extra) act
  • نفلa voluntary gift

ص ل ح

āyāt 1

to set right, reconcile

  • أصلحواset right / reconcile
  • صالحrighteous
  • إصلاحreform

ث ب ت

āyāt 11, 45

to be firm, steadfast

  • فاثبتواstand firm
  • ثابتfirm, established
  • تثبيتthe act of firming

ر م ي

āyāt 17

to throw

  • رميتyou threw
  • رمىhe threw
  • الرميthrowing, archery

ن ز ع

āyāt 46

to dispute, pull apart

  • تنازعواdispute among yourselves
  • نزاعconflict
  • منازعةa quarrel

أ ل ف

āyāt 63

to unite, join hearts

  • ألّفHe brought together
  • ائتلافreconciliation, coalition
  • الألفةharmony

و ل ي

āyāt 72

to be an ally, guardian

  • أولياءallies
  • ولايةguardianship
  • والٍone who governs

أ و ي

āyāt 72

to shelter, take in

  • آوواthey gave shelter
  • مأوىa refuge
  • الإيواءsheltering

Carry this with you

  • Communal disputes are resolved by reconciliation and submission to legitimate authority before material division.
  • Reluctance before a difficult command does not remove a person from the ranks of belief.
  • Divine reinforcement — angels, calm, rain — steadies hearts before it changes circumstances.
  • Every decisive human act in a victory has its true cause in Allah, without denying real human effort.
  • Internal dispute is more dangerous to a community's strength than any external enemy.
  • Unity of hearts across old enmities is a gift from Allah beyond the reach of wealth or diplomacy.
  • Loyalty in the early Muslim community was structured by shared sacrifice, not blood alone.
  • Patience is the condition on which Allah's support in trial is promised.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The four trials4 movementsProvision, wealth and the tongue that forgets4 movementsRefuge, protection and the unseen harm2 movementsPatience while the answer is delayed1 movementThe signs you already walk on1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Anfāl

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

Seerah & history2

  • Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah
  • Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah (via Ibn Isḥāq)

Other references1

  • Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2737
FINAL ASSESSMENT

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Al-Anfāl — full exam

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Al-Anfāl · Who owns the spoils? Reconciliation before reward

What does al-Qurṭubī note about the order of 8:1?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol