Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 1

{سورة الانفال}
(Ayah 1) ➊ {يَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الْاَنْفَالِ: ’’ الْاَنْفَالِ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ نَفَلٌ‘‘ } (with fathah on noon and fa), just as {’’فَرَسٌ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ اَفْرَاسٌ‘‘}. Its meaning is "something extra," as He said: «{ وَ مِنَ الَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهٖ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ}» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۷۹ ] "And during a part of the night, keep awake with it as an extra for you." That is, standing in prayer at night is extra beyond the obligatory prayers. This word comes in several meanings: (1) Spoils of war, because the real purpose of jihad is reward and attaining Paradise; spoils are an extra thing. Perhaps for this reason, spoils were not lawful for previous nations, but for this Ummah, in addition to reward, spoils were also made lawful. (2) If the leader announces or wishes to give an extra reward from the spoils for a particular achievement, this too is nafl (extra). (3) Whatever weapons, mounts, etc., are found with the slain, are given to the killer; this is called "salb," and it is also nafl. (4) Apart from general battle, if some detachments are sent for an attack on a settlement while going or returning from war and they bring back spoils, then it will be for the whole army, but that detachment will be given an extra share from the total spoils, which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to give as a fourth when going and a third when returning. (5) Before the distribution of spoils, if the leader selects something for himself, such as a weapon, mount, or slave girl, it is also called "safiy."
In the time of ignorance, it was customary that whatever a person looted in war became his. In Islam, the first great battle was Badr, and the method of distributing the spoils taken from the disbelievers had not yet been determined. When a lot of spoils were obtained at Badr, this issue arose. Thus, Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and I participated with him in Badr. The people confronted each other, Allah defeated the enemy, so one group pursued them, killing and driving them away; another group turned to the camp, guarding it and collecting the spoils; and another group surrounded the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) so that the enemy would not take advantage of any negligence regarding him. Eventually, everyone gathered back, and those who had collected the spoils said, "We collected these, no one else has any share in them." Those who had pursued the enemy said, "You are not more entitled than us; we drove the enemy away and defeated them." Those who had surrounded the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "We surrounded the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and feared that the enemy might harm you in any negligence, so we were engaged in this task." At that time, these verses were revealed: «{ يَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الْاَنْفَالِ قُلِ الْاَنْفَالُ لِلّٰهِ وَ الرَّسُوْلِ فَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ وَ اَصْلِحُوْا ذَاتَ بَيْنِكُمْ }» So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) distributed them among the Muslims, and when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would go to attack enemy territory, he would give a fourth as nafl (extra), and when returning, as people were tired, he would give a third as nafl, and he particularly did not like to give extra shares and used to say: "The strong among the believers returns the spoils to their weak." [ أحمد : 323/5، ۳۲۴، ح ۲۲۷۶۲، وقال شعیب الأرنؤوط حسن لغیرہ ] Some parts of this hadith are also narrated in Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and Mustadrak Hakim.
➋ {قُلِ الْاَنْفَالُ لِلّٰهِ وَ الرَّسُوْلِ …:} He said, they ask you about the spoils, whose right are they, how will they be distributed? Say: The spoils are in reality not the property of any of you; they belong to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him); you have no say in them, because victory was not by your strength but by Allah's help. This point is explained further ahead, that victory is only by Allah's help, so fear Allah and correct the discord that has arisen among you because of these properties, and if you are believers, obey whatever Allah and His Messenger command, and be content with whatever is given or not given to you, and your mutual relations should never be spoiled because of this wealth. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Beware of spoiling mutual relations, for this thing shaves (the religion)." [ ترمذی، صفۃ القیامۃ، باب فی فضل صلاح ذات البین : ۲۵۰۸، عن أبی ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] In Tafsir Ibn Kathir, here, a hadith is narrated from Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) via Musnad Abi Ya'la, in which it is mentioned that the one who forgives his brother will take his brother's hand and enter Paradise; this narration is also in Mustadrak, which Imam Hakim declared Sahih, but Dhahabi considered one of its narrators, 'Abbad, weak, and his sheikh as {’’لَا يُعْرَفُ‘‘}.
➌ { اِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ:} In this verse, obedience to Allah along with obedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is made a condition of faith, and by obedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is meant (as is apparent) following his Sunnah. Therefore, whoever turns away from his Sunnah and wants to obey only the Qur'an (while acting on the Qur'an without hadith is not possible in any way), according to the clear statement of the Qur'an, is outside the fold of faith.

1. These people ask you about the ruling of spoils of war.
2. Say: The spoils of war are for Allah and the Messenger.
3. So fear Allah and set right the relations among yourselves, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are believers.

1. They ask you about the spoils of war [1]. Say, "The spoils belong to Allah and His Messenger [3]." So fear Allah, set matters right among yourselves [4], and obey Allah and His Messenger, if you are believers.

[1]
What is Meant by Anfal (Surplus Wealth)?

Anfal or surplus wealth refers to those assets which are not the result of anyone’s labor, but rather are granted purely by Allah’s grace and favor, and they have several types, such as:
(1) Spoils of war (ghanimah), which, although they seem to be the reward for the efforts of the fighters, are counted among the anfal because, for previous communities, the spoils of war were forbidden. All such wealth would be gathered in one place, and then at night, a fire would descend and consume it. But for this Ummah, it has been made lawful.
(2) Fay’ wealth, i.e., such assets that come into the hands of Muslims without fighting.
(3) Salb wealth, i.e., the property that a fighter takes from the body of a slain enemy.
(4) Other assets such as jizyah, charity, and gifts, etc. All these fall under the category of anfal.

[2]
The Circumstances of Revelation of Surah Anfal, the Battle of Badr, and the Dispute Over Spoils of War:

At the end of the Battle of Badr, the situation arose that the group who had collected the spoils of war had taken possession of them. Another group, who had pursued the disbelievers, said that they too were equal partners in these assets, because if they had not pursued the disbelievers, the latter could have turned back and attacked, and thus victory could have turned into defeat. A third group, who had formed a protective circle around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said that they too were equal shareholders in these assets, because if they had not protected him, and God forbid, any harm had come to him, victory could have turned into defeat. However, those in possession were not willing to accept such arguments, which led to tension among the fighters. When this situation was presented to the Prophet ﷺ, he remained silent and awaited divine revelation. At that time, this verse—and indeed a large part of this Surah—was revealed, which begins by addressing the moral weaknesses of the Muslims and the ways to correct them.

[3]
Why Are the Spoils of War for Allah and His Messenger?

Regarding the spoils of war and similar assets, Allah made a clear decision that they belong to Allah and His Messenger. Therefore, there is no need for you to dispute over them. Whatever decision Allah’s Messenger ﷺ makes regarding these assets, you must accept it. As is evident from the following hadith: Sayyiduna Sa’d ؓ narrates that on the day of Badr, I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a sword and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Allah has cooled my heart by (allowing me to kill) the polytheists,” or words to that effect, “so please give me this sword.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “This sword is neither mine nor yours.” I thought to myself, perhaps the Prophet ﷺ would give this sword to someone who had not striven as I had. Then a messenger from the Prophet ﷺ came to me and said, “You asked me for the sword. At that time, it was not mine, but now I have been given authority, so I give it to you.” At that time, this verse was revealed: [ترمذي، ابواب التفسير، مسلم، كتاب الجهاد والسيه، باب الانفال]
And the reason for declaring the spoils of war as the right of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ was that in the Battle of Badr, the Muslims achieved victory purely through Allah’s help and mercy, as will be detailed later. Then, according to verse 41 of this Surah, one-fifth of the spoils of war was allocated for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and the remaining four-fifths were to be distributed equally among the fighters. As is clear from the following hadith: Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit ؓ narrates that Allah took the spoils of war from our hands and placed them under the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then the Prophet ﷺ distributed them equally [حاكم، كتاب التفسير]. As for fay’ assets, salb assets, and miscellaneous assets, they each have their own rulings, which will be explained in their respective places.

[4] That is, do not ruin your relationships by getting involved in disputes over the spoils of war. Rather, fear Allah and accept His command, and accept the way the Messenger ﷺ distributes these assets, and make obedience to him your way in every matter. And if you truly believe in Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, then you should willingly accept these rulings.