Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 41

(Ayah 41) ➊ {وَ اعْلَمُوْۤا اَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ:} Ghanimah is the wealth obtained from the disbelievers in the case of war; if any wealth is obtained from them without war, it is called Fay, which is mentioned in Surah Hashr (6 to 9), for example, if the disbelievers themselves lay down their arms, or if jizyah is collected from them in the case of a treaty, or if it is the land tax, etc. Sometimes, Ghanimah and Fay are also used interchangeably. The meaning of {’’ غَنَمٌ‘‘} is sheep and goats, which often used to come into the possession of the victorious party after war in Arabia. Later, everything that came into possession was called Ghanimah.

➋ At the beginning of the Surah, "Anfal" was declared to be the property of Allah and His Messenger; now the method of distribution of Ghanimah is being stated. One relevance is that previously in «وَ قَاتِلُوْهُمْ حَتّٰى لَا تَكُوْنَ فِتْنَةٌ» the command for fighting was given, as a result of which Ghanimah is usually obtained, so now the places for its expenditure are being mentioned.

➌ { مِنْ شَيْءٍ:} This means that no matter how big or small a thing is, no one can keep it for himself; according to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), even a needle and thread, or a tuft of camel's wool, must be handed over; if someone keeps it, it will be considered Ghulul (embezzlement), for which there is a warning in Surah Al-Imran (161).

➍ { فَاَنَّ لِلّٰهِ خُمُسَهٗ وَ لِلرَّسُوْلِ …:} This means that the total Ghanimah will be divided into five parts; four parts will be given to those who participated in the battle, and among them, a foot soldier will get one share and a horseman will get three shares—one for himself and two for the horse—and the Khums (fifth part) will be set aside for the purposes mentioned in the verse. This is also a favor upon the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), otherwise, in previous nations, the wealth of Ghanimah was not even lawful; rather, it used to be burnt. Here, the name of Allah has come as a blessing and preamble, because all wealth belongs to Allah. Originally, there are five recipients of the Khums: one share the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would spend for his and his wives' needs, and after that for the general welfare of the Muslims, for example, weapons and mounts for the Mujahideen, etc. After him, the Caliph of the time, wherever he deems appropriate, will be his successor in spending it. Apart from the Khums, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had the right to keep any one thing from the entire Ghanimah for himself, for example, a weapon, a horse, or a slave girl; this is called {’’صَفِيٌّ‘‘}. By {’’ وَ لِذِي الْقُرْبٰى ‘‘} is meant the relatives of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); the descendants of his great-grandfather Abd Manaf were four clans: Banu Hashim, Banu Muttalib, Banu Abd Shams, and Banu Nawfal. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was from Banu Hashim, and he gave a share from the Khums to the first two clans from {’’ ذَوِي الْقُرْبٰي‘‘}, not to the latter two, and when they asked, you explained that Banu Muttalib were companions of Banu Hashim even before Islam, while the last two clans were actively opposing at that time. {’’ الْيَتٰمٰى ‘‘} are those minor children whose fathers have died. {’’ الْمَسٰكِيْنِ ‘‘} are those needy people whose income is less than their needs. {’’ ابْنِ السَّبِيْلِ ‘‘} is the wayfarer traveler. What will be the method of dividing this Khums into five parts? Should all be given equally, or should it be spent according to need? Imam Malik and most of the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) are of the opinion that the Imam (Caliph of Islam) has the authority to distribute or spend it as he wishes, keeping in view the collective welfare of the Muslims, such as preparation for Jihad, purchase of weapons, etc. This was also the practice of the four rightly guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). (Qurtubi) The hadith of Nasa'i also indicates this; Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took a little wool from the hump of a camel between two fingers and said: "There is nothing for me from Fay (Ghanimah), not even this (wool), except the fifth part, and that fifth part will also be returned among you." [ نسائی،أول کتاب قسم الفیٔ : ۴۱۴۴، و صححہ الألبانی ] Then it is not necessary to divide it equally into five parts; where there is a need to spend more, more can be spent. Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on them) have declared this to be the most Sahih opinion.

➎ {وَ مَاۤ اَنْزَلْنَا عَلٰى عَبْدِنَا:} That is, the angels, signs, miracles, and divine help that Allah sent down at Badr. In {’’ عَبْدِنَا ‘‘}, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is given special honor by being called His servant, as in «سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۱ ] and «وَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِيْ رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلٰى عَبْدِنَا» [ البقرۃ : ۲۳ ]. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cherished this honor very much; his famous supplication is: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ عَبْدُكَ وَابْنُ عَبْدِكَ وَابْنُ أَمَتِكَ نَاصِيَتِيْ بِيَدِكَ ] [ أحمد : 391/1، ح : ۳۷۱۱، عن ابن مسعود رضی اللہ عنہ ]

➏ {يَوْمَ الْفُرْقَانِ: ’’ الْفُرْقَانِ ‘‘} Clear decision, that is, the Day of Badr in which the decision between truth and falsehood was made, truth was victorious and falsehood was defeated. (Ibn Kathir) This was the first formal battle between truth and falsehood, which took place on 17th Ramadan, Friday (according to the narration of Ibn Jarir from Ali).

41. 1 By "ghanimah" is meant the wealth that is obtained from the disbelievers after achieving victory and dominance over them in battle. In previous nations, the method for this was that after the war ended, all the wealth obtained from the disbelievers was piled up in one place, and fire would descend from the sky and burn it to ashes. But for the Muslim Ummah, this wealth of ghanimah has been made lawful. And the wealth that is obtained without fighting, through reconciliation or by jizyah and kharaj, is called fay', whether it is little or much, valuable or ordinary, all of it will be collected and distributed according to the prescribed rules. No soldier is allowed to keep anything from it for himself before the distribution.

41. 2 The word "Allah" is for the sake of blessing, and also because He is the real owner of everything and His command prevails. The meaning of the share of Allah and His Messenger is the same, that is, after dividing all the ghanimah into five parts, four parts will be distributed among those mujahideen who participated in the battle. Among them, the foot soldier will get one share and the horseman will get three times the share. The fifth part, which is called "khums" in Arabic, it is said that it will then be divided into five parts. One part is for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (and after him, it will be spent for public welfare), just as he ﷺ himself used to spend this share on the Muslims, rather he ﷺ also said, "My fifth share is also spent on the interests of the Muslims." The second part is for the relatives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then for the needy, and the travelers. It is said that this khums should be spent as needed.

41. 3 By this "descent" is meant the descent of angels and the divine signs (miracles, etc.) that occurred at Badr.

41. 4 The Battle of Badr took place in 2 Hijri, on the 17th of Ramadan. This day is called "Yawm al-Furqan" because it was the first battle between the disbelievers and the Muslims, and by granting victory and dominance to the Muslims, it was made clear that Islam is the truth and disbelief and polytheism are falsehood.

41. 5 That is, the armies of the Muslims and the disbelievers

41. And know that whatever spoils of war you acquire, a fifth of it is for Allah, the Messenger, his near relatives [43], the needy, and the traveler—if you believe in Allah and in what We sent down to Our servant [43.1] on the Day of Criterion, the day when the two armies met. And Allah is capable of all things.

[43]
How will the fifth share of Allah and His Messenger be distributed?

In this verse, a detailed answer is being given to the question with which this surah began. There, only this much was answered: since this victory was achieved purely as a result of Allah’s help, therefore all surplus wealth (including spoils of war) belongs to Allah and His Messenger. Therefore, you should immediately stop your mutual disputes, and the detailed answer is that one-fifth of the spoils of war is for Allah and His Messenger, and the remaining four-fifths is for the Mujahideen. Thus, all the spoils were gathered in one place, and four-fifths of it was distributed equally among those who participated in the jihad. Now, as for the fifth share belonging to Allah and His Messenger, its five avenues of expenditure have been stated. However, the increase or decrease in these shares and their distribution was left to the discretion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The share that is for Allah, that is, one-fifth of the fifth, would be spent on the needs of jihad and the construction and maintenance of mosques, and the share of the Messenger was allocated for his household or domestic needs, because due to religious engagements, you ﷺ could not do any other work. The third share was for his relatives, i.e., Banu Hashim or Banu Abd Manaf, and among them, you would give to whomever you considered deserving and as much as you deemed appropriate. This was because Banu Hashim had greatly supported and aided Islam in difficult times, and also because it was forbidden for these people to take zakat. The fourth and fifth avenues were to fulfill the needs of the needy and travelers. Some scholars believe that after the passing of the Prophet ﷺ, the share of the Prophet and his relatives ended, and only three avenues remained. Others believe that the share of the Prophet ﷺ now goes to the current Amir al-Mu’minin, and the share of the relatives is for the needy among the family of the Prophet, because it is forbidden for them to take zakat. In our view, the matter is not just this, but circumstances have changed greatly, and accordingly, changes will be made in these matters as per the decision of the Shura. For example, in the Prophetic era, the Companions would go out for jihad voluntarily or considering it obligatory, arranging their own mounts and weapons, for which they would receive a share. But today, the military department itself is separate, and this began in the era of Umar Farooq ؓ. These soldiers or Mujahideen are salaried, and the arrangement of weapons and mounts is the responsibility of the government. Therefore, now jihad is not obligatory on common Muslims, and due to salaries, the matter of such distribution among Mujahideen has also ended, as has the share of the Amir, because he himself is a salaried official of the state treasury, and fulfilling the needs of the poor, etc., is already a duty of an Islamic government. Most importantly, the entire method of warfare has completely changed.

The Need for Ijtihad Regarding the Prohibition of Sadaqat for Banu Hashim:

Here, a question arises that due to such changes in the distribution of spoils of war, the issue of aiding the needy among Banu Hashim has ended, and sadaqat, especially zakat, is already forbidden for them, so what is the way to aid the needy among Banu Hashim today, especially in a situation where there is no Islamic system established in any country? According to some scholars, the reason for the prohibition of sadaqat and zakat for Banu Hashim was that the distribution of sadaqat and zakat was in the hands of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as the leader of the nation. Although he ﷺ declared sadaqat forbidden for his family, still the hypocrites continued to accuse you ﷺ regarding the distribution of sadaqat. Therefore, today, the prohibition of these sadaqat will apply to the Muslim ruler and his family. Similarly, those who are nowadays called the descendants of Banu Hashim or Sayyid, the prohibition of sadaqat and zakat for them should also end. Therefore, it is necessary to exercise ijtihad in these matters: in the present era, in which countries of the world are the descendants of Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul Muttalib found, and by what means is it possible to aid their needy?
[43۔ 1]
How was the Battle of Badr the Day of Distinction (Yawm al-Furqan)?

This was the Day of Distinction in the sense that this battle decided which party was with the truth and which party was upon falsehood. And this was the day of Jumu’ah, the 17th of Ramadan, 2 AH, and it was a Friday. As for what Allah Almighty sent down upon His servant Muhammad ﷺ on that day, it could refer to rain, or to the angels, or to other forms of divine support, most of which have already been mentioned and some are mentioned ahead. And all these things and means were created so that Allah Almighty may show that He has complete power over all apparent and hidden means. Incidentally, from this verse it is also known that whoever does not accept the descent of angels, or the blinding of the disbelievers by his ﷺ throwing of sand or dust, or similar other miracles, or interprets them away, does not have complete faith in Allah.