سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْفَالِ
Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 8
لِيُحِقَّ ٱلْحَقَّ وَيُبْطِلَ ٱلْبَـٰطِلَ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ ﴿8﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
That He might cause the truth to triumph and bring falsehood to nothing, even though the Mujrimûn (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals) hate it.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
لِيُحِقَّ
liyuḥiqqa
That He might justify
ٱلْحَقَّ
l-ḥaqa
the truth
وَيُبْطِلَ
wayub'ṭila
and prove false
ٱلْبَـٰطِلَ
l-bāṭila
the falsehood
وَلَوْ
walaw
even if
كَرِهَ
kariha
disliked (it)
ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ
l-muj'rimūna
the criminals
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
8. So that Allah may establish the truth as truth and abolish falsehood, even if the criminals dislike it [9].
[9] The Muslims who had set out with the intention of attacking the trade caravan, when they learned that now, we—three hundred and thirteen unarmed men—might have to fight against the thousand-strong armed army of the disbelievers, some among them found this very unpleasant. Death appeared before them with its mouth wide open. Their demand was that since Allah Almighty has promised us victory over one of the two groups (either the trade caravan or the army of the disbelievers), then we should turn towards the trade caravan, which is unarmed, has fewer men, and much wealth will be gained. But Allah Almighty’s wisdom was something else, and you ﷺ yourself also considered the confrontation with the disbelievers to be correct. However, you ﷺ also deemed it necessary to consult, especially with the Ansar, because according to their agreement, the Ansar were bound to support you if the disbelievers attacked Madinah. But this attack was not on Madinah. Therefore, consultation with the Ansar was necessary. The details of this consultation are found in the following hadith.
Consultation Regarding the Battle and the Response of the Ansar:
Sayyiduna Anas ؓ narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ received the news that Abu Sufyan had escaped, you ﷺ consulted with the noble Companions ؓ. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ spoke, but you ﷺ turned away. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ spoke, but you ﷺ also turned away. Then Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Ubadah ؓ stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Perhaps your indication is towards us. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you command us to plunge into the sea, we will plunge into it, and if you command us to drive our horses to Bark al-Ghamad and perish, we will comply.” [مسلم، كتاب الجهاد، باب غزوه بدر]
And Miqdad bin Aswad ؓ said: “We will not say what the people of Musa ؑ said: ‘You and your Lord go and fight.’ Rather, we will fight on your right and on your left, in front of you and behind you.” Abdullah bin Mas’ud ؓ says that I saw the face of the Prophet ﷺ shining, and their words pleased you ﷺ. [بخاري۔ كتاب المغازي۔ باب اذ تستغيثون ربكم]
The Battle Between Truth and Falsehood:
Thus, after this consultation, you ﷺ resolved to advance towards the armed army of the disbelievers, and it was also Allah’s will that a decisive battle between truth and falsehood should take place, so that after fully testing the Muslims, He would grant them success and fulfill His promise. On the other hand, Abu Jahl’s stubbornness dragged the disbelievers into the battlefield. In this way, Allah Almighty created the means by which He wanted to crush disbelief in the battle between truth and falsehood. After giving the verdict regarding the spoils of war and describing the signs of true believers, Allah Almighty said in verses 5 and 6: ﴿كَمَآ اَخْرَجَكَ رَبُّكَ مِنْۢ بَيْتِكَ بالْحَقِّ ۠ وَاِنَّ فَرِيْقًا مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ لَكٰرِهُوْنَ﴾
That is, just as Allah’s decision regarding the spoils of war was unpleasant to those who wanted to seize them, similarly, it was unpleasant to some Muslims that Allah sent you ﷺ from your home to establish a battle between truth and falsehood, to make truth prevail and be exalted, and to crush falsehood—not to plunder the trade caravan. And this was so unpleasant to some Muslims that they considered fighting to be equivalent to going into the jaws of death, and their dispute was in connection with this battle between truth and falsehood. They said that since Allah has promised us one of the two things, then why should we choose the path of battle, and why not pursue the trade caravan?
[9] The Muslims who had set out with the intention of attacking the trade caravan, when they learned that now, we—three hundred and thirteen unarmed men—might have to fight against the thousand-strong armed army of the disbelievers, some among them found this very unpleasant. Death appeared before them with its mouth wide open. Their demand was that since Allah Almighty has promised us victory over one of the two groups (either the trade caravan or the army of the disbelievers), then we should turn towards the trade caravan, which is unarmed, has fewer men, and much wealth will be gained. But Allah Almighty’s wisdom was something else, and you ﷺ yourself also considered the confrontation with the disbelievers to be correct. However, you ﷺ also deemed it necessary to consult, especially with the Ansar, because according to their agreement, the Ansar were bound to support you if the disbelievers attacked Madinah. But this attack was not on Madinah. Therefore, consultation with the Ansar was necessary. The details of this consultation are found in the following hadith.
Consultation Regarding the Battle and the Response of the Ansar:
Sayyiduna Anas ؓ narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ received the news that Abu Sufyan had escaped, you ﷺ consulted with the noble Companions ؓ. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ spoke, but you ﷺ turned away. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ spoke, but you ﷺ also turned away. Then Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Ubadah ؓ stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Perhaps your indication is towards us. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you command us to plunge into the sea, we will plunge into it, and if you command us to drive our horses to Bark al-Ghamad and perish, we will comply.” [مسلم، كتاب الجهاد، باب غزوه بدر]
And Miqdad bin Aswad ؓ said: “We will not say what the people of Musa ؑ said: ‘You and your Lord go and fight.’ Rather, we will fight on your right and on your left, in front of you and behind you.” Abdullah bin Mas’ud ؓ says that I saw the face of the Prophet ﷺ shining, and their words pleased you ﷺ. [بخاري۔ كتاب المغازي۔ باب اذ تستغيثون ربكم]
The Battle Between Truth and Falsehood:
Thus, after this consultation, you ﷺ resolved to advance towards the armed army of the disbelievers, and it was also Allah’s will that a decisive battle between truth and falsehood should take place, so that after fully testing the Muslims, He would grant them success and fulfill His promise. On the other hand, Abu Jahl’s stubbornness dragged the disbelievers into the battlefield. In this way, Allah Almighty created the means by which He wanted to crush disbelief in the battle between truth and falsehood. After giving the verdict regarding the spoils of war and describing the signs of true believers, Allah Almighty said in verses 5 and 6: ﴿كَمَآ اَخْرَجَكَ رَبُّكَ مِنْۢ بَيْتِكَ بالْحَقِّ ۠ وَاِنَّ فَرِيْقًا مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ لَكٰرِهُوْنَ﴾
That is, just as Allah’s decision regarding the spoils of war was unpleasant to those who wanted to seize them, similarly, it was unpleasant to some Muslims that Allah sent you ﷺ from your home to establish a battle between truth and falsehood, to make truth prevail and be exalted, and to crush falsehood—not to plunder the trade caravan. And this was so unpleasant to some Muslims that they considered fighting to be equivalent to going into the jaws of death, and their dispute was in connection with this battle between truth and falsehood. They said that since Allah has promised us one of the two things, then why should we choose the path of battle, and why not pursue the trade caravan?
