Al-Anfal: 53

Ayah

Word by Word

ذَٰلِكَ

That

بِأَنَّ

(is) because

ٱللَّهَ

Allah

لَمۡ

not

يَكُ

مُغَيِّرٗا

One Who changes

نِّعۡمَةً

a favor

أَنۡعَمَهَا

which He had bestowed

عَلَىٰ

قَوۡمٍ

a people

حَتَّىٰ

until

يُغَيِّرُواْ

they change

مَا

what

بِأَنفُسِهِمۡ

(is) in themselves

وَأَنَّ

And indeed

ٱللَّهَ

Allah

سَمِيعٌ

(is) All-Hearing

عَلِيمٞ

All-Knowing

Translation

"Because Allah will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things)."

Tafsir

The Angels smite the Disbelievers upon capturing Their Souls

Allah says,

وَلَوۡ تَرَى إِذۡ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ الۡمَليِكَةُ

And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death);

Allah says, if you witnessed the angels capturing the souls of the disbelievers, you would witness a tremendous, terrible, momentous and awful matter,

يَضۡرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمۡ وَأَدۡبَارَهُمۡ

they smite their faces and their backs,

saying to them,

وَذُوقُواۡ عَذَابَ الۡحَرِيقِ

""Taste the punishment of the blazing Fire.""

Ibn Jurayj said that Mujahid said that,

وَأَدۡبَارَهُمۡ

(and their backs), refers to their back sides, as happened on the day of Badr.

Ibn Jurayj also reported from Ibn Abbas,

""When the idolators faced the Muslims (in Badr), the Muslims smote their faces with swords. When they gave flight, the angels smote their rear ends.""

Although these Ayat are describing Badr, they are general in the case of every disbeliever. This is why Allah did not make His statement here restrictive to the disbelievers at Badr,

وَلَوۡ تَرَى إِذۡ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ الۡمَليِكَةُ

يَضۡرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمۡ وَأَدۡبَارَهُمۡ

And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death); they smite their faces and their backs,

In Surah Al-Qital (or Muhammad) there is a similar Ayah, as well as in Surah Al-An`am,

وَلَوۡ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّـلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَاتِ الۡمَوۡتِ وَالۡمَلَـيِكَةُ بَاسِطُواۡ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ أَخۡرِجُواۡ أَنفُسَكُمُ

And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands (saying):""Deliver your souls!"" (6:93)

The angels stretch their hands and smite the disbelievers by Allah's command, since their souls refuse to leave their bodies, so they are taken out by force. This occurs when the angels give them the news of torment and Allah's anger.

There is a Hadith narrated from Al-Bara' that;

when the angel of death attends the disbeliever at the time of death, he comes to him in a terrifying and disgusting shape, saying, ""Get out, O wicked soul, to fierce hot wind, boiling water and a shadow of black smoke.""

The disbeliever's soul then scatters throughout his body, but the angels retrieve it, just as a needle is retrieved from wet wool. In this case, veins and nerve cells will be still attached to the soul.

Allah states here that angels bring news of the torment of the Fire to the disbelievers.

Allah said next

ذَلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتۡ أَيۡدِيكُمۡ

This is because of that which your hands forwarded.

meaning, this punishment is the recompense of the evil deeds that you have committed in the life of the world. This is your reckoning from Allah for your deeds,

وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لَيۡسَ بِظَلَّمٍ لِّلۡعَبِيدِ

And verily, Allah is not unjust to His servants.

Certainly, Allah does not wrong any of His creatures, for He is the Just, who never puts anything in an inappropriate place. Honored, Glorified, Exalted and Praised be He, the All-Rich, Worthy of all praise.

Muslim recorded that Abu Dharr said that the Messenger of Allah said;

إنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي حَرَّمۡتُ الظُّلۡمَ عَلَى نَفۡسِي وَجَعَلۡتُهُ بَيۡنَكُمۡ مُحَرَّمًا فَلَ تَظَالَمُوا

يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعۡمَالُكُمۡ أُحۡصِيهَا لَكُمۡ فَمَنۡ وَجَدَ خَيۡرًا فَلۡيَحۡمَدِ اللهَ وَمَنۡ وَجَدَ غَيۡرَ ذَلِكَ فَلَا يَلُومَنَّ إِلاَّ نَفۡسَه

Allah, the Exalted, said, `O My servants! I have prohibited injustice for Myself, and made it prohibited to you between each other. Therefore, do not commit injustice against each other.

O My servants! It is your deeds that I am keeping count of, so whoever found something good, let him praise Allah for it. Whoever found other than that, has only himself to blame.

This is why Allah said

Allah says,

كَدَأۡبِ الِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ كَفَرُواۡ بِأيَاتِ اللّهِ

Similar to the behavior of the people of Fir`awn, and of those before them -- they rejected the Ayat of Allah,

Allah says, `The behavior of these rebellious disbelievers against what I sent you with, O Muhammad, is similar to the behavior of earlier disbelieving nations. So We behaved with them according to Our Da'b, that is, Our behavior (or custom) and way, as We did with them with what We often do and decide concerning their likes, the denying people of Fir`awn and the earlier nations who rejected the Messengers and disbelieved in Our Ayat,'

فَأَخَذَهُمُ اللّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمۡ

so Allah punished them for their sins.

Because of their sins, Allah destroyed them

إِنَّ اللّهَ قَوِيٌّ شَدِيدُ الۡعِقَابِ

Verily, Allah is All-Strong, severe in punishment.

none can resist Him or escape His grasp.

ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللّهَ لَمۡ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِّعۡمَةً أَنۡعَمَهَا عَلَى قَوۡمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواۡ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمۡ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

That is so because Allah will never change a grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in themselves. And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

Allah affirms His perfect justice and fairness in His decisions, for He decided that He will not change a bounty that He has granted someone, except on account of an evil that they committed.

Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواۡ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمۡ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوۡمٍ سُوءًا فَلَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمۡ مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves. But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, and they will find besides Him no protector. (13:11)

Allah said next,

كَدَأۡبِ الِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ كَذَّبُواۡ بأيَاتِ رَبِّهِمۡ فَأَهۡلَكۡنَاهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمۡ وَأَغۡرَقۡنَا الَ فِرۡعَونَ وَكُلٌّ كَانُواۡ ظَالِمِينَ

Similar to the behavior of the people of Fir`awn, and those before them. They belied the Ayat of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned the people of Fir`awn for they were all wrongdoers.

meaning, He punished Fir`awn and his kind, those who denied His Ayat. Allah destroyed them because of their sins, and took away the favors that He granted them, such as gardens, springs, plants, treasures and pleasant dwellings, as well as all of the delights that they enjoyed. Allah did not wrong them, but it is they who wronged themselves

Striking Hard against Those Who disbelieve and break the Covenants

Allah says;

إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِندَ اللّهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يُوۡمِنُونَ

الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتَّ مِنۡهُمۡ ثُمَّ يَنقُضُونَ عَهۡدَهُمۡ فِي كُلِّ مَرَّةٍ وَهُمۡ لَا يَتَّقُونَ

Verily, the worst of living creatures before Allah are those who disbelieve, -- so they shall not believe.

They are those with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time and they do not have Taqwa.

Allah states here that the worst moving creatures on the face of the earth are those who disbelieve, who do not embrace the faith, and break promises whenever they make a covenant, even when they vow to keep them,

وَهُمۡ لَا يَتَّقُونَ

and they do not have Taqwa.

meaning they do not fear Allah regarding any of the sins they commit

فَإِمَّا تَثۡقَفَنَّهُمۡ فِي الۡحَرۡبِ

So if you gain the mastery over them in war,

if you defeat them and have victory over them in war,

فَشَرِّدۡ بِهِم مَّنۡ خَلۡفَهُمۡ

then disperse those who are behind them,

According to Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi, Ata' Al-Khurasani and Ibn Uyaynah,

by severely punishing (the captured people).

This Ayah commands punishing them harshly and inflicting casualties on them. This way, other enemies, Arabs and non-Arabs, will be afraid and take a lesson from their end,

لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

so that they may learn a lesson.

As-Suddi commented,

""They might be careful not to break treaties, so that they do not meet the same end.

Allah says to His Prophet,

وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِن قَوۡمٍ

If you fear from any people,

with whom you have a treaty of peace,

خِيَانَةً

treachery,

and betrayal of peace treaties and agreements that you have conducted with them,

فَانبِذۡ إِلَيۡهِمۡ

then throw back (their covenant) to them,

meaning their treaty of peace.

عَلَى سَوَاء

on equal terms,

informing them that you are severing the treaty. This way, you will be on equal terms, in that, you and they will be aware that a state of war exists between you and that the bilateral peace treaty is null and void,

إِنَّ اللّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الخَايِنِينَ

Certainly Allah likes not the treacherous.

This even includes treachery against the disbelievers.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Salim bin `Amir said,

""Mu`awiyah was leading an army in Roman lands, at a time the bilateral peace treaty was valid. He wanted to go closer to their forces so that when the treaty of peace ended, he could invade them. An old man riding on his animal said, `Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Great), Allahu Akbar! Be honest and stay away from betrayal.' The Messenger of Allah said,

وَمَنۡ كَانَ بَيۡنَهُ وَبَيۡنَ قَوۡمٍ عَهۡدٌ فَلَ يَحُلَّنَّ عُقۡدَةً وَلَا يَشُدَّهَا حَتَّى يَنۡقَضِي أَمَدُهَا أَوۡ يَنۡبُذَ إِلَيۡهِمۡ عَلَى سَوَاء

Whoever has a treaty of peace with a people, then he should not untie any part of it or tie it harder until the treaty reaches its appointed term. Or, he should declare the treaty null and void so that they are both on equal terms.

When Mu`awiyah was informed of the Prophet's statement, he retreated.

They found that man to be Amr bin Anbasah, may Allah be pleased with him.""

This Hadith was also collected by Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih. At-Tirmidhi said, ""Hasan Sahih.

Making Preparations for War to strike Fear in the Hearts of the Enemies of Allah

Allah says to His Prophet,

وَلَا يَحۡسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ سَبَقُواۡ إِنَّهُمۡ لَا يُعۡجِزُونَ

And let not those who disbelieve think that they can outstrip (escape from the punishment). Verily, they will never be able to save themselves (from Allah's punishment).

And let not those who disbelieve think that they can outstrip, Do not think that such disbelievers have escaped Us or that We are unable to grasp them. Rather, they are under the power of Our ability and in the grasp of Our will; they will never escape Us.'

Allah also said,

أَمۡ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ يَعۡمَلُونَ السَّيِّيَاتِ أَن يَسۡبِقُونَا سَأءَ مَا يَحۡكُمُونَ

Or think those who do evil deeds that they can outstrip Us (escape Our punishment) Evil is that which they judge! (29:4)

لَا تَحۡسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ مُعۡجِزِينَ فِى الااٌّرۡضِ وَمَأۡوَاهُمُ النَّارُ وَلَبِيۡسَ الۡمَصِيرُ

Consider not that the disbelievers can escape in the land. Their abode shall be the Fire, and worst indeed is that destination. (24:57)

and,

لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ فِى الۡبِلَـدِ

مَتَـعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأۡوَاهُمۡ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِيۡسَ الۡمِهَادُ

Let not the free disposal (and affluence) of the disbelievers throughout the land deceive you. A brief enjoyment; then their ultimate abode is Hell; and worst indeed is that place for rest. (3:196-197)"

Al-Anfal: 53

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