Topic: Spoils (Anfal)

3:26; 14:52; 40:18.

Commentary:

The verse can be interpreted in two ways. The archers stationed by the Holy Prophet at the mount of Uhud to protect the rear of the Muslim army left their post when they saw the Meccan army in full flight. They thought that by leaving the mount at that stage they would not be contravening the spirit of the Prophet’s orders, which were to the effect that they were not to leave their post in any circumstances. They further thought that as, according to Arab custom, a soldier was entitled to the possession of the booty he laid his hand on during the fight, they might be deprived of their share of the spoils of war if they stuck to their post. This precipitate action of the archers implied an apprehension on their part that the Prophet might ignore their right to the booty and might thus prove faithless to them. It is this apprehension that the verse condemns in the words, And it is not possible for a Prophet to act dishonestly. But no imputation of actual faithlessness to the Holy Prophet is implied. The verse simply purports to say that it was far from the Prophet to ignore the rights to the booty of those whom he himself had stationed at a certain place.

The verse may also be taken as a rebuke to the hypocrites who deserted the Holy Prophet in the Battle of Uhud. In this case, the implication would be that while the hypocrites had proved faithless to the Prophet by leaving him in the lurch, the Prophet would not prove faithless to God by refusing to fight in His cause even when weak and deserted. This meaning is also supported by the context.

3:33; 4:60; 8:47; 9:71; 24:55.

Important Words:

انفال (spoils) is the plural of النفل which is derived from نفل. They say نفل الرجل فلانا i.e. the man gave to such a one a gift for which he expected no return. نفل الامام الجند means, the leader allotted the spoils to the soldiers. نفله النفل or انفله النفل means, he gave him the spoils of war. نفله also means, he gave him more than his portion or more than his due. انفله (of which the plural is النوافل means, spoils of war; gift or a voluntary gift; something done or recommended to be done voluntarily without its being obligatory; a grandchild, because he or she is over and above one’s own children. نفل —nafal (of which the plural is انفال) means, spoils of war; a free gift; something extra or additional or in excess. النفل—nafl (of which the plural is النوافل) means, an act performed voluntarily, without its being obligatory (Aqrab). النفل (plural انفال) also means, such spoil or gain as comes in the form of God’s favour without one having laboured for it or deserved it (Mufradat).

Commentary:

This verse does not relate to the division of spoils. The law with regard to that is to be found in 8:42 below. The present verse relates only to the attainment of gains and spoils and not to their division. It was revealed after the Battle of Badr. Before that battle, God had promised the Muslims victory over one of the two parties of idolaters, either the caravan which was returning from Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, or the Meccan army that had, under the leadership of Abu Jahl, marched out of Mecca to fight the Muslims. The Muslims were very weak at that time; and, considering their extreme weakness, they naturally asked whether, in spite of the great disparity in numbers and resources between them and their enemy, they were to gain victory over the enemy and win spoils. The question was similar to that of Zachariah who, when given the glad tidings of a son, asked: My Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age has overtaken me, and my wife is barren (3:41)? The question asked by Muslims in the verse under comment pertained not only to the encounter which took place at Badr but also to subsequent encounters which were sure to take place between the two parties. The Quran answers the question by saying, the spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger, meaning that God has decreed that Muslims should secure victories against their enemy and nothing can stop it.

The words: So fear Allah and set things right among yourselves and obey Allah and His Messenger, signify that though victories and spoils will come, yet there are three conditions for the fulfilment of this promise of victory. The first condition requires Muslims to be God-fearing; the second lays down that their mutual relations should be cordial and they should live at peace and amity with one another; the third calls upon them to obey God and follow the instructions of the Holy Prophet. If Muslims fulfilled these three conditions, God would undoubtedly fulfil His promise of victory.

8:70.

3:14,167.

Commentary:

This verse (see also 8:2) relates to the division of the spoils of war. One fifth of such property was to be set apart, and the remainder was to be divided among the soldiers (who received no pay). In pre-Islamic Arabia, the practice was that first of all the commander chose from the booty anything he liked. This was known as صفیة (safiyyah), i.e. the thing chosen. Of the remainder he took خمس (one-fifth) in addition to صفیة (the chosen thing). Islam abolished the practice of صفیة(safiyyah) and the fifth part also was not to go entirely to the commander, but was to be shared by others. In the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, the practice was that of the خمس i.e. the fifth part, the Prophet took only a portion, and divided the remainder among his kinsmen, the orphans, the poor and the wayfarers. By 'kinsmen' were meant the descendants of Hashim and ‘Abdul-Muttalib, the two near ancestors of the Holy Prophet. After the death of the Holy Prophet, the fifth part went to the Khalifah or Imam who was to divide it among himself, the kinsmen of the Holy Prophet, the orphans, the poor and the wayfarers. According to Imam Malik, the division need not necessarily be made into equal portions, but is to be left to the discretion of the Imam, who is to divide it as circumstances and the need of the hour demand. Such was also the practice of the Holy Prophet and his four rightly-guided Successors.

The words, if you believe in Allah, are meant for the Imam, or the commanders, and serve as a reminder to them that they are not to appropriate the whole خمس (fifth portion) for themselves but should also give to other classes of men their due, as directed in the verse.

The words, if you believe in Allah and in what We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Distinction, serve twofold purpose. Firstly, they are meant to show that the qualification implied in the words, if you believe, does not relate to the Holy Prophet. Secondly, they serve to remind Muslims that since God helped them against disbelievers at Badr, when all material factors were against them, they should trust in His help and accept all His commandments regarding the distribution of spoils, etc., willingly and cheerfully.

The Battle of Badr is called یوم الفرقان (Day of Distinction) because on that day God brought into being extraordinary circumstances to grant victory to His Prophet, and to make it clear which party was fighting in the cause of God and which in the cause of Satan. Thus, the words یوم الفرقان (Day of Distinction) are here intended to hint that when a Muslim commander or an Imam gains a victory over his enemies, he should bear in mind that it is due to God’s assistance, and, therefore, he should not hesitate to divide the booty in accordance with His command.

Commentary:

The reference in the words, "When you go forth to the spoils that you take them," is to the booty which fell into the hands of Muslims in the Khaibar expedition. The Surah under comment was revealed to the Prophet when he was on his way back from Hudaibiyyah. In v. 20, the Muslims have been promised great spoils. It is to these spoils that the present verse refers. Having returned from Hudaibiyyah, the Prophet, after a short stay at Medina, marched against the Jews of Khaibar to punish them for their repeated acts of treachery. Those Bedouin tribes who had contrived to remain behind when the Prophet went to Mecca for the Lesser Pilgrimage, finding that his cause had prospered and that they would have a good share of the booty if they joined the expedition to Khaibar, requested the Prophet to be allowed to accompany the Muslim army. They were told that they could not do so as the promise of booty was made only to those sincere Muslims who were with the Holy Prophet at Hudaibiyyah.

Important Words:

أفاء (given as spoils) is transitive verb from فاء which means, he returned, particularly he returned to a good state or condition. أفاته means, I made it to return. فییء means, afternoon shade; spoil or booty, so called because it returns from one party without difficulty; such of the possessions of disbelievers as accrue to Muslims without war or such as are obtained from them after laying down of arms. Loosely, the three words نفل and غنیمة and فییء are used synonymously. But whereas according to some غنیمة signifies, what is obtained from disbelievers by force during war, فییء signifies, what is obtained from them after laying down of arms or what God has given to Muslims of the goods of disbelievers such as poll-tax and that for which peace has been made with them or which they acquire without difficulty. According to some authorities غنیمة is more general in signification than نفل, and فییء is more so than غنیمة. According to the lawyers everything that may be lawfully taken of the property and goods of disbelievers is فییء. Thus غنیمة is that which is acquired with or without difficulty or labour, before or after the victory and نفل is that which is had before the division of غنیمة or which is acquired without fighting, and it differs from فییء in this respect that whereas فییء is applied to the spoil from the disbelievers after they have made preparation for war against Muslims, this condition does not apply to نفل (Lane & Aqrab).

رکاب (camels) is derived from رکب. They say رکب الدابة او علی الدابة i.e. he rode upon the beast. رکاب means camels used for riding. It has no proper singular; the word used for singular is راحلة. رکاب السحاب means, the winds (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse may have special reference to the spoils the Muslims got from the Jews of Khaibar. See next verse also.

8:2, 42.

47:34; 49:8.

Important Words:

دولة (to circulate) is derived from دال. They say دالت الایام i.e. the days came round in their turns. دالت له الدولة means, good fortune came to him i.e. the turn of fortune was his. داول اللّٰه الایام بین الناس means, God made days to compound among men in turns. دولة (daulatun) as also دولة (dulatun) means, a turn of good fortune; a turn to share in wealth and to prevail in war; a turn of taking a thing. Or دولة (dulatun) is in wealth and دولة (daulatun) is in war; according to some the former signifies a thing that is taken by turns and the latter the act of taking by turns and a transition from one state to another. Or the former relates to the next world and the latter to the present world and it is said that the former signifies the transition of wealth from one people to another and the latter, prevalence, predominance or victory (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse deals with the subject as to how فییء should be spent. As فییء consists of such booty as is attained without difficulty or labour and accrues to Muslims without war, the soldiers have no share in it and the whole of it forms part of the public treasury to be spent as mentioned in the verse.

Where soldiers are paid by the State, all spoils of war go to the public treasury i.e. Baitu1-Mal. Islam being a great advocate and protagonist of the cause of the poor and supporter and protector of their interests, the verse incidentally lays down the principle that the circulation of wealth should not remain continued to the privileged and propertied class. As an individual’s health requires that his physical needs be reasonably met, a society’s health requires that material goods be widely distributed and wealth be in easy circulation. This is the basic principle of Muslim economics and nowhere did the Holy Prophet’s democratic thunder speak with greater force or clarity than in this field. Finding humanity ground down under the tyranny of vested interests, he propounded measures that broke the barriers of economic caste and enormously reduced the injustices of special privilege. The main principle of Muslim economics is that the wealth of the people be widely shared. Islam does not oppose the profit motive or economic competition. It does not discourage a man from working harder than his neighbour, nor does it object to his earning a large income. It simply insists that acquisitiveness and competition be balanced by fair play and compassion. Since human nature automatically takes care of the former, it falls to social laws to safeguard the latter. The Zakah is Islam’s basic device for institutionalizing regard for others, but it is supplemented by a number of other measures (The Religions of Man by Huston Smith).

The words, "whatever the Messenger gives you, take it," shows conclusively that the Sunnah forms an integral part of the Islamic Law.

5:3; 48:30.

Commentary:

الفقراء seems to be case in apposition to the categories of recipients of the فییء mentioned in the preceding verse. From Hadith it appears that the poor Refugees were the greatest beneficiaries from فییء obtained from Banu Nadir.

Important Words:

عاقبتم (you have your turn) is derived from عقب. They say عقب الرجل i.e. he took from the man’s property the like of what the latter had taken from him. عاقبه means, he did a thing with the man alternately and taking his turn; he retaliated (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

If the wife of a Muslim deserts to disbelievers and thereafter a woman from among disbelievers is taken by Muslims as prisoner of war, or she flees from disbelievers and joins the Muslim Community, then the believing husband is to be compensated for the loss of the dowry paid by him to his deserting wife from the sum due to the disbelieving husband whose wife has joined the Muslim Community if the dowries are equal, but the deficiency, if any, is to be made up collectively by Muslims, or, as some authorities say, from the booty acquired by Muslims in war; the word عاقبتم meaning غنمتم i.e. you have acquired booty. This arrangement was necessary as disbelievers refused to return the dowries paid by their believing husbands to the women who had deserted to them.