8:34 Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War)

فهذا مانع يمنع من وقوع العذاب بهم، بعد ما انعقدت أسبابه ثم قال‏:‏ ‏{‏وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ أي شيء يمنعهم من عذاب اللّه، وقد فعلوا ما يوجب ذلك، وهو صد الناس عن المسجد الحرام، خصوصا صدهم النبي ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وأصحابه، الذين هم أولى به منهم، ولهذا قال‏:‏ ‏{‏وَمَا كَانُوا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ المشركون ‏{‏أَوْلِيَاءَهُ‏}‏ يحتمل أن الضمير يعود إلى اللّه، أي‏:‏ أولياء اللّه‏.‏ ويحتمل أن يعود إلى المسجد الحرام، أي‏:‏ وما كانوا أولى به من غيرهم‏.‏ ‏{‏إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلا الْمُتَّقُونَ‏}‏ وهم الذين آمنوا باللّه ورسوله، وأفردوا اللّه بالتوحيد والعبادة، وأخلصوا له الدين‏.‏ ‏{‏وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ‏}‏ فلذلك ادَّعَوْا لأنفسهم أمرا غيرهم أولى به‏.‏

يخبر تعالى أنهم أهل لأن يعذبهم ولكن لم يوقع ذلك بهم لبركة مقام الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم بين أظهرهم ولهذا لما خرج من بين أظهرهم أوقع الله بهم بأسه يوم بدر فقتل صناديدهم وأسر سراتهم وأرشدهم تعالى إلى الاستغفار من الذنوب التي هم متلبسون بها من الشرك والفساد وقال قتادة والسدي وغيرهما لم يكن القوم يستغفرون ولو كانوا يستغفرون لما عذبوا واختاره ابن جرير فلولا ما كان بين أظهرهم من المستضعفين من المؤمنين المستغفرين لوقع بهم البأس الذي لا يرد ولكن دفع عنهم بسبب أولئك كما قال تعالى في يوم الحديبية "الذين كفروا وصدوكم عن المسجد الحرام والهدي معكوفا أن يبلغ محله ولولا رجال مؤمنون ونساء مؤمنات لم تعلموهم أن تطئوهم فتصيبكم منهم معرة بغير علم ليدخل الله في رحمته من يشاء لو تزيلوا لعذبنا الذين كفروا منهم عذابا أليما". قال ابن جرير: حدثنا ابن حميد حدثنا يعقوب عن جعفر بن أبي المغيرة عن ابن أبزى قال كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بمكة فأنزل الله "وما كان الله ليعذبهم وأنت فيهم" قال فخرج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المدينة فأنزل الله "وما كان الله معذبهم وهم يستغفرون" قال وكان أولئك البقية من المسلمين الذين بقوا فيها مستضعفين يعني بمكة "يستغفرون" فلما خرجوا أنزل الله "وما لهم أن لا يعذبهم الله وهم يصدون عن المسجد الحرام وما كانوا أولياءه" قال فأذن الله في فتح مكة فهو العذاب الذي وعدهم وروى عن ابن عباس وأبي مالك والضحاك وغير واحد نحو هذا وقد قيل إن هذه الآية ناسخة لقوله تعالى "وما كان الله معذبهم وهم يستغفرون" على أن يكون المراد صدور الاستغفار منهم أنفسهم قال ابن جرير: حدثنا ابن حميد ثنا يحيى بن واضح عن الحسين بن واقد عن يزيد النحوي عن عكرمة والحسن البصري قالا: قال في الأنفال "وما كان الله ليعذبهم وأنت فيهم وما كان الله معذبهم وهم يستغفرون" فنسختها الآية التي تليها "وما لهم ألا يعذبهم الله" - إلى قوله -" فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون" فقاتلوا بمكة فأصابهم فيها الجوع والضر وكذا رواه ابن أبي حاتم من حديث أبي نميلة يحيى بن واضح. وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا الحسن بن محمد بن الصباح حدثنا حجاج بن محمد عن ابن جريج وعثمان بن عطاء عن عطاء عن ابن عباس "وما كان الله معذبهم وهم يستغفرون" ثم أستثنى أهل الشرك فقال "وما لهم ألا يعذبهم الله وهم يصدون عن المسجد الحرام" وقوله "وما لهم ألا يعذبهم الله وهم يصدون عن المسجد الحرام وما كانوا أولياءه إن أولياؤه إلا المتقون ولكن أكثرهم لا يعلمون" أي وكيف لا يعذبهم الله وهم يصدون عن المسجد الحرام أي الذي بمكة يصدون المؤمنين الذين هم أهله عن الصلاة فيه والطواف به ولهذا قال "وما كانوا أولياءه إن أولياؤه إلا المتقون" أي هم ليسوا أهل المسجد الحرام وإنما أهله النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه كما قال تعالى "ما كان للمشركين أن يعمروا مساجد الله شاهدين على أنفسهم بالكفر أولئك حبطت أعمالهم وفي النار هم خالدون إنما يعمر مساجد الله من آمن بالله واليوم الآخر وأقام الصلاة وآتى الزكاة ولم يخش إلا الله فعسى أولئك أن يكونوا من المهتدين" وقال تعالى "وصد عن سبيل الله وكفر به والمسجد الحرام وإخراج أهله منه أكبر عند الله" الآية. وقال الحافظ أبو بكر بن مردويه في تفسير هذه الآية: حدثنا سليمان بن أحمد هو الطبراني حدثنا جعفر بن إلياس بن صدقة المصري حدثنا نعيم بن حماد حدثنا نوح بن أبي مريم عن يحيى بن سعيد الأنصاري عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من أولياؤك.؟ قال "كل تقي" وتلا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "إن أولياؤه إلا المتقون". وقال الحاكم في مستدركه: حدثنا أبو بكر الشافعي حدثنا إسحق بن الحسن حدثنا أبو حذيفة حدثنا سفيان عن عبد الله بن خيثم عن إسماعيل بن عبيد بن رفاعة عن أبيه عن جده قال: جمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قريشا فقال "هل فيكم من غيركم؟ " فقالوا فينا ابن أختنا وفينا حليفنا وفينا مولانا فقال "حليفنا منا وابن أختنا منا ومولانا منا إنَّ أوليائي منكم المتقون" ثم قال هذا صحيح ولم يخرجاه وقال عروة والسدي ومحمد بن إسحق في قوله تعالى "إن أولياؤه إلا المتقون" قال هم محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه رضي الله عنهم. وقال مجاهد هم المجاهدون من كانوا وحيث كانوا ثم ذكر تعالى ما كانوا يعتمدونه عند المسجد الحرام وما كانوا يعاملونه به.

The Idolators deserved Allah's Torment after Their Atrocities

Allah states that the idolators deserved the torment, but He did not torment them in honor of the Prophet residing among them. After Allah allowed the Prophet to migrate away from them, He sent His torment upon them on the day of Badr. During that battle, the chief pagans were killed, or captured. Allah also directed them to seek forgiveness for the sins, Shirk and wickedness they indulged in. If it was not for the fact that there were some weak Muslims living among the Makkan pagans, those Muslims who invoked Allah for His forgiveness, Allah would have sent down to them the torment that could never be averted. Allah did not do that on account of the weak, ill-treated, and oppressed believers living among them, as He reiterated about the day at Al-Hudaybiyyah,

هُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَصَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَالْهَدْىَ مَعْكُوفاً أَن يَبْلُغَ مَحِلَّهُ وَلَوْلاَ رِجَالٌ مُّؤْمِنُونَ وَنِسَآءٌ مُّؤْمِنَـتٌ لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوهُمْ أَن تَطَئُوهُمْ فَتُصِيبَكمْ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَرَّةٌ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ لِّيُدْخِلَ اللَّهُ فِى رَحْمَتِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ لَوْ تَزَيَّلُواْ لَعَذَّبْنَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً

(They are the ones who disbelieved and hindered you from Al-Masjid Al-Haram (at Makkah) and detained the sacrificial animals from reaching their place of sacrifice. Had there not been believing men and believing women whom you did not know, that you may kill them and on whose account a sin would have been committed by you without (your) knowledge, that Allah might bring into His mercy whom He wills if they (the believers and the disbelievers) had been apart, We verily, would have punished those of them who disbelieved with painful torment.) 48:25

Allah said here,

وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلاَّ يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَمَا كَانُواْ أَوْلِيَآءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُ إِلاَّ الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(And why should not Allah punish them while they hinder (men) from Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and they are not its guardians None can be its guardians except those who have Taqwa, but most of them know not.)

Allah asks, `why would not He torment them while they are stopping Muslims from going to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, thus hindering the believers, its own people, from praying and performing Tawaf in it' Allah said,

وَمَا كَانُواْ أَوْلِيَآءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُ إِلاَّ الْمُتَّقُونَ

T(And they are not its guardians None can be its guardians except those who have Taqwa,) meaning, the Prophet and his Companions are the true dwellers (or worthy maintainers) of Al-Masjid Al-Haram, not the pagans. Allah said in other Ayah,

مَا كَانَ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ أَن يَعْمُرُواْ مَسَاجِدَ الله شَـهِدِينَ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِم بِالْكُفْرِ أُوْلَـئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ وَفِى النَّارِ هُمْ خَـلِدُونَ - إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَـجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَوةَ وَءاتَى الزَّكَوةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ فَعَسَى أُوْلَـئِكَ أَن يَكُونُواْ مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ

(It is not for the polytheists, to maintain the Masjids of Allah, while they witness disbelief against themselves. The works of such are in vain and in the Fire shall they abide. The Masjids of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day; perform the Salah, and give the Zakah and fear none but Allah. It is they who are on true guidance.) 9:17-18, and,

وَصَدٌّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَكُفْرٌ بِهِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَإِخْرَاجُ أَهْلِهِ مِنْهُ أَكْبَرُ عِندَ اللَّهِ

(But a greater (transgression) with Allah is to prevent mankind from following the way of Allah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid Al-Haram (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants,) 2:217.

`Urwah, As-Suddi and Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Allah's statement,

إِنْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُ إِلاَّ الْمُتَّقُونَ

(None can be its guardians except those who have Taqwa,) refers to Muhammad and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. Mujahid explained that this Ayah is about the Mujahidin in Allah's cause, whomever and wherever they may be.

Allah then mentioned the practice of the pagans next to Al-Masjid Al-Haram and the respect they observed in its vicinity,

وَمَا كَانَ صَلاَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلاَّ مُكَآءً وَتَصْدِيَةً

(Their Salah (prayer) at the House was nothing but Muka' and Tasdiyah. )

`Abdullah bin `Umar, Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Raja' Al-Utardi, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Hujr bin `Anbas, Nubayt bin Sharit, Qatadah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that this part of the Ayah refers to whistling. Mujahid added that the pagans used to place their fingers in their mouth (while whistling). Sa`id bin Jubayr said that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

وَمَا كَانَ صَلاَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلاَّ مُكَآءً وَتَصْدِيَةً

(Their Salat at the House was nothing but Muka' and Tasdiyah.)

"The Quraysh used to perform Tawaf (encircling the Ka`bah) while naked, whistling and clapping their hands, for Muka' means `whistling', while, Tasdiyah means `clapping the hands."' This meaning was also reported from Ibn `Abbas, by `Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-`Awfi. Similar was recorded from Ibn `Umar, Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b, Abu Salamah bin `Abdur-Rahman, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, `Atiyyah Al-`Awfi, Hujr bin `Anbas and Ibn Abza. Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn `Umar explained the Ayah,

وَمَا كَانَ صَلاَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلاَّ مُكَآءً وَتَصْدِيَةً

(Their Salat at the House was nothing but Muka' and Tasdiyah.) "Muka' means `whistling', while, `Tasdiyah' means `clapping the hands."' Sa`id bin Jubayr and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said that,

وَتَصْدِيَةً

(and Tasdiyah), means, they hindered from the path of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored. Allah said,

فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ

(Therefore taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve.)

This refers to the death and capture that they suffered during the battle of Badr, according to Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Jurayj and Muhammad bin Ishaq.

But what plea have they now that God should not chastise them with the sword after your departure and that of the oppressed believers — if this verse is understood in accordance with the first opinion that it refers to the idolaters asking forgiveness then it abrogates the previous one for God had chastised them at Badr and in other instances — when they bar prevent the Prophet s and the Muslims from the Sacred Mosque from performing circumambulations there though they are not its guardians? as they claim? Its only rightful guardians are the God-fearing but most of them do not know that they have no rightful custodianship over it.

Commentary

It was said in previous verses that the disbelievers of Makkah were though deserving, because of their disbelief and denial, of heavenly punishment coming down upon them, but the presence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Makkah was a prohibitive factor against the coming of a mass punishment on them. Then, after his migration to Madinah, such punishment would still not come upon them because of the weaker ones among Muslims who, while living in Makkah, kept seeking forgiveness from Allah.

In the verses quoted above, it has been stated that though their due punishment was advanced till later either for the sake of the Holy Prophet ﷺ or in consideration of the weaker ones among Muslims, they should not make the mistake of thinking that they are no more deserving of punishment. The fact is that their being deserving of punishment is loud and clear. Then, other than their disbelief and denial, there are many more crimes committed by them because of which punishment should be visiting them positively. The first two verses (34, 35) list three such crimes by them.

1. Firstly, these people are themselves just not worthy of going into the Sacred Mosque and devote to acts of worship there as due - and these very people prevent Muslims who wish to go there to devote themselves to acts of worship, Salah, Tawaf etc. Here, the reference is to the event at Hudaibiyah when, in the Hijrah year 6, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had reached there with his Sahabah ؓ in order to perform ` Umrah at Makkah - and the disbelievers of Makkah had prevented him from doing so and had compelled him to go back.

2. Secondly, for no sane reason, these people assume and claim that they were the custodians of the Sacred Mosque whereby they would let anyone they permit come in and not permit anyone they did not wish to come in.

This thinking of theirs was a combination of two misunderstandings. To begin with, they took themselves to be the custodians of the Sacred Mosque although no Kafir can become the custodian of any mosque. Then, they thought that a custodian had the right to stop anyone he wished from entering into the mosque - while, a masjid or mosque is a House of God and no one has the right to stop anyone from coming in it. Of course, exempted are particular situations in which there be the apprehension of someone desecrating the mosque or causing pain to other makers of Salah there. For example, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Shield your masjid from small children, and insane individuals, and from mutual disputations. Small children mean children who have no sense of purity or impurity, therefore, the danger of the later is predominant. Then, the same danger of impurity as well as the danger of causing pain to those making Salah exists in the case of someone insane. As for mutual disputations, it amounts to desecration of the masjid and is also a source of causing pain to people making Salah there.

In the light of the Hadith quoted above, the custodian (mutawalli ( of the masjid does have the right not to allow such small children and insane individuals into the masjid, and see to it that no one indulges in mutual disputes in the masjid - but, in the absence of such situa-tions, no custodian of a masjid has the right to stop a Muslim from coming into the masjid.

In the first verse cited above, it has been considered sufficient to state that there was no way these people could be taken as custodians of the Sacred Mosque when the rule was that only God-fearing Muslims could become its custodian. From here we learn that the custodian of a masjid should be a practicing-observing Muslim, in faith and conduct. And there are some commentators who take the pronoun in: إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ as reverting to Allah Ta` ala which would mean: only the God-fearing can be the Awliya of Allah.'

According to the Tafsir mentioned immediately above, the outcome of the verse would be that those who, despite acting contrary to Shari` ah and Sunnah, claim to be a Waliyy of Allah are liars and those who take such people to be a Waliyy of Allah are down in deception.