8:36 Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War)

يقول تعالى مبينا لعداوة المشركين وكيدهم ومكرهم، ومبارزتهم للّه ولرسوله، وسعيهم في إطفاء نوره وإخماد كلمته، وأن وبال مكرهم سيعود عليهم، ولا يحيق المكر السيئ إلا بأهله، فقال‏:‏ ‏{‏إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ ليبطلوا الحق وينصروا الباطل، ويبطل توحيد الرحمن، ويقوم دين عبادة الأوثان‏.‏ ‏{‏َسَيُنْفِقُونَهَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ فسيصدرون هذه النفقة، وتخف عليهم لتمسكهم بالباطل، وشدة بغضهم للحق، ولكنها ستكون عليهم حسرة، أي‏:‏ ندامة وخزيا وذلا ويغلبون فتذهب أموالهم وما أملوا، ويعذبون في الآخرة أشد العذاب‏.‏ ولهذا قال‏:‏ ‏{‏وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ يجمعون إليها، ليذوقوا عذابها، وذلك لأنها دار الخبث والخبثاء

قال محمد بن إسحق حدثني الزهري ومحمد بن يحيى بن حبان وعاصم بن عمر بن قتادة والحصين بن عبدالرحمن بن عمرو بن سعيد بن معاذ قالوا لما أصيبت قريش يوم بدر ورجع فلُّهم إلى مكة ورجع أبو سفيان بعيره مشى عبدالله بن أبي ربيعة وعكرمة بن أبي جهل وصفوان بن أمية في رجال من قريش أصيب آباؤهم وأبناؤهم وإخوانهم ببدر فكلموا أبا سفيان بن حرب ومن كانت له في تلك العير من قريش تجارة فقالوا يا معشر قريش إن محمدا قد وتركم وقتل خياركم فأعينونا بهذا المال على حربه لعلنا أن ندرك منه ثأرا بمن أصيب منا ففعلوا قال ففيهم كما ذكر عن ابن عباس أنزل الله عز وجل "إن الذين كفروا ينفقون أموالهم" - إلى قوله -" هم الخاسرون" وكذا روى عن مجاهد وسعيد بن جبير والحكم بن عيينة وقتادة والسدي وابن أبزى أنها نزلت في أبي سفيان ونفقتِه الأموال في أحد لقتال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال الضحاك: نزلت في أهل بدر وعلى كل تقدير فهي عامة وإن كان سبب نزولها خاصا فقد أخبر تعالى أن الكفار ينفقون أموالهم ليصدوا عن اتباع طريق الحق فسيفعلون ذلك ثم تذهب أموالهم ثم تكون عليهم حسرة أي ندامة حيث لم تجد شيئا لأنهم أرادوا إطفاء نور الله وظهور كلمتهم على كلمة الحق والله متم نوره ولو كره الكافرون وناصر دينه ومعلن كلمته ومظهر دينه على كل دين فهذا الخزي لهم في الدنيا ولهم في الآخرة عذاب النار فمن عاش منهم رأى بعينه وسمع بأذنه ما يسوءه ومن قتل منهم أو مات فإلى الخزي الأبدي والعذاب السرمدي ولهذا قال "فسينفقونها ثم تكون عليهم حسرة ثم يغلبون والذين كفروا إلى جهنم يحشرون" وقوله تعالى "ليميز الله الخبيث من الطيب" قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس في قوله "ليميز الله الخبيث من الطيب" فيميز أهل السعادة من أهل الشقاء وقال السدي يميز المؤمن من الكافر وهذا يحتمل أن يكون هذا التمييز في الآخرة كقوله "ثم نقول للذين أشركوا مكانكم أنتم وشركاؤكم فزيلنا بينهم" الآية وقوله "ويوم تقوم الساعة يومئذ يتفرقون" وقال في الآية الأخرى "يومئذ يصدعون" وقال تعالى "وامتازوا اليوم أيها المجرمون" ويحتمل أن يكون هذا التمييز في الدنيا بما يظهر من أعمالهم للمؤمنين وتكون اللام معللة لما جعل الله للكافرين من مال ينفقونه في الصد عن سبيل الله أي إنما أقدرناهم علي ذلك.

The Disbelievers spend Their Wealth to hinder Others from Allah's Path, but this will only cause Them Grief

Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated that Az-Zuhri, Muhammad bin Yahya bin Hibban, `Asim bin `Umar bin Qatadah, and Al-Husayn bin `Abdur-Rahman bin `Amr bin Sa`id bin Mu`adh said, "The Quraysh suffered defeat at Badr and their forces went back to Makkah, while Abu Sufyan went back with the caravan intact. This is when `Abdullah bin Abi Rabi`ah, `Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Safwan bin Umayyah and other men from Quraysh who lost their fathers, sons or brothers in Badr, went to Abu Sufyan bin Harb. They said to him, and to those among the Quraysh who had wealth in that caravan, `O people of Quraysh! Muhammad has grieved you and killed the chiefs among you. Therefore, help us with this wealth so that we can fight him, it may be that we will avenge our losses.' They agreed." Muhammad bin Ishaq said, "This Ayah was revealed about them, according to Ibn `Abbas,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَلَهُمْ

(Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth...) until,

هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ

(they who are the losers. )" Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Abza said that this Ayah was revealed about Abu Sufyan and his spending money in Uhud to fight the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was revealed about the idolators of Badr. In any case, the Ayah is general, even though there was a specific incident that accompanied its revelation. Allah states here that the disbelievers spend their wealth to hinder from the path of truth. However, by doing that, their money will be spent and then will become a source of grief and anguish for them, availing them nothing in the least. They seek to extinguish the Light of Allah and make their word higher than the word of truth. However, Allah will complete His Light, even though the disbelievers hate it. He will give aid to His religion, make His Word dominant, and His religion will prevail above all religions. This is the disgrace that the disbelievers will taste in this life; and in the Hereafter, they will taste the torment of the Fire. Whoever among them lives long, will witness with his eyes and hear with his ears what causes grief to him. Those among them who are killed or die will be returned to eternal disgrace and the everlasting punishment. This is why Allah said,

فَسَيُنفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ

(And so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcome. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell. )

Allah said,

لِيَمِيزَ اللَّهُ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ

(In order that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good.), meaning recognize the difference between the people of happiness and the people of misery, according to Ibn `Abbas, as `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from him. Allah distinguishes between those believers who obey Him and fight His disbelieving enemies and those who disobey Him. Allah said in another Ayah,

مَّا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَمِيزَ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ

(Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good. Nor will Allah disclose to you the secrets of the Ghayb (Unseen).) 3:179, and,

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَـهَدُواْ مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّـبِرِينَ

(Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah (tests) those of you who fought (in His cause) and (also) tests those who are the patient)3:142.

Therefore, the Ayah (8:37) means, `We tried you with combatant disbelievers whom We made able to spend money in fighting you,'

لِيَمِيزَ اللَّهُ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَيَجْعَلَ الْخَبِيثَ بَعْضَهُ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فَيَرْكُمَهُ

(in order that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good, and put the wicked one over another, heap them together) put in a pile on top of each other,

فَيَجْعَلَهُ فِى جَهَنَّمَ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ

(and cast them into Hell. Those! It is they who are the losers.) 8:37, in this life and the Hereafter.

قُل لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِن يَنتَهُواْ يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَّا قَدْ سَلَفَ وَإِن يَعُودُواْ فَقَدْ مَضَتْ سُنَّتُ الاٌّوَّلِينِ

The disbelievers expend their wealth in waging war against the Prophet s in order to bar from God’s way and they will expend it until in the end it will be a source of anguish for them a regret for having lost it and lost what they had intended by expending it; then they will be defeated in this world and the disbelievers among them will be gathered driven into Hell in the Hereafter

At the end of the verse (36), given there is the evil end of these people in terms of the Hereafter: وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُ‌ونَ (And those who disbelieve shall be gathered into Jahannam).

In the verse under study, the mention of an evil end of spending wealth to stop people from following the true faith also includes the disbelievers of today who spend enormous wealth in the name of hospitals, educational institutions and charities only to stop people from following Islam and to attract them to their call for the false. Similarly, also included here are all those who have gone astray, those who spend their wealth to invite people to listen to doubts and superstitions they have generated into the established collective beliefs of Is-lam. But, Allah Ta` a1a has His ways of keeping the faith revealed by Him protected. There are many occasions when it is openly noticed that such people fail to achieve their objective despite having spent huge amount of money and materials.

(Lo! those who disbelieve spend their wealth in order that they may debar (men) from the way of Allah�) [8:36]. Said Muqatil and al-Kalbi: �This was revealed, on the Day of Badr, about those who customarily fed the pilgrims in the season of Hajj. They were twelve men: Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, 'Utbah and Shaybah the sons of Rabi'ah, Nubayh and Munabbih the sons of Hajjaj, Abu'l-Bukhturi ibn Hisham, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, Hakim ibn Hizam, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, Zam'ah ibn al-Aswad, al-Harith ibn 'Amir ibn Nawfal, al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib. All these men were from Quraysh and each one of them gave ten containers of food daily�. Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Ibn Abza said: �This verse was revealed about Abu Sufyan ibn Harb who had hired, on the day of Uhud, two thousand Abyssinian men to fight against the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, without counting those Arabs who answered his call to fight with him. About them, Ka'b ibn Malik says: We came to sea waves in the middle of which Were Abyssinians, some of whom were veiled and some with their heads uncovered. There were three thousand of them whereas we were a group of nobles: three hundred of us or four hundred at most. Al-Hakam ibn 'Utaybah said: �Abu Sufyan spent 40 Uqiyyah of gold on the idolaters at the Battle of Uhud, and so this verse was revealed about him�. Reporting from his sources, Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: �When the Quraysh returned to Mecca after their defeat at Badr and Abu Sufyan returned unharmed with their caravan, a group of men from the Quraysh whose fathers, sons and brothers were killed at this battle, including 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'ah, 'Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, Safwan ibn Umayyah, went to see Abu Sufyan and those who had a share in that caravan and said to them: 'O men of Quraysh, Muhammad has harmed you and killed the best among you, so help us with this property which escaped unscathed that haply we may take revenge on him for what was inflicted on us'. They did and Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.