8:65 Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War)

يقول تعالى لنبيه ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏:‏ ‏{‏يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ حثهم وأنهضهم إليه بكل ما يقوي عزائمهم وينشط هممهم، من الترغيب في الجهاد ومقارعة الأعداء، والترهيب من ضد ذلك، وذكر فضائل الشجاعة والصبر، وما يترتب على ذلك من خير في الدنيا والآخرة، وذكر مضار الجبن، وأنه من الأخلاق الرذيلة المنقصة للدين والمروءة، وأن الشجاعة بالمؤمنين أولى من غيرهم ‏{‏إِنْ تَكُونُوا تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ‏}‏ ‏{‏إِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ‏}‏ أيها المؤمنون ‏{‏عِشْرُونَ صَابِرُونَ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ وَإِنْ يَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ مِائَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفًا مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا‏}‏ يكون الواحد بنسبة عشرة من الكفار،‏.‏وذلك بأن الكفار ‏{‏قَوْمٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ لا علم عندهم بما أعد اللّه للمجاهدين في سبيله، فهم يقاتلون لأجل العلو في الأرض والفساد فيها،‏.‏وأنتم تفقهون المقصود من القتال، أنه لإعلاء كلمة اللّه وإظهار دينه، والذب عن كتاب اللّه، وحصول الفوز الأكبر عند اللّه،‏.‏وهذه كلها دواع للشجاعة والصبر والإقدام على القتال‏.‏

ولهذا قال "يا أيها النبي حرض المؤمنين على القتال" أي حثهم أو مرهم عليه ولهذا كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يحرض على القتال عند صفهم ومواجهـة العدو كما قال لأصحابه يوم بدر حين أقبل المشركون في عددهم وعدتهم "قوموا إلى جنة عرضها السموات والأرض". فقال عمير بن الحمام عرضها السموات والأرض؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "نعم" فقال بخ بخ فقال "ما يحملك على قولك بخ بخ؟ " قال رجاء أن أكون من أهلها قال "فإنك من أهلها" فتقدم الرجل فكسر جفن سيفه وأخرج تمرات فجعل يأكل منهن ثم ألقى بقيتهن من يده وقال: لئن أنا حييت حتى آكلهن إنها لحياة طويلة ثم تقدم فقاتل حتى قتل رضي الله عنه وقد روي عن سعيد بن المسيب وسعيد بن جبير أن هذه الآية نزلت حين أسلم عمر بن الخطاب وكمل به الأربعون وفي هذا نظر لأن هذه الآية مدنية وإسلام عمر كان بمكة بعد الهجرة إلى أرض الحبشة وقبل الهجرة إلى المدينة والله أعلم. ثم قال تعالى مبشرا للمؤمنين وآمرا "إن يكن منكم عشرون صابرون يغلبوا مائتين وإن يكن منكم مائة يغلبوا ألفا من الذين كفروا" كل واحد بعشرة ثم نسخ هذا الأمر وبقيت البشارة. قال عبدالله بن المبارك حدثنا جرير بن حازم حدثني الزبير بن الحريث عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال: لما نزلت "إن يكن منكم عشرون صابرون يغلبوا مائتين" شق ذلك على المسلمين حتى فرض الله عليهم أن لا يفر واحد من عشرة ثم جاء التخفيف.

Encouraging Believers to fight in Jihad; the Good News that a Few Muslims can overcome a Superior Enemy Force

Allah encourages His Prophet and the believers to fight and struggle against the enemy, and wage war against their forces. Allah affirms that He will suffice, aid, support, and help the believers against their enemies, even if their enemies are numerous and have sufficient supplies, while the believers are few. Allah said,

يَـأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ حَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْقِتَالِ

(O Prophet! Urge the believers to fight), encouraged and called them to fight. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to encourage the Companions to fight when they faced the enemy. On the day of Badr when the idolators came with their forces and supplies, he said to his Companions,

«قُومُوا إِلَى جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْض»

(Get ready and march forth towards a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth.)

`Umayr bin Al-Humam said, "As wide as the heavens and earth" The Messenger ﷺ said,

«نَعَم»

(Yes) `Umayr said, "Excellent! Excellent!" The Messenger ﷺ asked him,

«مَا يَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى قَوْلِكَ: بَخٍ بَخ»

(What makes you say, `Excellent! Excellent!') He said, "The hope that I might be one of its dwellers." The Prophet said,

«فَإِنَّكَ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا»

(You are one of its people.) Umayr went ahead, broke the scabbard of his sword, took some dates and started eating from them. He then threw the dates from his hand, saying, "Verily, if I lived until I finished eating these dates, then it is indeed a long life." He went ahead, fought and was killed, may Allah be pleased with him.

Allah said next, commanding the believers and conveying good news to them,

إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ وَإِن يَكُنْ مُّنكُمْ مِّاْئَةٌ يَغْلِبُواْ أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve.)

The Ayah says, one Muslim should endure ten disbelievers. Allah abrogated this part later on, but the good news remained. `Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said that Jarir bin Hazim narrated to them that, Az-Zubayr bin Al-Khirrit narrated to him, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, "When this verse was revealed,

إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صَـبِرُونَ يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ

(If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred...) it became difficult for the Muslims, when Allah commanded that one Muslim is required to endure ten idolators. Soon after, this matter was made easy,

الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ

(Now Allah has lightened your (task)), until,

يَغْلِبُواْ مِاْئَتَيْنِ

(they shall overcome two hundred. ..)

Allah lowered the number of adversaries that Muslims are required to endure, and thus, made the required patience less, compatible to the decrease in numbers." Al-Bukhari recorded a similar narration from Ibn Al-Mubarak. Muhammad bin Ishaq recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "When this Ayah was revealed, it was difficult for the Muslims, for they thought it was burdensome since twenty should fight two hundred, and a hundred against a thousand. Allah made this ruling easy for them and abrogated this Ayah with another Ayah,

الَـنَ خَفَّفَ اللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفاً

(Now Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is weakness in you...)

Thereafter, if Muslims were half as many as their enemy, they were not allowed to run away from them. If the Muslims were fewer than that, they were not obligated to fight the disbelievers and thus allowed to avoid hostilities."

O Prophet urge on exhort the believers to fight the disbelievers. If there be twenty of you steadfast they will overcome two hundred of them. If there be read as yakun or takun a hundred of you they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve for they are a people who do not understand this sentence is predicative but functions as an imperative in other words let the twenty of you fight the two hundred of them and the hundred of you the thousand of them and let them stand firm against them; but when they became numerous this was abrogated by God’s saying

Mentioned for Muslims in the fourth (65) and fifth (66) verse, there is a law of war which stipulates the limit to which it was obligatory (fard) for them to stand resolutely against their adversary - and any retreat from which was a sin. In previous verses and events, it has been mentioned in detail that the unseen help of Allah Ta` ala is with Muslims for their matter is different, not like that of the peoples of the world at large. They, even if small in numbers, can overcome a lot more of their challengers as stated in the Holy Qur'an:

كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَ‌ةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّـهِ

There are many smaller groups which overcome larger groups

with the will of Allah - 2:249).

Therefore, ten Muslims were declared to be equal to one hundred men in the first Jihad of Islam at the famous battle of Badr where the command given was:

إِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ عِشْرُ‌ونَ صَابِرُ‌ونَ يَغْلِبُوا مِائَتَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّائَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا أَلْفًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ

If there are twenty among you, who are patient, they will over-come two hundred; and if there are one hundred among you, they will overcome one thousand of those who disbelieve - 8:65

The style of expression used here is that of a welcome news flash - that one hundred Muslims shall overcome one thousand disbelievers. But, the purpose is to order that it is not permissible for one hundred Muslims to run against one thousand disbelievers. The wisdom behind using the style of news is to make the hearts of Muslims become strong with this glad tidings telling them that Allah is promising their safety and victory. Had this order been announced in the imperative mood as a law, it would have naturally weighed heavy on temperaments.

The encounter at Badr was the very first battle Muslims had ever fought. At that time, they were in a terrible condition. The total number of Muslims itself was insignificant. Then, all of them had not gone to the war front. The hard fact was that only those who could get ready on the spot were the ones who became the 'army' of this war. Therefore, in this Jihad, one hundred Muslims were commanded to confront one thousand disbelievers in a style which carried the promise of Divine help and support.