In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Conclusion from Al-Tabari’s interpretation
It was summarized by Dr. Aqeel bin Salem Al-Shammari
Surat Al-Anfal
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The worst animals in the sight of God are deaf and dumb ones
Deaf and dumb people who do not understand
The evil that creeps on earth is one of God’s creation in the sight of God
Those who are deaf to the truth
Because they do not listen to it and consider it
And they retreat from it if they touch it
Those who do not understand God’s commands and prohibitions
If God knew there was good in them, He would listen to them
If I had heard them, they would have turned away
Even if God knew there was good in these people
To make them hear the Qur’an’s sermons and lessons
But he knew that there was no good in them
If only I could explain that to them so that they would know and understand
They would have turned away from God and His Messenger while turning away from faith
They are stubborn about the truth after learning about it
O you who believe!
Respond to God and the Messenger
If he calls you, he will not greet you
They knew that God comes between a person and his heart
And to Him you will be gathered
O you who believe!
Respond to God and the Messenger with obedience
If the Messenger calls you to the truth that will revive you
In this world, the beautiful memory remains
As for the afterlife
Eternal life is in heaven and eternity therein
And they knew that God possesses the hearts of His servants among them
And he can come between them and her if he wants
So that no one with a heart can
To realize something of faith or disbelief through it
Or to be aware of something
Or to be understood except with His permission and will
And know, O believers, too
To God is your destiny and your return in the Resurrection
And fear, O believers, a test from God that He will test you
Do not fall into this temptation that the wrongdoers have warned you about
So they did what they could not do
And know that your Lord is severe in His punishment for those who are tempted by their own wrongdoing
And beware lest people kidnap you and give you shelter
And He will grant you His victory and provide you with good things so that you may be grateful
Obey God and His Messenger, O believers
Even if He commands you with hardship and distress
And remember what he did to you when you believed in him and followed him while you were few. The infidels weakened you and tempted you from your religion. You feared that they would kidnap you and kill you.
So He made for you a shelter to which you could shelter from them, and He strengthened you with His victory over them, and He fed you with lawful and good food from their spoils so that you might thank Him for what He has provided for you and bestowed upon you of that and other blessings He has given you.
You know
They knew that your wealth and your children were a test, and that God had a great reward
And know, O believers, that your wealth and your children that God has given you are a test and a trial to test you with it and test you and to see how you are doing in fulfilling God’s right to it, and know that with God is good and a great reward.
O you who have believed, if you fear God, He will make for you criterion, and atone for you your evil deeds, and forgive you. And God is the Possessor of great bounty.
O you who have believed God and His Messenger, if you fear God by obeying Him and abandoning betrayal of Him and His Messenger, He will provide for you a separation between your right and the wrong of those of your enemies who wish you harm by granting them victory.
And He erases from you your past sins between you and Him, and He covers them and conceals them for you, and God who does that to you has great bounty over you and over others.
And when those who disbelieved were plotting against you to defeat you, or kill you, or expel you, and they were plotting and plotting against God, and God is the best of planners.
Remember, O Muhammad, my favor with you due to my deceit of the polytheists of your people who tried to oppress you to bind you, kill you, or expel you from your homeland, until I saved you from them and destroyed them, so go ahead with my command, for your Lord is the best of schemers against those who disbelieve in Him.
And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, “We have heard.” They say, “We have heard.” If We had wished, we could have said something like this. These are nothing but legends of ancient times.
And when the verses of the Book of God were recited to those who disbelieved, they said, “We have heard. If we wished, we would have said something like this that was recited to us. Indeed, this is the Qur’an that you recite to us, O Muhammad, except what the ancients wrote down and wrote from the news of the nations.”
And when they said, “O God, if this is the truth from You, then rain upon us stones from the sky or bring upon us a painful punishment.”
And remember, O Muhammad, also what happened to the one who said, “O God, if this is the truth from You, then rain stones on us from the sky or bring upon us a painful punishment.”
When you plotted against them, you brought them a painful punishment, and that punishment was the killing of them by the sword on the Day of Badr
And God would not punish them while you were among them, and God would not punish them while they were seeking forgiveness
And God would not punish them while you were among them, O Muhammad, and there was a resident between their backs, and God would not punish them while they were seeking forgiveness for their sins and disbelief.
But they do not ask for forgiveness for this, but rather they insist on it, so they deserve to be punished
Why should God not punish them when they turn away from the Sacred Mosque, and they are not its guardians? Indeed, its guardians are only the righteous, but most of them do not know.
Why should God not punish the polytheists when they turn away from the Sacred Mosque and are not God’s friends?
The saints of God are only those who fear God by performing His duties and committing sins against Him, but most of the polytheists do not know that the saints of God are the fearful. Rather, they think that they are the saints of God.
And their prayer at the House was nothing but a cry and its turning, so taste the torment because you disbelieved
Their prayer at the Sacred House was nothing but whistling and clapping
So taste the torment because you denied that God will punish you with it for your denial of the monotheism of your Lord and the message of your Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.
The torment he promised them would be on the day of Badr
Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to avert people from the path of God. They will spend it, then it will be a regret for them, and then they will be victorious
Those who disbelieve will be gathered into Hell
Those who disbelieve in God and His Messenger spend their money and give it in equal amounts to strengthen themselves with it to fight the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and those who believe in him.
To prevent them from believing in God and His Messenger, they will spend their money on that, and then that expense of theirs will become a regret for them, and then the believers will defeat them.
And God will gather those who disbelieved in Him and His Messenger into Hell, and they will be tortured therein
So that God may distinguish the bad from the good, and place the bad one upon another, and pile them all together, and put them in Hell. Those are the losers.
God will gather those who disbelieved in their Lord to separate them from the believers by placing the people of faith in His Gardens and sending down the people of disbelief to Hellfire.
So the infidels will lift one another up, making them piles of piles, and putting the wicked all together in hell. And these are the losers, whose deal was ruined and whose trade was lost.
Tell those who disbelieve, if they desist, they will be forgiven for what has come before, but if they return, then the year of the first two has passed
Say, O Muhammad, to those who disbelieve, if they desist from their disbelief in God and His Messenger and turn to faith, God will forgive them of their past sins.
And if these people return to fighting you, then a year has passed in the first two of them, with Badr, and in other generations that were free of an attack on them, urgent vengeance upon them.
And fight them until there is no strife and the religion is entirely for God. If they desist, then God sees what they do
So fight them until there is no polytheism and no one worships anyone except God, and all obedience and worship are purely for God and no one else. If they refrain from associating God with God, then what they do is not hidden from God, because He sees you and your deeds, and all things are manifest to Him and cannot be hidden from Him.
And if they turn away, know that God is your Master. He is the best Master and the best Helper
And if these polytheists turn away from what you called them to, O believers, of believing in God and His Messenger, then fight them and be certain that God is your helper against them. He is the best helper for you, and He is the Helper.
Conclusion from Al-Tabari’s interpretation