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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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Gentle Commentary

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on the book, "Identification Cards"

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for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,

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by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah al-Anfal.

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,

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and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,

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and upon all his family and Companions.

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We continue with our gentle commentary on "Identification Cards,"

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and with Surah al-Anfal.

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I have three reflections regarding it.

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The first reflection concerns what they titled it,

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"The Order of Revelation of the Surah."

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I have previously pointed out regarding this title

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that there is an issue with it,

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and that it is more precise to call it

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"The Chronology of the Surah's Revelation."

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This is what I have chosen

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for the title of the book:

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"The Chronology of the Surah's Revelation."

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This includes the order of revelation,

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as well as other matters

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that indicate the date of revelation.

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The order of revelation means:

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when it was revealed in relation to other Surahs,

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before such-and-such Surah and after such-and-such Surah.

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That is the order of revelation.

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As for the chronology, one looks at this and other factors

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in order to arrive at an approximation

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of the time of revelation.

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Now, let us read the order of revelation

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for Surah al-Anfal

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as presented in the detailed charts.

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It says:

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"It is considered the eighty-eighth,"

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"revealed before al-Ahzab."

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This

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is based on the famous narration

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which I explained that we rely upon

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in the first lesson.

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Then it says, "It is an early revelation,"

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generally speaking,

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due to its connection to the Battle of Badr,

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which took place in Ramadan of the second year

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of the Hijrah,

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and in which the Muslims achieved a great victory.

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Therefore, placing it after

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Surah Al 'Imran is a view that is clearly problematic.

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This statement

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regarding the chronology

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critiques

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the aforementioned famous narration,

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because the famous narration states

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[it was revealed] after Al 'Imran,

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yet the Surah was revealed in the second year,

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[at the time of] the Battle of Badr.

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Therefore,

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the claim that it is after

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Al 'Imran is clearly problematic.

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We have already discussed that Al 'Imran is linked

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to events that occurred after the Battle of Badr.

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This is what relates

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to the order of revelation of the Surah.

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Let me clarify for you once again

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the mechanism of dealing with this.

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The order of revelation is a matter

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that relies on the narration of Jabir Ibn Zayd,

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but one must subsequently examine all

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other texts

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alongside this narration

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to arrive at the time

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of the Surah's revelation. This is clear

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in Surah al-Anfal because it is linked to the Battle of Badr;

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indeed, some scholars

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state that all the verses of the Surah are linked to the Battle of Badr.

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In other Surahs,

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this is not as apparent.

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As for the second reflection,

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it concerns the most important theme in the Surah,

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the most important principle in the Surah,

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which is establishing that

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all matters belong to Allah.

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The verses regarding this are very

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numerous, including:

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"And victory is not but from Allah,"

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and among them:

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“Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them. And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (8:17)

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"It was Allah who threw [the pebbles]."

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And among them: "And if He intends..."

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“And if they would deceive thee, then lo! Allah is Sufficient for thee. He it is Who supporteth thee with His help and with the believers,” (8:62)

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“And if they would deceive thee, then lo! Allah is Sufficient for thee. He it is Who supporteth thee with His help and with the believers,” (8:62)

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"...between the believers, and He brought their hearts together."

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“And (as for the believers) hath attuned their hearts. If thou hadst spent all that is in the earth thou couldst not have attuned their hearts, but Allah hath attuned them. Lo! He is Mighty, Wise.” (8:63)

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[It was not] that He brought their hearts together,

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but rather, it was Allah who brought them together.

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So the Surah is not limited to these verses alone;

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the entire Surah

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confirms that all matters

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are in the hand of Allah alone, with no partner.

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This leads us

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to the third reflection,

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which is that Surah al-Anfal—

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and this is also known from its name—

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was revealed after

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the victory.

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Muslims, after this training,

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after victory, might think

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that they are capable,

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powerful, and able,

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through the material means

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they have prepared,

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to achieve victory.

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So the Surah came to train them

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on the reality, which is that

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"Victory is not but from Allah; and you threw not when you threw,"

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"but it was Allah who threw,"

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and the rest of the verses.

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This reminds me

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of what I did not point out regarding the Surah—

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Surah al-Anfal

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came after the victory,

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and Surah Al 'Imran,

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in its second half approximately,

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was revealed after what you know

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of what happened on the day of Uhud.

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So how is the discourse directed?

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And how did the training come? It came in another way.

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It came

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to clarify the reality of death,

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and that for the martyrs,

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it is not death: "And do not think of those who have been killed..."

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“Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.” (3:169)

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"...as dead; rather, they are alive." And that death

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does not change the person of principle

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from his principle, even if he dies.

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The Master of Creation, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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"So if he died or was killed, would you turn back..."

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"...on your heels?"

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In addition to other verses that

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change the Muslim's perspective,

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or renew it,

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correct it, and illuminate

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his view of death

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after this trial that befell the Muslims.

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He did not say to them, "You will be victorious,"

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or something similar,

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but rather, He alerted them to the reality

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of death:

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"Even if you were in your homes,

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those for whom death was decreed would have gone forth

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to their places of death."

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The verses that speak about death

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in the second half of the Surah,

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Surah Al 'Imran, are numerous.

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In general, those verses

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correct the Muslim's creed and his perspective

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regarding what happened on the day of Uhud.

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And we are in dire

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need of them

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in this era.

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With this, I conclude, and there is more to be said

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about Surah al-Anfal

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when we speak about Surah al-Tawbah,

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due to the many things they have in common.

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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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and upon all his family and Companions.

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And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.