In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Gentle Commentary
on the book, "Identification Cards"
for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Anfal.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
and upon all his family and Companions.
We continue with our gentle commentary on "Identification Cards,"
and with Surah al-Anfal.
I have three reflections regarding it.
The first reflection concerns what they titled it,
"The Order of Revelation of the Surah."
I have previously pointed out regarding this title
that there is an issue with it,
and that it is more precise to call it
"The Chronology of the Surah's Revelation."
This is what I have chosen
for the title of the book:
"The Chronology of the Surah's Revelation."
This includes the order of revelation,
as well as other matters
that indicate the date of revelation.
The order of revelation means:
when it was revealed in relation to other Surahs,
before such-and-such Surah and after such-and-such Surah.
That is the order of revelation.
As for the chronology, one looks at this and other factors
in order to arrive at an approximation
of the time of revelation.
Now, let us read the order of revelation
for Surah al-Anfal
as presented in the detailed charts.
It says:
"It is considered the eighty-eighth,"
"revealed before al-Ahzab."
This
is based on the famous narration
which I explained that we rely upon
in the first lesson.
Then it says, "It is an early revelation,"
generally speaking,
due to its connection to the Battle of Badr,
which took place in Ramadan of the second year
of the Hijrah,
and in which the Muslims achieved a great victory.
Therefore, placing it after
Surah Al 'Imran is a view that is clearly problematic.
This statement
regarding the chronology
critiques
the aforementioned famous narration,
because the famous narration states
[it was revealed] after Al 'Imran,
yet the Surah was revealed in the second year,
[at the time of] the Battle of Badr.
Therefore,
the claim that it is after
Al 'Imran is clearly problematic.
We have already discussed that Al 'Imran is linked
to events that occurred after the Battle of Badr.
This is what relates
to the order of revelation of the Surah.
Let me clarify for you once again
the mechanism of dealing with this.
The order of revelation is a matter
that relies on the narration of Jabir Ibn Zayd,
but one must subsequently examine all
other texts
alongside this narration
to arrive at the time
of the Surah's revelation. This is clear
in Surah al-Anfal because it is linked to the Battle of Badr;
indeed, some scholars
state that all the verses of the Surah are linked to the Battle of Badr.
In other Surahs,
this is not as apparent.
As for the second reflection,
it concerns the most important theme in the Surah,
the most important principle in the Surah,
which is establishing that
all matters belong to Allah.
The verses regarding this are very
numerous, including:
"And victory is not but from Allah,"
and among them:
“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)
"It was Allah who threw [the pebbles]."
And among them: "And if He intends..."
“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)
“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)
"...between the believers, and He brought their hearts together."
“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)
[It was not] that He brought their hearts together,
but rather, it was Allah who brought them together.
So the Surah is not limited to these verses alone;
the entire Surah
confirms that all matters
are in the hand of Allah alone, with no partner.
This leads us
to the third reflection,
which is that Surah al-Anfal—
and this is also known from its name—
was revealed after
the victory.
Muslims, after this training,
after victory, might think
that they are capable,
powerful, and able,
through the material means
they have prepared,
to achieve victory.
So the Surah came to train them
on the reality, which is that
"Victory is not but from Allah; and you threw not when you threw,"
"but it was Allah who threw,"
and the rest of the verses.
This reminds me
of what I did not point out regarding the Surah—
Surah al-Anfal
came after the victory,
and Surah Al 'Imran,
in its second half approximately,
was revealed after what you know
of what happened on the day of Uhud.
So how is the discourse directed?
And how did the training come? It came in another way.
It came
to clarify the reality of death,
and that for the martyrs,
it is not death: "And do not think of those who have been killed..."
“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)
"...as dead; rather, they are alive." And that death
does not change the person of principle
from his principle, even if he dies.
The Master of Creation, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
"So if he died or was killed, would you turn back..."
"...on your heels?"
In addition to other verses that
change the Muslim's perspective,
or renew it,
correct it, and illuminate
his view of death
after this trial that befell the Muslims.
He did not say to them, "You will be victorious,"
or something similar,
but rather, He alerted them to the reality
of death:
"Even if you were in your homes,
those for whom death was decreed would have gone forth
to their places of death."
The verses that speak about death
in the second half of the Surah,
Surah Al 'Imran, are numerous.
In general, those verses
correct the Muslim's creed and his perspective
regarding what happened on the day of Uhud.
And we are in dire
need of them
in this era.
With this, I conclude, and there is more to be said
about Surah al-Anfal
when we speak about Surah al-Tawbah,
due to the many things they have in common.
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and upon all his family and Companions.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.