Tafsir of Surah Al-Anfal - Verse 21

The Command to obey Allah and His Messenger

Allah commands His believing servants to obey Him and His Messenger and warns them against defying him and imitating the disbelievers who reject him. Allah said,

وَلاَ تَوَلَّوْاْ عَنْهُ

(and turn not away from him...), neither refrain from obeying him or following his commands nor indulge in what he forbade,

وَأَنتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ

(while you are hearing.) after you gained knowledge of his Message,

وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ قَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَهُمْ لاَ يَسْمَعُونَ

(And be not like those who say: "We have heard," but they hear not.)

Ibn Ishaq said that this Ayah refers to the hypocrites, who pretend to hear and obey, while in fact they do neither. Allah declares that these are the most wicked creatures among the Children of Adam,

إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِندَ اللَّهِ الصُّمُّ

(Verily, the worst of living creatures with Allah are the deaf) who do not hear the truth,

الْبُكْمُ

(and the dumb) who cannot comprehend it,

الَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ

(who understand not. ) These indeed are the most wicked creatures, for every creature except them abide by the way that Allah created in them. These people were created to worship Allah, but instead disbelieved. This is why Allah equated them to animals, when He said,

وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِى يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ إِلاَّ دُعَآءً وَنِدَآءً

(And the example of those who disbelieve is as that of him who shouts to those that hear nothing but calls and cries.) 2:171, and,

أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَـمِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْغَـفِلُونَ

(They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.) 7:179

It was also said that the Ayah (8:22) refers to some of the pagans of Quraysh from the tribe of Bani `Abd Ad-Dar, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Ibn Jarir. Muhammad bin Ishaq said that this Ayah refers to hypocrites, as we stated. There is no contradiction here, because both disbelievers and hypocrites are devoid of sound comprehension, in addition to having lost the intention to do good. Allah states here that such are those who neither have sound understanding nor good intentions, even if they have some type of reason,

وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لأَسْمَعَهُمْ

(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen.)

He would have helped them understand. However, this did not happen because there is no goodness in such people, for Allah knows that,

وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ

(even if He had made them listen...) and allowed them to understand,

لَتَوَلَّواْ

(they would but have turned...), intentionally and out of stubbornness, even after they comprehend,

وَهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ

(with aversion.), to the truth.

For added emphasis on the same subject, it was said in the second verse (21): وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ﴿21﴾ (and do not be like those who say, "we have heard" while they do not listen). Meant here are common disbelievers who claim to be listening but make no such claim about believing. Also meant here are the hypocrites who go beyond the elementary listening which they already do. In fact, they also claim to understand what that they listen to and to believe in it as well. But, the truth of the matter is that they both remain deprived of genuine deliberation and correct understanding. Therefore, their listening falls under the category of not listening. So, Muslims have been forbidden from becoming like them.

When a Truth is presented before a man, ideally he apprehends it with all the human faculties granted to him by God. He gives his full attention to it, he feels the weight of its veracity and then he utters that correct response which a man’s nature should present in the face of Truth. One who behaves in this way has been receptive to the presented matter in the manner of a true human being. However, there is the type of individual who listens as if he has no ears to hear with. His mind fails to grasp the veracity of what he hears. And so he is unable to give the requisite response in view of the facts. One who behaves in this way has heard the presented matter as if he were an animal. The truth becomes clear only to one who hears it with a receptive mind. By contrast, one whose temperament is flawed by jealousy, haughtiness, self-interest and love of outward show will not regard the issue of Truth as worth considering and will not pay serious attention to it. So, he will certainly fail to discover its veracity. Faith on the face of it, is a statement of trust in God. But in reality it is a human decision. Faith is not merely repetition of words of testimony, but the verbal expression of one’s inner feeling. If a man’s condition is really the same as that declared by his words, he is a real believer in the eyes of God. A believer is the most serious human being and as such can never, by his words, show himself to be something other than what his inner condition actually is. A man whose faith reflects his inner reality, will, as soon as he admits his faith, make God his object of worship and will be a follower of His commands in all aspects of his life. For him oral acceptance of faith will be not just a verbal profession, but an indicator of the direction of his journey. Just the opposite is the condition of one who heard the voice of Truth, but did not let it enter his soul and did not let it become part of his heart-beats, even though he had no answer for its arguments. Outwardly he may have uttered the words, ‘Yes, it is true,’ but, his real life, even after that, remained the same as it had been earlier. This second attitude is hypocritical, and before God such a hypocritical ‘faith’ has no value.