Tafsir of Surah Al-Anfal - Verse 27

Reason behind revealing This Ayah, and the prohibition of Betrayal

The Two Sahihs mention the story of Hatib bin Abi Balta`ah. In the year of the victory of Makkah he wrote to the Quraysh alerting them that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to march towards them. Allah informed His Messenger of this, and he sent a Companion to retrieve the letter that Hatib sent, and then he summoned him. He admitted to what he did. `Umar bin Al-Khattab stood up and said, "O Allah's Messenger! Should I cut off his head, for he has betrayed Allah, His Messenger and the believers" The Prophet said,

«دَعْهُ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا، وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ اللهَ اطَّلَعَ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَدْرٍ فَقَالَ: اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكُم»

(Leave him! He participated in Badr. How do you know that Allah has not looked at those who participated in Badr and said, Do whatever you want, for I have forgiven you.)

However, it appears that this Ayah is more general, even if it was revealed about a specific incident. Such rulings are dealt with by their indications, not the specific reasons behind revealing them, according to the majority of scholars.

Betrayal includes both minor and major sins, as well those that affect others. `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah,

وَتَخُونُواْ أَمَـنَـتِكُمْ

(nor betray your Amanat) "The Amanah refers to the actions that Allah has entrusted the servants with, such as and including what He ordained. Therefore, Allah says here,

لاَ تَخُونُواْ

(nor betray...), `do not abandon the obligations."' `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd commented, "Allah forbade you from betraying Him and His Messenger, as hypocrites do."

Allah said,

وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّمَآ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَـدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ

(And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial.) from Him to you. He grants these to you so that He knows which of you will be grateful and obedient to Him, or become busy with and dedicated to them instead of Him. Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّمَآ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَـدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

(Your wealth and your children are only a trial, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward.) 64:15,

وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً

(And We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good.) 21:35,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلَـدُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ

(O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers.)63:9, and,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَجِكُمْ وَأَوْلـدِكُمْ عَدُوّاً لَّكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ

(O you who believe! Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you (who may stop you from the obedience of Allah); therefore beware of them!) 64:14 Allah said next,

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

(And that surely with Allah is a mighty reward.) Therefore, Allah's reward, favor and Paradise are better for you than wealth and children. Certainly, among the wealth and children there might be enemies for you and much of them avail nothing. With Allah alone is the decision and sovereignty in this life and the Hereafter, and He gives tremendous rewards on the Day of Resurrection. In the Sahih, there is a Hadith in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«ثَلَاثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ، وَجَدَ بِهِنَّ حَلَاوَةَ الْإِيمَانِ: مَنْ كَانَ اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا، وَمَنْ كَانَ يُحِبُّ الْمَرْءَ لَا يُحِبُّهُ إِلَّا للهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَ أَنْ يُلْقَى فِي النَّارِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ إِلَى الْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنْقَذَهُ اللهُ مِنْه»

(There are three qualities for which whomever has them, he will have tasted the sweetness of faith. (They are:) whoever Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anyone else, whoever loves a person for Allah's sake alone, and whoever prefers to be thrown in fire rather than revert to disbelief, after Allah has saved him from it.)

Therefore, loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ comes before loving children, wealth and oneself. In the Sahih, it is confirmed that he said,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ وَأَهْلِهِ وَمَالِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِين»

(By He in Whose Hand is my soul! None of you will have faith unless I become dearer to him than himself, his family, his wealth and all people.)

In the third verse (27), Muslims have been instructed not to commit any breach of trust خِیَانہ (khiyanah) in the dual rights due against them, that is, in the rights of Allah (Huququllah) or in the mutual rights of the servants of Allah as enjoined on each other (Huququl-` Ibad) - either by failing to fulfill them totally, or by fulfilling them in a defective manner leaving one or the other shortcoming behind. Then, by saying: وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (while you know) at the end of the verse, it was stressed that they already knew that breach of trust was an evil conduct lined with many a curse, therefore, going ahead to do something like that was not what an intelligent person would choose to do - and, since the cause of negligence or shortcoming in fulfilling the rights of the servants of Allah is usually one's attachment to property and children, a warning was given in verse 28 by saying:

In Makkah, Muslims were in a state of helplessness. They were always in fear of being uprooted at any time. They were like a weakling who is oppressed in every way and denied even his legitimate rights. At last the way to Madinah opened for them. They were given the opportunity to go to Madinah, form a centre of their own there and live in freedom and with respect in that atmosphere. This providing of easy circumstances after difficulties is meant to infuse feelings of gratefulness in man. When a man’s living conditions reach the point where he feels himself helpless, at that time suddenly God’s help appears and everything changes for the better. It happens in this way so that man should firmly believe that whatever happened was at the behest of God, and on the basis of this realisation, he should be overflowing with gratitude for the Grace of God. Man embraces faith in God and His Prophet. In this way, he vows that he will tread the path of God and His Prophet. But, while adopting the way of Faith, the compulsions of his property and children come in the way. Then, he shuns the requirements of Faith and gives all his attention to property and children. This is an open betrayal of his pledge of Faith. The gravity of this betrayal becomes painfully obvious when it is realised that the things for which man betrays God are in themselves gifts from God. What are a man’s property and his children? Are they not gifts from God? They are a trust given by God to his subject. The best use of this trust is that when its Donor wants it, it should be willingly surrendered to Him. But when God exhorts the people to rise and strive with all their might in the cause of His religion, they make an excuse of that very trust of God which they should have sacrificed for God’s religion and thus fulfilled their pledge of Faith to Him. In this way, after being on the verge of success, they add their names to the list of failures. An action becomes a crime in the eyes of God only when it is perpetrated in the full knowledge that it is wrong. If a deed is clearly wrong, yet the doer of that deed refuses to desist, he shall have to face serious consequences. This is because willfully repeating a wrong action amounts to flouting God’s will. God can never forgive such extreme behaviour.