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Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 1–4This chapter was revealed after the battle of Badr (2 A.H.).Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 5–8In Sha‘ban, (2 A.H.) the eighth month of the Islamic calendar, it came to be known that a commercial caravan of the Quraysh, carrying goods worth about fifty thousand guineas, was returning from Syria to Makkah.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 9–14The battle of Badr took place under very critical conditions.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 15–16When the clash between believers and those who deny the truth reaches the battlefield, it is a moment of reckoning for both the parties.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 17–19It has been handed down in traditions that, when the battle of Badr was in full swing the words uttered by the Prophet, in prayer, were: ‘O, my Lord!Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 20–23When a Truth is presented before a man, ideally he apprehends it with all the human faculties granted to him by God.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 24–25Here the ‘call of life’ means the call for the struggle to convey the Truth to others.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 26–28In Makkah, Muslims were in a state of helplessness.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 29–30If a man fears God, he does whatever God has commanded him to do and refrains from doing whatever God has prohibited; he is inspired to be able to distinguish truth from falsehood. (The word used in the original for the ability to make this distinction is furqan). (Tafsir ibn Kathir).Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 31–35Literally, ‘We can also produce such a discourse.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 36–37Among human beings some are clean and pure, while some are unclean.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 38–40“And religion is wholly for God” in this connection those traditions are worth noting which are enshrined in Sahih al-Bukhari.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verse 41In ancient times it was the custom that after a battle whatever enemy property (ghanimah) the victors could lay their hands on was treated as their property.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 42–44It is the intention of Almighty God that the Truth being true and falsehood being false should be absolutely clear to the people.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 45–47Success ensues with the help of God.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 48–49The Quraysh of Makkah considered themselves adherents of the Truth and the companions of the Prophet adherents of falsehood.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 50–54The granting of God’s bounty depends upon eligibility for entitlement to such bounty.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 55–58The Jews of Madinah had already become guilty by rejecting the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 59–63Islam relies not on the use of force but on the demonstration of force to inspire awe in the enemy.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 64–66The reason for a lesser number of believers overcoming a large number of those who deny the truth has been explained by saying that the believers possessed fiqh, while those who deny the truth were devoid of it.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 67–69At the battle of Badr, the Muslims killed seventy of the Quraysh’s greatest men and captured another seventy.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 70–71Releasing the prisoners at the battle of Badr was a strategic error.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 72–73Generally when a man helps another, it is because that other person belongs to his family or group or class.Chapter 8, The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal) · verses 74–75Having faith in God means deciding to lead one’s life purely for His sake.