Surat-ul-Anfal - The Spoils of War

Surat-ul-Anfal is the 8th surah in the Quran. It is quite a profound surah, where while discussing the concepts of jihad and discussing the Battle of Badr, a deep spiritual undertone is felt and embedded in every page. The Surah begins with a question about what to do with the spoils from war, but Allah quickly changes the tone from diverting the attention of the believers to something deeper: Instead of worrying about the spoils and worldly gains, remember to have taqwa and stay united and reconcile between each other. Then the conversation completely shifts to the issue of fundamental importance: What level of imaan do you have and how do you know where you stand? Allah states in ayahs two through four some of the attributes of the true believers. Immediately, our minds should pay attention and ask our hearts for answers to the following conditions that Allah places as criterion for true imaan.

“Indeed the believers are only those who when they are reminded of Allah their heart trembles and when the ayaat are recited upon them it increases them in imaan. And they always put their full trust in their Lord. They also establish the salah and spend from we have provided for them.”

Each of us must ask ourselves the following questions as a test of imaan.

1. Does your heart tremble when you are reminded of Allah?
2. Does your imaan increase when you hear the Quran recited?
3. Have you established the 5 daily prayers as pillars of your day and life?
4. Do you spend your time, wealth, and energy for the sake of Allah?

If we can answer yes to these four questions, then we know our imaan is strong and true. If we have some doubt or weakness in any of the above, let us work hard to improving our relationship with Allah and the Quran so that we may re-evaluate later on and be of the true believers.

The surah then goes back to discussing jihad and how to behave and be steadfast in battle and to put full trust in Allah. Then Allah reminds the believers and the Prophet that it was not you who killed the enemy nor who successfully shot and aimed your weapons, but it was Allah who did it. This is quite a deep ayah if you think about it. In reality, all we can do is put in our 100% effort in everything we do and hope that Allah accepts and gives us the results desired. This ayah must be applied to every action in our daily lives whether it’s our studies, success in the workplace and promotions, family love, etc. If you study hard and make duaa to Allah, it is by His will that you will succeed as He aids you through the exam. If you get promoted and succeed at work, it is by the will of Allah that He allowed such things to occur in your favor. Just think about how many times we may have studied so hard or worked so hard only to not succeed in our goals. This is proof that the reality is that victory and success are in the hands of Allah. Again, all we can do is sincerely give every endeavor we undertake the most effort and ask Allah to accept.

The next ayah that should be discussed is honestly one of the dearest ayahs in the Quran to me. This ayah is a life reminder anytime one gets caught up in the dunya and away from causes related to pleasing Allah.

“O believers, respond to the call of Allah and the Messenger when He calls you to that which gives you LIFE. Know that surely Allah is able to come between a man and his heart and that to him you will be gathered.” (8:24)

This ayah is specifically referring to the call of battle, but it has an incredible general meaning for ALL people. We all know that there are tons of opportunities for each of us to promote Islam, defend Islam, and do so many things for the sake of Allah. Allah is commanding us to respond to His invitation to strive for His sake and He says that it is this striving and working for His sake which gives us LIFE. Think for a moment. There is a difference between being alive and living. Anyone whose heart beats is alive, but is he really living? Is the person who is on life support or the person who does nothing more than eat, sleep, and work really LIVING a FULL LIFE?? Or are they just alive, their hearts beating until they die? For anyone who has participated in Islamic work, you know the feeling of imaan and LIVING that Allah is talking about. The true feeling of a vibrant LIFE will only be felt by those who have a purpose to please Allah and work their hardest to get there. Look around at all the superstars, celebrities, actors, etc. How many of them are suicidal, drug addicts, and in a terrible state of personal affairs? The reason is because they are not truly LIVING, while the poor Muslim who works to please Allah has more wealth in his heart than the richest of kings…

It is time for all of us to respond the call of Allah to live an Islamic lifestyle and strive hard to please him…or else He may take away the imaan from our hearts if we don’t deserve it. That is why He says that He can come between a man and his heart. May Allah make us all steadfast on imaan.

The last ayah that struck me hard was ayah 36. “Indeed those who disbelieve spend their wealth for the purpose of hindering man from the path of Allah. They will spend their wealth against Allah and then they will regret it, and then they will be overpowered and overtaken. And those that disbelieve will be gathered in hellfire.”

SubhanAllah! How each human can work for any cause, whether it be for the truth or falsehood…or some people who work and live for nothing like cattle. It’s amazing how if we look around the world today we see how hard people are working to spread evil and against Islam. They will spend on promoting indecency, making Islam look bad, and promoting man-made ways of life. And these people disbelieve in Allah and don’t believing in getting rewarded for such actions! How then should a believer work for his cause when he believes in Allah and believes in gaining a huge reward? This ayah is again like a check for ourselves. If people work so hard for such trashy causes, shouldn’t we be working hard for such noble causes? Do we spend our wealth to promote Islam, modesty, the environment, and create Halal alternatives to all the Haram out there? Or do we spend our time and youth to promote other worthwhile causes? Or do we choose to spend our wealth and time on nothing like video games, TVs, music, and other toys? Again, these ayaat are no jokes. They should really make us think about how we are spending our lives.

May Allah make us amongst those who have true imaan and who gain the ultimate spoil of our war against our souls: al-firdaus al-a’aa – the highest place in jannah.