Surah Spoils of war, booty [Al-Anfal] in English

They ask you about the spoils of war. Say, \"They belong to God and His Messenger. So fear God, and set things right among yourselves, and obey God and His Messenger, if you are true believers:

true believers are those whose hearts tremble with awe at the mention of God, and whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations. They are those who put their trust in their Lord,

who pray regularly and give in alms out of what We have provided for them.

Such are the true believers. They have a high standing with their Lord, His forgiveness and an honourable provision made for them.

As it was your Lord who rightfully brought you forth from your house, even though some of the believers disliked it,

and they disputed with you concerning the truth after it had become manifest, as though they were being driven to their death with open eyes.

God promised you that one of the two parties would fall to you, and you wished that the one without sting should be yours, but God wanted to establish the truth by His words and cut off the root of those who denied the truth --

so that He might prove the truth to be true and the false to be false, however much the wrongdoers might dislike it.

When you prayed to your Lord for help, He answered, \"I am sending to your aid a thousand angels in succession.\"

God only did this to give you good news, and so that your hearts might be set at rest, for help comes from God alone. Surely, God is Mighty and Wise.

He brought drowsiness upon you to give you His reassurance and sent down water from the sky upon you, so that He might thereby purify you and remove Satan's pollution from you, and make your hearts strong and your feet firm.

When your Lord commanded the angels, saying, \"I am with you, so make those who believe stand firm. I will instill fear in the hearts of those who deny the truth: so strike their necks and strike all their finger joints!\"

That was because they defied God and His Messenger. He who defies God and His Messenger shall be severely punished by God.

That is your punishment, taste it then; and know that for those who deny the truth there is the punishment of the Fire.

Believers, when you meet in battle those who deny the truth, never turn your backs on them:

whoever turns his back on such an occasion, unless it be as a stratagem of war, or in an endeavour to join another group [of the believers] will indeed draw down upon himself the wrath of God, and Hell shall be his abode and the worst indeed is that destination.

You did not kill them; it was God who killed them; and when you [Prophet] threw [sand] at them it was not you, but God who threw it so that He might confer on the believers a great favour from Himself. Surely, God is all hearing, all-knowing,

that is what happened, and God will surely undermine the design of those who deny the truth.

If you were seeking a judgement, a judgement has now come to you. If you desist, it will be the better for you. But if you return [to hostility] We too will return. And your host will avail you naught, however numerous it may be, and [know] that surely God is with the believers.

Believers, obey God and His Messenger, and do not turn away from him now that you have heard all.

Do not be like those who say, \"We hear,\" but pay no heed to what they hear --

the worst creatures in God's eyes are those who are deaf and dumb, and who possess no understanding.

If God had found any good in them, He would certainly have made them hear; but being as they are, even if He makes them hear, they will turn away in aversion.

Believers, obey God and the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. Know that God stands between man and his heart, and you shall all be gathered in His presence.

And beware of an affliction that will not smite exclusively those among you who have done wrong. Know that God is severe in exacting retribution.

Remember when you were few in number and were accounted weak in the land, ever fearing the onslaught of your enemies, but He provided you with shelter, and supported you with His help and provided you with good things, so that you might be grateful.

Do not betray God and His Messenger, and do not knowingly violate your trusts.

Know that your wealth and children are a trial and that there is an immense reward with God.

Believers, if you fear God, He will grant you the ability to discriminate between right and wrong, and will forgive you your sins: for God is limitless in His great bounty.

Remember how those who bent on denying the truth plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they schemed -- but God also schemed. God is the best of schemers.

Whenever Our revelations are recited to them, they say, \"We have heard them. If we wished, we could produce the like. They are nothing but the fables of the ancients.\"

They also said, \"God, if this really is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from heaven, or send us some other painful punishment.\"

But God would not punish them while you [Prophet] were in their midst, nor would He punish them so long as they sought forgiveness.

Yet why should God not punish them when they debar people from the Sacred Mosque, although they are not its guardians? Its rightful guardians are those who fear God, though most of them do not realize it.

Their prayers at the Sacred House are nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. \"So taste the punishment because of your denial.\"

Those who are bent on denying the truth are spending their wealth in debarring others from the path of God. They will continue to spend it in this way till, in the end, this spending will become a source of intense regret for them, and then they will be overcome. And those who denied the truth will be gathered together in Hell.

So that God may separate the bad from the good, He will heap the wicked one upon another and then cast them into Hell. These will surely be the losers.

Tell those who are bent on denying the truth that if they desist, their past shall be forgiven, but if they persist in sin, they have an example in the fate of those who went before.

Fight them until there is no more [religious] persecution, and religion belongs wholly to God: if they desist, then surely God is watchful of what they do,

but if they turn away, know that God is your Protector; the Best of Protectors and the Best of Helpers!

Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and the Messenger, to his close relatives and orphans, to the needy and travellers, if you believe in God and the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Decisive Day, the day when the two forces met. God has power over all things.

You were on the nearer side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was below you. Had you wished to set a time by mutual agreement, you would certainly have disagreed on the timing. However, the encounter took place, so that God might settle a matter which had already been ordained, so that he who was to perish might perish after clear evidence of the truth, and he who was to live might live in clear evidence of the truth. Surely, God is all hearing and all-knowing.

God showed them to you in your dream as small in number. If He had shown them to you as many, you would have lost heart and disputed about the matter; but God saved you. He has full knowledge of what is in the human heart.

When at the time of your encounter He made them appear few in your eyes, and made you appear few in their eyes, it was so that God might bring about that which had been decreed. Everything returns to God.

Believers! When you encounter a party, remain firm and remember God much, so that you may succeed.

Obey God and His Messenger, and avoid dissension, lest you falter and are no longer held in awe. Have patience: God is with those who are patient.

Do not be like those who left their homes full of conceit and showing off to others. They debar others from the path of God: but God has knowledge of all their actions.

Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said, \"None of the people shall prevail against you this day; I shall be your protector!\" But when the two forces came in sight of each other, he turned on his heels, saying, \"This is where I leave you: I see what you do not, and I fear God -- God is severe in His punishment.\"

The hypocrites and those whose hearts were perverted said, \"These people [the believers] must be deluded by their religion.\" But he who places his trust in God [knows that], God is Almighty and Wise.

If you could see, when the angels take the souls of those who are bent on denying the truth [at death], how they strike their faces and backs: saying \"Taste the punishment of the Burning!

This is the punishment for what your hands committed -- for, God never does the least wrong to His servants.\"

Like Pharaoh's people and those that have gone before them, they rejected God's signs and God seized them for their sins. God is strong, and severe in punishment!

God would never withdraw a favour that He had conferred upon a people unless they change what is in their hearts. God is all hearing and all-knowing.

Like Pharaoh's people and those who went before them, they denied their Lord's signs: We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned Pharaoh's people -- they were all evil-doers.

The worst creatures in the sight of God are those who reject Him and will not believe;

those with whom you have made a covenant, and who break their covenant on every occasion and have no fear [of God].

Should you encounter them in war, then deal with them in such a manner that those that follow them should abandon their designs and may take warning.

And if you learn of treachery on the part of any people, throw their treaty back at them, so as to be on equal terms, for God does not love the treacherous.

Let not the deniers think that they will ever get away. They cannot frustrate [God's purpose]. They have not the power to do so.

Prepare any strength you can muster against them, and any cavalry with which you can overawe God's enemy and your own enemy as well, and others besides them whom you do not know, but who are known to God. Anything you spend in the way of God will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged.

Then if they should be inclined to make peace, make peace with them, and put your trust in God. Surely, it is He who is All Hearing and All Knowing.

Should they seek to deceive you, God is enough for you: it was He who strengthened you with His help, and rallied the faithful around you, and bound their hearts together.

Even if you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have bound their hearts together, but God has bound them together. Surely, He is Mighty and Wise.

O Prophet! God is sufficient for you and the believers who follow you.

Prophet, urge the believers to fight; if there are twenty of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand of those who deny the truth, for they are devoid of understanding.

God has now lightened your burden, for He knows that there is weakness in you. If there are a hundred of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred; and if there are a thousand of you, they will overcome two thousand by God's will. God is with the steadfast.

It is not right for a Prophet to keep captives unless he has battled strenuously in the land. You desire the gain of this world, while God desires for you the Hereafter -- God is mighty and wise.

Had it not been for a writ from God that had already gone forth, you would have been severely punished on account of what you took.

So eat of that which you have gained in war as lawful and good, and fear God. Surely, God is most forgiving and merciful.

Prophet, tell those you have taken captive: \"If God knows of any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: God is Forgiving and Merciful.\"

And if they would betray you, they betrayed God before, and He gave [you] power over them. God is aware and wise.

Those who have believed and migrated and struggled for God's cause with their possessions and persons, and those who have given refuge and help, are the friends and protectors of one another. But as for those who have come to believe without having migrated -- you are in no way responsible for their protection until they migrate. If they seek your help in the matter of religion, it is incumbent on you to help them, except against a people with whom you have a pact. God sees what you do.

Those who deny the truth support one another. If you fail to do likewise, there will be great disorder and corruption in the land.

Those who have believed and migrated and striven for the cause of God, as well as those who have given them refuge and support, are the true believers; they shall have forgiveness and an honourable provision.