Al-Anfaal 8:29 · The Spoils of War · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"Believers, if you remain mindful of God, He will give you a criterion [to tell right from wrong] and wipe out your bad deeds, and forgive you: God’s favour is great indeed."

Pickthall (classic)+

"O ye who believe! If ye keep your duty to Allah, He will give you discrimination (between right and wrong) and will rid you of your evil thoughts and deeds, and will forgive you. Allah is of Infinite Bounty."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"O ye who believe! if ye fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion (to judge between right and wrong), remove from you (all) evil (that may afflict) you, and forgive you: for Allah is the Lord of grace unbounded."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Ibn `Abbas, As-Suddi, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Muqatil bin Hayyan and several others said that,

فُرْقَانًا

(Furqan), means, `a way out'; Mujahid added, "In this life and the Hereafter." In another narration, Ibn `Abbas is reported to have said, `Furqan' means `salvation' or -- according to another narration -- `aid'. Muhammad bin Ishaq said that `Furqan' means `criterion between truth and falsehood'. This last explanation from Ibn Ishaq is more general than the rest that we mentioned, and it also includes the other meanings. Certainly, those who have Taqwa of Allah by obeying what He ordained and abstaining from what he forbade, will be guided to differentiate between the truth and the falsehood. This will be a triumph, safety and a way out for them from the affairs of this life, all the while acquiring happiness in the Hereafter. They will also gain forgiveness, thus having their sins erased, and pardon, thus having their sins covered from other people, as well as, being directed to a way to gain Allah's tremendous rewards,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَءَامِنُواْ بِرَسُولِهِ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِن رَّحْمَتِهِ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ نُوراً تَمْشُونَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah, and believe in His Messenger, He will give you a double portion of His mercy, and He will give you a light by which you shall walk (straight). And He will forgive you. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) 57:28.

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Богобоязненность раба - залог его счастья и преуспеяния. Аллах сообщил, что благодаря этому качеству человек может приобрести многочисленные блага как при жизни на земле, так и после смерти. В обсуждаемом нами откровении Аллах поведал о том, что богобоязненный раб приобретает четыре преимущества, каждое из которых превосходит земной мир вместе с его благами. Первое преимущество - это способность отличать истину ото лжи. Под этим подразумеваются полезные знания и верное руководство, благодаря которым человек отличает прямой путь от заблуждения, истину ото лжи, дозволенное от запретного, счастливых праведников от несчастных грешников. Второе и третье преимущества - это отпущение прегрешений и прощение грехов. Эти два качества взаимосвязаны, независимо от того, упоминаются они вместе или раздельно. Толкователи считают, что отпущение прегрешений относится к малым грехам, а прощение распространяется на тяжкие грехи. Четвертое преимущество - это великое вознаграждение и щедрая награда, уготованная для богобоязненных праведников, которые отдавали предпочтение довольству Аллаха перед собственными желаниями.

Commentary

The previous verse mentioned property and children as being a trial for mortal man because these are things the concern and love for which make one so overtaken that one would usually turn heedless towards Allah, the Creator and 'Akhirah, the life-to-come - though, the rational demand of this great blessing was that one should have shown a far pronounced tilt towards Him because of this favour.

The first verse out of those quoted above completes this very subject. Here, it is said that the person who keeps his emotion subservient to his reason, remains steadfast in this trial and sees to it that the obedience to Allah Ta` ala and love for Him stay ahead of everything - which is called Taqwa in the terminology of Qur'an and Shari'ah -then, he is blessed with three things in return. These are: (1) Furqan (the criterion of distinguishing between right and wrong), (2) Kaffarah of Sayyi'at (the expiation of evils done) and (3) Maghfirah (forgiveness from Allah).

Furqan and Farq are both verbal nouns having the same meaning. In usage, Furqan is the name of the thing which separates and makes two things clearly distinct. Therefore, a decision is called Furqan because it makes the difference between true and false very distinct. The help and support from Allah is also called Furqan because, through it, the protagonists of truth are made to win and their antagonists are made to taste defeat which makes the difference between right and wrong and true and false loud and clear. In the Holy Qur'an, it is in this sense that the battle of Badr has been called the Yowm al-Furqan, the Day of Distinction (between right and wrong).

According to the majority of commentators, the sense of providing Furqan to those who fear Allah is that the help and support of Allah Ta` ala is with them. No enemy can hurt them and success goes with them in all objectives they undertake:

ھرکہ ترسید از حق وتقوی گزید ترسد ازوے جن و انس وھر کہ دید

Whoever fears Allah and takes to piety (Taqwa)

Is feared at sight by Jinns and Humans of the world.

It appears in Tafsir Maha'imi that an indication has been given here towards the slip made by Sayyidna Abu Lubabah ؓ ، because of his desire to provide protection for his family and children as mentioned a little earlier in the event relating to him. He was in the error particularly for the reason that the correct and the only method of keeping his family and children protected was no other but that total obedience to Allah Ta` ala and His Messenger ﷺ ، should have been made his personal benchmark as a result of which whatever belonged to him including his family and children would have come under the security umbrella of Allah Ta` ala. Other than this, there are other commentators who say that Furqan in this verse means the wisdom and insight through which it becomes easy to distinguish between true and false, the genuine and the fake. Thus, the core meaning of the statement would be that Allah Ta` ala arms those who observe Taqwa with such insight and intelligence that it becomes easy for them to go ahead and decide between the good and the evil.

The second blessing received in return for practicing Taqwa is the Kaffarah of Saiyyi'at which means that the errors and slips which get to be committed by the practitioner of Taqwa are expiated and replaced right here in this mortal world, that is, he is blessed with the ability or Taufiq of doing such good deeds as pale out all his slips of conduct. Finally, the third thing one is fortunate to receive in return for Taqwa is forgiveness in the Hereafter and the ultimate pardon of all shortcomings and sins.

At the end of the verse (29), it was said: وَاللَّـهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ (And Allah is the Lord of great bounty). By saying that Allah is limitless in His grace and favour, the hint given is that the return of a deed follows the measure of that deed. Here too, the good return mentioned as being the reward of Taqwa in three things comes as recompense or return but, Allah Ta` ala is the master-dispenser of great grace and favour. When He gives, He is not bound by any measure, nor can anyone estimate or guess His favour and reward. Therefore, for those who take to Taqwa as their style of life, much greater hopes should be entertained from the grace and reward of Allah Ta'ala in things other than the three mentioned earlier.