Interpretation of Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran.
In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.
The photograph in the album is one of the proofs of the divinity of the Holy Quran. Read about this miracle in item 5 in this blog published on February 16, 2006. You might visit the URL http://www.bilal-prayer.com/Quran_en.html
You are invited to read – "Allah exists – A proof;" and "Evidence that the Holy Quran supersedes the Holy Torah and the Holy Bible." As of now, only one religion is approved by God Almighty – Islam.
A number of non-Muslims criticize Islam claiming that Islam recommends violence against the non-Muslims. Nothing could be farther from the Truth. Islam recommends violence against the enemies of the Muslims and not against the non-Muslims. We hope to clarify this aspect now.
Let us look at the meaning of Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran first. The following URL gives its translation by Yusuf Ali, Shakir, Pickthal, and M. Khan.
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display_all.php?chapter=8&from_verse=39&to_verse=39&mac=&translation_setting=1&show_transliteration=1&show_yusufali=1&show_shakir=1&show_pickthal=1&show_mkhan=1
Additional translations by Asad and Malik from ALIM CD also are given below.
Translation of Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran
| Yusuf Ali | And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do. |
| Shakir | And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah; but if they desist, then surely Allah sees what they do. |
| Pickthal | And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo! Allah is Seer of what they do. |
| M. Khan | And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone (in the whole of the world). But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do. |
| Asad | And fight against them until there is no more oppression and all is devoted to God alone. And if they desist – behold, God sees all that they do; |
| Malik | O believers, fight them until there is no more mischief and the Deen of Allah (way of life prescribed by Allah) is established completely; but if they do stop from mischief, then surely Allah is observant of all their actions. |
We hope to establish the correct meaning of Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran by looking at the context of the Verse. Before that we give the following Tradition to show the meaning as offered by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=Aisha Truth&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&submit22=Search
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It has been narrated by 'Abdullah b. Rabah from Abu Huraira, who said: Many deputations came to Mu'awiya. This was in the month of Ramadan. We would prepare food for one another. Abu Huraira was one of those who frequently invited us to his house. I said: Should I not prepare food and invite them to my place? So I ordered meals to be prepared Then I met Abu Huraira in the evening and said: (You will have) your meals with me tonight. He said: You have forestalled me. I said: Yes, and invited them. (When they had finished with the meals) Abu Huraira said: Should I not tell yon a tradition from your traditions, O ye assembly of the Ansar? He then gave an account of the Conquest of Mecca and said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) advanced until he reached Mecca. He deputed Zubair on his right flank and Khalid on the left, and he despatched Abu Ubaida with the force that had no armour. They advanced to the interior of the valley. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was in the midst of a large contingent of fighters. He saw me and said: Abu Huraira. I said: I am here at your call, Messenger of Allah I He said: Let no one come to me except the Ansar, so call to me the Ansar (only). Abu Huraira continued: So they gathered round him. The Quraish also gathered their ruffians and their (lowly) followers, and said: We send these forward. If they get anything, we shall be with them (to share it), and if misfortune befalls them, we shall pay (as compensation) whatever we are asked for. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said (to the Ansar): You see the ruffians and the (lowly) followers of the Quraish. And he indicated by (striking) one of his hands over the other that they should be killed and said: Meet me at as-Safa. Then we went on (and) if any one of us wanted that a certain person should be killed, he was killed, and none could offer any resistance. Abu Huraira continued: Then came Abu Sufyan and said: Messenger of Allah, the blood of the Quraish has become very cheap. There will be no Quraish from this day on. Then he (the Holy Prophet) said: Who enters the house of Abu Sufyan, he will be safe. Some of the Ansar whispered among themselves: (After all), love for his city and tenderness towards his relations have overpowered him. Abu Huraira said: (At this moment) revelation came to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) and when he was going to receive the Revelation, we understood it, and when he was (actually) receiving it, none of us would dare raise his eyes to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) until the revelation came to an end. When the revelation came to an end, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: O ye Assembly of the Ansar! They said: Here we are at your disposal, Messenger of Allah. He said: You were saying that love for his city and tenderness towards his people have overpowered this man. They said: So it was. He said: No, never. I am a bondman of God and His Messenger. I migrated towards God and towards you. I will live with you and will die with you. So, they (the Ansar) turned towards him in tears and they were saying: By Allah, we said what we said because of our tenacious attachment to Allah and His Messenger. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Surely, Allah and His Messenger testify to your assertions and accept your apology. The narrator continued: People turned to the house of Abu Sufyan and people locked their doors. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) proceeded until he approached the (Black) Stone. He kissed it and circumambulated the Ka'ba. He reached near an idol by the side of the Ka'ba which was worshipped by the people. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had a bow in his hand, and he was holding it from a corner. When he came near the idol, he began to pierce its eyes with the bow and (while doing so) was saying: Truth has been established and falsehood has perished. When he had finished the circumambulation, he came to Safa', ascended it to a height from where he could see the Ka'ba, raised his hands (in prayer) and began to praise Allah and prayed what he wanted to pray. The tradition has been narrated by a different chain of transmitters with the following additions: (i) Then be (the Messenger of Allah) said with his hands one upon the other: Kill them (who stand in your way).... (ii) They (the Ansar) replied: We said so, Messenger of Allah! He said: What is my name? I am but Allah's bondman and His Messenger. (Book #019, Hadith #4395)
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The above meaning was accepted and practiced by the Companions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as established by the following Traditions.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=8.39&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&submit22=Search
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Narrated Ibn 'Umar: That a man came to him (while two groups of Muslims were fighting) and said, "O Abu 'Abdur Rahman! Don't you hear what Allah has mentioned in His Book: 'And if two groups of believers fight against each other...' (49.9) So what prevents you from fighting as Allah has mentioned in His Book?"' Ibn 'Umar said, "O son of my brother! I would rather be blamed for not fighting because of this Verse than to be blamed because of another Verse where Allah says: 'And whoever kills a believer intentionally..." (4.93) Then that man said, "Allah says:-- 'And fight them until there is no more afflictions (worshipping other besides Allah) and the religion (i.e. worship) will be all for Allah (Alone)" (8.39) Ibn 'Umar said, "We did this during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle when the number of Muslims was small, and a man was put to trial because of his religion, the pagans would either kill or chain him; but when the Muslims increased (and Islam spread), there was no persecution." When that man saw that Ibn 'Umar did not agree to his proposal, he said, "What is your opinion regarding 'Ali and 'Uthman?" Ibn 'Umar said, "What is my opinion regarding Ali and 'Uthman? As for 'Uthman, Allah forgave him and you disliked to forgive him, and Ali is the cousin and son-in-law of Allah's Apostle ." Then he pointed out with his hand and said, "And that is his daughter's (house) which you can see." (Book #60, Hadith #173)
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Those who are not convinced that Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran actually refers to the Conquest of Makkah by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, might read the analysis below. Since the Verse was already satisfied there is no justification for some claiming that they would fight a non-Muslim simply on that fact. They violate Islam.
Let us consider the context of Verse 39 of Chapter 2. The context starts with Verse 29 and ends with Verse 44. The translation of these Verses by many are found in
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display_all.php?chapter=8&from_verse=29&to_verse=44&mac=&translation_setting=1&show_transliteration=1&show_yusufali=1&show_shakir=1&show_pickthal=1&show_mkhan=1
For our discussion, we consider the translation bt Yusuf Ali, quoted below:
| Verse No | Meaning of the Verse |
| | 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. |
| | Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah. |
| | When Our Signs are rehearsed to them, they say: "We have heard this (before): if we wished, we could say (words) like these: these are nothing but tales of the ancients." |
| | Remember how they said: "O Allah if this is indeed the Truth from Thee, rain down on us a shower of stones form the sky, or send us a grievous penalty." |
| | But Allah was not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst them; nor was He going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon. |
| | But what plea have they that Allah should not punish them, when they keep out (men) from the sacred Mosque - and they are not its guardians? No men can be its guardians except the righteous; but most of them do not understand. |
| | Their prayer at the House (of Allah. is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands: (Its only answer can be), "Taste ye the penalty because ye blasphemed." |
| | The Unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder (man) from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend; but in the end they will have (only) regrets and sighs; at length they will be overcome: and the Unbelievers will be gathered together to Hell;- |
| | In order that Allah may separate the impure from the pure, put the impure, one on another, heap them together, and cast them into Hell. They will be the ones to have lost. |
| | Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them). |
| | And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do. |
| | If they refuse, be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help. |
| | And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things. |
| | Remember ye were on the hither side of the valley, and they on the farther side, and the caravan on lower ground than ye. Even if ye had made a mutual appointment to meet, ye would certainly have failed in the appointment: But (thus ye met), that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted; that those who died might die after a clear Sign (had been given), and those who lived might live after a Clear Sign (had been given). And verily Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things). |
| | Remember in thy dream Allah showed them to thee as few: if He had shown them to thee as many, ye would surely have been discouraged, and ye would surely have disputed in (your) decision; but Allah saved (you): for He knoweth well the (secrets) of (all) hearts. |
| | And remember when ye met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes, and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted. For to Allah do all questions go back (for decision). |
Out of these sixteen Verses all of them are not forever. Some are time-limited. We consider each Verse and classify with respect to time limitation.
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.
Verse is applicable for all time. Allah SWT removes each and every evil that afflicts a believer. Are these evils physical evils alone or are the mental evils also are included? Knowing that the reward of an action depends on the intention, Allah SWT removes evil thoughts also from the believers. From this Verse we conclude that those Muslims who claim that Verse requires them to fight the non-Muslims based on their lack of faith alone are not believers at all. They have failed to understand the fact that such action conflicts with Verse 256 of Chapter 2 and thus they commit the grave sin of claiming that the Holy Quran is inconsistent.
Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah.
The word ‘thee’ refers to a single person, in this case Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Thus is clearly time-limited.
When Our Signs are rehearsed to them, they say: "We have heard this (before): if we wished, we could say (words) like these: these are nothing but tales of the ancients."
The URL http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=gathering dust tales Badr&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&submit22=Search
lists two Traditions and in both we find:
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… this incident happened before the battle of Badr.
… relate (your tales) …
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We conclude that Verse is also time-limited.
8:32 Remember how they said: "O Allah if this is indeed the Truth from Thee, rain down on us a shower of stones form the sky, or send us a grievous penalty."
Not that a shower of stones (meteor) might not come tomorrow. However we know of no non-Muslim who makes such a challenge now. Surely the pagans of Makkah might have made such a challenge. Don’t we feel that the Verse also refers to the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him?
But Allah was not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst them; nor was He going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon.
The word ‘thou’ refers to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and thus the above Verse is clearly time-limited.
But what plea have they that Allah should not punish them, when they keep out (men) from the sacred Mosque - and they are not its guardians? No men can be its guardians except the righteous; but most of them do not understand.
Now the sacred Masjid (the Holy Kaaba) is under the control of Muslims and thus also is a time-limited Verse.
Their prayer at the House (of Allah. is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands: (Its only answer can be), "Taste ye the penalty because ye blasphemed."
Verse does not apply now as no non-Muslim is allowed entry to the House of Allah. This Verse is also time-limited.
The Unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder (man) from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend; but in the end they will have (only) regrets and sighs; at length they will be overcome: and the Unbelievers will be gathered together to Hell;-
Some aspects of the above Verse – spend their wealth to hinder from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend – is true even today as demonstrated by the cartoons that caused a recent revolt among Muslims. Other aspects are indeed time-limited like – in the end they will have regrets and sighs; at length they will be overcome – refer to the conquest of Makkah which is past centuries back. Even though certain timeless concepts are part of the Verse, the time-limited part dominates and we classify this Verse also as time-limited.
In order that Allah may separate the impure from the pure, put the impure, one on another, heap them together, and cast them into Hell. They will be the ones to have lost.
This Verse is basically regarding the Day of Judgment to come and is timeless.
Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them).
When could such a warning be given? It could not be given before the battle of Badr as no non-Muslim had suffered at the hands of the Muslims; it is unnecessary after the Conquest of Makkah. So the above Verse – even though could be issued as a warning anytime – is also limited to the period during which Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was fighting the pagans of the Quraish. Hence this Verse is also time limited.
And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do.
The above Verse is under analysis; as we are trying to look at the context of this very Verse we do not classify this Verse.
If they refuse, be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help.
This Verse is of course timeless.
And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things.
The one fifth of the booty belongs to the leader of all Muslims; as we have no Caliph now this Verse does not apply now. By implication, it applies to the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, or the Caliphs who followed him and thus it is time-limited.
Remember ye were on the hither side of the valley, and they on the farther side, and the caravan on lower ground than ye. Even if ye had made a mutual appointment to meet, ye would certainly have failed in the appointment: But (thus ye met), that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted; that those who died might die after a clear Sign (had been given), and those who lived might live after a Clear Sign (had been given). And verily Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).
Remember in thy dream Allah showed them to thee as few: if He had shown them to thee as many, ye would surely have been discouraged, and ye would surely have disputed in (your) decision; but Allah saved (you): for He knoweth well the (secrets) of (all) hearts.
And remember when ye met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes, and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted. For to Allah do all questions go back (for decision).
The Verses 42, 43, and 44 of Chapter 8 describe the Battle of Badr and are simply historical and thus of course time-limited.
Out of the sixteen Verses from to , excepting general principles like Hell, every thing is time-limited. How could be not time-limited? It refers to the pagans of Makkah who were conquered by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, during the Conquest of Makkah.
We have cited Traditions to show that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his companions believed that Verse referred to their time. Further from the analysis of the context, we have established that Verse must also be time-limited and does not apply to the current or future events.
Verse 39 of Chapter 8 of the Holy Quran refers neither to the present nor to the future. It is concerned about the battles waged by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, during his life time. This Verse cannot be used to stir hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims now.