The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 686
CH. 8 AL-ANFĀL PT. 10 لَوْلَا كِتُبُ مِنَ اللهِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِيمَا Had there not been a decree. 69 from Allah which had gone before, great distress would have surely overtaken you in connection with that which you took. 1156 اَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ فَكُلُوا مِمَّا غَنِ با So eat, of that which you. 70 a وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ إِنَّ اللهَ غَفُورٌ جَللًا ررحیم have won in war, as lawful and good, and fear Allah. Surely, Allah is Most Merciful. 1157 Forgiving, "8:42. thirdly, because only two verses later God permits Muslims to eat of that which you have won in war as lawful and good (8:70). It is simply inconceivable that God should have reproved the Holy Prophet for having accepted ransom and then at the same time declared the money so taken to be lawful and good. This interpretation is, therefore, obviously wrong and the verse is only intended to lay down a general rule that captives should not be taken until there has been regular fighting and the enemy has been overpowered by the infliction of wounds. 1156. Commentary: In the previous verse it was said that Muslims should not be hasty in taking captives from among the enemy. The verse under comment hints that kindness should be shown to prisoners and that they should be treated with mercy. The verse says that it is only through the assistance of God, which He had ordained for Muslims, that they have gained an easy victory and obtained much booty, and that if it had not been for the help which God had promised them beforehand, they would not have obtained the booty without being severely handled by the enemy and suffering great loss at his hands. The words, a decree from Allah which had gone before, obviously refer to the Word of God which had already conveyed the promise of help to the Holy Prophet (see 8:6 above). The words "great distress" thus signify distress caused by the enemy and not affliction from God. The verse purports to say that when by the help of God the Muslims have gained so easy a victory, they should feel grateful for it and should show kindness to the prisoners who have 1126 fallen into their hands. 1157. Commentary: The conjunction "so", placed in the beginning of the verse, indicates that the commandment, that follows it, is connected with, and is the result of, what has been said in the previous