This sūrah is one of the earliest to be revealed soon after the migration of the Prophet Muĥammad and his companions from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE. It is the longest sūrah in the Qur’ān.

From the varied and wide-ranging context of its verses, it is safe to assume that they were not all revealed in sequence. A common feature of the long Madinan sūrahs is that their verses were not revealed in consecutive order. Sometimes, passages of one sūrah were revealed before the completion of an earlier one. Hence, the convention in deciding the chronological order of the sūrahs has been based on the dates of the revelation of the opening passages, and not of the complete sūrah. In this instance, we find that Verses 275-280, prohibiting usury, were among the last Qur’ānic revelations, while the opening parts of the sūrah were revealed early in the Madinah period.

The composition and arrangement of the verses within each sūrah of the Qur’ān is fixed by God and was directly intimated to Prophet Muĥammad. Al-Tirmidhī reports that `Abdullāh ibn `Abbās, a close and learned Companion of the Prophet, said that he had asked `Uthmān ibn `Affān, the third Caliph who is universally recognized as having authorized the compilation of the Qur’ānic text as we have it today, why Sūrah 8, al-Anfāl, consisting of less than 100 verses, was placed before Sūrah 9, al-Tawbah, which comprises over 100 verses, and which, unlike other sūrahs, does not contain the usual opening phrase of “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”? He further enquired from him why Sūrah 8 was grouped with the seven long sūrahs [that appear at the beginning of the Qur’ān].

`Uthmān answered, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to receive verses or passages from several sūrahs at the same time. He would call the scribes and instruct them to put specific verses at specified places in their respective sūrahs. Al-Anfāl was one of the earliest sūrahs revealed in Madinah while al-Tawbah was one of the latest, but their subject matter was very similar that I suspected they might be one sūrah. The Prophet passed away without clarifying this particular point. Therefore, I placed them one after the other without separation.” This account makes it clear that the arrangement of the verses within every sūrah was decided on the Prophet’s instructions.

Furthermore, authentic aĥādīth related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim mention that the Prophet used to recite the Qur’ān for the Archangel Gabriel every night during the month of Ramađān, and that both the Prophet and Gabriel recited the whole Qur’ān for each other. Needless to say, he recited the Qur’ān in the right arrangement of its verses and sūrahs.

Anyone who studies the Qur’ān closely, and tastes the unique and rich experience of living within its ambience, will immediately identify the distinct character of every one of its sūrahs. Every sūrah has an aura and a personality of its own, with unique and well-defined features, and a feel that makes it stand apart from all the rest. Moreover, every sūrah revolves around a central theme, or a number of major themes related to one another by a common thread or idea. Every sūrah radiates its own atmosphere of meaning and essence, within which its theme, or themes, are discussed using the same well integrated and well coordinated style and approach. It also has its own special rhythm and musical pulse which accord with the meaning and context of its topics and content.

These general outstanding features are common to all sūrahs, including the longer ones, such as the present one.

This sūrah deals with several issues which revolve in total harmony around closely interrelated twin central lines. On the one hand, the sūrah discusses the attitude of the Israelites towards Islam and the burgeoning Muslim community in Madinah. It describes aspects of the hostile reception they gave the new religion and their reaction to the Prophet Muĥammad and the growing community of his followers. It explores the close and unholy alliance that had developed between the Jews and the hypocrites of Madinah, professing belief in Islam, on the one hand, and between the Jews and the Arab idolaters of the rest of Arabia, on the other.

On the other hand, the sūrah, having established the Israelites’ failure to uphold God’s trust and honour their covenant with Him, discusses the vicissitudes faced by the Muslim community during its formative years, and the manner and environment in which it developed, and prepared and mobilized itself for the great task of inheriting the trust of the establishment of God’s sovereignty on earth. The sūrah decisively and swiftly strips the Israelites of their association with Abraham, the great proponent of monotheistic belief, and the source of all the honours and privileges that go with it.

This two-fold central theme forms the backbone of the sūrah’s subject matter as a whole and shadows the growth and progress of Islam and the Muslim community in Madinah during the period from 622 to 632 CE.

To set the contents of this sūrah in their appropriate context, it would be pertinent to throw more light on the historic environment and the religious and social setting in which the verses were revealed. Before we do that, however, it is important to point out that, in general terms, what the Muslims had to face in those early days was a miniature of, and a rehearsal for, what has occurred throughout the later history of Islam, albeit with some variations of scope and detail. The setbacks and the achievements, the allies and the opponents have invariably been the same.

This fact highlights the role and status of the Qur’ān as the unchallenged, immutable and incontrovertible authoritative reference for the religious, ethical and legislative principles and systems of Islam. It further affirms the unique property of the Qur’ānic text as being ever fresh and responsive to the inevitable changes that come with the perpetuation and progress of human life.

With these qualities, the Qur’ān remains the eternal guiding light for Muslims, despite the difficulties and hardships they have to suffer or the animosity and hostility they have to face. This, in itself, is an aspect of the inimitability and unsurpassed veracity and beauty of every verse in the Qur’ān.

Arabs, however, elected to watch from a distance what they viewed as a purely internal dispute over power within the Quraysh. It would not do for them to become embroiled in supporting the religion of a man whose own tribe had denounced him, especially since that tribe held the custodianship of the sacred Ka`bah and assumed supreme religious authority for the whole of Arabia.

The Prophet had to seek an alternative home for his new faith, and a base where he could be protected, so that he could break the deadlock he had reached in Makkah, and be allowed to pursue his commission unimpeded. This, in my view, was the first and most important reason for leaving Makkah.

Before Madinah, other destinations had been proposed and tried as alternatives to Makkah. In 615, only a few years after Muĥammad’s call to prophethood in 610 CE, a number of early Muslims had emigrated to Abyssinia. It would not be correct to say that they had gone there for reasons of personal safety alone. Had this been the case, the emigrants would have included the weakest and least supported elements among the Muslims. These were the ones at the receiving end of a sustained persecution campaign. But the reverse was the case. The emigrants included some of the most powerful of the Prophet’s followers and tribesmen. The majority of them were from the tribe of Quraysh, including Ja`far ibn Abī Ţālib, and a number of young men who were accustomed to providing protection to the Prophet, such as al-Zubayr ibn al- `Awwām, `Abdur Raĥmān ibn `Awf, Abū Salamah al Makhzūmī, `Uthmān ibn `Affān, to mention but a few. There were women belonging to some of the most prominent families of the Quraysh, such as Umm Ĥabībah, daughter of Abū Sufyān, the Quraysh’s unrivalled non-Muslim leader. Such women would never be persecuted in Makkah.

There were, no doubt, other reasons for the Muslims’ emigration to Abyssinia. There was the need to shake the religious and social foundations of the Quraysh’s most noble and powerful families. There could be no greater insult or threat to the Quraysh dynasties than seeing their proudest and most noble sons and daughters running away for conscientious and religious reasons, leaving their cultural heritage and tribal homeland behind.

Whatever other reasons there might have been for the Muslims’ emigration to Abyssinia, the fact remains that the search had started very early on for a safe haven for Islam, or a secure base where it could flourish and spread freely. This is further supported by reports of the Negus of Abyssinia’s conversion to Islam, which only the threatened rebellion of his patriarchs prevented him from making public, as some reliable accounts confirm.

Following the death of his uncle, Abū Ţālib, in 619 CE and as a result of the Quraysh’s growing hostility, the Prophet sought help from the Thaqīf tribe who lived in the town of Ţā’if, some 90 km east of Makkah. The effort ended in failure because the Thaqīf gave him a most hostile reception. They mocked him and heaped scorn on him. They let loose their louts and their children to chase him and throw stones at him, causing his feet to bleed.

Not long after that, the Prophet’s, and Islam’s, fortunes suddenly changed for the better. At a place called `Aqabah near Makkah, the Prophet had two crucial historic meetings in 621 and 622 CE with a group of Arabs from Madinah, during which they pledged their allegiance and support. This was to have a profound and far-reaching effect on the whole future of Islam and the Muslim community.

Towards the end of the Makkan period, the Prophet Muĥammad embarked on a concerted effort of making contact with various influential Arab communities and tribes to introduce Islam to them and seek their following and support.

The Khazraj and the Aws, the two Arab tribes of Madinah, having lived side by side with the Jews, had often heard them boast about “the Prophet who will come soon” and “whose day is at hand”, who would lead the Jews to victory over the Arabs. A group of the Khazraj pilgrims met the Prophet who explained to them his message. They immediately realized that he was the very Prophet the Jews were talking about. They were determined to get to him before the Jews did. Having met him and listened to what he had to say, they accepted him and became Muslims. They said to him: “We have left our people in an unprecedented state of mutual hostility. May God make you the cause of their unity.” On their return home, they reported what they did to their people who approved their action.

The following year a delegation comprising members of the two tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj, arrived in Makkah to meet the Prophet. They declared their acceptance of Islam and their allegiance. He sent them back with one of his senior companions to teach them the Qur’ān and instruct them in their new religion.

At the following annual Pilgrimage, a larger group from both tribes came to Makkah, and offered to make a covenant with the Prophet Muĥammad. This was attended by his then non-Muslim uncle al-’Abbās. The covenant bound them to support Muĥammad and defend him as they would their own families and property. This is known as the second `Aqabah covenant.

`Abdullāh ibn Rawāĥah of the Madinah people is reported to have stood up and asked the Prophet to “put forward your Lord’s and your own conditions.” Muĥammad replied, “My Lord’s condition is that you worship Him alone and take no other gods beside Him. As for myself, my condition is that you give me the protection you would give yourselves and your property.” `Abdullāh asked, “What do we receive in return?” “Paradise!” the Prophet replied.

They said, “This is a profitable deal on which none will go back.” Thus the Arabs of Madinah committed themselves to Islam and to following Muĥammad and defending him. Islam was to spread rapidly and entrench itself among them. The Muslims of Makkah began to arrive in Madinah in droves, abandoning their belongings and material possessions and taking only their faith. They were warmly welcomed by their fellow Muslims, who offered to share with them everything they had.

Eventually the time came for the Prophet himself to migrate to Madinah. He was accompanied by his close and trusted companion Abū Bakr. At last Muĥammad had found the safe haven he had been looking for all those years, where he and his followers would be free to proclaim the faith and establish their community. The Prophet’s arrival in Madinah was to prove a crucial turning point in the history of Islam.

The community taking shape in Madinah was a unique and distinguished one, praised repeatedly throughout the Qur’ān. This sūrah opens with a concise, generally applicable, definition of true believers. Nevertheless, it refers specifically to those early pioneers of Islam: “This is the Book; there is no doubt about it, a guidance for the God-fearing. Those who believe in what lies beyond the reach of human perception, observe Prayer and give of what We bestow upon them. Those who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and are certain of the Hereafter. Those follow their Lord’s guidance, and they shall surely prosper.” (Verses 1-5)

In contrast, we are immediately given a description of the unbelievers, which is again general and universal but applies specifically to those who rejected Islam and opposed it, in and around both Makkah and Madinah: “For the unbelievers, it is alike whether you forewarn them or not, they will not accept the faith. God has sealed their hearts and ears; their eyes are covered; and a grievous punishment awaits them.” (Verses 6-7)

In Madinah, a third group emerged, the hypocrites, or al-Munāfiqūn. This faction had not been noticeable in Makkah; its rise was prompted by the Prophet’s arrival and settlement in Madinah, as outlined earlier. That was because in Makkah, Islam had no sovereign political entity or force, and the Muslims remained soft targets for persecution and repression by the rest of the Arabs. Those who accepted Islam had to be brave and sincere, prepared to endure all kinds of hardship and terror.

In Madinah, hitherto known as Yathrib, the picture was very different. Islam was gradually gaining strength and the Muslims were developing into a dominant force. This became even more evident following their decisive victory over the non-Muslim Arabs at Badr, 125 kms south of Madinah, in February of 624 CE. This caused some people, including a number of leading and privileged figures, to feign acceptance of Islam merely to save their position and protect their social and tribal status and interests. Thus they came to be known as the ‘hypocrites’ in Islamic terminology. One of the most prominent of these was `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl who, prior to the Prophet’s arrival in Madinah, was about to be crowned as a king of the city.

At the beginning of the sūrah, we find a detailed description of the hypocrites (Verses 8-20) from which it can easily be seen that they included those who had reluctantly embraced Islam and had not totally relinquished their self-pride and arrogance.

We also find a reference to their ‘evil companions’, which the context of the sūrah indicates to be the Jews, who were at the forefront of opposition and hostility to Islam. The sūrah devotes a fair amount of space to a series of stinging attacks on the Jews who were ranged against Islam and the Prophet Muĥammad.

The Jews were the first community to confront Islam in Madinah, for several reasons. As a people with an established religious heritage and culture, the Jews enjoyed a privileged and highly esteemed position among the illiterate Arabs of Madinah from both tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj. However, the pagan Arabs had not shown any great enthusiasm or inclination to embrace the Jewish religion. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that the Jews were better versed in matters of religious wisdom than they were. Moreover, the tense, and at times bloody, rivalry existing between these two tribes provided the Jews with an ideal environment for manipulation and exploitation. When Islam came to Madinah, those advantages and privileges came under threat. Not only did Islam come to embrace and endorse Jewish Scriptures and beliefs, but it immediately aimed to eliminate the existing a unified and divisions them into harmonious community, unique in the whole history of mankind.

A significant part of the sūrah is devoted to the foundation and essential preparation of the Muslim community which was to carry God’s message to the world, the Israelites having notably failed to undertake that noble task. Indeed, they were now in opposition to its final version, Islam.

Having introduced the three main types of humanity: believers, unbelievers and hypocrites, and having made a clear though implicit reference to the ‘evil ones’, the sūrah addresses mankind as a whole, asking them to worship the One God and fully acknowledge the revelations He has bestowed on His Messenger. It affirms God’s favour and wisdom in creating the earth and the heavens, and all that is in them, for the use and benefit of man. (Verses 21-29)

This is followed by an account of the occasion when God appointed man as His vicegerent and representative on earth, outlining the terms and conditions of that auspicious appointment. (Verses 30-39)

The following section of the sūrah is devoted entirely to an extensive and wide- ranging debate with the Israelites, dealing critically with various aspects of their religious and historic record. (Verses 40-141)

The discussion focuses on the Israelites’ reception of Islam in Madinah. They were the first to actively reject it. They deliberately confused and concealed facts. They adopted a two-faced attitude towards faith and attempted to distort God’s words. They cheated, lied and broke faith with the Muslims in the hope of turning them away from their religion. They claimed the exclusive possession of God’s trust and a monopoly of righteousness. They became envious of the Muslims and spared no effort to undermine their existence and cause them harm. Last, but not least, they allied themselves with Islam’s enemies, the hypocrites and pagan Arabs, and were prepared to conspire with them against the Muslim community.

In consequence, the sūrah launches a bitter and fierce attack on the Jews, drawing its justification from their behaviour towards Moses and their reaction to the laws given them by God and the prophets and messengers He sent them. All generations of the Jewish nation are addressed as one group.

The attack ends with an admonition to the Muslims never to hold any hope that the Jews will ever reconcile themselves to accepting or acknowledging Islam. It goes on to lambast the Jewish claim to the monotheistic legacy of Abraham, and to establish Muĥammad and his followers as the true heirs of Abraham’s faith who are entitled to inherit his covenant with God. It affirms that the inheritance by Muslims of the guardianship of God’s message to man had come as a fulfilment of Abraham’s and Ishmael’s prayers to God while constructing the Ka`bah, the symbol of surrender and the Sacred House devoted to the worship of the One God.

From then on, the sūrah addresses the Muslims, instructing them how to fulfil their role as guardians and carriers of God’s Message to mankind. It offers guidance on the beliefs and concepts that were to distinguish the Muslim faith and way of life for all time to come. (Verses 142-283) This part begins by defining the qiblah, the direction to which Muslims should turn when praying. It was to be the sacred site at Makkah housing the Ka`bah, the House of God built by Abraham and Ishmael, its first keepers and custodians. The sūrah tells us that even while the Muslims had been praying towards Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism, Muĥammad was privately yearning for the Ka`bah to become the exclusive direction for the Muslims during Prayer. (Verse 144)