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dhālika bi-mā qaddamat ʾaydīkum wa-ʾanna llāha laysa bi-ẓallāmin li-l-ʿabīdi
That is because of what your hands have sent ahead, and because Allah is not tyrannical to the servants.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
8Al-AnfālالأنفالVerse 51 of 75
The Spoils of War8. Al-Anfālالأنفال
Al Anfāl
The Spoils of War
MedinanVerse 51 of 75
Surah Al-Anfal – Verses 50-51
50 . “And had you seen when the angles take away the souls of those who disbelieve, smiting their faces and their backs (and saying): ‘Taste the punishment of the burning’.
51 . “This is for what your hands have sent ahead, and that Allah is not unjust unto the servants.”
The verse indicates that were you to see when the angles take away the infidels, striking their faces and their backs, you would surprise. The objective meaning is the dead bodies of those who were killed in the Battle of Badr. The verse says:
It has been said that a man came to the Prophet of Islam (S) and said that he had seen a trace on the back of Abu Jahl which was like the trace of a horseshoe. The Prophet (S) said that it had been the trace of the smiting of the angles. Mujahid had narrated that once a man told the Prophet (S) that as soon as he decided to smite one of the polytheists, he fell dead The Prophet (S) said that the angels had attacked the pagan before he started. The angels tell the infidels that after this punishment there is another chastisement waiting them which is more burning and more blazing.
Some commentators have said that, on the day of the Battle of Badr, the angels had some arms made of iron when they struck them on the polytheists, a fire burned their wounds, and the purpose of the phrase ‘taste the punishment of the burning’ is this very meaning. This retribution they are involved with is for the evil manner they showed from themselves in this life. The reason why the verse says ‘This is for what your, hands have sent ahead’, is that most of actions are done by the hands. The purpose here is their crimes, faithlessness, and sins. The verse says
Allah (s.w.t) punishes the servants as much as they are deserving to, not more than that. However, it is clearly understood from this verse that Allah does not punish anyone without having any sin, or for the sin another person has committed, because it is unjust So, Allah seriously negates cruelty and injustice from Himself, when He, says