(Second chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: I asked Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit about the verse of Anfal. He said: This verse was revealed about us, the people of Badr. When we disagreed over the spoils of war and began to behave badly regarding it, Allah Almighty took this matter out of our hands and entrusted it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, distributed it equally among the Muslims.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: On the day of Badr, when my brother Umair was killed and I killed Sa’id bin ‘As and took hold of his sword, the name of that sword was Dhu al-Katifah. I brought that sword to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to me: Put it in the spoils of war. So I returned, but I was grieved at the killing of my brother, only Allah knew it, and the property I had taken from my opponent was also taken by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I had only gone a little further when Surah Al-Anfal was revealed, and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: Sa’d, go and take your sword.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) says: O Messenger of Allah! Allah Almighty has granted me healing from the polytheists, so please grant me this sword. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This sword is neither yours nor mine; it is spoils of war, so put it down. I put it down and then returned, but I kept thinking that perhaps this sword would be given to someone who could not display valor like mine. Meanwhile, someone called me from behind. I thought that something had been revealed about me. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You had asked me for the sword, but it was not mine. Now it has been given to me as a gift, so now it is yours. This verse was revealed: {یَسْأَلُونَکَ عَنْ الْأَ نْفَالِ قُلْ الْأَ نْفَالُ لِلَّہِ وَالرَّسُولِ}

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of Badr, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards his companions, and they were a little over three hundred. Then he looked towards the polytheists, and they were a little over one thousand. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards the Qiblah and raised his hands. He was wearing a waist-wrapper and had a cloak draped over him. Then he supplicated:“My Allah! Where is the help You promised me? O my Allah! Fulfill what You have promised me. O my Allah! If this group of Muslims is destroyed, then You will never be worshipped on the earth.”He continued to seek help from his Lord and called upon Him until his cloak fell off. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came forward, picked up the cloak, and placed it over him, and clung to him from behind and then said:“O Prophet of Allah! The supplication you have made to your Lord is sufficient for you. Allah will fulfill what He has promised you.”At that time, Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: {إِذْ تَسْتَغِیثُوْنَ رَبَّکُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَکُمْ أَ نِّی مُمِدُّکُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِنْ الْمَلَائِکَۃِ مُرْدِفِینَ۔} …“When you were seeking help from your Lord, so He responded to you and said: ‘I am going to reinforce you with a thousand angels, one following the other.’”Then, when the battle took place that day, Allah the Exalted defeated the polytheists. Seventy (70) of them were killed and seventy (70) were taken captive.

Mutarrif says: We said to Sayyiduna Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him): O Abu Abdullah! What has brought you here? You have neglected the rightly guided Caliph, until he was wrongfully martyred. And now you have sat down to demand retribution for his blood? Sayyiduna Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said: During the Prophetic era, and the caliphates of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman, we used to recite this verse: {وَاتَّقُوْا فِتْنَۃً لَا تُصِیبَنَّ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوْا مِنْکُمْ خَاصَّۃً} … Fear the trial which will not only afflict those among you who have done wrong. We never even imagined that we would be caught in its reach, but it happened, and it happened to us.

(Second chain) Hasan Basri says: Sayyiduna Zubair bin ‘Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When this verse was revealed, we were present in considerable number with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): {وَاتَّقُوْا فِتْنَۃً لَا تُصِیبَنَّ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوْا مِنْکُمْ خَاصَّۃً} … And beware of a trial which will not only afflict those among you who have done wrong. At that time we asked: What is this trial? Then we did not even realize, but this trial did occur.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) explained this verse {وَاِذْ یَمْکُرُ بِکَ الَّذِیْنَ کَفَرُوْا لِیُثْبِتُوْکَ} by saying: The Quraysh consulted among themselves one night in Makkah regarding you (the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him). Some said: When morning comes, bind him (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) in chains. Some said: No, rather kill him. Some said: Rather, expel him. Meanwhile, Allah Almighty informed His Prophet of these matters. So, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) spent that night on the bed of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left from there and took refuge in the Cave of Thawr. The polytheists spent the night guarding Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), thinking they were guarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When morning came, they rushed in, but they saw that it was Ali. In this way, Allah Almighty thwarted their plot. They said: Ali! Where is your companion? He said: I do not know. So they set out searching for the footprints of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When they reached that mountain, the matter became unclear to them. So they climbed the mountain and passed by the Cave of Thawr, but when they saw a spider’s web at its entrance, they said: If he (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) had entered this cave, this spider’s web would not be here. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in that cave for three days.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, while he was on the pulpit: {وَاَعِدُّوْا لَھُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّۃٍ} … And prepare against them whatever force you can. Beware! By force is meant archery, beware! By strength is meant archery.

Narrated by Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) consulted the people regarding the prisoners on the day of the Battle of Badr and said: Allah Almighty has given you power over them. Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah! Let us strike their necks. You turned away from his suggestion, and again the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought counsel and said: O people! Indeed, Allah Almighty has given them into your control, and tomorrow they may become your brothers. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up again and said: O Messenger of Allah! Strike their necks. But you (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away as before, and then, after saying the same thing to the people, sought their counsel again. This time, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah! I think you should pardon them and accept ransom from them. At this, the grief departed from the blessed face of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he accepted ransom from them and pardoned them. However, Allah Almighty revealed this verse: {لَوْلَا کِتٰبٌ مِّنَ اللّٰہِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّکُمْ فِیْمَآ اَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِیْمٌ۔} … Had it not been for a decree from Allah that had already preceded, a great punishment would have reached you for what you took.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: On the day of Badr, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards his companions, while they were a little more than three hundred, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards the polytheists and they were more than a thousand, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards the Qiblah, stretched out both his hands, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was wearing a cloak and an izar, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication: O Allah! Where is what You promised me? O Allah! Fulfill what You promised me. O Allah! If You destroy this group of Muslims, You will never be worshipped on earth. He (peace and blessings be upon him) kept seeking help from his Lord and kept supplicating, until his cloak fell off. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came, picked up his cloak, placed it on him (peace and blessings be upon him), and held him from behind, then said: O Prophet of Allah! What you have asked from your Lord is sufficient for you, He will soon fulfill what He has promised you. At that time Allah revealed this verse: {إِذْ تَسْتَغِیثُونَ رَبَّکُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَکُمْ أَ نِّی مُمِدُّکُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِکَۃِ مُرْدِفِینَ۔} … Remember when you were calling upon your Lord for help, and He answered you:“I will help you with a thousand angels, following one another.”(Surah Al-Anfal: 9) Then, when the two armies clashed that day, Allah defeated the polytheists in such a way that seventy of them were killed and seventy were taken captive. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) consulted Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Ali, and Sayyiduna Umar about the captives. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Prophet of Allah! These people are the sons of our uncles, our relatives and brothers. My opinion is that you take ransom from them, with that wealth our strength against the disbelievers will increase, and it is also possible that Allah may later guide them, thus they will become our support. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Ibn Khattab! What is your opinion about this? He said: By Allah! I do not agree with the opinion of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). My opinion is that so-and-so, who is my relative, should be handed over to me, I will behead him; Aqeel should be handed over to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he will kill him; so-and-so should be handed over to Sayyiduna Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him), he will behead him, so that Allah may know that there is no mercy in our hearts for the polytheists. These captives are the chiefs, rulers, and leaders of the polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) liked the opinion of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and did not like the opinion of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), so he (peace and blessings be upon him) took ransom from them. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The next day when I went to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) were both sitting and weeping. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about the thing that is making you and your companion weep. If I am able to weep, I will weep too, and if I am not able to weep, I will make a weeping face because of your weeping. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Because of the opinion your companions gave about taking ransom, your punishment was presented to me, which is near that tree. By this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) meant a nearby tree. At that time Allah revealed these verses: {مَا کَانَ لِنَبِیٍّ اَنْ یَّکُوْنَ لَہٗٓ اَسْرٰی حَتّٰییُثْخِنَ فِی الْاَرْضِ تُرِیْدُوْنَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْیَا وَاللّٰہُ یُرِیْدُ الْاٰخِرَۃَ وَاللّٰہُ عَزِیْز’‘ حَکِیْم’‘۔ لَوْ لَا کِتٰب’‘ مِّنَ اللّٰہِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّکُمْ فِیْمَآ اَخَذْتُمْ عَذَاب’‘ عَظِیْم’‘} It is not for a Prophet to have captives until he has thoroughly subdued the land. You desire the goods of this world, but Allah desires the Hereafter. And Allah is Mighty, Wise. Had it not been for a decree from Allah that had already preceded, you would have been touched for what you took by a great punishment. (Surah Al-Anfal: 67) Then, the spoils of war were made lawful for them. When the Battle of Uhud took place the following year, the punishment for taking ransom on the day of Badr was given, and seventy companions were martyred, and the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fled from him, his teeth were martyred, his helmet was broken on his head, and blood began to flow on his face. Then Allah revealed this verse: {اَوَلَمَّآ اَصَابَتْکُمْ مُّصِیْبَۃ’‘ قَدْ اَصَبْتُمْ مِّثْلَیْھَا قُلْتُمْ اَنّٰی ھٰذَا قُلْ ھُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اَنْفُسِکُمْ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ قَدِیْر’‘۔} (What is the matter that when on the day of Uhud) a calamity befell you, although you had inflicted twice as much (on the enemy), you said:“From where is this?”Say:“It is from yourselves.”Surely Allah is Able to do all things. (Surah Aal-e-Imran: 165) That is, because of taking ransom.