The Holy Quran 8:41 — Surah Al-Anfal

Arabic text

۞ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَىْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُۥ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ إِن كُنتُمْ ءَامَنتُم بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ ٱلْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Translation

Know that from whatever spoils of war you acquire (after fighting a battle with the enemy), a fifth of it shall be for Allaah (to be spent on the recipients that He stipulates ahead), His Rasool (to spend on Baitullaah and other Masjids), the relatives (of Rasulullaah), the poor, the orphans and the travellers (who have been stranded without any means with them. The remaining four fifths will be distributed among the Muslims soldiers who participated in the battle); (distributing the spoils of war in this manner should not be at all difficult for you) if you believe in Allaah and in what We had sent down (angels and signs of Allaah's power) to Our slave (Muhammad) on the day of the distinction (between truth and falsehood), (which was) the day when the two parties (Mu'mineen and Mushrikeen armies) clashed (at Badr). (Parting with one-fifth of the spoils to please Allaah would not be difficult for the Muslim soldiers when they understand that they would have never been able to win the battle without Allaah's help). Allaah has power over everything (He can make a small and ill-equipped army defeat a larger, heavily-armed army).

Tafsir (excerpt) — Tafsir Usmani

The rulings on the spoils of war and how they are spent: at the beginning of the surah it was said: قُلِ الْاَنْفَالُ لِلّٰهِ وَالرَّسُوْلِ “The spoils of war belong to Allah and the Messenger”, and here this is explained in somewhat more detail: of the spoils of war that come into hand from fighting the disbelievers, one fifth is an offering to Allah,…

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