Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Anfal Verse 11

Mufti Taqi Usmani

When He covered you with drowsiness, as tranquility (descending) from Him and sent down upon you water from the heavens, so that He might purify you with it, and remove from you the impurity of Satan, and so that He might strengthen your hearts and make (your) feet firm therewith.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹Remember˺ when He caused drowsiness to overcome you, giving you serenity.[[ This happened the night before the battle. ]] And He sent down rain from the sky to purify you, free you from Satan’s whispers, strengthen your hearts, and make ˹your˺ steps firm.

Ruwwad Translation Center

[Remember] when He caused drowsiness to overcome you as an assurance from Him, and He sent down rain from the sky to purify you and to remove Satan’s whispers from you, and to strengthen your hearts and to steady your footsteps.

A. J. Arberry

When He was causing slumber to overcome you as a security from Him, and sending down on you water from heaven, to purify you thereby, and to put away from you the defilement of Satan, and to strengthen your hearts, and to confirm your feet.

Abdul Haleem

Remember when He gave you sleep as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water from the sky to cleanse you, to remove Satan’s pollution from you, to make your hearts strong and your feet firm.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Recall what time He caused slumber to cover you as a security from Himself, and He sent down rain upon you from heaven that he might cleanse you thereby and take away from you the pollution of the Satan, and that he might gird up your hearts and make your feet firm thereby.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Remember He covered you with a sort of drowsiness, to give you calm as from Himself, and he caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you therewith, to remove from you the stain of Satan, to strengthen your hearts, and to plant your feet firmly therewith.

Abul Ala Maududi

And recall when Allah brought on you drowsiness, giving you a feeling of peace and security from Him, and He sent down rain upon you from the sky that He might cleanse you through it and take away from you the pollution of Satan and strengthen your hearts, and steady your feet through it.

Ahmed Ali

A blanketing sleep came over you as a (measure of) security from Him, and He sent down rain from the skies to cleanse you, and to remove the plague of Satan, and to strengthen your hearts and steady your steps.

Ahmed Raza Khan

When He made the slumber overcome you, so it was as a peacefulness from Him, and sent down water from the sky upon you to purify you with it, and to remove the impurity of Satan from you, and to give your hearts fortitude and firmly establish your feet with it.

Ali Quli Qarai

When He covered you with a trance as a [sense of] security from Him, and He sent down water from the sky to purify you with it, and to repel from you the defilement of Satan, and to fortify your hearts, and to make [your] feet steady with it.

Ali Ünal

When (at the time that you most needed courage), He caused a slumber to enfold you as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water upon you from the sky, that thereby He might cleanse you (of all actual or ritual impurities, by enabling you to do the minor and major ablution), and take away from you the polluting whisperings of Satan, and through it make your hearts strong, and your steps steady.

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Recall the time) when He caused a sort of slumber to prevail upon you to give you a sense of peaceful security from Himself, and He sent down upon you water from the clouds that He might thereby purify you and remove from you the scourge of satan, that He might strengthen your hearts and thereby make your feet firm and strong.

English Literal

If/when the slumber/dozing/lethargy covers/comes upon you safety/security from Him, and He descends water on you from the sky to purify/clean you with it and eliminate/wipe off the devil`s filth , and to bond/encourage on your hearts/minds and affirm/strengthen with it the feet.

Faridul Haque

When He made the slumber overcome you, so it was as a peacefulness from Him, and sent down water from the sky upon you to purify you with it, and to remove the impurity of Satan from you, and to give your hearts fortitude and firmly establish your feet with it.

Hamid S. Aziz

Remember when drowsiness covered you as a reassurance from Him, and He sent down upon you rain from heaven to purify you, to remove from you the plague of Satan, and to make strong your heart and firm your footsteps.

Hilali & Khan

(Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him, and He caused water (rain) to descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering, evil-suggestions, etc.) of Shaitan (Satan), and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm thereby.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And Allah gave it only as good news, and that your hearts might be at ease thereby. And victory is only from Allah; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

When He caused calm to fall on you as a security from Him and sent down upon you water from the cloud that He might thereby purify you, and take away from you the uncleanness of the Shaitan, and that He might fortify your hearts and steady (your) footsteps thereby.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

When He made the slumber fall upon you as a reassurance from him and sent down water from the sky upon you, that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you the fear of Satan, and make strong your hearts and firm (your) feet thereby.

Muhammad Sarwar

The slumber that overcame you was from God that brought you peace. He showered water from the sky over you to clean you, remove satanic wickedness from you, strengthen your hearts, and grant you steadfastness.

Qaribullah & Darwish

When you were overcome by sleep, as security from Him, He sent down water from the sky to cleanse you and to purify you of satan's filth, to strengthen your hearts and to steady your footsteps.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

(Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him, and He caused water (rain) to descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering or dirt) of Shaytan, and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm thereby.

Wahiduddin Khan

He brought drowsiness upon you to give you His reassurance and sent down water from the sky upon you, so that He might thereby purify you and remove Satan's pollution from you, and make your hearts strong and your feet firm.

Talal Itani

He made drowsiness overcome you, as a security from Him. And He sent down upon you water from the sky, to cleanse you with it, and to rid you of Satan’s pollution, and to fortify your hearts, and to strengthen your foothold.

Tafsir jalalayn

Remember, when He caused slumber to overcome you as security, against the fear that had befallen you, from Him, from God, and sent down upon you water from the heaven, to purify you thereby, from minor and major ritual impurities; and to remove from you the evil of Satan, his whisperings to you that, had you been on the right path, you would not have been thirsty and impure, while the idolaters enjoyed [access to] water; and to strengthen, to seal, your hearts, with certainty and endurance; and to make firm your feet, lest they sink in the sand.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Slumber overcomes Muslims

Allah said,

إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ

(Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him,

Allah reminds the believers of the slumber that He sent down on them as security from the fear they suffered from, because of the multitude of their enemy and the sparseness of their forces. They were given the same favor during the battle of Uhud, which Allah described,

ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاساً يَغْشَى طَأيِفَةً مِّنْكُمْ وَطَأيِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ

Then after the distress, He sent down security for you. Slumber overtook a party of you, while another party was thinking about themselves. (3;154)

Abu Talhah said,

"I was among those who were overcome by slumber during (the battle of) Uhud. The sword fell from my hand several times, and I kept picking it up again, several times. I also saw the Companions' heads nodding while in the rear guard."

Al-Hafiz Abu Ya`la narrated that Ali said,

"Only Al-Miqdad had a horse during Badr, and at some point, I found that all of us fell asleep, except the Messenger of Allah. He was praying under a tree and crying until dawn."

Abdullah bin Mas`ud said,

"Slumber during battle is security from Allah, but during prayer, it is from Shaytan."

Qatadah said,

"Slumber affects the head, while sleep affects the heart."

Slumber overcame the believers on the day of Uhud, and this incident is very well-known. As for this Ayah (8;11), it is describing the battle of Badr, indicating that slumber also overcame the believers during Badr. Therefore, it appears that this will occur for the believers, whenever they are in distress, so that their hearts feel safe and sure of Allah's aid, rewards, favor and mercy from Allah with them.

Allah said in other Ayat,

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً

إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً

Verily, along with every hardship is relief. Verily, along with every hardship is relief. (94;5-6)

In the Sahih, it is recorded that;

on the day of Badr, while he was in the bunker with Abu Bakr, the Messenger and Abu Bakr were invoking Allah. Suddenly, slumber overcame the Messenger and he woke up smiling and declared,

أَبْشِرْ يَا أَبَابَكْرٍ هَذَا جِبْرِيلُ عَلَى ثَنَايَاهُ النَّقْع

"Good news, O Abu Bakr! This is Jibril with dust on his shoulders."

He left the shade while reciting Allah's statement,

سَيُهْزَمُ الْجَمْعُ وَيُوَلُّونَ الدُّبُرَ

Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs. (54;45)
Rain falls on the Eve of Badr

Allah said next,

وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّن السَّمَاء مَاء

and He caused rain to descend on you from the sky.)

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"When the Prophet arrived at Badr, he made camp. At the time, there was a sandy piece of land between the idolators and the water (the wells at Badr). Muslims felt weak and the Shaytan cast frustration into their hearts. He whispered to them, `You claim that you are Allah's supporters and that His Messenger is among you! However, the idolators have taken over the water resource from you, while you pray needing purity.'

Allah sent down heavy rain, allowing the Muslims to drink and use it for purity. Allah also removed Shaytan's whisper and made the sand firm when rain fell on it, and the Muslims walked on the sand along with their animals, until they reached the enemy.

Allah supported His Prophet and the believers with a thousand angels on one side, five hundred under the command of Jibril and another five hundred under the command of Mikhail on another side."

An even a better narration is that collected by Imam Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar, author of Al-Maghazi, may Allah have mercy upon him. Ibn Ishaq narrated that, Yazid bin Ruwman narrated to him that, Urwah bin Az-Zubayr said,

"Allah sent rain down from the sky on a sandy valley. That rain made the area where the Messenger of Allah and his Companions camped firmer so that it did not hinder their movement. Meanwhile, the part that the Quraysh were camping on became difficult to move in."

Mujahid said,

"Allah sent down the rain on the believers before slumber overtook them, and the rain settled the dust, made the ground firmer, made them feel at ease and their feet firmer."

Allah said next,

لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِ

to clean you thereby,

using it after answering the call of nature or needing to wash oneself, and this involves cleansing what is on the out side,

وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّيْطَانِ

and to remove from you the Rijz of Shaytan,

such as his whispers and evil thoughts, this involves sinner purification, whereas Allah's statement about the residents of Paradise,
عَالِيَهُمْ ثِيَابُ سُندُسٍ خُضْرٌ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٌ

وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِن فِضَّةٍ
(Their garments will be of fine green silk, and gold embroidery. They will be adorned with bracelets of silver), involves outer appearance,
وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا
(and their Lord will give them a pure drink), (76;21) that purifies the anger, envy and hatred that they might have felt. This is the inner purity.

Next, Allah said,

وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ

and to strengthen your hearts,

with patience and to encourage you to fight the enemies, and this is inner courage,

وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الَاقْدَامَ



and make your feet firm thereby.

this involves outer courage.

Allah know best.
Allah commands the Angels to fight and support the Believers

Allah said next