Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Anfal Verse 41

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And know that whatever spoils you receive, its one fifth is for Allah and for His Messenger, and for kinsmen and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if you do believe in Allah and in what We have sent down upon Our Servant on the decisive day, the day when the two forces encountered each other. And Allah is powerful over everything.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Know that whatever spoils you take, one-fifth is for Allah and the Messenger, his close relatives, orphans, the poor, and ˹needy˺ travellers, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and what We revealed to Our servant on that decisive day when the two armies met ˹at Badr˺. And Allah is Most Capable of everything.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Know that whatever spoils you obtain, one-fifth belongs to Allah and the Messenger, to his close relatives, the orphans, the needy and the [stranded] travelers – if you truly believe in Allah and in what We sent down to Our slave on the day of Criterion – the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allah is Most Capable of all things.

A. J. Arberry

Know that, whatever booty you take, the fifth of it is God's, and the Messenger's, and the near kinsman's, and the orphans', and for the needy, and the traveller, if you believe in God and that We sent down upon Our servant on the day of salvation,. the day the two hosts encountered; and God is powerful over everything;

Abdul Haleem

Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and the Messenger, to close relatives and orphans, to the needy and travellers, if you believe in God and the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the day of the decision, the day when the two forces met in battle. God has power over all things.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And know that whatsoever ye obtain of spoils then verily unto Allah belongeth a fifth thereof and unto the apostle and unto his kindreds and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer if ye indeed have believed in Allah and that which We sent down on our bondmans on the day of distinction, the day whereon the two hosts met. And Allah is over everything Potent.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things.

Abul Ala Maududi

Know that one fifth of the spoils that you obtain belongs to Allah, to the Messenger, to the near of kin, to the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer. This you must observe if you truly believe In Allah and in what We sent down on Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false, the day on which the two armies met in battle. Allah has power over all things.

Ahmed Ali

Know that one-fifth of what you acquire as booty (of war) is for God and His Apostle, and for relatives and orphans, the poor and wayfarers, if you truly believe in God and what We revealed to Our votary on the day of victory over the infidels when the two armies clashed (at Badr). For God has the power to do any thing.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And know that whatever you take as war booty, a fifth of that belongs to Allah and His Noble Messenger, and to relatives, and orphans, and the needy, and the traveller – if you have accepted faith in Allah and what We sent down to Our bondman on the decisive day – the day when two armies had met; and Allah is Able to do all things.

Ali Quli Qarai

Know that whatever thing you may come by, a fifth of it is for Allah and the Apostle, for the relatives and the orphans, for the needy and the traveller, if you have faith in Allah and what We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Separation, the day when the two hosts met; and Allah has power over all things.

Ali Ünal

And know that whatever you take as gains of war, to God belongs one fifth of it, and to the Messenger, and the near kinsfolk, and orphans, and the destitute, and the wayfarer (one devoid of sufficient means of journeying). (This you must observe) if you truly believe in God and what We sent down on our Servant on the day when the truth and falsehood were distinguished from each other, the day when the two hosts met in battle. God has full power over everything.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And know that whatever you acquire on winning a victory, a fifth of it belongs to Allâh, to the Messenger and to the kindred and the orphan, and the needy and the wayfarer; (this you must observe) if you believe in Allâh and in what We sent down upon Our servant on the Day of Discrimination (between the truth and the falsehood), the day the two armies encountered each other (at the Battle of Badr). Indeed, Allâh is Possessor of power to do all He will.

English Literal

And know that what you won/obtained by spoils of war from a thing, that to God its fifth and to the messenger and (those) of (E) the relations/near, and the orphans , and the poorest of poor/poor oppressed, and the traveler/stranded traveler, if you had believed by God and what We descended on Our worshipper/slave, (on) the Separation of Right and Wrong Day/Proof Day (the) day the two groups/gatherings met , and God (is) on every thing capable/able .

Faridul Haque

And know that whatever you take as war booty, a fifth of that belongs to Allah and His Noble Messenger, and to relatives, and orphans, and the needy, and the traveller - if you have accepted faith in Allah and what We sent down to Our bondman on the decisive day - the day when two armies had met; and Allah is Able to do all things.

Hamid S. Aziz

And know that whenever you seize anything as a spoil of war, to Allah belongs a fifth thereof, and to His Apostle, and to kindred and orphans, and the needy and the wayfarer; if you believe in Allah and what We have revealed unto Our servants on the Day of Discrimination (Testing or Decision between right and wrong), the day when the two armies met (the battle of Badr). And Allah has Power over all things.

Hilali & Khan

And know that whatever of war-booty that you may gain, verily one-fifth (1/5th) of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the Messenger (Muhammad SAW)], (and also) the orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor) and the wayfarer, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our slave (Muhammad SAW) on the Day of criterion (between right and wrong), the Day when the two forces met (the battle of Badr) - And Allah is Able to do all things.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And if they turn back, then know that Allah is your Patron. Most excellent the Patron and most excellent the Helper!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And know that whatever thing you gain, a fifth of it is for Allah and for the Apostle and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if you believe in Allah and in that which We revealed to Our servant, on the day of distinction, the day on which the two parties met; and Allah has power over all things.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And know that whatever ye take as spoils of war, lo! a fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger and for the kinsman (who hath need) and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if ye believe in Allah and that which We revealed unto Our slave on the Day of Discrimination, the day when the two armies met. And Allah is Able to do all things.

Muhammad Sarwar

Know that whatever property you may gain, one fifth belongs to God, the Messenger, the kindred, orphans, the needy and those who need money while on a journey. (This is the law) if you believe in God and what We revealed to Our Servant on the Day of Distinction (Badr) when the armies confronted each other. God has power over all things.

Qaribullah & Darwish

And know that one fifth of whatever you take as spoils belong to Allah, the Messenger, kinsmen of the Messenger, the orphans, the needy, and the destitute traveler; if you believe in Allah and what We sent down to Our worshiper on the day of victory, the day when the two armies met. Allah has power over all things.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives (of the Messenger), the orphans, the poor, and the wayfarer, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Criterion, the Day when the two forces met; and Allah is able to do all things.

Wahiduddin Khan

Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and the Messenger, to his close relatives and orphans, to the needy and travellers, if you believe in God and the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Decisive Day, the day when the two forces met. God has power over all things.

Talal Itani

And know that whatever spoils you gain, to God belongs its fifth, and to the Messenger, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and to the wayfarer, provided you believe in God and in what We revealed to Our servant on the Day of Distinction, the day when the two armies met. God is Capable of everything.

Tafsir jalalayn

And know that whatever spoils you have taken, [you have] seized from the disbelievers by force, the fifth of it is for God, to have it dispensed as He will, and for the Messenger and for the kinsmen, the kinsmen of the Prophet (s) from among the Ban Hshim and the Ban [`Abd] al-Muttalib, and the orphans, children of Muslims, those whose fathers have passed away and are in poverty, and the needy, those Muslims in [dire] need, and the traveller, those Muslims cut off during travel -- in other words it [the fifth] is due to the Prophet (s) and [those of] these four categories in the way that he used to apportion it; a fifth of the fifth for each one and the remaining four fifths for those who had captured the spoils, if you believe in God, then be aware of that, and that which (wa-m is a supplement to bi'Llhi, `in God') We sent down upon Our servant, Muhammad (s), in the way of angels and signs, on the Day of Discrimination, that is, the day of [the battle of] Badr, which discriminated between truth and falsehood, the day the two armies, the Muslims and the believers, met. And God has power over all things, including giving you victory despite your being few and their being greater in number.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Ruling on the Spoils of War (Ghanimah and Fai )

Allah explains the spoils of war in detail, as He has specifically allowed it for this honorable Ummah over all others.

We should mention that the `Ghanimah' refers to war spoils captured from the disbelievers, using armies and instruments of war.

As for `Fai', it refers to the property of the disbelievers that they forfeit in return for peace, what they leave behind when they die and have no one to inherit from them, and the Jizyah (tribute tax) and Khiraj (property tax).

Allah said,

وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلّهِ خُمُسَهُ

And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah,

indicating that the one-fifth should be reserved and paid in full (to Muslim leaders) whether it was little or substantial, even a yarn and needle.

وَمَن يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

And whosoever deceives (his companions over the booty), he shall bring forth on the Day of Resurrection that which he took (illegally). Then every person shall be paid in full what he has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. (3;161)

Allah's statement,

فَأَنَّ لِلّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ


verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger,

Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn Abbas explained by it as,

"Whenever the Messenger of Allah sent an army, he used to divide the war booty they collected into five shares, reserving one-fifth and divided it into five shares."

Then he recited;

وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ

And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger,

Ibn Abbas said,

"Allah's statement,
فَأَنَّ لِلّهِ خُمُسَهُ
(verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah) is inclusive (of the Messenger's share), just as the following Ayah is inclusive (of Allah owning whatever is on the earth also),

لِّلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَـوتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ

To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth." (2;284)

So He addressed the share of Allah and the share of His Messenger in the same statement.

Ibrahim An-Nakhai, Al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Al-Hanifiyyah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ash-Sha`bi, Ata bin Abi Rabah, Abdullah bin Buraydah, Qatadah, Mughirah and several others, all said that;

the share designated for Allah and the Messenger is one and the same.

Supporting this is what Imam Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi recorded, with a Sahih chain of narrators, that Abdullah bin Shaqiq said that a man from Bilqin said,

"I came to the Prophet when he was in Wadi Al-Qura inspecting a horse. I asked, `O Allah's Messenger! What about the Ghanimah?'

He said,

للهِ خُمُسُهَا وَأَرْبَعَةُ أَخْمَاسِهَا لِلْجَيْش

Allah's share is one fifth and four-fifths are for the army.

I asked, `None of them has more right to it than anyone else?'

He said,

لَاا وَلَاا السَّهْمُ تَسْتَخْرِجُهُ مِنْ جَنْبِكَ لَيْسَ أَنْتَ أَحَقَّ بِهِ مِنْ أَخِيكَ الْمُسْلِم

No. Even if you remove an arrow that pierced your flank, you have no more right to it than your Muslim brother."

Imam Ahmad recorded that;

Al-Miqdam bin Madikarib Al-Kindi sat with Ubadah bin As-Samit, Abu Ad-Darda and Al-Harith bin Mu`awiyah Al-Kindi, may Allah be pleased with them, reminding each other of the statements of the Messenger of Allah.

Abu Ad-Darda said to Ubadah, "O Ubadah! What about the words of the Messenger of Allah during such and such battle, about the fifth (of the war booty)?"

Ubadah said, "The Messenger of Allah led them in prayer, facing a camel from the war booty. When he finished the prayer, he stood up, held pelt of a camel between his fingers and said,

إِنَّ هَذِهِ مِنْ غَنَايِمِكُمْ وَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِي فِيهَا إِلاَّ نَصِيبِي مَعَكُمْ إِلاَّ الْخُمُسُ وَالْخُمُسُ مَرْدُودٌ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَدُّوا الْخَيْطَ وَالْمَخِيطَ وَأَكْبَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَأَصْغَرَ

This is also a part of the war booty you earned. Verily, I have no share in it, except my own share, the fifth designated to me. Even that fifth will be given to you (indicating the Prophet's generosity). Therefore, surrender even the needle and the thread, and whatever is bigger or smaller than that (from the war spoils).

وَلَا تَغُلُّوا فَإِنَّ الْغُلُولَ نَارٌ وَعَارٌ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالاْخِرَةِ

Do not cheat with any of it, for stealing from the war booty before its distribution is Fire and a shame on its people in this life and the Hereafter.

وَجَاهِدُوا النَّاسَ فِي اللهِ الْقَرِيبَ وَالْبَعِيدَ وَلَا تُبَالُوا فِي اللهِ لَوْمَةَ لَايِمٍ

Perform Jihad against the people in Allah's cause, whether they are near or far, and do not fear the blame of the blamers, as long as you are in Allah's cause.

وَأَقِيمُوا حُدُودَ اللهِ فِي الْحَضَرِ وَالسَّفَرِ

Establish Allah's rules while in your area and while traveling.

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ فَإِنَّ الْجِهَادَ بَابٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الْجَنَّةِ عَظِيمٌ يُنْجِي بِهِ اللهُ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْغَم

Perform Jihad in Allah's cause, for Jihad is a tremendous door leading to Paradise. Through it, Allah saves (one) from sadness and grief."

This is a tremendous Hadith, but I did not find it in any of the six collections of Hadith through this chain of narration.

However, Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i recorded a Hadith from Amr bin Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather Abdullah bin Amr, from the Messenger of Allah, and this narration is similar to the one above, and a version from Amr bin Anbasah was recorded by Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i. T

he Prophet used to choose some types of the war booty for himself; a servant, a horse, or a sword, according to the reports from Muhammad bin Sirin, Amir Ash-Sha`bi and many scholars. For instance, Imam Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi -- who graded it Hasan -- recorded from Ibn Abbas that;

the Messenger of Allah chose a sword called `Dhul-Fiqar' on the day of Badr.

A'ishah narrated that;

Safiyyah was among the captured women, and the Prophet chose (and married) her (upon his own choice and before distribution of war booty), as Abu Dawud narrated in the Sunan.

وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى

and to the near relatives (of the Messenger),

As for the share of the Prophet's relatives, it is paid to Bani Hashim and Bani Al-Muttalib, because the children of Al-Muttalib supported Bani Hashim in Jahiliyyah after Islam. They also went to the mountain pass of Abu Talib in support of the Messenger of Allah and to protect him (when the Quraysh boycotted Muslims for three years). Those who were Muslims (from Bani Al-Muttalib) did all this in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, while the disbelievers among them did so in support of their tribe and in obedience to Abu Talib, the Messenger's uncle.

Allah said next,

وَالْيَتَامَى

the orphans,

in reference to Muslim orphans,

وَالْمَسَاكِينِ

the poor,

وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ

and the wayfarer,

the traveler and those who intend to travel for a distance during which shortening the prayer is legislated, but do not have resources to spend from.

We will explain this subject in Surah Bara'h (9;60), Allah willing, and our reliance and trust is in Him alone.

Allah said,

إِن كُنتُمْ امَنتُمْ بِاللّهِ وَمَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا

If you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our servant,

Allah says, `Adhere to what We legislated for you, such as the ruling about one-fifth of the war spoils, if you truly believe in Allah, the Last Day and what We have revealed to Our Messenger.'

In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Abdullah bin Abbas said, - while narrating the lengthy Hadith about the delegation of Bani Abdul Qays - that the Messenger of Allah said to them,

وامُرُكُمْ بِأَرْبَعٍ وَأَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ أَرْبَعٍ امُرُكُمْ بِالاِْيمَانِ بِاللهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ

هَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَا الاِْيمَــانُ بِاللهِ



شَهَــــادَةُ أَن لاَّ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ

وَإِقَامُ الصَّلَإةِ

وَإِيتَاءُ الزَّكَاةِ

وَأن تُوَدُّوا الْخُمُسَ مِنَ الْمَغْنَم

I command you with four and forbid four from you. I command you to believe in Allah.

Do you know what it means to believe in Allah?

Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,

establishing the prayer,

giving Zakah and

honestly surrendering one-fifth of the war spoils.

Therefore, the Messenger listed surrendering one-fifth of the war booty as part of faith. This is why Al-Bukhari wrote a chapter in his Sahih entitled, "Chapter;Paying the Khumus (one-fifth) is Part of Faith." He then narrated the above Hadith from Ibn Abbas.

Allah said next,

يَوْمَ الْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ وَاللّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ



on the Day of Criterion, the Day when the two forces met; and Allah is Able to do all things.

Allah is making His favors and compassion towards His creation known, when He distinguished between truth and falsehood in the battle of Badr. That day was called, `Al-Furqan', because Allah raised the word of faith above the word of falsehood, He made His religion apparent and supported His Prophet and his group.

Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-Awfi reported that Ibn Abbas said,

"Badr is Yawm Al-Furqan; during it, Allah separated between truth and falsehood."

Al-Hakim collected this statement.

Similar statements were reported from Mujahid, Miqsam, Ubaydullah bin Abdullah, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Muqatil bin Hayyan and several others