Surah Al-Anfal Ayat 30 (8:30 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(8:30) And recall how those who disbelieved schemed against you to take you captive, or kill you, or drive you away.^[25] They schemed and Allah did also scheme. Allah is the best of those who scheme.

25. Apprehending the Prophet’s migration to Madina, the Quraysh convened a high-level council attended by all the tribal chiefs at Dar al-Nadwah (Council House) to decide on a decisive course of action against the Prophet (peace be on him). They realized that once the Prophet (peace be on him) left Makka, he would be beyond their reach, rendering them helpless in face of a formidable threat. A group of them was of the view that the Prophet (peace be on him) should be imprisoned for life and kept in chains. This proposal was, however, turned down on the ground that the Prophet’s detention would not deter his followers from preaching Islam and that they would seize the first opportunity to release the Prophet (peace be on him) even at the risk to their own lives. Another group suggested that the Prophet (peace be on him) should be exiled, for this would remove the mischief and subversion far from Makka, and it would not matter where he spent his days nor what he did, for Makka would be immune from his influence. This proposal, too, was discarded for fear of the Prophet’s persuasiveness and eloquence, and his ability to win the hearts of the people of other tribes and thus pose a greater threat in the future. Finally, Abu Jahl suggested that a band of young men drawn from all the different clans of the Quraysh should jointly pounce upon the Prophet (peace be on him) and kill him. In such a case the responsibility for his blood would rest upon all the clans of the Quray’sh. It would thus become impossible for ‘Abd Manaf, the Prophet’s clan. to take revenge on any one particular clan. Such a move would compel the Prophet’s relatives to drop their claims for retaliation and force them to settle for blood-money. Accordingly, the young men charged with the execution of this plan were selected, and were advised of the exact place and time at which they were expected to carry out the crime. Not only that, the would-be assassins did indeed arrive at the appointed place at the appointed time. However, before they could harm him the Prophet (peace be on him) managed to escape safely. The Quraysh plot was thus frustrated at the eleventh hour. (See Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, pp. 480-2. See also Ibn Kathir’s comments on the verse – Ed.)

Ibn-Kathir

30. And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you, or to kill you, or to expel you (from your home, Makkah); they were plotting and Allah too was plotting; and Allah is the best of plotters.

Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said,

(Liyuthbituka) means “to imprison you.” As-Suddi said, “Ithbat is to confine or to shackle.”

Imam Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar, the author of Al-Maghazi, reported from `Abdullah bin Abi Najih, from Mujahid, from Ibn `Abbas, “Some of the chiefs of the various tribes of Quraysh gathered in Dar An-Nadwah (their conference area) and Iblis (Shaytan) met them in the shape of an eminent old man. When they saw him, they asked, `Who are you’ He said, `An old man from Najd. I heard that you are having a meeting, and I wished to attend your meeting. You will benefit from my opinion and advice.’ They said, `Agreed, come in.’ He entered with them. Iblis said, `You have to think about this man (Muhammad)! By Allah, he will soon overwhelm you with his matter (religion).’ One of them said, `Imprison him, restrained in chains, until he dies just like the poets before him all died, such as Zuhayr and An-Nabighah! Verily, he is a poet like they were.’ The old man from Najd, the enemy of Allah, commented, `By Allah! This is not a good idea. His Lord will release him from his prison to his companions, who will liberate him from your hands. They will protect him from you and they might expel you from your land.’ They said, `This old man said the truth. Therefore, seek an opinion other than this one.’

Another one of them said, `Expel him from your land, so that you are free from his trouble! If he leaves your land, you will not be bothered by what he does or where he goes, as long as he is not among you to bring you troubles, he will be with someone else.’ The old man from Najd replied, `By Allah! This is not a good opinion. Have you forgotten his sweet talk and eloquency, as well as, how his speech captures the hearts By Allah! This way, he will collect even more followers among Arabs, who will gather against you and attack you in your own land, expel you and kill your chiefs.’ They said, `He has said the truth, by Allah! Therefore, seek an opinion other than this one.’ hAbu Jahl, may Allah curse him, spoke next, `By Allah! I have an idea that no one else has suggested yet, and I see no better opinion for you. Choose a strong, socially elevated young man from each tribe, and give each one of them a sharp sword. Then they would all strike Muhammad at the same time with their swords and kill him. Hence, his blood would be shed by all tribes. This way, his tribe, Banu Hashim, would realize that they cannot wage war against all of the Quraysh tribes and would be forced to agree to accept the blood money; we would have brought comfort to ourselves and stopped him from bothering us.’

The old man from Najd commented, `By Allah! This man has expressed the best opinion, and I do not support any other opinion.’ They quickly ended their meeting and started preparing for the implementation of this plan.

Jibril came to the Prophet and commanded him not to sleep in his bed that night and conveyed to him the news of their plot. The Messenger of Allah did not sleep in his house that night, and Allah gave him permission to migrate. After the Messenger migrated to Al-Madinah, Allah revealed to him Suat Al-Anfal reminding him of His favors and the bounties He gave him,

(And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you, or to kill you, or to expel you (from Makkah); they were plotting and Allah too was plotting; and Allah is the best of plotters.)

Allah replied to the pagans’ statement that they should await the death of the Prophet , just as the poets before him perished, as they claimed,

(Or do they say: “He is a poet! We await for him some calamity by time!”) ﴿52:30﴾

As-Suddi narrated a similar story.

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported from Muhammad bin Ja`far bin Az-Zubayr, from `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr who commented on Allah’s statement,

(…they were plotting and Allah too was plotting, and Allah is the best of plotters.) “I (Allah) plotted against them with My sure planning, and I saved you (O Muhammad) from them.”