يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَخُونُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوٓا۟ أَمَٰنَٰتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].
Introduction
This is āyah 27 of Sūrat Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War), the 88th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 9. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 88 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Anfaal (8)
(O ye who believe! Betray not Allah and His messenger�) [8:27]. This verse was revealed about Abu Lubabah ibn �Abd al-Mundhir al-Ansari. What happened is that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, besieged the Jews of Banu Qurayzah for 21 nights when they requested peace from the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, on the same terms that their brothers from Banu�l-Nadir had secured before, i.e. that they join their brothers in Adhri�at and Jericho in Syria. But he refused to grant it to them and insisted that they submit to the judgment of Sa�d ibn Mu�adh. They refused to do so and said: �Send us Abu Lubabah, instead�. Abu Lubabah was loyal to them, for his property, wife and children were with them. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent him to them, they said to him: �O Abu Lubabah, what do you think we should do? Should we accept the judgment of Sa�d ibn Mu�adh?� Abu Lubabah made a gesture to his throat, i.e. that they should not do it, for they will be slaughtered. Abu Lubabah said: �I straightaway realised that I had betrayed Allah and His Messenger�. And then this verse was revealed about him. When the verse was revealed, Abu Lubabah tied himself to one of the columns of the mosques and said: �By Allah, I will not taste food or drink until Allah relents on me or I die�. He remained in this state for seven days, neither eating nor drinking, until Allah, exalted is He, relented on him. When it was said to him: �O Abu Lubabah! You have been pardoned�, he said: �By Allah, I will not untie myself; I want the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to untie me�. The Prophet went and untied him with his own hands. Abu Lubabah then said: �The completion of my repentance requires that I migrate from the abode of my people where I had committed the sin and that I let go of my property�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to him: �It is enough that you give a third of it to charity�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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