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سُورَةُ الأَنفَالِ · 8:42
MedinanRevelation order ٨٨Juzʾ ١٠Page ١٨٢

إِذْ أَنتُم بِٱلْعُدْوَةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَهُم بِٱلْعُدْوَةِ ٱلْقُصْوَىٰ وَٱلرَّكْبُ أَسْفَلَ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَلَوْ تَوَاعَدتُّمْ لَٱخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِى ٱلْمِيعَٰدِ ۙ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَقْضِىَ ٱللَّهُ أَمْرًۭا كَانَ مَفْعُولًۭا لِّيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنۢ بَيِّنَةٍۢ وَيَحْيَىٰ مَنْ حَىَّ عَنۢ بَيِّنَةٍۢ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَسَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

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Saheeh International · EN

[Remember] when you were on the near side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was lower [in position] than you. If you had made an appointment [to meet], you would have missed the appointment. But [it was] so that Allah might accomplish a matter already destined - that those who perished [through disbelief] would perish upon evidence and those who lived [in faith] would live upon evidence; and indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 42 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 10. 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.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
88 of 114
Surah
Al-Anfaal (8)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

(And remember) when you (the Muslim army) were on the near side of the valley, and they on the farther side, and the caravan on the ground lower than you. Even if you had made a mutual appointment to meet, you would certainly have failed in the appointment, but (you met) that Allah might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His knowledge), so that those who were to be destroyed (for rejecting the faith) might be destroyed after a clear evidence, and those who were to live (believers) might live after a clear evidence. And surely, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower (42) Some Details of the Battle of Badr Allah describes Yawm Al-Furqan, (i.e. the day of Badr), إِذْ أَنتُم بِالْعُدْوَةِ الدُّنْيَا ((And remember) when you (the Muslim army) were on the near side of the valley,) camping in the closest entrance of the valley towards Al-Madinah, وَهُم (and they), the idolators, who were …
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. 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

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. 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.

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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.

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Provenance

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