Summary of Quran Chapter 8 Surah An-Fal the Spoils of War 

This Surah was revealed in Madinah around the year 6 AH,
and most of its articles are related to the Battle of Badr and its events and
problems. This battle is the first regular battle between Islam and infidelity,
in which Allah Almighty gave victory to the Muslims, and the Quraysh inflicted
a humiliating defeat on Makkah. 

Thus, in this Surah, Allah Almighty has
reminded us of His rewards, and with the courage with which the Muslims fought
this war, has also pointed out some of the weaknesses that came to the fore in
this war. And for the future, some instructions can always lead to the success
and victory of the Muslims. Many acts of jihad and the distribution of booty
are also mentioned. Since the war took place against the backdrop of the oppression
of the disbelievers of Makkah, the circumstances in which the Prophet (sws) was
ordered to emigrate from Makkah are also mentioned. Also, the Muslims who
remained in Makkah. 

It has also been declared necessary for them to migrate
to Madinah. Due to migration, some provisions regarding the distribution of
inheritance were temporarily enforced. This is why at the end of the surah some
permanent rules of inheritance are given. 

Battle of Badr: 

Since many of the articles in this surah deal with
various incidents of the Battle of Badr, it is necessary to provide some basic
information about this battle in order to understand them properly, so that the
verses related to it are Understandable in the background. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) lived in Makkah for thirteen
years after his prophethood. During this time, the disbelievers of Makkah did
not spare any effort in persecuting him and his companions (RA) in various ways
and inflicting unbearable hardships on them. Even before the migration, there
was a formal plan to kill you, which is mentioned in this surah. 

When he (peace
be upon him) migrated and came to Madinah, the disbelievers of Makkah were
constantly thinking that you should not be allowed to sit there comfortably. He
wrote a letter to Abdullah ibn Abi in Madinah saying that you have sheltered
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions. Now either refrain from
sheltering them or we will attack you. (See Sunan Abu Dawud, Kitabal-Kharaj, Chapter 23, Hadith No. 3004). Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, one of the
Ansar’s chiefs once went to Makkah. 

During the Tawaf, Abu Jahl said to him,
“You have given shelter to our enemies, and if you had not taken refuge in
one of our chiefs.” They could not return alive, which meant that if any
man from Madinah came to Mecca in the future, he would be killed. Hazrat Sa’d
bin Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Abu Jahl, “If you
prevent our men from coming to Makkah, we will make an even bigger obstacle for
you, but when you go to Syria with caravans If so, your path passes near
Madinah. We will now be free to stop your caravans and “act on them.” (See Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi, Chapter 2, Hadith No. 3950). 

After that, some forces of the infidels of Makkah came
around Madinah and looted the cattle of the Muslims. Against this backdrop, Abu
Sufyan (who was then the chief of the infidel Mecca) went to Syria with a large
caravan. In this caravan, every man and woman from Makkah collected gold and
silver and sent them to participate in trade. The caravan was returning from
Syria with a hundred percent profit. 

The caravan consisted of a thousand
camels, carrying goods of fifty thousand dinars, with forty armed men assigned
to guard it. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) found out about the return of
this caravan, he decided to attack this caravan according to the challenge of
Hazrat Saad bin Mu’adh. For this, there was no opportunity to recruit regular
soldiers, so as many companions as could be prepared on time. They numbered
three hundred and thirteen, seventy camels and two horses, sixty armor. You
left Madinah with this baggage. 

It is noteworthy that non-Muslim authors have objected to
the incident saying that there was no justification for attacking a peaceful
trade convoy. Some Muslim writers of our time, intimidated by this objection,
have tried to claim that the Prophet (sws) did not intend to attack the
caravan, but that Abu Sufyan, realizing the danger on his own, invited Abu
Jahl’s army. Was But this interpretation of the incident is not correct in the
light of authentic hadiths and Qur’anic references. In fact, this objection is
based on ignorance of the situation at that time and the political, defense,
and social structure of that time. 

First of all, in the light of the events we
have described above, there was a constant state of war between the two sides.
The two had not only challenged each other but had also been practically teased
by the infidels. The other Sa’d ibn Mu’adh had already warned them that they
would be free to attack their caravans. Third, there was no distinction between
civilians and soldiers in those days. All the adult males of society were
called ‘combatants’. 

Thus the leadership of the caravan was in the hands of Abu
Sufyan who was the open enemy of the Prophet (peace be upon him) at that time,
and with him was one of the forty armed men of Quraysh who were in the
forefront of persecuting the Muslims. And they were preparing for war against
the Muslims, and if this caravan had reached Mecca successfully, it would have
caused a great increase in the fighting power of the Quraysh. In these
circumstances, to call it an attack on a peaceful trade caravan is a mere
manifestation of the stubbornness of ignorance of the situation at that time,
and because of this, it is by no means correct to deny these incidents which
are proved by the hadiths. 

Anyhow!
When Abu Sufyan realized his intentions, he sent a high-ranking envoy to Abu
Jahl on the one hand to report the incident and advised him to attack you with
all his troops, and on the other hand to change the route of his caravan. He
set out for the shores of the Red Sea so that he could make a detour to Mecca.
Taking this opportunity, Abu Jahl prepared a large army and left for Madinah. 

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) found out that Abu Sufyan had left with a
caravan, and that Abu Jahl’s army was coming, he consulted the Companions.
Everyone agreed that there should be a decisive battle with Abu Jahl. So the
two armies clashed at Badr. The number and equipment of the Muslims were of no
importance compared to the army of Abu Jahl, but by the grace of Allah Almighty,
the Muslims achieved a great victory. Seventy Quraysh chiefs, including Abu
Jahl, who was at the forefront of Muslim hostility, were killed, and seventy
others were captured, and the rest fled the field. 

Source: Mufti
Taqi Usmani (Former Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan, a Renowned Islamic
Scholar).