8-20 O you who believe, obey Allah and His Messenger and turn not away from Him while you hear.a
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا أَطيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ وَلا تَوَلَّوا عَنهُ وَأَنتُم تَسمَعونَ (۲۰)
8-20a: The last section gave a clear warning to the disbelievers that their armies, large though they may be, will not be able to destroy the Muslims and the only consequence of their continued hostilities will be that they will get more punishment. The Muslims were told that Allah is on their side, that is they will be successful and will overcome. In this section, there is a word of warning for the Muslims, and they are told not to think that getting governance and kingship and the failure of their enemies constitutes their real success. In fact, their real success lies in obeying the commands of Allah and His Messenger. This is also guidance for the present condition of the Muslims.
لا تَوَلَّوا عَنهُ – The pronoun in عَنهُ stands for the subject who has to be obeyed, that is do not neglect obeying Allah and His Messenger. In reality, the obedience is manifestly only of the Messenger because he is the one who delivers the message of Allah and so if the pronoun is taken to be in place of the Messenger, there will be no harm in it. In fact, obedience of the Prophet is obedience of Allah and so if the pronoun is taken to stand for Allah, there is no harm in it either.
8-21 And be not like those who say, We hear; and they hear not.
وَلا تَكونوا كَالَّذينَ قالوا سَمِعنا وَهُم لا يَسمَعونَ (۲۱)
8-22 Surely the vilest of beasts, in Allah’s sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who understand not.a
وَلا تَكونوا كَالَّذينَ قالوا سَمِعنا وَهُم لا يَسمَعونَ (۲۲)
8-22a: Religion and intellect: This verse shows that in the terminology of the Quran the deaf and dumb are those who do not use their intellect. Some religious leaders loudly proclaim that intellect has no role in religion, whereas Allah says that those who are human and do not use their intellect are worse than animals and perhaps even worse than insects and bugs. This is obvious because Allah has not given them intelligence and so humans who have been given this blessing and do not benefit from it are worse than them.
8-23 And if Allah had known any good in them, He would have made them hear. And if He makes them hear, they would turn away while they are averse.a
وَلَو عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فيهِم خَيرًا لَأَسمَعَهُم ۖ وَلَو أَسمَعَهُم لَتَوَلَّوا وَهُم مُعرِضونَ (۲۳)
8-23a: State of hostility: Those who do not use their intellect remain bereft of any benefit. Listening is only useful if one reflects on what one has heard, that is processes the information intellectually. Because they do not reflect, it is all the same whether they hear or not. This is the manifestation of their actual condition. After this, there is a mention of their state of hostility in which they not only divorce themselves from any good but progress so far in their enmity that even if the truth was told to them, they turn their face from it because of their enmity. Leave alone reflecting on what they have heard, they eschew the truth and make up stories about it.
8-24 O you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger, when he calls you to that which gives you life.a And know that Allah comes in between a man and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered.b
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا استَجيبوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسولِ إِذا دَعاكُم لِما يُحييكُم ۖ وَاعلَموا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحولُ بَينَ المَرءِ وَقَلبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيهِ تُحشَرونَ (۲۴)
8-24a: Obedience to Allah and His Messenger is stated to be what gives a person life. The remedy for the pall of death that hangs over the Muslim nation today is given in this verse. There is not a single command that the Companions of the Holy Prophet did not obey and that is why they were a living nation. Those who profess Islam today have trespassed out of the ambit of the Prophet’s obedience and it is to them that this message of life is directed. Will the Muslims reflect on this? Their life is not dependent on having kingship or governance but being obedient to Allah and His Messenger. If they are obedient to Allah and His Messenger, then kingship and governance will follow.
This verse also clarifies that what is meant by Messengers giving life is giving spiritual life. So, if Jesus gave life to the dead, the Holy Prophet gave life of a higher quality to hundreds of thousands of dead persons.
8-24b: يَحولُ – The meaning ofحَوۡل is for a thing to change, alter or transmute and to become separated from another thing, and when the relative pronoun of حال is بَیۡن , the meaning is to come between the two things.
What is the meaning that Allah comes in between a man and his heart: It means that Allah is the closest to a person to the extent that Allah is even between a man and his heart even though there is no spatial difference between a man and his heart. A similar expression is used elsewhere: وَنَحنُ أَقرَبُ إِلَيهِ مِن حَبلِ الوَريدِ (and We are nearer to him than his life-vein) (50:16). A person’s life depends on the life-vein and so nothing could be closer but Allah states that He is nearer than even the life-vein. Attention is drawn to the nearness of Allah either to bring home the point that when Allah is so near then why should a person stray away from Him or it is an exhortation to hasten to obedience before the respite granted to a person expires. It is also true that a person’s heart is in the possession of Allah and his plans sometimes remain unimplemented because Allah in His expedience annuls those plans. Hence whenever a person gets the opportunity to do good, he should avail that opportunity quickly so that it may not be that by continually postponing the prompts to do good, the condition of his heart reaches a stage where the prompting to do good ceases. Another purport can be that if you are obedient, Allah will change your weakness into strength, and change your cowardice into courage and give you peace in place of fear.
8-25 And guard yourselves against an affliction which may not smite those of you exclusively who are unjust; and know that Allah is Severe in requiting.a
وَاتَّقوا فِتنَةً لا تُصيبَنَّ الَّذينَ ظَلَموا مِنكُم خاصَّةً ۖ وَاعلَموا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَديدُ العِقابِ (۲۵)
8-25a: فِتنَةً – By فِتنَةً is meant here affliction or punishment and the nunnation is for its severity as is apparent from the context. The Muslims are warned here that sometimes when most people in a nation become deserving of punishment then the affliction impacts the whole nation and the good get to suffer with the bad. There is a mention in the Hadith about these kind of afflictions occurring in the end times which will impact the entire Muslim world and no one will be able to stop them. If an attempt is made to stop them on one side, they will appear from another side.
8-26 And remember when you were few, deemed weak in the land, fearing lest people should carry you off by force, He sheltered you and strengthened you with His help, and gave you of the good things that you might give thanks.a
وَاذكُروا إِذ أَنتُم قَليلٌ مُستَضعَفونَ فِي الأَرضِ تَخافونَ أَن يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ النّاسُ فَآواكُم وَأَيَّدَكُم بِنَصرِهِ وَرَزَقَكُم مِنَ الطَّيِّباتِ لَعَلَّكُم تَشكُرونَ (۲۶)
8-26a: يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ – The meaning of خَطۡف and اختطاف is to snatch something quickly, as in: يَكادُ البَرقُ يَخطَفُ أَبصارَهُم (The lightening almost takes away their sight) (2:20); إِلّا مَن خَطِفَ الخَطفَةَ (Except him who snatches away but once) (37:10); and in يُتَخَطَّفُ النّاسُ مِن حَولِهِم (men are carried off by force from around them) (29:67), the meaning of يُتَخَطَّفُ is taken to be that men are murdered and arrested (R). This is the meaning here.
اٰوی – اَوَی means merged with a thing, that is sought shelter and اٰوی means gave shelter. Another meaning of اَوَی is رَجَع that is to come back, to return or to revert. Other places where this word occurs in the Quran are: إِذ أَوَى الفِتيَةُ إِلَى الكَهفِ (When the youths sought refuge in the Cave) (18:10); آوىٰ إِلَيهِ أَخاهُ (he lodged his brother with himself) (12:69); وَتُؤوي إِلَيكَ مَن تَشاءُ (and take to thee whom thou pleases) (33:51); Also derived from this is مَاۡوَی which can be a verbal noun as in جَنَّةُ المَأوىٰ (Garden of Abode) (53:15) and also be a noun of place, as in مَأواهُم جَهَنَّمُ (Their abode is hell) (17:97) (R).
A piece of good news is also given with the news of the great affliction, namely that if Muslims are weak now, think back to the time when they were weak and also few in number. This is a reflection back to the early days of Islam and the Muslim condition was such that if people caught and killed them there was nothing much that the Muslims could do. So, if even at that time Allah protected the Muslims through difficulties and hardships and assisted them with His help to make them strong, then why despair now when Muslims are spread throughout the world?
8-27 O you who believe, be not unfaithful to Allah and the Messenger, nor be unfaithful to your trusts, while you know.a
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا لا تَخونُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسولَ وَتَخونوا أَماناتِكُم وَأَنتُم تَعلَمونَ (۲۷)
8-27a: Being unfaithful to Allah and His Messenger means to agree to obey Allah, to call oneself Muslim and then not to obey Allah and His Messenger. Unfaithfulness means breach of trust (see 4-105a) or to do anything that is harmful for Islam or for the nation of Islam because faith is a trust that is handed over to the Muslims. Unfortunately, this unfaithfulness is a big reason for the devastation of the Muslims today. They sacrifice religious and national interests at the alter of personal interests. For a paltry sum, they undertake jobs that are deleterious for the nation and their religion. They are disloyal to their oath of office, just to satisfy their small desires. Selling their faith and their nation has become commonplace with them. Large Muslim kingdoms were destroyed because one traitor sold national interests to other nations to pocket a small amount of money. In short, attention is drawn in this verse to always keeping national and religious interests first. This is the secret of national progress. Misappropriation of one’s trust is not to use the powers that Allah has bestowed at their proper place and time and to allow the God given powers to atrophy. This is the secret of human development, that is the development of a nation’s individuals. Unless the Muslims begin with internal development, their desire for independence and governance will end in failure. If the real malaise is not cured, what will they get from getting a kingdom.
8-28 And know that your wealth and your children are a temptation, and that Allah is He with Whom there is a mighty reward.a
وَاعلَموا أَنَّما أَموالُكُم وَأَولادُكُم فِتنَةٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ أَجرٌ عَظيمٌ (۲۸)
8-28a: Wealth and children have become a temptation because the Muslims have made them the purpose of their life. They think that their duty is limited to just earning some wealth for themselves or collecting some wealth, and to take care of their children. They give no consideration to the importance of national and religious objectives. This is the reason that Allah’s punishment impacted these two areas. They became poor as a nation as compared to other nations and their children became the subjects of others. The wealth that they had considered to be the purpose of their life frittered away and their children had to shamelessly toil for foreign masters.
Bayan-ul-Quran 