سورة الأنفال

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had Nadr [ibn Harith] and Uqbah [ibn Abi Muayt] killed [by Ali (peace be upon him), who struck off their necks] and brought them to destruction, the Ansar feared that all the captives would be killed. So they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! We have [in this battle of Badr] killed seventy [of the polytheists] and taken seventy others captive, and they are your people and tribe and your captives. O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Gift them to us, and take ransom from them and set them free." At this Allah revealed these verses: ما کانَ لِنَبِیٍّ أَنْ یَکُونَ لَهُ أَسْری حَتَّی یُثْخِنَ فِی الْأَرْضِ تُرِیدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْیا وَ اللهُ یُرِیدُ الْآخِرَةَ وَ اللهُ عَزِیزٌ حَکِیمٌ لَوْ لا کِتابٌ مِنَ اللهِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّکُمْ فِیما أَخَذْتُمْ عَذابٌ عَظِیمٌ فَکُلُوا مِمَّا غَنِمْتُمْ حَلالًا طَیِّباً [It is not fit for a prophet that he should take captives unless he has fought and triumphed in the land; you desire the frail goods of this world, while Allah desires the hereafter; and Allah is Mighty, Wise. Were it not for a decree from Allah that had preceded, a great punishment would have touched you for what you took. So eat of what you have gained in war as lawful and good]. [With the revelation of these verses] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) permitted the Muslims to take ransom [from the captives] and set them free, and stipulated [with the Muslims] that in the coming year the same number of Muslims would be killed as the number of captives from whom they took ransom, and the Muslims accepted this condition of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). When [the following year, that is, the third year of Hijrah] the battle of Uhud took place, seventy of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) were martyred. The group of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) companions who had remained alive said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! What is this calamity that has befallen us, whereas you had promised us victory?!" At this Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse concerning them: أَ وَ لَمَّا أَصابَتْکُمْ مُصِیبَةٌ قَدْ أَصَبْتُمْ مِثْلَیْها [When a calamity befell you [on the battlefield of Uhud], while you had inflicted twice as much on [the enemy] at Badr, [that is,] you killed seventy of them and took seventy captive, you said: from where is this calamity?! Say: it is from your own selves. (Al-i Imran/165)] because of what you had stipulated [with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed on the day of the battle of Badr. At that time, when the polytheists were defeated, the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) were in three groups: one group was around the tent of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) [guarding him]; another group rushed upon the spoils [and set about gathering them]; and another group pursued the enemy and took them captive and obtained spoils. When they gathered the spoils and the captives in one place, the Ansar began to discuss [the fate of] the captives. At that moment Allah revealed this verse: ما کانَ لِنَبِیٍّ أَنْ یَکُونَ لَهُ أَسْری حَتَّی یُثْخِنَ فِی الْأَرْضِ [It is not fit for a prophet that he should take captives unless he has fought and triumphed in the land].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): In the book al-Khara'ij it is reported: In the Battle of Badr, the Muslims killed seventy men of Quraysh and took seventy of them captive. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) issued the order to kill the captives and burn the spoils. A group of the Muhajirin [addressing the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] said: "The captives are your people and tribe, and we have killed seventy of them; give us permission to take ransom from the captives [in return for their release] and, together with the spoils, to strengthen ourselves for our fighting." At that Allah revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "If you do not now kill the captives, next year on such a day the same number of you will be killed," and He sent down this verse: ما کانَ لِنَبِیٍّ أَنْ یَکُونَ لَهُ أَسْری حَتَّی یُثْخِنَ فِی الْأَرْضِ تُرِیدُونَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْیا [It is not fit for a prophet that he should take captives unless he has fought and triumphed in the land; you desire the frail goods of this world]. When the following year came [at the Battle of Uhud] and seventy of them were killed to match the number of the captives of Badr, the Muslims — who had forgotten the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) condition at the Battle of Badr — said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! You promised us victory, so what is this calamity that has befallen us?!" At that Allah revealed this verse: When a calamity struck you [on the battlefield of Uhud], while you had already inflicted twice as much — meaning what they had inflicted upon Quraysh at the Battle of Badr and the ransom they had taken from the captives — you said: "Where has this come from?!" Say: "It is from yourselves." (Al Imran/165) — that is, because of the condition which [at the Battle of Badr] they accepted to their own detriment, that the same number as the captives would be killed from among them at the time when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) permitted the Muslims [because of their own insistence] to take ransom from the captives along with the spoils.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ubayda al-Salmani reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) that on the day of the Battle of Badr, regarding the captives — who were seventy in number — he said to his companions: "If you wish you may kill the captives, or you may take ransom from them and [set them free, but if you take the ransom] the same number of you will be killed." The companions said: "We will take the ransom and benefit from it and strengthen ourselves against our enemy, even if the same number of us are killed." The Muslims wanted both good things [ransom and spoils], and as a result seventy of them were killed at the Battle of Uhud.