8:1  They ask you about the distribution of the spoils of war... Say, “The spoils of war are for Allah and His Rasul... Protect yourselves from Allah (from the consequences of not living your essential reality) and amend the relation (brotherhood based on faith) between you (by observing each other’s essential reality). If you are true believers, follow Allah and His Rasul (for your essential reality and the articulator of that reality wants you to experience your essential reality).

8:2  The believers (who are certain in their faith) are those who, when they mention and think of Allah, their consciousness shivers (they feel their impotence in respect of His might) and when His signs are recited to them, it increases their faith (to the extent they are able to contemplate)... They trust (submit to) their Rabb (they believe the Name Wakil in their essence will fulfill its function).

8:3  They are the ones who establish salat (through introspectively turning toward Allah, they realize all things are subject to His command and experientially acknowledge there is nothing in existence other than the Names of Allah, thereby manifesting the reality “Allah is pre and post eternal – the Baqi”) and they spend from what We have provided them (material provision or spiritual provision yielded as a result of experiencing the essence of salat).

8:4  They are the true believers (whose faith is founded on enquiry and verification)... They have degrees (formed by the stations of the Names comprising their essence) and forgiveness (formed by the knowledge – the forces of Names – that covers [dissolves] the ego-self) and generous provision (both material and spiritual).

8:5  Just as when your Rabb had taken you out of your home by making you experience the reality (i.e. this decision was not made as a result of your emotions, but rather based on the wisdom of your Rabb) some of the true believers were not pleased with this.

8:6  Even though the Truth had become clearly apparent, they were not accepting it... As if they were deliberately going toward death.

8:7  Remember when Allah promised you that one of the two groups (the Quraishi army or the caravan) will be yours... You wanted the unarmed group (the caravan) to be yours (you were interested in short-term gain, the one with an easy return, whereas this was going to give you harm in the long-run)... But Allah willed to establish the Truth with His warnings and eliminate the deniers of the reality.

8:8  (He wanted) to establish the Truth and invalidate that which is vain and baseless... even if those who commit crime against Allah dislikes it!

8:9  Remember when you asked for help from your Rabb and He answered you, “Indeed I will reinforce you with a thousand angels in succession.”

8:10  Allah did this only as good tidings and so your hearts would be assured by it... Help and victory is only from Allah... Indeed, Allah is the Aziz, the Hakim.

8:11  Remember when He formed a state of tranquility and security from Him, and sent down water from the sky (water symbolizes knowledge, the state of certainty and the actualization of Allah’s will) to purify you (from egobased emotions) and to rid you of the filth of Satan (fear and doubt) and to strengthen the observation of the Truth in your consciousness and secure your feet (with this knowledge). (This verse is an example of the symbolic/allegoric expression in the Quran. For, ‘rain’, when taken literally, cannot secure one’s feet or cleanse one from satanic impulses. This is an example of how such verses should be construed and evaluated.)

8:12  Remember when your Rabb had revealed to the angels, “Indeed I am with you (since Allah cannot be literally next to the angels, this verse is referencing what is known in Sufism as ‘Unity of Existence’, thus, the angels are consciously aware that the power inherent within them is none other than the power of Allah)... Secure the believers... I will cast fear into the hearts of the deniers... Strike them upon their necks (anchor the deniers upon their delusion) and strike all their fingers.”

8:13  This is because they opposed Allah and His Rasul, and separated and detached themselves from Allah and His Rasul... And whoever opposes Allah and His Rasul, indeed Allah is the Shadid al-Iqab (severe in enforcing the due consequence of an offence).

8:14  Here it is (the results of your deeds), so taste it! And for the deniers of the knowledge of the reality, there is the suffering of the fire (the flames of which burns both internally and externally).

8:15  O believers... When you meet those who collectively deny the knowledge of the reality, do not turn your backs on them!

8:16  And whoever turns his back to them, unless as a strategy or to join another troop (of believers), will indeed return with the wrath of Allah... His abode will be fire (suffering)! And what a wretched destination that is!

8:17  And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them! And you threw not (the arrow) when you (illusory self; ego) threw, but it was Allah who threw! In order to make the believers experience a good from Himself (His grace)! Indeed, Allah is the Sami, the Aleem.

8:18  Thus it is (you have lived and seen it)! Indeed, Allah will weaken the plot of those who refuse to experience the knowledge of the reality!

8:19  If you want conquest (victory), conquest has come to you (at Badr)... If you stop (resisting the Rasul of Allah) it is better for you... But if you return (to duality) We will return too! (In this case) even if you are a large group, it will not benefit you... Allah is certainly with the believers (He is with those who acknowledge and experience the reality that the strength and power inherent within them belongs to Allah).

8:20  O believers... Obey Allah and His Rasul! Do not turn away from Him while you hear!

8:21  Do not be like those who hear (but do not perceive) and say, “We have heard”!

8:22  Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb, who do not use their reason (who live in imitation).

8:23  Had Allah known any good (ability to evaluate) in them, He would surely have made them hear... And if He had made them hear (under the circumstances of their current creational program) they would still have turned away!

8:24  O believers, when you are invited to that which revives you (the knowledge of the reality) attend to the invitation of Allah and the Rasul. Know well that (if you do not attend to this invitation) Allah will intervene between the person’s consciousness and his heart (Allah creates a barrier between his emotions and reason, abandoning him to an emotional state of existence that comprises his hell through the system of the brain) and prevent him. To Him you will be gathered (you will reside in a realm in which the Absolute Reality will become apparent; you will be evaluated by the qualities of the Names that comprise your essence).

8:25  Protect yourselves from a calamity, which not only strikes the wrongdoers (but also the good among that community)... And know well that Allah is the Shadid al-Iqab (severe in enforcing the due consequence of an offence).

8:26  Remember the days when you feared the people might harm you because you were few and weak... But He sheltered you, supported you with His aid, and provided clean blessings for you so that you would be grateful (evaluate and be thankful).

8:27  O believers... Do not betray Allah and the Rasul... Do not betray (the knowledge and gnosis that has reached you through Nubuwwah and Risalah) while you know!

8:28  Know well that your possessions and children are only a provocation (objects of trial) for you! As for Allah, the great reward is with Him.

8:29  O believers... If you protect yourselves from Allah (not betray what has reached you with the Rasul and your natural covenant; the ability to live according to the Names comprising your essence) He will form for you furqan (the ability and knowledge to differentiate the right from the wrong), cover your misdeeds and forgive you... Allah is Dhul Fadhlil Azeem (the possessor of great bounty).

8:30  Those who deny the knowledge of the reality were plotting against you to restrain you from your cause, or to kill you or to evict you (from your homeland). But they plan and Allah responds to their plan by making them live the consequences of their own plan (by turning their plot against them). And Allah is the best of planners!

8:31  When Our signs are recited to them, they say, “Indeed we have heard... If we willed we could have said something like this... This is none other than legends from the past!”

8:32  Remember when they said, “O Allah... If this the Truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky! Or afflict us with a painful suffering.”

8:33  But Allah would not punish them while you are among them (for you have been disclosed as grace to the worlds)... And Allah would not afflict them while there are those who seek forgiveness.

8:34  While they are prevented from (visiting the believers in) the al-Masjid alHaram, why should Allah not punish them? (This verse does not contradict with the previous verse as the former verse is referring to a communal suffering while this verse is in reference to individual suffering...) And they are not its (alMasjid al-Haram’s) guardians... Its guardians are only those who protect themselves... But most of them do not know (what the al-Masjid al-Haram is).

8:35  Their prayer (introspection) at the House (Baytullah) is none other than whistling and handclapping (externalized methods of worship taught by their forefathers)... So taste the suffering for denying the Truth!

8:36  Those who deny the knowledge of the reality, give away their wealth in order to prevent (people) from the way of Allah! They will spend all of it! And then this spending will cause them heartache (painful regret)! Then they will be overcome! And (finally) in hell they, the deniers of the knowledge of the reality, will all be gathered.

8:37  This is so that Allah separates the filthy from the clean, and fills hell with the filthy ones stacked on top of another... Indeed, they are the very losers.

8:38  Tell those who deny the knowledge of the reality, if they abandon (their false beliefs) then their past mistakes will be forgiven! But if they return to their old beliefs, then remind them of what happened to the previous people!

8:39  And fight them until oppression is lifted from the believers and the Religion (the knowledge of the reality and the system and order of Allah) becomes clearly apparent and acknowledged (but if they forcefully prevent you from this then fight them based on the Truth ‘There is no compulsion in the matters of religion.’). If they abandon (oppression and prevention), certainly Allah is Basir over what they do.

8:40  If they turn away, know well that Allah is your Protector... An excellent Protector (owner) and an excellent Helper (giver of victory He is)!

8:41  If you have believed in Allah and the day of furqan (the day of those who separate and fight in the cause of either the truth or falsity) (that is) to that which We have revealed to Our servant (the reinforcement of the angels) on the day when the two groups met in opposition (the battle of Badr) then know that one fifth of what you obtain of spoils is for Allah (to be spent in the way of Allah), the Rasul, his relatives, the orphans, the needy and the travelers who have been stranded in the way of Allah... Allah is Qadir over all things.

8:42  (Remember) when you were on the nearest side and they were on the furthest side... And the caravan was lower than you... Had you made an appointment to meet them you could not have met them in as timely a way! But Allah actualized a matter that was already decreed (there is no coincidence)! So that, both those who perished and those who lived would have lived its requirement, based on the clear verdict of the Truth! Certainly Allah is the Sami, the Aleem.

8:43  Allah showed them to you in your sleep as few... If He had shown them to you as many, surely you would have been discouraged and disputed over it... But Allah emancipated you... Indeed He is Aleem of what is inside you (‘your personal world created in your mind’) as its very essence (with His Names).

8:44  And remember when you met them in opposition He showed them to you as few and made you appear to them as few... Thus Allah accomplished a matter already destined! All things will eventually return to Allah.

8:45  O believers! Stand firm (with your faith) when you encounter a group... And engage much in the dhikr (contemplation and remembrance of the forces of the Names comprising your essence) of Allah so you can overcome difficulties and attain salvation.

8:46  Obey Allah and His Rasul, and do not dispute with each other or you will lose courage and your wind (strength) will depart... Be patient... Indeed, Allah is with those who are patient through the quality of the Name Sabur.

8:47  Do not be like those who leave their homes insolently and to be seen by others and prevent people from the way of Allah! Allah is encompassing of what they do!

8:48  Satan made their deeds appear alluring to them and said, “No one can overcome you today! Indeed, I am with you”... But when the two armies sighted each other he turned on his heels and said, “Indeed I am not with you! Indeed, I see what you do not see... And indeed, I fear Allah... Allah is Shadid al-Iqab (severe in enforcing the due consequence of an offence).”

8:49  Remember when the hypocrites and those who were devoid of healthy thought due to the doubt in their hearts said, “Their religion has deluded them”... But whoever places their trust in Allah (i.e. prevents the interference of their emotions and submits to the autopilot inherent within their creational program, that is, believes that the Names comprising their essence will fulfill their functions) indeed Allah is the Aziz, the Hakim.

8:50  And if you could but see when the angels take the deniers of the reality at death, striking their faces and their backs, saying, “Taste the scorching suffering”!

8:51  “This is the return of your deeds! And Allah does not do wrong to his servants!”

8:52  Theirs is like the dynasty of the Pharaoh and of those before them... They denied the existence of Allah in His signs (the manifestations of His Names) so Allah seized them upon their error... Indeed, Allah is the Qawwi, and the Shadid al-Iqab (severe in enforcing the due consequence of an offence).

8:53  Thus it is... Allah would not change His blessing upon a people (from their essence) until they change what is within themselves! Allah is the Sami, the Aleem.

8:54  Just like the state of the dynasty of Pharaoh and those before them! They denied the existence of their Rabb in His signs (qualities pertaining to their Rabb) so We destroyed them for their mistakes and drowned the people of Pharaoh! They were all wrongdoers.

8:55  The worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are those who deny the knowledge of the reality! They will not believe!

8:56  They are those with whom you made a treaty (the Jewish tribes in the vicinity of Medina Munawara)... But they break their pledge every time... They do not protect themselves (they do not beware Allah).

8:57  If you catch them in war, disperse them and those behind them that perhaps they will take a lesson.

8:58  If you fear betrayal from a people, let them know in advance that you invalidate the treaty! Indeed, Allah does not like the traitors.

8:59  Let not those who deny the knowledge of the reality think they can save themselves by escaping... Certainly, they cannot render Allah powerless from doing what He wills!

8:60  Gather your power against them as much as you are able to and prepare steeds (of war) with which you may terrify the enemy of Allah, your enemy, and others whom you do not know, but Allah knows... Whatever you spend in the way of Allah, its reward will be paid back to you in full, and never will you be wronged!

8:61  If they incline towards peace, then incline also (to make peace)! Rely upon Allah (hold Allah as your representative, trust that the Name Wakil in your essence will fulfill its function)! For He is the Sami, the Aleem.

8:62  If they want to deceive you, then sufficient for you is Allah! It is He who supported you with His help and with the believers.

8:63  He has joined the hearts (of the believers) as a single heart through the love of sharing! If you had spent everything on the face of the earth you could not have brought their hearts together... But Allah brought them together (through intrinsic attraction of similar frequencies). Indeed He is alAziz, al-Hakim.

8:64  O Nabi! Sufficient is Allah for you and those who follow you from among the believers.

8:65  O Nabi! Encourage the believers for battle! If there are among you twenty (people) who endure, they will overcome two hundred. And if there among you one hundred who endure, they will overcome one thousand of those who deny the knowledge of the reality... They are a people with no understanding!

8:66  Allah has now lightened your burden, for He knows you have weakness... So, if there are one hundred among you who endure, they will overcome two hundred... If there are one thousand among you, they will, with the permission of Allah (B-izni-Allah), overcome two thousand... Allah is with those who are steadfast (patient).

8:67  It is not for a Nabi to have captives (without war) until he is dominant in the land... You desire the goods of the world (by wishing to capture rather than to slay your opponent), but Allah desires (for you) the eternal life to come... Allah is the Aziz, the Hakim.

8:68  Had it not been for a previous decree of Allah regarding this matter, you would surely have suffered on account of the ransom you took.

8:69  So, consume the lawful and the clean among what you took of spoils... And protect yourselves from Allah. Indeed, Allah is the Ghafur, the Rahim.

8:70  O Nabi! Tell the captives in your hands, “If Allah knows good (faith) is in your heart, then He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you! Allah is the Ghafur, the Rahim.”

8:71  If they intend to betray you, surely they have already betrayed Allah before, and He empowered you against them! Allah is the Aleem, the Hakim.

8:72  Indeed, those who have believed, and migrated (for this cause), and fought in the way of Allah with their possessions and their lives, and sheltered the immigrants and helped them, they are the ones who are allies of one another... But as for those who believed but did not migrate, you are not responsible for them until they migrate! If they ask for your help in religion, then it is your debt (duty) to help them, unless it is against a people with whom you have a treaty... Allah is Basir of what you do (based on the secret of the letter B).

8:73  And those who deny the knowledge of the reality are the protectors of one another (they support each other)! If you do not do this also (aid and support each other) then you will be subject to provocation and degeneration on the earth.

8:74  Those who have believed, fought in the way of Allah and sheltered (the immigrants) and aided them, they are the believers who live their faith duly! For them, there is forgiveness and abundance of provision.

8:75  And those who have believed later, and migrated and fought together with you, they are also with you! Those who are related (by blood) are nearer to one another (they protect and take responsibility for eachother) in the Book of Allah Indeed, Allah is Aleem over all things (as the essence of everything with His Names)!