Surah Al-Anfal — Verse 17
The Spoils of War · 8:17 · 17/75
فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِىَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَآءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Falam taqtuloohum walakinna Allahaqatalahum wama ramayta ith ramayta walakinnaAllaha rama waliyubliya almu'mineena minhu balaanhasanan inna Allaha sameeAAun AAaleem
Translations of this verse 7
Saheeh International
And you did not kill them, but it was Allāh who killed them. And you threw not, [O Muḥammad], when you threw, but it was Allāh who threw that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
M.A.S. Abdel Haleem
It was not you who killed them but God, and when you [Prophet] threw [sand at them] it was not your throw [that defeated them] but God’s, to do the believers a favour: God is all seeing and all knowing-
Marmaduke Pickthall
Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them. And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah: when thou threwest (a handful of dust), it was not thy act, but Allah's: in order that He might test the Believers by a gracious trial from Himself: for Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).
Mufti Taqi Usmani
So, it is not you who killed them, but in fact Allah killed them. And you did not throw when you threw but Allah did throw, so that He might bless the believers with a good favour. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Al-Hilali & Khan
You killed them not, but Allâh killed them. And you (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) threw not when you did throw, but Allâh threw, that He might test the believers by a fair trial from Him. Verily, Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower.
Abul A'la Maududi (Tafhim)
So the fact is that it was not you, but it was Allah Who killed them; and it was not you when you threw [sand at them], but it was Allah Who threw it, (and the believers were employed for the task) that He might cause the believers to successfully pass through this test. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Reason for Revelation Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Arabic source: al-Wāḥidī / al-Suyūṭī, via Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies (CC BY 4.0)
قال تعالى: {فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَى وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (17)} [الأنفال: 17].
184 - وعن حكيم بن حزام - رضي الله عنه - قال: لما كان يوم بدر، أمر رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - علياً فأخذ كفَّا من الحصى، فاستقبلنا به، فرمى بها، وقال: "شاهت الوجوه"، فانهزمنا فأنزل الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: {وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَى} ¬أخرجه الطبراني في الكبير برقم: 3127، 3128، والطبري في التفسير: وقال الهيثمي في المجمع: 6/ 84: رواه الطبراني وإسناده حسن، وهو كما قال.¥.
185 - وعن ابن عباس -رضي الله عنهما-: أن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - قال لعلي: "ناولني كفا من حصى"، فناوله، فرمى به وجوه القوم، فما بقي أحد من القوم إلا امتلأت عيناه من الحصباء، فنزلت: {وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَى}، الآية ¬أخرجه الطبراني في الكبير برقم: 11750، والبيهقي في الدلائل: 3/ 78، وقال الهيثمي في المجمع: 6/ 84: رواه الطبراني، ورجاله رجال الصحيح.¥.