The Spoils of War
8. Al-Anfāl
الأنفال
Page #185
8:67
مَا
كَانَ
لِنَبِيٍّ
أَن
يَكُونَ
لَهُ
أَسْرَى
حَتَّى
يُثْخِنَ
فِي
الْأَرْضِ
تُرِيدُونَ
عَرَضَ
الدُّنْيَا
وَاللَّهُ
يُرِيدُ
الْآخِرَةَ
وَاللَّهُ
عَزِيزٌ
حَكِيمٌ
mā kāna li-nabiyyin ʾan yakūna lahū ʾasrā ḥattā yuthkhina fī l-ʾarḍi turīdūna ʿaraḍa d-dunyā wa-llāhu yurīdu l-ʾākhirata wa-llāhu ʿazīzun ḥakīmun
It is not fitting for a prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he hath thoroughly subdued the land. Ye look for the temporal goods of this world; but Allah looketh to the Hereafter: And Allah is Exalted in might, Wise.
— Abdullah Yusufali
A prophet may not take captives until he has thoroughly decimated [the enemy] in the land. You desire the transitory gains of this world, while Allah desires [for you] [the reward of] the Hereafter, and Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.
