Surah Al-Anfal

الأنفال

Surah 8 · Madani · 75 ayahs · Juz 9–10 · pages 177–186 · 10 rukus

Revealed: Madani
Ayahs: 75
Juz: 9–10
Mushaf pages: 177–186
Words: 1,233
Order revealed: 88th (according to Ibn Abbas)
Year: 15th year of Prophethood (2nd Year Hijri)

About Surah Al-Anfal (008)

The Surah reminds the Believers to obey Allah and His Messenger and keep their relations good with each other. It has given rules of war and peace…

The Surah reminds the Believers to obey Allah and His Messenger and keep their relations good with each other. It has given rules of war and peace between Muslims and their enemies. In this Surah, six times Allah has addressed Muslims with “O you who believe” (Ayah 15; 20; 24; 28; 29; 46).

Scholars refer to this Surah as the following three names: Surah al-Anfal, Surah al-Badr and Surah al-Jihad.26 There are 75 Ayat in this Surah.

26Burhan Uddin Al-Biqai’, Nadhm ad-Durar, 3/181.

This surah is published a ruku at a time — the Quran's own reading portion — so each page stays short enough to study properly. Pick where you want to begin.

The 10 rukus of Surah Al-Anfal

Each ruku is a reading portion. This is what each one covers — click any line to open it.

Ruku	What it covers	Ayahs
1	Commandment relating to the spoils of war (booty) Battle of Badr, a battle between truth and falsehood	1–10
2	Allah's help during the Battle of Badr Allah's decision between Muslims and kuffâr	11–19
3	The worst people in the sight of Allah are those who do not use their common sense Guard yourselves against temptations of Shaitân	20–28
4	If you become Godfearing, Allah will grant you wisdom to judge between right and wrong The lawful guardians of Ka'bah are those who have fear of Allah	29–37
5	For the unbelievers, who embrace Islam, their past is forgiven Rules about the distribution of the spoils of war	38–44
6	The order of Allah to remain firm during combat against enemy	45–48
7	Victory of the believers and the painful death of the unbelievers Allah does not change His blessings unless people change themselves Treaties must be honored unless broken with proper notification	49–58
8	Order to remain prepared for war against the unbelievers Make peace if enemy is willing to make peace	59–64
9	Allah's promise to make the believers victorious over armies TWO to TEN times more than believers	65–69
10	Treatment of prisoners of war who embrace Islam Duties and obligations of the Islamic State towards Muslims living in non-Muslim countries	70–75

Themes of Surah Al-Anfal (008)

The Ayat in this Surah revolve around the theme of Jihad in the way of Allah, with the Battle of Badr being the first major battle of the Muslims.…

The Ayat in this Surah revolve around the theme of Jihad in the way of Allah, with the Battle of Badr being the first major battle of the Muslims.

The moral lesson of the conflict between the truth and falsehood has been enunciated and the qualities which lead to success in a conflict have been explained. The Surah gives instructions in regard to the spoils of war. The Muslims have been told not to regard these as their right but as a bounty from Allah.

Therefore, they should accept with gratitude the share that is granted to them out of it and willingly agree to the share which Allah has set apart for His cause and for the help of the needy. Then it also gives normal instructions concerning the laws of peace and war for these were urgently needed to be explained at the stage which the Islamic Movement had entered.

It enjoined that the Muslims should refrain from ways of “ignorance” in peace and war and thus should establish their moral superiority in the world. It also meant to demonstrate to the world in actual practical life the morality which it had been preaching to the world from the very beginning of Islam and had been enjoining that practical life should be based on the same. It also states some articles of the Islamic Constitution which help differentiate the status of the Muslims living within the limits of ‘The Abode of Islam’ (Dar-ul-Islam) from that of the Muslims living beyond its limits.

Key words of Surah Al-Anfal

Arabic builds its words from a three-letter root; change the pattern around the root and the meaning changes with it. These are the roots this surah keeps returning to, and the words built on each — every word links to the ayah it sits in. More in the Grammar Guide.

Root	Times	Words in this surah
اله	89	لِلَّهِAre for Allah اللَّهَAllah
امن	26	مُؤْمِنِينَBelievers الْمُؤْمِنُونَThe believers إِيمَانًاIn faith
كون	25	كُنْتُمْYou are تَكُونُWould be تَكُونُواBe
علم	19	عَلِيمٌAll knowing عَلِمَAllah had known وَاعْلَمُواAnd know
كفر	17	الْكَافِرِينَOf the disbelievers كَفَرُواDisbelieved لِلْكَافِرِينَFor the disbelievers
ولي	13	تُوَلُّوهُمُTurn to them يُوَلِّهِمْTurns to them تَوَلَّوْاTurn away
قول	10	قُلِSay لَقُلْنَاSurely we could say
بين	10	بَيْنِكُمْWhich is between you تَبَيَّنَWas made clear بَيْنَIn between
شوك	1	الشَّوْكَةِThe armed
زحف	1	زَحْفًاAdvancing
حوز	1	مُتَحَيِّزًاTo join
مكو	1	مُكَاءًWhistling

Introduction and themes from The Qur’an Companion (Qur’an Wiki), Institute of Qur’anic Studies, reproduced unchanged. Key roots are their selection; every word, meaning and count shown here is from ILMHUB’s own Quran database.

Published 21 August 2026