Hikma › Qur'an › Surah Al-Anfal › Verse 17

Surah Al-Anfal — 8:17

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِىَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَآءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Falam taqtuloohum wa laakinnal laaha qatalahum; wa maa ramaita iz ramaita wa laakinnal laaha ramaa; wa liyubliyal mu'mineena minhu balaaa'an hasanaa; innal laaha Samee'un Aleem

To nie wy ich zabijaliście, lecz Bóg ich zabijał. To nie ty rzuciłeś, kiedy rzuciłeś, lecz to Bóg rzucił; aby doświadczyć wiernych doświadczeniem pięknym, pochodzącym od Niego. Zaprawdę, Bóg jest słyszącym, wszechwiedzącym!

It was not you who killed them, but God killed them. And when you threw, it was not you who threw, but God threw — so that he might test the believers with a fair trial from himself. Indeed, God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

Reflection

The grammar concedes the act before reassigning it: the clause grants that a throw happened and that the Prophet made it, then places the result with God. Theologians built on that shape; the doctrine of acquisition, which assigns the act to the person and the effect to God, counts this verse among its anchors. Badr is the setting, and the address is to a small force that had just won against the odds.

← 8:16 8:18 →

Read all of Surah Al-Anfal

Reflect on this verse with Hikma · Get the Hikma app