Ramadhan 2016 – Day 8 (Al-Anfal/At-Tawba)

After the theoretical/philosophical layout of utopia, we are given the life cycle of the system of peace and justice. Ch 8/9 is a single chapter. There is no basmalah demarcating it and when read as a contiguous whole, it provides the system which all human beings seek. This is understood from 8/1. Nafilah is the rewards which comes from prior work. All human systems seek to achieve this status. 8/1 tells us that the greatest nafilah (anfal) is for Allah and his messenger. In other words, only the system can bestow it and people should be preservant of Allah and to fix the essence between them.

This chapter is broken down into sixteen calls. Some of of these are to those who have believed and others are to the nabi. The emergence of the nabi as a visionary leader comes in 8/64 and he leads the community thereafter. This is also the point where the system forms after the effort of those who have believed in it.

From the point of 8/70-9/22, the nabi is given the instructions to manage the community and keep the peace. There will be those who associate the system with non-peaceful means and this will threaten the harmony of the system.

This chapter also closes with Allah and the messenger (9/128-129). In these two verses, Allah tells us the role of the messenger which is to be a means of evolution to the people. They are also to rely exclusively on Allah. This is the perfect formulation of the system outlined from 8/2-9/127.