Surah 48. Al-Fath, Ayah 15

Lit., "set forth to take booty": i.e., any expedition other than against the Quraysh of Mecca, with whom the Prophet had just concluded a truce. This is generally taken as an allusion to the forthcoming war against the Jews of Khaybar (in the year 7 H.), but the meaning may well be more general.

Evidently a reference to 8:1 - "All spoils of war belong to God and the Apostle" - which, as pointed out in note [1] on that verse, implies that no individual warrior can have any claim to the booty obtained in war. Moreover, fighting for the sake of booty contravenes the very principle of a "war in God's cause", which may be waged only in defence of faith or liberty (cf. surah {2}, note [167]), "until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone" (see 2:193 and the corresponding note [170]). It is to these principles, too, that the Prophet's anticipated answer mentioned in the sequence, refers.

I.e., in the first verse of Al-Anfal, which was revealed in the year 2 H. (see preceding note).

 Those who pledged allegiance at Ḥudaibiyah were promised by Allah that the spoils of war obtained from the Tribe of Khaibar would be exclusively theirs.

 Meaning, you only say so to deprive us of our share.

Now comes out another motive behind the minds of the laggards. The journey for pilgrimage had no promise of war booty. If at any future time there should be a promise of booty they would come! But that is to reverse Allah's law and decree. Jihad is not for personal gain or booty: see S. viii. and Introduction to S. viii., paragraph 2. On the contrary Jihad is hard striving, in war and peace, in the Cause of Allah.

Not thus: i.e., not on those terms; not if your object is only to gain booty.

See viii. 1, and n. 1179.

The desert Arabs loved fighting and plunder and understood such motives for war. The higher motives seemed to be beyond them. Like ignorant men they attributed petty motives or motives of jealousy if they were kept out of the vulgar circle of fighting for plunder. But they had to be schooled, and they were schooled to higher ideas of discipline, self-sacrifice, and striving hard for a Cause.