(67–69) “It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy throughout the land. You desire the fleeting gains of this world, but Allah desires the Hereafter. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. Had there not been a prior decree from Allah, a tremendous punishment would have afflicted you for what you took. So eat of what you have taken as spoils, lawful and wholesome, and fear Allah. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
This is a rebuke from Allah to His Messenger and the believers concerning the day of Badr, when they took the polytheists captive and spared them in return for ransom. In this situation, the view of the Commander of the Believers, Umar ibn al-Khattāb, was that they should be killed and eliminated entirely.
Allah Most High said: “It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy throughout the land.” That is, it is neither proper nor fitting for him, when fighting disbelievers who seek to extinguish Allah’s light, suppress His religion, and leave no one on earth who worships Allah, to hasten to take them captive and spare them for the ransom they may provide. Such ransom is a paltry worldly gain compared with the interest requiring their destruction and the elimination of their evil. As long as they retain the power to cause harm and launch attacks, it is more appropriate not to take them captive.
Once the believers have inflicted heavy losses upon them, their evil has been brought to an end, and their power has faded away, there is then no harm in taking captives from among them and sparing them.
Allah Most High says: “You desire,” by taking ransom and sparing them, “the fleeting gains of this world”—not some benefit accruing to your religion.
“But Allah desires the Hereafter” by strengthening His religion, granting victory to His allies, and making their word supreme over all others. He therefore commands you to do what leads to that.
“Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” That is, He is perfect in might. Had He willed to exact retribution from the disbelievers without any fighting, He could have done so. Yet He is All-Wise and tests some of you by means of others.
“Had there not been a prior decree from Allah”—already determined by divine decree and predestination—that He had made spoils of war lawful for you and had spared you, O community, from punishment, “a tremendous punishment would have afflicted you for what you took.” It is stated in the hadith: “Had punishment descended ⦗327⦘ on the day of Badr, none but Umar would have escaped it.”
“So eat of what you have taken as spoils, lawful and wholesome.” This is part of His kindness toward this community: He made spoils of war lawful for it, though He had not made them lawful for any community before it.
“And fear Allah” in all your affairs and remain constant in doing so, out of gratitude for Allah’s blessings upon you. “Allah is All-Forgiving”: He forgives all the sins of those who repent to Him, and He forgives every act of disobedience of those who do not associate anything with Him.
“Most Merciful” toward you, for He has permitted you the spoils of war and made them lawful and wholesome.