Another subject brought forward by those who search for contradictions in the Quran with prejudice and without trying to understand is the verses regarding the ‘’booty/earnings’’.
According to this claim; while it is mentioned in the 1st verse of Enfal Surah that the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet, in the 41st verse of the same Surah it is stated that one fifth of it belongs to Allah and his prophet:
1) Is there contradiction between the numbers mentioned in these verses?
2) Why does the booty, even if a part of it, belong to Allah and his Prophet? How can we explain this situation?
ANSWER:
In the first verse of Enfal Surah it says “kulil enfâlu lillâhi ver resûl”. The verse as a sentence: Answer those who ask the Enfal(booty): They are for Allah and his Prophet. So the people ask the Prophet what to do with the booty. Quran answers them saying: “they are for Allah and his Prophet”.
The verse does not say “the botty belongs to Allah and his Prophet”. It says for Allah. It should mean “the verdict regarding the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet”. Allah and the Prophet are not two different sources of verdict, Prophet means the messenger.
“The order of Allah and his Prophet” means the order given by Allah and informed by the Prophet. Allah and his prophet do not give decisions together. If it was so, the verse would say Allah and Mohammed. But the function of Mohammed here is being a Prophet, a messenger.
Briefly it is stated in the verse that the verdict regarding the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet, not the booty itself. In other verses (41st verse) it is stated that 1/5 of the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet. It is meant here that Allah and his Prophet constitute the State. So the State (Allah and his Prophet) gives the verdict regarding the booty and one fifth of the booty belongs to the State. The rest belongs to others. One fifth of the booty belongs to the Prophet, his kin, orphans and those who are in need. So the Prophet is entitled to decide what to do with the one fifth part of the booty for the sake of Allah and acts as the State. The rest is given to the people.
The meaning of the verses within the context of the explanations is as follows.
Enfal Surah 1.verse :
They want to know the verdict regarding the booty. Tell them: «The verdict regarding the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet. If you are real believers, fear Allah, get along with each other, Obey Allah and his Prophet!
Enfal Surah 41. verse:
In the distribution day, in the day when two armies collide, if you believe in Quran and Allah, you should know that one fifth of the booty that you gain is for Allah and his Prophet. This share is the right of relatives, orphans, poor people and houseless people. Allah is the most powerful.
Result:
According to the word analysis made in both of the verses, it is seen that Allah and his Prophet are entitled to give verdict regarding the booty/earnings. The other verse also states that one fifth of the booty belongs to Allah and his Prophet (the State) in order to be distributed amongst the people who are in need.
Briefly there are no any contradictions between these two verses and getting one fifth of the booty in order to be distributed among the people in need is a very compatible act with the modern world.
We also thank Allah because any detail tried to be emphasized by bad intention helps us to understand Quran much better…
