Commentary

The prisoners taken in the battle of Badr were released against ransom. These were sworn enemies of Islam and Muslims who had left nothing undone when it came to harassing, torturing, beating and killing them, anytime, anywhere. The slightest opportunity on hand would make them inflict their savagery on them. Now that they were prisoners in the hands of Muslims, granting them a lease of life was no mean feat. In fact, it was much more than adequate for them, virtually touching the outside limits of kindness under given circumstances. Then, the amount of ransom taken from them was far too ordinary.

Certainly great is the kindness of Allah Ta'ala. Imagine the consideration shown for the discomfort caused to them in paying that paltry sum for freedom and see how it is removed. It has been said in verse 70: If Allah shall find any good in your hearts, then, He shall give you what is better than what has been taken from you - and in addition to that, He shall forgive your past sins. The word: خَیر (khayr: good) used here means 'Iman (faith) and Ikhlas (sincerity). The sense of the statement is that prisoners، who once they are free, were to take to 'Iman and Islam with sincerity, then they shall be receiving more and better than what they have given in ransom. Thus, made free and independent, the prisoners have been invited to consider their profit and loss as free individuals. In consequence, events prove that those from among them who embraced Islam were so heavily rewarded by Allah Ta` ala right here in this mortal world with wealth and property which was way higher than what they had paid as ransom - not to mention the forgiveness they were blessed with and the high ranks of Paradise they received in the Hereafter.

Most commentators have said that this verse was revealed about Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ the uncle of the Holy Prophet ﷺ because he too was one of the prisoners of Badr and ransom was taken from him too. His case was special in that he had left Makkah to participate in the battle of Badr with almost seven hundred guineas of gold on his person which was meant to be spent on the army of the disbelievers. However, before this could be spent, he was taken a prisoner with the gold.

When came the time to pay ransom, he said to the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the gold he had with him should be applied to cover the amount of his ransom. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: The wealth you brought to support disbelief became war spoils for Muslims. Ransom has to be in addition to that. Alongwith it, he also said: You should also pay the ransom for your two nephews, ` Agil ibn Abi Talib and Nawfil ibn Harith. Thereupon, Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ said: If so much financial burden was placed on me, I shall have to beg before the Quraysh like a pauper. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Why? What about the wealth you had entrusted with your wife, Umm al-Fadl while leaving Makkah? Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ asked: How did you know this when I had entrusted it with my wife in the darkness of night, personally and in private. There is no third person who knows about it. He said: My Rabb رَبّ has told me everything about it. When Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ heard these words, his heart became certain that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was a true messenger of Allah. In fact, Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ had held the Holy Prophet in esteem even before this happened, but there were some doubts as well - which Allah Ta` ala removed at this moment. So, in reality, he had become a Muslim right then. But, he had a lot of money he had loaned out to the Quraysh of Makkah. If he were to declare his conversion to Islam immediately at that time, all that money would have gone waste. Therefore, he did not make a public announcement of it and the Holy Prophet ﷺ too said nothing about it to anyone. Before the Conquest of Makkah, he requested the Holy Prophet ﷺ for his permission to migrate from Makkah to Madinah. But, the Holy Prophet ﷺ advised him not to do that yet.

Following this conversation with Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ ، the Holy Prophet ﷺ also told him about the promise appearing in the present verse which says that should he embrace Islam and become a Muslim with unalloyed sincerity of heart, then, the money he has spent in ransom shall be returned to him by Allah Ta` ala making it much more and much better for him. Hence, it was after his adherence to Islam had become public knowledge, he used to say: As for me, I am seeing the manifestation of this promise with my own eyes - because the amount of gold taken from me in ransom at that time was seven hundred guineas (20 Uqiyah). Now, at present, twenty of my slaves are running businesses at several places and no business venture being run by them is worth any less than twenty thousand dirhams each. And on top of all this, I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve Hujjaj, the visiting pilgrims, by providing to them drinking water from the sacred well of Zamzam - a service I consider to be so valuable as would pale out the possession of the entire wealth of the people of Makkah.