وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِىٍّ أَن يَغُلَّ ۚ وَمَن يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۚ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
It is not [attributable] to any prophet that he would act unfaithfully [in regard to war booty]. And whoever betrays, [taking unlawfully], will come with what he took on the Day of Resurrection. Then will every soul be [fully] compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
Introduction
This is āyah 161 of Sūrat Aal-i-Imraan (Family of Imran), the 89th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 4. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 89 of 114
- Surah
- Aal-i-Imraan (3)
(It is not for any prophet to embezzle (an yaghilla)�) [3:161]. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mutawwa'i informed us> Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hiri> Abu Ya'la> Abu 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar ibn Aban> Ibn al-Mubarak> Sharik> Khusayf> 'Ikrimah> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �Some red velvet acquired as booty from the idolaters at the Battle of Badr was unaccounted for, and some people said: 'Perhaps it is the Prophet, Allah, bless him and give him peace, who took it'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (It is not for any prophet to embezzle (an yaghulla)). Khusayf asked Sa'id ibn Jubayr: 'Is it (It is not for any prophet to be embezzled (an yughalla))?' He answered: 'No, he can be embezzled and even killed' �. Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Najjar> Abu'l-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ayyub al-Tabarani> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yazid al-Narsi> Abu 'Amr Hafs ibn 'Umar al-Duri> Abu Muhammad al-Yazidi> Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala'> Mujahid> Ibn 'Abbas who used to object against anyone who read (It is not for any prophet to be embezzled (an yughalla)) and used to say: �How could he not be embezzled when he used to be killed? Allah, exalted is He, says (� and slew the Prophets wrongfully�) [3:112]. Rather the hypocrites accused the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, of taking to himself some of the booty, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed (It is not for any prophet to embezzle (an yaghulla))�. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Asfahani informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Asfahani> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> Waki'> Salamah> al-Dahhak who said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent some men in a reconnaissance patrol and he acquired some booty which he distributed on people while denying those who went in that reconnaissance patrol. When the latter came they said: 'He has distributed the booty without apportioning anything for us', as a result of which this verse was revealed (It is not for any prophet to embezzle (an yaghulla)) which was read by al-Dahhak as an yaghalla�. Said Ibn 'Abbas according to the narration of al-Dahhak: �When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, got possession of the booties of Hawazin at the Battle of Hunayn, one man cheated him by holding back a needle, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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