This Quranic verse is about preparing the strength to confront aggression and hostilities.

وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم(And prepare against them whatever you are able,): The preparation should be in proportion to one’s capacity, and after that, support comes from the One Who possesses all the Strength.

  وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

(And victory is not but from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise) (Al-Anfal: 10)

However, in this world of means, you must take the necessary measures first, and there is a need for the preparation of strength.

(مِّن قُوَّةٍ) (From [whatever] capability [you can muster]): The Arabic word of (capability) is not definite to indicate the preparation of the best of capability. However, Allah, (swt), mentions it in the indefinite form to indicate all forms of strength, including economic, informational, social, and military.

وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ)) (and of steeds of war,): Uqbah ibn Amir narrated: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) recite when he was on the pulpit:

“(And prepare against them, whatever you are able of power), surely strength is in shooting (arrows); surely strength is in shooting, surely strength is in shooting.”[1]

Look at the miraculous Quranic expressions; the verse discusses the order of battles, which has remained consistent throughout human history, starting with long-range shooting and then moving to cavalry. In the time of the Prophet (saws), battles were with arrows and spears, and now they involve artillery and missiles. The essential strength is shooting, and then comes the steeds of war, which in our times means armored vehicles.

 (…تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ…)(by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy): This is the balance of strategy used in warfare. This is the strategy of instilling fear in the enemy. Many nations now hold grand military parades to show the weapons they possess to deter aggression from others.

Indeed, Allah (swt) does not want us to prepare our strength for the sake of aggression. Rather, He (swt) commands that our strength be used for the safety and protection of society. But terrorists, killers, and criminals misinterpret this verse and use it as a basis for combat and aggression against others. As a matter of fact, the verses are about preventing aggression. Allah (swt) wills the safety of all in the society.

(وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ…) (and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows,): This means that there will come after them other enemies of Islam. This is what has happened to this nation with successive enemies such as the Tatars, the Franks, and all those who have come to aggress against it, nowadays, the United States, the West, and Israel are an extension of the Jews of Banu Quraiza and Khaybar.

(…ومَا تُنفِقُوا مِن شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ) (And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.): The preparation of strength requires financial expenditure, and this spending is indeed in the cause of Allah (swt) because it protects the land and its people. So, do not think that you have been wronged when you make such contribution; you are spending for the safety of the human community and to prevent aggression.

[1] Sohih Muslim: The Book of Leadership, Chapter: The Merits of Archery and Encouragement towards it, Hadith no. 1917