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THE FORTY-EIGHTH SŪRAH Al-Fatḥ (Victory) Medina Period

TOWARDS the end of the sixth year of the hijrah, the Prophet decided to perform, accompanied by his followers, the “lesser pilgrimage” or “pious visit” (`umrah) to Mecca. Although for nearly six years there had been a more or less permanent state of war between the Muslim community at Medina and the pagan oligarchy of Mecca, the Prophet did not anticipate any hostilities on that occasion, since the month of Dhu ’l-Qa`dah, in which he intended to reach Mecca, was one of the four “sacred months” during which, in accordance with time-honoured Arabian custom, all warfare was outlawed, and particularly so in and around the Holy City. A call was issued to some of the allied bedouin tribes in the vicinity of Medina to join the Prophet on this pilgrimage, but most of them excused themselves on some pretext or other (see note 10 on verse 11 of this sūrah). Thus, the Prophet’s party which set out for Mecca consisted of only 1400-1500 men, all of them dressed in the pilgrim’s garb (iḥrām) and, apart from their sheathed swords, unarmed. On learning of the Prophet’s approach, the Meccans decided – against all Arabian tradition – to oppose the entry of the pilgrims by force of arms. A detachment of two hundred horsemen under the command of Khālid ibn al-Walīd (who was destined to embrace Islam less than two years later) was sent out to intercept the Prophet’s party, while several thousand heavily-armed men took up positions around Mecca. Since the Prophet was neither inclined nor in a position to give battle, he turned westwards from Bīr `Usfān (a place about one day’s journey from Mecca) and alighted on the plain of Al-Ḥudaybiyyah, where he and his followers remained for the next few days. There and then negotiations were opened between the Muslims and the Meccan oligarchy. After some preliminary discussions conducted by various emissaries of both parties, the Prophet sent `Uthmān ibn `Affān (who belonged to one of the most influential Meccan clans) as his envoy. Shortly after `Uthmān’s arrival in Mecca, a rumour that he had been murdered reached the Muslim camp at Ḥudaybiyyah. Thereupon the Prophet, expecting a treacherous attack by the Meccans, assembled his followers and, sitting under a wild acacia tree, took, amid scenes of the greatest enthusiasm, a pledge from each one of his followers that they would remain steadfast and fight unto death; and after the revelation of verse 18 of this sūrah, this “Pledge of the Tree” became known to history as Bay`at ar-Riḍwān (“the Pledge of [God’s] Goodly Acceptance”). When a few days later the rumour of `Uthmān’s death proved false and he himself returned to Ḥudaybiyyah, it became clear that the Meccans were prepared to conclude a truce. A treaty was drawn up, stipulating, among other provisions, that all warfare between Mecca and Medina should be suspended for ten years, and that the Prophet and his followers should refrain from entering Mecca that year, but would be free to do so the following year. The Prophet also agreed that if a Meccan minor or any other person under guardianship should go over to the Muslims without the permission of his guardian, he would be returned to the latter; but should any follower of the Prophet – whether minor or of age – go over to the Quraysh of his own free will, he or she would not be returned. Although this last stipulation appeared at first glance to be disadvantageous to the Muslims, it is obvious that the Prophet agreed to it in pursuance of the principle that “there shall be no coercion in matters of faith” (2:256). The Truce of Ḥudaybiyyah. was to prove of the greatest importance to the future of Islam. For the first time in six years peaceful contacts were established between Mecca and Medina, and thus the way was opened to the penetration of Islamic ideas into the citadel of Arabian paganism. The Meccans who had occasion to visit the Muslim camp at Ḥudaybiyyah returned deeply impressed by the spirit and the unity of Muḥammad’s followers, and many of them began to waver in their hostility towards the faith preached by him. As soon as the perennial warfare came to an end and people of both sides could meet freely, new converts rallied around the Prophet, first in tens, then in hundreds, then in thousands – so much so that when the pagan Quraysh broke the truce two years after its conclusion, the Prophet could and did occupy Mecca almost without resistance. Thus, in fact if not in appearance, the Truce of Ḥudaybiyyah. ushered in the moral and political victory of Islam over all Arabia. In the consensus of all the authorities, the sūrah commemorating this victory was revealed during the Prophet’s return march from Ḥudaybiyyah to Medina.

1

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمـٰنِ الرَّحيمِ إِنّا فَتَحنا لَكَ فَتحًا مُبينًا

VERILY, [O Muhammad,] We have laid open before thee a manifest victory,1

  1. 1.  Namely, the moral victory achieved by the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, which opened the doors to the subsequent triumph of Islam in Arabia (see introductory note, which explains many allusions to this historic event found in the subsequent verses).
2

لِيَغفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَما تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعمَتَهُ عَلَيكَ وَيَهدِيَكَ صِراطًا مُستَقيمًا

so that God might show His forgiveness of all thy faults, past as well as future,2 and [thus] bestow upon thee the full measure of His blessings, and guide thee on a straight way,3

  1. 2.  Lit., "so that God might forgive thee all that is past of thy sins and all that is yet to come" - thus indicating elliptically that freedom from faults is an exclusive prerogative of God, and that every human being, however exalted, is bound to err on occasion.
  2. 3.  Sc., "to a fulfillment of thy mission", which the Truce of Hudaybiyyah clearly presaged.
3

وَيَنصُرَكَ اللَّهُ نَصرًا عَزيزًا

and [show] that God will succour thee with [His] mighty succour.

4

هُوَ الَّذي أَنزَلَ السَّكينَةَ في قُلوبِ المُؤمِنينَ لِيَزدادوا إيمانًا مَعَ إيمانِهِم ۗ وَلِلَّهِ جُنودُ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ عَليمًا حَكيمًا

It is He who from on high has bestowed inner peace upon the hearts of the believers,4 so that - seeing that God's are all the forces of the heavens and the earth, and that God is all-knowing, truly wise - they might grow yet more firm in their faith;5

  1. 4.  I.e., endowed them, although they were few and practically unarmed, with calm courage in the face of the much more powerful forces of the enemy.
  2. 5.  Lit., "so that they might add faith to their faith, seeing that God's are…", etc. Since the latter is obviously a parenthetic clause, I have transposed it in my rendering in order to make the meaning clear.
5

لِيُدخِلَ المُؤمِنينَ وَالمُؤمِناتِ جَنّاتٍ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُ خالِدينَ فيها وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنهُم سَيِّئَاتِهِم ۚ وَكانَ ذٰلِكَ عِندَ اللَّهِ فَوزًا عَظيمًا

[and] that He might admit the believers, both men and women, into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and that He might efface their [past bad] deeds: and that is, in the sight of God, indeed a triumph supreme!

6

وَيُعَذِّبَ المُنافِقينَ وَالمُنافِقاتِ وَالمُشرِكينَ وَالمُشرِكاتِ الظّانّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوءِ ۚ عَلَيهِم دائِرَةُ السَّوءِ ۖ وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيهِم وَلَعَنَهُم وَأَعَدَّ لَهُم جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَساءَت مَصيرًا

And [God has willed] to impose suffering [in the life to come] on the hypocrites, both men and women, and on those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him, both men and women: all who entertain evil thoughts about God.6 Evil encompasses them from all sides, and God's condemnation rests upon them; and He has rejected them [from His grace], and has readied hell for them: and how evil a journey's end!

  1. 6.  I.e., who deny His existence or man's responsibility to Him, or offend against the concept of His oneness.
7

وَلِلَّهِ جُنودُ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ عَزيزًا حَكيمًا

For, God's are all the forces of the heavens and the earth; and God is indeed almighty, truly wise!

8

إِنّا أَرسَلناكَ شاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذيرًا

VERILY, [O Muhammad,] We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner –

9

لِتُؤمِنوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسولِهِ وَتُعَزِّروهُ وَتُوَقِّروهُ وَتُسَبِّحوهُ بُكرَةً وَأَصيلًا

so that you [O men] might believe in God and His Apostle, and might honour Him, and revere Him, and extol His limitless glory from morn to evening.7

  1. 7.  Lit., "at morn and evening", i.e., at all times.
10

إِنَّ الَّذينَ يُبايِعونَكَ إِنَّما يُبايِعونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوقَ أَيديهِم ۚ فَمَن نَكَثَ فَإِنَّما يَنكُثُ عَلىٰ نَفسِهِ ۖ وَمَن أَوفىٰ بِما عاهَدَ عَلَيهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤتيهِ أَجرًا عَظيمًا

Behold, all who pledge their allegiance to thee pledge their allegiance to God: the hand of God is over their hands.8 Hence, he who breaks his oath, breaks it only to his own hurt; whereas he who remains true to what he has pledged unto God, on him will He bestow a reward supreme.

  1. 8.  This refers, in the first instance, to the pledge of faith and allegiance (bayat ar-ridwan) which the Muslims assembled at Hudaybiyyah gave to the Prophet (see introductory note). Beyond this historical allusion, however, the above sentence implies that as one's faith in God's message- bearer is to all intents and purposes synonymous with a declaration of faith in God Himself, so does one's willingness to obey God necessarily imply a willingness to obey His message-bearer. The phrase "the hand of God is over their hands" does not merely allude to the hand-clasp with which all of the Prophet's followers affirmed their allegiance to him, but is also a metaphor for His being a witness to their pledge.
11

سَيَقولُ لَكَ المُخَلَّفونَ مِنَ الأَعرابِ شَغَلَتنا أَموالُنا وَأَهلونا فَاستَغفِر لَنا ۚ يَقولونَ بِأَلسِنَتِهِم ما لَيسَ في قُلوبِهِم ۚ قُل فَمَن يَملِكُ لَكُم مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيئًا إِن أَرادَ بِكُم ضَرًّا أَو أَرادَ بِكُم نَفعًا ۚ بَل كانَ اللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ خَبيرًا

Those of the bedouin who stayed behind will say unto thee:9 “[The need to take care of] our chat­tels and our families kept us busy: do then, [O Prophet,] ask God to forgive us! [Thus,] they will utter with their tongues something that is not in their hearts.10 Say: “Who, then, has it in his power to avert from you aught that God may have willed,11 whether it be His will to harm you or to confer a benefit on you? Nay, but God is fully aware of what you do!

  1. 9.  Lit., "who were left behind": i.e., the bedouin belonging to the tribes of Ghifar, Muzaynah, Juhaynah, Ashja, Aslam and Dhayl, who, although allied with the Prophet and outwardly professing Islam, refused under various pretexts to accompany him on his march to Mecca (which resulted in the Truce of Hudaybiyyah), since they were convinced that the Meccans would give battle and destroy the unarmed Muslims (Zamakhshari ). The excuses mentioned in the sequence were made after the Prophet's and his followers' successful return to Medina ; hence the future tense, sayaqul.
  2. 10. Implying that the excuses which they would proffer would be purely hypocritical.
  3. 11. Lit., "has anything in his power (that could be obtained) in your behalf from God": a construction which, in order to become meaningful in translation, necessitates a paraphrase.
12

بَل ظَنَنتُم أَن لَن يَنقَلِبَ الرَّسولُ وَالمُؤمِنونَ إِلىٰ أَهليهِم أَبَدًا وَزُيِّنَ ذٰلِكَ في قُلوبِكُم وَظَنَنتُم ظَنَّ السَّوءِ وَكُنتُم قَومًا بورًا

Nay, you thought that the Apostle and the believers would never return to their kith and kin: and this seemed goodly to your hearts.12 And you entertained [such] evil thoughts because you have always been people devoid of all good!

  1. 12. Implying that the real sympathies of those bedouin were with the pagan Quraysh rather than with the Muslims.
13

وَمَن لَم يُؤمِن بِاللَّهِ وَرَسولِهِ فَإِنّا أَعتَدنا لِلكافِرينَ سَعيرًا

Now as for those who will not believe in God and His Apostle - verily, We have readied a blazing flame for all [such] deniers of the truth!

14

وَلِلَّهِ مُلكُ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ يَغفِرُ لِمَن يَشاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ غَفورًا رَحيمًا

But God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth: He forgives whomever He wills, and imposes suffering on whomever He wills - and [withal,] He is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.13

  1. 13. Implying that He may forgive even the most hardened sinners if they truly repent and mend their ways: an allusion to what the Prophet was to say according to verse 16.
15

سَيَقولُ المُخَلَّفونَ إِذَا انطَلَقتُم إِلىٰ مَغانِمَ لِتَأخُذوها ذَرونا نَتَّبِعكُم ۖ يُريدونَ أَن يُبَدِّلوا كَلامَ اللَّهِ ۚ قُل لَن تَتَّبِعونا كَذٰلِكُم قالَ اللَّهُ مِن قَبلُ ۖ فَسَيَقولونَ بَل تَحسُدونَنا ۚ بَل كانوا لا يَفقَهونَ إِلّا قَليلًا

As soon as you [O believers] are about to set forth on a war that promises booty,14 those who stayed behind [aforetime] will surely say, “Allow us to go with you - [thus showing that] they would like to alter the Word of God.15 Say: “By no means shall you go with us: God has declared aforetime [to whom all spoils shall belong].16 Thereupon they will [surely] answer, “Nay, but you begrudge us [our share of booty]! Nay, they can grasp but so little of the truth!

  1. 14. Lit., "set forth to take booty": i.e., any expedition other than against the Quraysh of Mecca, with whom the Prophet had just concluded a truce. This is generally taken as an allusion to the forthcoming war against the Jews of Khaybar (in the year 7 H.), but the meaning may well be more general.
  2. 15. Evidently a reference to 8:1 - "All spoils of war belong to God and the Apostle" - which, as pointed out in the note on that verse, implies that no individual warrior can have any claim to the booty obtained in war. Moreover, fighting for the sake of booty contravenes the very principle of a "war in God's cause", which may be waged only in defense of faith or liberty (cf. surah 2 note 167), "until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone" (see 2:193 and the corresponding note 170). It is to these principles, too, that the Prophet's anticipated answer, mentioned in the sequence, refers.
  3. 16. I.e., in the first verse of Al-Anfal, which was revealed in the year 2 H. (see preceding note).
16

قُل لِلمُخَلَّفينَ مِنَ الأَعرابِ سَتُدعَونَ إِلىٰ قَومٍ أُولي بَأسٍ شَديدٍ تُقاتِلونَهُم أَو يُسلِمونَ ۖ فَإِن تُطيعوا يُؤتِكُمُ اللَّهُ أَجرًا حَسَنًا ۖ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوا كَما تَوَلَّيتُم مِن قَبلُ يُعَذِّبكُم عَذابًا أَليمًا

Say unto those bedouin who stayed behind: “In time you will be called upon [to fight] against people of great prowess in war:17 you will have to fight against them [until you die] or they surrender. And then, if you heed [that call], God will bestow on you a goodly reward; but if you turn away as you turned away this time,18 He will chastise you with grievous chastisement.

  1. 17. This is evidently a prophecy relating to the future wars against Byzantium and Persia.
  2. 18. Lit., "before", i.e., at the time of the expedition which resulted in the Truce of Hudaybiyyah.
17

لَيسَ عَلَى الأَعمىٰ حَرَجٌ وَلا عَلَى الأَعرَجِ حَرَجٌ وَلا عَلَى المَريضِ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ يُدخِلهُ جَنّاتٍ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُ ۖ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ يُعَذِّبهُ عَذابًا أَليمًا

No blame attaches to the blind, nor does blame attach to the lame, nor does blame attach to the sick [for staying away from a war in God's cause];19 but whoever heeds [the call of] God and His Apostle [in deed or in heart],20 him will He admit into gardens through which running waters flow; whereas him who turns away will He chastise with grievous chastise­ment.

  1. 19. These three categories circumscribe metonymically all kinds of infirmities or disabilities which may prevent a person from actively participating in a war in God's cause.
  2. 20. This latter applies, by obvious implication, to such as are unable to participate in the fighting physically, but are in their hearts with those who fight.
18

لَقَد رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ المُؤمِنينَ إِذ يُبايِعونَكَ تَحتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ ما في قُلوبِهِم فَأَنزَلَ السَّكينَةَ عَلَيهِم وَأَثابَهُم فَتحًا قَريبًا

INDEED, well-pleased was God with the believers when they pledged their allegiance unto thee [O Muhammad] under that tree,21 for He knew what was in their hearts; and so He bestowed inner peace upon them from on high, and rewarded them with [the glad tiding of] a victory soon to come22

  1. 21. I.e., at Hudaybiyyah (see introductory note).
  2. 22. Most of the commentators assume that this relates to the conquest of Khaybar, which took place a few months after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah. It is probable, however, that the implication is much wider than that - namely, a prophecy of the almost bloodless conquest of Mecca in the year 8 H., the victorious establishment of Islam in all of Arabia and, finally, the tremendous expansion of the Islamic Commonwealth under the Prophet's immediate successors.
19

وَمَغانِمَ كَثيرَةً يَأخُذونَها ۗ وَكانَ اللَّهُ عَزيزًا حَكيمًا

and [of] many war-gains which they would achieve: for God is indeed almighty, wise.

20

وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَغانِمَ كَثيرَةً تَأخُذونَها فَعَجَّلَ لَكُم هـٰذِهِ وَكَفَّ أَيدِيَ النّاسِ عَنكُم وَلِتَكونَ آيَةً لِلمُؤمِنينَ وَيَهدِيَكُم صِراطًا مُستَقيمًا

[O you who believe!] God has promised you many war-gains which you shall yet achieve; and He has vouchsafed you these [worldly gains] well in advance,23 and has stayed from you the hands of [hostile] people, so that this [your inner strength] may become a symbol to the believers [who will come after you24 ] , and that He may guide you all on a straight way.

  1. 23. Sc., "of what is to come to you in the hereafter".
  2. 24. thus Razi
21

وَأُخرىٰ لَم تَقدِروا عَلَيها قَد أَحاطَ اللَّهُ بِها ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَديرًا

And there are yet other [gains] which are still beyond your grasp,25 [but] which God has already encompassed [for you]: for God has the power to will anything.

  1. 25. I.e., the achievement of final bliss in the life to come.
22

وَلَو قاتَلَكُمُ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لَوَلَّوُا الأَدبارَ ثُمَّ لا يَجِدونَ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصيرًا

And [now,] if they who are bent on denying the truth should fight against you, they will indeed turn their backs [in flight], and will find none to protect them and none to bring them succour:26

  1. 26. This divine promise was fulfilled in the unbroken sequence of Muslim victories after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, ultimately leading to the establishment of an empire which extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the confines of China. For the conditional nature of the above promise, see note 82 on 3:111.
23

سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتي قَد خَلَت مِن قَبلُ ۖ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبديلًا

such being God's way which has ever obtained in the past - and never wilt thou find any change in God's way!27

  1. 27. This reference to "God's way" (sunnat Allah) is twofold: on the one hand, "you are bound to rise high if you are (truly) believers" (3:139), and, on the other, "God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves" ( 13:11 ), in both the positive and negative connotations of the concept of "change".
24

وَهُوَ الَّذي كَفَّ أَيدِيَهُم عَنكُم وَأَيدِيَكُم عَنهُم بِبَطنِ مَكَّةَ مِن بَعدِ أَن أَظفَرَكُم عَلَيهِم ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ بَصيرًا

And He it is who, in the valley of Mecca , stayed their hands from you, and your hands from them, after He had enabled you to vanquish them; and God saw indeed what you were doing.28

  1. 28. Shortly before the Truce of Hudaybiyyah was concluded, a detachment of Quraysh warriors - variously estimated at between thirty and eighty men - attacked the Prophet's camp, but his practically unarmed followers overcame them and took them prisoner; after the signing of the treaty the Prophet released them unharmed (Muslim, Nasa'i, Tabari).
25

هُمُ الَّذينَ كَفَروا وَصَدّوكُم عَنِ المَسجِدِ الحَرامِ وَالهَديَ مَعكوفًا أَن يَبلُغَ مَحِلَّهُ ۚ وَلَولا رِجالٌ مُؤمِنونَ وَنِساءٌ مُؤمِناتٌ لَم تَعلَموهُم أَن تَطَئوهُم فَتُصيبَكُم مِنهُم مَعَرَّةٌ بِغَيرِ عِلمٍ ۖ لِيُدخِلَ اللَّهُ في رَحمَتِهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ لَو تَزَيَّلوا لَعَذَّبنَا الَّذينَ كَفَروا مِنهُم عَذابًا أَليمًا

[It was not for your enemies sake that He stayed your hands from them: for]29 it was they who were bent on denying the truth, and who debarred you from the Inviolable House of Worship30 and prevented your offering from reaching its destina­tion.31 And had it not been for the believing men and believing women [in Mecca ], whom you might have unwittingly trampled underfoot,32 and on whose account you might have become guilty, without knowing it, of a grievous wrong-: [had it not been for this, you would have been allowed to fight your way into the city: but you were forbidden to fight]33 so that [in time] God might admit to His grace whomever He wills.34 Had they [who deserve Our mercy and they whom We have condemned] been clearly discernible [to you],35 We would indeed have imposed grievous suffering [at your hands] on such of them as were bent on denying the truth.

  1. 29. This interpolation is based on Razi's explanation of the connection between this and the preceding verse.
  2. 30. I.e., the Kabah, which, until the year 7 H., the Muslims were not allowed to approach.
  3. 31. See the second surah 2 note 175.
  4. 32. I.e., killed. After the Prophet's and his followers' exodus to Medina , a number of Meccans - both men and women - had embraced Islam, but had been prevented by the pagan Quraysh from emigrating (Tabari, Zamakhshari ). Their identities were not generally known to the Muslims of Medina.
  5. 33. Thus Zamakhshari , supported by Razi, Ibn Kathir, and other commentators.
  6. 34. I.e., so that the believers might be spared, and that in time many a pagan Meccan might embrace Islam, as actually happened.
  7. 35. Lit., "had they been separated from one another": i.e., the believers and the pagans among the Meccans. In its wider sense, the above implies that man never really knows whether another human being deserves God's grace or condemnation.
26

إِذ جَعَلَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا في قُلوبِهِمُ الحَمِيَّةَ حَمِيَّةَ الجاهِلِيَّةِ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكينَتَهُ عَلىٰ رَسولِهِ وَعَلَى المُؤمِنينَ وَأَلزَمَهُم كَلِمَةَ التَّقوىٰ وَكانوا أَحَقَّ بِها وَأَهلَها ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ عَليمًا

Whereas they who are bent on denying the truth harboured a stubborn disdain in their hearts - the stubborn disdain [born] of ignorance36 God bestowed from on high His [gift of] inner peace upon His Apostle and the believers, and bound them to the spirit of God-consciousness:37 for they were most worthy of this [divine gift], and deserved it well. And God has full knowledge of all things.

  1. 36. Although this reference to the "stubborn disdain" (hamiyyah) on the part of the pagan Quraysh may have been characteristic of their over-all attitude towards the Prophet and his mission, it is probable - as Zamakhshari points out - that its special mention here relates to an incident which occurred at Hudaybiyyah during the truce negotiations between the Prophet and the emissary of the Meccans, Suhayl ibn Amr. The Prophet began to dictate to Ali ibn Abi Talib the text of the proposed agreement: "Write down, 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace' " ; but Suhayl interrupted him and said: "We have never heard of [the expression] 'the Most Gracious'; write down only what we know." Whereupon the Prophet said to Ali: "Write, then, 'In Thy name, O God'." Ali wrote as he was told; and the Prophet continued: "This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, God's Apostle, and the people of Mecca …". But Suhayl interrupted again: "If thou wert (really) an apostle of God, (this would be an admission on our part that) we have been doing wrong to thee; write, therefore, as we understand it." And so the Prophet dictated to Ali: "Write thus: 'This is what has been agreed upon between Muhammad, the son of Abd Allah, son of Abd al-Muttalib, and the people of Mecca …'." (This story is recorded in many versions, among others by Nasa'i, Ibn Hanbal and Tabari.)
  2. 37. Lit., "the word of God-consciousness" (kalimat at-taqwa): implying that their consciousness of God and of His all-pervading power enabled them to bear the "stubborn disdain" of their enemies with inner calm and serenity.
27

لَقَد صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسولَهُ الرُّؤيا بِالحَقِّ ۖ لَتَدخُلُنَّ المَسجِدَ الحَرامَ إِن شاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنينَ مُحَلِّقينَ رُءوسَكُم وَمُقَصِّرينَ لا تَخافونَ ۖ فَعَلِمَ ما لَم تَعلَموا فَجَعَلَ مِن دونِ ذٰلِكَ فَتحًا قَريبًا

Indeed, God has shown the truth in His Apostle's true vision:38 most certainly shall you enter the Inviolable House of Worship, if God so wills, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short, without any fear:39 for He has [always] known that which you yourselves could not know.40 And He has ordained [for you], besides this, a victory soon to come.41

  1. 38. Shortly before the expedition which ended at Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet had a dream in which he saw himself and his followers entering Mecca as pilgrims. This dream-vision was destined to be fulfilled a year later, in 7 H., when the Muslims were able to perform their first peaceful pilgrimage to the Holy City
  2. 39. Male pilgrims usually shave or (which is the meaning of the conjunctive wa in this context) cut their hair short before assuming the pilgrim's garb (ihram), for it is not permitted to do so while in the state of pilgrimage. A repetition of the same act marks the completion of the pilgrimage (cf. 2:196).
  3. 40. Namely, the future.
  4. 41. See note 22.
28

هُوَ الَّذي أَرسَلَ رَسولَهُ بِالهُدىٰ وَدينِ الحَقِّ لِيُظهِرَهُ عَلَى الدّينِ كُلِّهِ ۚ وَكَفىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهيدًا

He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with the [task of spreading] guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over every [false] religion; and none can bear witness [to the truth] as God does.42

  1. 42. Sc., "through the revelations which He grants to His prophets". See also 3:19 - "the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him": from which it follows that any religion (in the widest sense of this term) which is not based on the above principle is, eo ipso, false.
29

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسولُ اللَّهِ ۚ وَالَّذينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدّاءُ عَلَى الكُفّارِ رُحَماءُ بَينَهُم ۖ تَراهُم رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبتَغونَ فَضلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضوانًا ۖ سيماهُم في وُجوهِهِم مِن أَثَرِ السُّجودِ ۚ ذٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُم فِي التَّوراةِ ۚ وَمَثَلُهُم فِي الإِنجيلِ كَزَرعٍ أَخرَجَ شَطأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاستَغلَظَ فَاستَوىٰ عَلىٰ سوقِهِ يُعجِبُ الزُّرّاعَ لِيَغيظَ بِهِمُ الكُفّارَ ۗ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ مِنهُم مَغفِرَةً وَأَجرًا عَظيمًا

MUHAMMAD is God's Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding43 towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another.44 Thou canst see them bowing down, pros­trating themselves [in prayer], seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration.45 This is their parable in the Torah as well as their parable in the Gospel:46 [they are] like a seed that brings forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm upon its stem, delighting the sowers. [Thus will God cause the believers to grow in strength,] so that through them He might confound the deniers of the truth.47 [But] unto such of them as may [yet] attain to faith and do righteous deeds, God has promised forgiveness and a reward supreme.48

  1. 43. This composite gives, I believe, the full meaning of the term ashidda (sing. shadid) in the above context.
  2. 44. Lit., "among themselves". Cf. 5:54 - "humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth".
  3. 45. The infinitive noun sujud ("prostration") stands here for the innermost consummation of faith, while its "trace" signifies the spiritual reflection of that faith in the believer's manner of life and even in his outward aspect. Since the "face" is the most expressive part of man's personality, it is often used in the Qur'an in the sense of one's "whole being".
  4. 46. Regarding the significance of the term Injil ("Gospel") as used in the Qur'an, see the surah 3 note 4.
  5. 47. Lit., "infuse with wrath".
  6. 48. Whereas most of the classical commentators understand the above sentence as alluding to believers in general, Razi relates the pronoun minhum ("of them" or "among them") explicitly to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding sentence - i.e., to those of them who might yet attain to faith and thus achieve God's forgiveness: a promise which was fulfilled within a few years after the revelation of this verse, inasmuch as most of the Arabian enemies of the Prophet embraced Islam, and many of them became its torchbearers. But in a wider sense, this divine promise remains open until Resurrection Day (Tabari), relating to everybody, at all times and in all cultural environments, who might yet attain to the truth and live up to it.
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