048- AL-FATH
VICTORY
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
# Truly We have granted thee a manifest victory, # that God may forgive thee thy sins that went before and that which is to come, and complete His Blessing upon thee, and guide thee upon a straight path; # and that God may help thee with a mighty help. # He it is Who sends down Tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they might increase in faith along with their faith—to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and God is Knowing, Wise— # that He may cause the believing men and the believing women to enter Gardens with rivers running below, therein to abide, and that He may absolve them of their evil deeds—that is a great triumph in the sight of God— # and that He may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the idolatrous men and the idolatrous women, who think an evil thought concerning God. Upon them is an evil turn. God is wroth with them, curses them, and prepares Hell for them—what an evil journey’s end! # And to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and God is Mighty, Wise. # Truly We have sent thee as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner, # that you may believe in God and His Messenger, and support Him, and honor Him, and that you may glorify Him morning and evening. # Truly those who pledge allegiance unto thee pledge allegiance only unto God. The Hand of God is over their hands. And whosoever reneges, reneges only to his detriment. And whosoever fulfills what He has pledged unto God, He will grant him a great reward. # The Bedouin who stayed behind will say to thee, “We were occupied by our property and our families; so ask forgiveness for us.” They say with their tongues that which is not in their hearts. Say, “Who can avail you aught from God should He desire harm for you or should He desire benefit for you? Nay, but God is Aware of whatsoever you do. # Nay, but you thought the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, and that was made to seem fair in your hearts. You thought an evil thought and were a people ruined.” # And whosoever does not believe in God and His Messenger—truly We have prepared a Blaze for the disbelievers. # Unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. He forgives whomsoever He will and punishes whomsoever He will; and God is Forgiving, Merciful. # Those who stayed behind will say when you set out to capture spoils, “Let us follow you.” They desire to change the Word of God. Say, “You will not follow us; thus has God said before.” Then they will say, “Nay, but you are jealous of us.” Nay, but they have not understood, save a little. # Say to the Bedouin who stayed behind, “You will be called against a people possessed of great might; you will fight them or they will submit. So if you obey, God will grant you a beautiful reward; but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment.” # There is no blame upon the blind; nor is there blame upon the lame; nor is there blame upon the sick. Whosoever obeys God and His Messenger, He will cause him to enter Gardens with rivers running below. And whosoever turns away, He will punish him with a painful punishment. # God was content with the believers when they pledged allegiance unto thee beneath the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and sent down Tranquility upon them and rewarded them with a victory nigh ƚ and abundant spoils that they will capture; and God is Mighty, Wise. # God has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture—then He hastened this for you and restrained the people’s hands from you, that it may be a sign for the believers, and that He may guide you upon a straight path— # and other of which you were not capable, God has encompassed them; and God is Powerful over all things. # If those who disbelieve had fought you, they would have turned [their] backs, and then would have found neither protector nor helper. # [That is] the wont of God that came to pass aforetime; and you will find no alteration in the wont of God. # He it is Who restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah, after having made you victorious over them. And God sees whatsoever you do. # It is they who disbelieved and turned you from the Sacred Mosque and the offerings detained from reaching their place of sacrifice. And were it not for believing men and believing women whom you know not, lest you trample them, and thus incur guilt unknowingly—that God may cause whomsoever He will to enter into His Mercy—had they been clearly separated, We would surely have punished the disbelievers among them with a painful punishment. # When those who disbelieve had set zealotry in their hearts, the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance, God sent down His Tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and enjoined the word of reverence upon them, they being more worthy of it and deserving of it. And God is Knower of all things. # Surely God has fulfilled for His Messenger the vision in truth: you shall enter the Sacred Mosque in security, if God wills, with the hair of your heads shaven or cut, not fearing. For He knows what you know not, and He has given you therewithal a victory nigh. # He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth to make it prevail over all religion. And God suffices as a Witness. # Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Those who are with him are harsh against the disbelievers, merciful to one another. You see them bowing, prostrating, seeking bounty from God and contentment; their mark upon their faces is from the effect of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah. And their likeness in the Gospel is a sapling that puts forth its shoot and strengthens it, such that it grows stout and rises firmly upon its stalk, impressing the sowers, that through them He may enrage the disbelievers. God has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those among them who believe and perform righteous deeds.
Commentary
# Truly We have granted thee a manifest victory,
1 In historical context, this verse is understood by many as a reference to the conquest of Makkah (JJ, Q, R) and, by extension, other future Muslim victories (JJ). But many of the Prophet’s Companions, such as Ibn Masʿūd and Anas ibn Mālik, saw it as a specific reference to the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah (IK, Q), as this treaty allowed Muslims and non-Muslims to mix more freely and thus resulted in an increase in the number of adherents to Islam (IK, Q). In this regard, Ibn Masʿūd is reported to have said, “You consider the conquering of Makkah to be the victory, while to us the victory is the treaty conducted at Ḥudaybiyah” (IK). The verse can also be understood as a reference to the victory of Islam by means of proofs and revelation (R). Victory translates fatḥ, which also means “opening.” Read in this way, some understand fatḥ as a reference to the opening of the heart and thus to the unveiling of the secrets of the Divine Essence, the lights of the Divine Attributes, and the beauty of Divine Acts (Aj).
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# that God may forgive thee thy sins that went before and that which is to come, and complete His Blessing upon thee, and guide thee upon a straight path;
# and that God may help thee with a mighty help.
2–3 Many commentators understand v. 2 to mean that God has forgiven the Prophet all of his sins, past and future; thus some take it as a proof-text for the spiritual inerrancy (ʿiṣmah) of the Prophet (JJ, R). According to some commentators, thy sins that went before refers to sins committed before the manifest victory, while that which is to come refers to sins committed after it (JJ, Q, R, Ṭ). Others say this verse refers to the period before and the period after the revelation began (Q, R, Ṭ), while still others say it means what preceded the revelation of this verse and what followed it (Q). Even after this promise of forgiveness, the Prophet continued to stand in prayer at night until his feet swelled, asking forgiveness of God. When asked why he did so, the Prophet replied, “Should I not be a thankful servant?” (IK, Ṭ). Complete His Blessing refers to attaining Paradise, the blessing of prophethood and wisdom, or the conquests of Khaybar, Makkah, and Ṭāʾif (Q).
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# He it is Who sends down Tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they might increase in faith along with their faith—to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and God is Knowing, Wise—
4 Tranquility (sakīnah; cf. 2:248; 9:26, 40; 48:18, 26) is understood by some as a reference to God’s Mercy (Ṭ) or to patience in carrying out what God has ordered (Aj). Others say, “It is an angel that dwells in the hearts of believers, providing them support” (Iṣ). It is also said that the sakīnah is the intellect (ʿaql), or that one has sakīnah when one alleviates (sakkana ʿan) the inclination toward desires (shahawāt; Iṣ). Some see the repetition of the term faith in increase in faith along with their faith as a reference to an increase in certainty along with faith (Aj, Q). Others say the increase in faith reflects the gradual increase in religious obligations that are added to the initial faith, the testimony of faith, There is no god but God, that is, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and the ḥajj (in that order). Each time the Muslims confirmed one of these obligations, God added another until the religion was complete (Q, Ṭ, Z). Here the hosts of the heavens and the earth may refer to those helpers whom God sends upon his enemies as He wills (Ṭ), thus indicating both that God will defeat those who oppose Him and His Messenger and that, if He so willed, He could vanquish them at any moment, but instead grants them respite.
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# that He may cause the believing men and the believing women to enter Gardens with rivers running below, therein to abide, and that He may absolve them of their evil deeds—that is a great triumph in the sight of God—
5 After the Prophet informed the believers of the revelation of vv. 1–3, saying of them, “A passage more beloved to me than the world entire has been revealed to me,” the Companions said, “Congratulations, O Messenger of God. God has made clear to us what He will do with thee. What will He do with us?” This verse was then revealed (IK, Q, Ṭ, W). The verse can thus be viewed as following upon v. 1, meaning, Truly We have granted thee a manifest victory . . . that He may cause the believing men and the believing women to enter Gardens (Ṭ). Or it can be seen as following upon v. 4, meaning that the Tranquility was the cause of their entering the Gardens (Q). Attaining “the Garden” is referred to as the great triumph in over a dozen verses, though some see the great triumph as a stage of nearness to God that is even beyond the paradisal Garden; for the blessings of Paradise, see commentary on 5:119; 44:51–57.
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# and that He may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the idolatrous men and the idolatrous women, who think an evil thought concerning God. Upon them is an evil turn. God is wroth with them, curses them, and prepares Hell for them—what an evil journey’s end!
# And to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and God is Mighty, Wise.
6–7 Who think an evil thought concerning God refers to those who thought that God would not help the Prophet and his followers (Ṭ, Z) or those who thought that the Prophet and those who left with him on pilgrimage would not return to Madinah (Q; see v. 12). An evil turn refers to the punishment that will be leveled upon the idolaters and the hypocrites in this life and the next (Ṭ), to their corruption (Q), or to the manner in which what they are waiting to befall the Prophet and his followers will in fact befall them (Z). Although the previous mention of the hosts in v. 4 confirms the manner in which such hosts assist the Prophet and the believers, their mention here affirms God’s Power over the hypocrites and the disbelievers. Commenting upon the meaning of God’s hosts, alTustarī is reported to have said, “His hosts are of different kinds. His hosts in Heaven are the prophets, and on earth, the saints. His hosts in Heaven are hearts, and on the earth, souls. Whatever God empowers over you is among His hosts. If He empowers your soul over you, your soul will destroy your soul. If He empowers your bodily members over you, they will destroy you. If your soul overpowers your heart, it will drive you to follow caprice. But if your heart overpowers your soul and your bodily members, it will tether them with propriety (adab), compel them to worship, and then adorn them with sincerity in servanthood. All of these are God’s hosts” (ST).
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# Truly We have sent thee as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner,
8 The Prophet was sent as a witness to Divine Oneness (ST) or as one who will bear witness for or against people in the Hereafter; see 33:45c. The Prophet is also referred to as both a bearer of glad tidings and a warner in 2:119; 5:19; 7:188; 11:2; 17:105; 25:56; 33:45; 34:28; 35:24, while in other verses these functions are attributed to all prophets (see 2:213; 4:165; 6:48; 18:56).
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# that you may believe in God and His Messenger, and support Him, and honor Him, and that you may glorify Him morning and evening.
9 Some early authorities are said to have read this verse, “That they may believe in God and His Messenger, that they may support Him” (Ṭ). In either reading, it can be understood as an address to the believers of the Prophet’s time or to all of humanity. Believers support God either by magnifying Him or by fighting in God’s way (Q, Ṭ). The words here translated support and honor can indicate both honoring and magnifying. The first is thus taken by some as a command to honor God and the second as a command to honor the Prophet (Q). Others see it as a command to both support and honor the Prophet (Q in commentary on 47:25), since the pronoun can refer to either God or the Prophet. Regarding the injunction to glorify Him morning and evening (cf. 6:52; 18:28; 19:11; 24:36; 76:25), see 33:42c; 76:25–26c.
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# Truly those who pledge allegiance unto thee pledge allegiance only unto God. The Hand of God is over their hands. And whosoever reneges, reneges only to his detriment. And whosoever fulfills what He has pledged unto God, He will grant him a great reward.
10 In the same way that whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God (4:80), to pledge allegiance to the Prophet is to pledge allegiance to God (Q). The pledge of allegiance is widely known as the Pledge of Good Pleasure (bayʾat alriḍwān); see 48:18c. There is extensive debate over how to understand phrases such as the Hand of God, which seem to describe God as having human and bodily characteristics. Some say that the complete meaning of such verses cannot be understood by human beings and should be relegated to God alone. Others claim that the literal meaning has significance, but that it should be interpreted as a reference to one of God’s Attributes, such as Power, which is associated with God’s Hand, or that a symbolic and metaphorical meaning is what is intended rather than a literal one. Others, however, say that the literal meaning is the true meaning, but that its actuality is unknown, since the manifestation of Divine Attributes such as Living, Knowing, Hearing, and Seeing on the human plane is not commensurate with the Divine Reality of these Attributes. There is thus no correlation between what is meant by God’s Hand and the physical, human hand, since naught is like unto Him (42:11). This verse is thus understood by some as containing the highest praise for the Prophet in the Quran, since it equates grasping his hand with grasping the Hand of God and pledging allegiance to him with the pledging of allegiance to God (Aj). This verse is often invoked by Sufi masters in the rite of initiation of a disciple into the spiritual path, or ṭarīqah. For Sufis it has a spiritual significance related to the transmission of the spiritual power, or wilāyah/walāyah, from the Prophet to certain of his Companions and through them to one generation after another of those seeking to follow the spiritual path. Whosoever reneges his pledge of allegiance reneges only to his detriment insofar as he has prevented himself from earning reward and made himself liable to punishment (Q). What He has pledged unto God refers to the pledge of allegiance, but can also been seen as an allusion to the pretemporal covenant made between God and humanity in 7:172, of which the pledge of allegiance stated in the present verse is a reaffirmation.
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# The Bedouin who stayed behind will say to thee, “We were occupied by our property and our families; so ask forgiveness for us.” They say with their tongues that which is not in their hearts. Say, “Who can avail you aught from God should He desire harm for you or should He desire benefit for you? Nay, but God is Aware of whatsoever you do.
11 The Bedouin who stayed behind refers to those tribes in the area of Madinah that, due to their fear of the Quraysh, made excuses for refusing the invitation to go on pilgrimage with the Prophet (Q). In this context, Who can avail you aught from God should He desire harm for you or should He desire benefit for you? (cf. 3:160; 10:107; 36:23; 39:38) means that no one can avert what God desires or has ordained (IK). It can also be understood to imply that the Prophet’s prayer for forgiveness of them can do them no good if God has already made a determination regarding their hypocrisy, as in 63:6: It is the same for them whether thou askest forgiveness for them or thou askest forgiveness for them not; God will never forgive them. Truly God guides not iniquitous people (see also 4:107; 9:80). Elsewhere the Quran asks, And if He forsakes you, who then can help you thereafter? (3:160).
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# Nay, but you thought the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, and that was made to seem fair in your hearts. You thought an evil thought and were a people ruined.”
# And whosoever does not believe in God and His Messenger—truly We have prepared a Blaze for the disbelievers.
12–13 To think that the Prophet and his followers would not return to Madinah was an evil thought, because it means those tribes thought God would not help them (Ṭ). Here ruined translates būr, which means something that is thoroughly corrupt and has no good in it whatsoever; it can also indicate something that is vanishing to the point of becoming nothing (Ṭ). That God has prepared a Blaze or a humiliating punishment (4:37, 102, 151; 33:57) or a painful punishment (4:161; 33:8) along with chains, shackles, and a blazing flame (76:4) is asserted in various ways throughout the Quran.
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# Unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. He forgives whomsoever He will and punishes whomsoever He will; and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
14 Regarding Unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth (3:189; 5:17, 18; 24:42; 45:27), see 45:27c. That God forgives whomsoever He will and punishes whomsoever He will (2:284; 3:129; 5:18) indicates both that God has the ability to forgive all sins and that no one may determine whom God forgives, as in 5:18, where the Prophet is enjoined to utter this same phrase as a response to Jews and Christians who say in a haughty manner, We are the children of God, and His beloved ones. The opportunity for the Bedouin who stayed behind (v. 11) to make amends and thus be forgiven is presented in v. 16.
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# Those who stayed behind will say when you set out to capture spoils, “Let us follow you.” They desire to change the Word of God. Say, “You will not follow us; thus has God said before.” Then they will say, “Nay, but you are jealous of us.” Nay, but they have not understood, save a little.
15 The Bedouin in question had refused to make the pilgrimage to Makkah with the Prophet, but wished to go on the immediately subsequent conquest of Khaybar to the north of Madinah, as they knew that it would likely be an easy victory with ample spoils. But a victory at Khaybar was understood to have been promised to those who had been present at Ḥudaybiyah in exchange for being unable to complete the pilgrimage. Their desire to change the Word of God thus means that they wished to change God’s Promise regarding the spoils of Khaybar (Q, Ṭ). Save a little indicates that they only understand the affairs of the world or that they understand little concerning religion (Q). It could also be rendered “save a few,” meaning that only a few of them understand.
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# Say to the Bedouin who stayed behind, “You will be called against a people possessed of great might; you will fight them or they will submit. So if you obey, God will grant you a beautiful reward; but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment.”
16 A people possessed of great might is understood by some as a reference to the tribe of Banū Ḥanīfah, who were defeated after the death of the Prophet by armies under the direction of the first Caliph, Abū Bakr (Q). Others maintain that this verse foreshadows future battles against the Byzantine and/or Persian armies (Q, Ṭ), while others say it refers to the tribes of Banū Hawāzin and Banū Thaqīf, who were defeated immediately after the conquest of Makkah (Q, Ṭ). You will fight them or they will submit refers to the two options given to the idolatrous tribes in Arabia when confronted by the Muslim army (Q). God will grant you a beautiful reward in this life through the spoils of war and assistance and by granting Paradise in the Hereafter. As you turned away before refers to refusing to go on pilgrimage with the Prophet.
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# There is no blame upon the blind; nor is there blame upon the lame; nor is there blame upon the sick. Whosoever obeys God and His Messenger, He will cause him to enter Gardens with rivers running below. And whosoever turns away, He will punish him with a painful punishment.
17 Cf. 4:95c; 9:91. There is no blame upon the blind, the lame, and the sick for staying behind from the pilgrimage; see 9:91c. The stark contrast between obeying God and His Messenger or turning away from them is made throughout the Quran, as in 24:54: Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” But if they turn away, he is only accountable for that wherewith he has been burdened, and you are accountable for that wherewith you have been burdened. But if you obey him, you will be rightly guided.
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# God was content with the believers when they pledged allegiance unto thee beneath the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and sent down Tranquility upon them and rewarded them with a victory nigh
# and abundant spoils that they will capture; and God is Mighty, Wise.
18–19 This verse refers to the pledge discussed in v. 10. While the Prophet and the pilgrims waited at Ḥudaybiyah for permission to enter Makkah and perform the pilgrimage, the Prophet sent ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (d. 36/656) to inform the Quraysh that their intentions were peaceful and that they sought only to make pilgrimage to the Kaʿbah. While ʿUthmān was negotiating with the Quraysh, false rumors reached the Prophet that ʿUthmān had been killed, greatly increasing the anxiety of the Muslims. Thereupon he gave instructions that everyone be summoned to take a pledge with him. Everyone present, save one hypocrite, came to him as he sat beneath an acacia tree and took their pledge. Most accounts say that they pledged that they would not flee, though some say the pledge was that they would fight with the Prophet until death (IK, Q, Ṭ). Regarding this event, alBarāʾ ibn ʿĀzib is reported to have said, “You consider the victory to be the conquest of Makkah, which was indeed a victory. However, we consider the victory to be the Pledge of Good Pleasure (bayʾat al-riḍwān) on the Day of Ḥudaybiyah” (Ṭ). According to one account, the Prophet said of this pledge, “None of the companions of the tree who made the pledge under it will enter the Fire” (IK, Q). That God knew what was in their hearts indicates that God knew the sincerity (ṣidq) and loyalty with which they took the pledge (Q, Ṭ) or that God knew the dejection they felt at not being able to complete the pilgrimage and thus sent Tranquility upon them in order to console them (Q). In its immediate context, a victory nigh most likely refers to the conquest of Khaybar, which followed soon after Ḥudaybiyah, though some believe it refers to the conquest of Makkah (Q, Ṭ). Abundant spoils refers to the spoils obtained at the Battle of Khaybar, which immediately followed the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, or to those of the conquests of Persia and Byzantium after the death of the Prophet (Q, Ṭ). From a spiritual perspective, Tranquility refers to certainty (Aj) and a victory nigh refers to the spiritual victory over one’s carnal soul that comes as a result of adhering to the pledge with a true spiritual guide.
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# God has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture—then He hastened this for you and restrained the people’s hands from you, that it may be a sign for the believers, and that He may guide you upon a straight path—
20 This second mention of abundant spoils is either a reiteration of the first for the purpose of emphasis or a reference to greater spoils beyond those mentioned in the previous verse (Ṭ). Some interpret it to mean all spoils obtained by Muslims until the Day of Resurrection (Q, Ṭ). God hastened this for you—that is, by way of the advantages the Muslims gained through the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah —through which God also restrained the people’s hands (IK, Q, Ṭ). It may also refer to the conquest of Khaybar (Ṭ), although some read this verse to mean that God hastened the attainment of spoils in general (Q). From a spiritual perspective, it refers to the inner riches received by those who follow the spiritual path.
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# and others of which you were not capable, God has encompassed them; and God is Powerful over all things.
21 And others alludes to still more spoils of war (Q), to Khaybar (Ṭ), to the conquest of Makkah (IK, Q, Ṭ), to the future conquests of Islam against the Persians and Byzantines (IK, JJ, Q, Ṭ), to all the conquests that God would open to the Muslims (IK, Q, Ṭ), or to other spiritual rewards. And others of which you were not capable refers to spoils or conquests that could not be achieved prior to the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah. Before the treaty, the Muslim armies could not campaign to the north, lest they risk an attack from their enemies to the south. But now that they had reached a truce with the Quraysh and their allies, they could fight other enemies to the north more freely. That the Muslims were then able to conquer their enemies to the north left them free to focus all of their energies upon the south when the Quraysh broke the treaty by supporting one of their allied tribes in a raid against a tribe allied with the Muslims. The treaty thus proved to be a crucial turning point in the political fortunes of the Muslim polity.
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# If those who disbelieve had fought you, they would have turned [their] backs, and then would have found neither protector nor helper.
22 Had the disbelievers of Makkah chosen to attack rather than to make a treaty, they would have been destroyed and would have fled from battle (Q, Ṭ). That they would have found no one to protect or to assist them could refer to their situation in both this life and the next (cf. 4:123, 173; 33:17, 65). With regard to this world, the Quraysh derived their power, wealth, and prestige from being keepers of the Kaʿbah. To attack a large group of pilgrims would thus have irreparably compromised their standing with all of the tribes of Arabia.
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# [That is] the wont of God that came to pass aforetime; and you will find no alteration in the wont of God.
23 Here the wont of God (cf. 3:137; 33:38, 62; 40:85) is usually taken to mean the way God deals with those who fight His prophets (Ṭ) as in 58:21: I shall surely prevail, I and my messengers (Z). Here it is rendered as nominative, an accepted interpretation (Iṭ), but it is always recited in the accusative, in which case it could be the object of an implied verb (Sh). Regarding the more general implications of there being no alteration in the wont of God, see commentary on 35:43: Thou shalt find no alteration in the wont of God, and thou shalt find no change in the wont of God (cf. 33:62).
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# He it is Who restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah, after having made you victorious over them. And God sees whatsoever you do.
24 There is some debate about the referent of this verse (Q, Ṭ). If in the valley of Makkah is understood as a reference to Ḥudaybiyah, the verse most likely pertains to a group of thirty young men who attempted a surprise attack on the Muslims at Ḥudaybiyah before the treaty had been ratified. After they were caught by the Muslims, the Prophet asked them, “Have you come under someone’s protection?” When they said no, he let them go (Q, Ṭ, W). According to another account, it was an attack by eighty men who came upon them during the morning prayer (Q, Ṭ, W).
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# It is they who disbelieved and turned you from the Sacred Mosque and the offerings detained from reaching their place of sacrifice. And were it not for believing men and believing women whom you know not, lest you trample them, and thus incur guilt unknowingly—that God may cause whomsoever He will to enter into His Mercy—had they been clearly separated, We would surely have punished the disbelievers among them with a painful punishment.
25 To turn or bar others from the Sacred Mosque is criticized in several verses (see 2:114; 5:2; 8:34; 22:55). In this context, it also affirms that the Prophet and pilgrims were not at fault for failing to reach Makkah and perform the pilgrimage. As they had intended to make pilgrimage and their failure to do so was beyond their own control, the pilgrimage was believed to have been accepted by God. Thus this event also came to be known as the Minor Pilgrimage of Ḥudaybiyah. When the treaty was concluded, the Prophet instructed his Companions to slaughter their animals and shave their heads, as was the custom upon completion of the ordinary pilgrimage (see 2:196c). Likely confused because they had not completed the pilgrimage and what the Prophet commanded was uncustomary, none of them got up, and the Prophet repeated his order thrice. As they remained sitting, the Prophet went to his wife Umm Salamah, who counseled him, “O Prophet of God! Dost thou want thine order to be carried out? Go forth and say no word to any man till thou hast performed thy sacrifice.” The Prophet followed her advice, and upon seeing him sacrifice his animal and shave his head, the Companions sacrificed their animals in turn and started shaving the heads of one another with such urgency that they almost cut one another (Q). And were it not for believing men and believing women refers to the believers in Makkah whom the Muslims might have killed along with the disbelievers, had God granted the Muslims permission to fight their way into Makkah. Had they been clearly separated is interpreted to mean that if the believers in Makkah had been clearly discernible from the disbelievers, the Muslims would have been permitted to fight the disbelievers. The last part of this verse can also be seen as an allusion to the subtle way in which the presence of pious believers can serve as a spiritual protection for others, even when they are not aware of it.
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# When those who disbelieve had set zealotry in their hearts, the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance, God sent down His Tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and enjoined the word of reverence upon them, they being more worthy of it and deserving of it. And God is Knower of all things.
26 Zealotry in their hearts refers to the excessive manner in which the disbelievers of Makkah barred the Muslims from performing the pilgrimage. Some see this zealotry as a reference to specific acts connected with this event and the resulting treaty, such as the Makkans’ refusal to accept the presence of the words “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful” and “Muhammad, the Messenger of God” at the beginning of the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah (Q, Ṭs). But it most likely refers to a general contrast between the condition of the disbelievers and that of the believers. In this regard, zealotry of the Age of Ignorance (jāhiliyyah), which refers to the zealotry of the period of idolatry before the coming of the revelation, could be understood more literally to mean “the zealotry of impassioned haughtiness,” as jahl denotes not only “ignorance,” as it later came to be understood, but also stubborn pride and being so subject to the dictates of one’s passions that one cannot discern right from wrong and truth from falsehood. For the believers to have received Tranquility from God then indicates the peace, patience, and dignity that stand in direct opposition to “impassioned haughtiness.” This is to say that, although they appeared weak for turning away from the pilgrimage, the believers conducted themselves with dignity and nobility, while their adversaries fell victim to their own passions and thus harmed themselves. The word of reverence is understood by most as a reference to one of the common formulas of faith, most likely “There is no god but God” (Q, R, Ṭ, Ṭs). Ibn ʿAjībah says the testimony of faith is referred to as the word of reverence because it purifies one’s character traits, excising illness and hypocrisy from the heart.
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# Surely God has fulfilled for His Messenger the vision in truth: you shall enter the Sacred Mosque in security, if God wills, with the hair of your heads shaven or cut, not fearing. For He knows what you know not, and therewithal He has given you a victory nigh.
27 This verse refers to the dream that had prompted the Prophet to perform the Minor Pilgrimage that resulted in the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah. The Prophet saw himself entering Makkah and circumambulating the Kaʿbah. He told his Companions about this dream while they were still in Madinah. When they traveled to Makkah in the year of Ḥudaybiyah, none of them doubted that the Prophet’s vision would come true that year. When the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah was concluded and they had to return to Madinah without performing the pilgrimage as expected, some of the Companions were saddened and dejected. ʿUmar ibn alKhaṭṭāb asked the Prophet, “Did you not tell us that we would go to the House and perform the circumambulation around it?” The Prophet responded, “Yes, but did I tell you that you would do so this year?” (IK, Q). You shall enter the Sacred Mosque thus indicates that the vision of the Prophet would be fulfilled, but not in the same way that his Companions had expected. The vision was fulfilled the following year, 7/629, when, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, the Prophet returned with a large group of Muslim pilgrims, and they completed the pilgrimage and stayed in Makkah for three days before returning to Madinah. A victory nigh is understood as a reference to either the Battle of Khaybar or the conquest of Makkah (Q, Ṭ), but can also be seen as a reference to the general victory of Islam that was partly facilitated by the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah. That Muslims were now able to mingle freely with the Quraysh and their allies resulted in the members of the Islamic community doubling in the two years following the treaty (Q).
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# He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth to make it prevail over all religion. And God suffices as a Witness.
28 The majority of commentators interpret Religion of Truth, or “the True Religion” (dīn al-ḥaqq), here and in 9:33 and 61:9 as a reference to Islam itself and thus see all three verses as a reference to the triumph of Islam over all other religions. But as the Quran attests to the veracity and salvific efficacy of other religions (see, e.g., 2:62; 5:69), the Religion of Truth can be more broadly understood to mean all religions revealed by God. See 61:9c and the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions.”
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# Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Those who are with him are harsh against the disbelievers, merciful to one another. You see them bowing, prostrating, seeking bounty from God and contentment; their mark upon their faces is from the effect of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah. And their likeness in the Gospel is a sapling that puts forth its shoot and strengthens it, such that it grows stout and rises firmly upon its stalk, impressing the sowers, that through them He may enrage the disbelievers. God has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those among them who believe and perform righteous deeds.
29 Those who are with him refers to all who follow the Prophet or those who were with him at Ḥudaybiyah (Q). That they are harsh against the disbelievers implies that they never relent in their opposition to them and fight them when necessary (IK). In this context it also reflects an aspect of mercy, for just as the sunlight is most intense on black surfaces and less so on white surfaces, so are the believers harsher or “more intense” with the disbelievers. In this sense, the believers must display the truth to them with a greater intensity of light and insight. Among each other, however, there is less need for such intensity, because the truth is manifest as gentle warmth. The importance of displaying the virtue of mercy among all human beings is emphasized by a ḥadīth: “God is not merciful to one who is not merciful.” Mercy is understood to be an essential component for binding together any community; thus another ḥadīth states, “The merciful are shown mercy by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth, and He who is in Heaven will be merciful unto you.” The believers are also described as humble toward the believers, stern toward the disbelievers (5:54). That one knows the believers by their mark upon their faces that is from the effect of prostration is similar to the manner in which one is said to be able to distinguish the guilty in 55:41: The guilty shall be known by their marks; and they shall be seized by the forelocks and by the feet. For other verses that mention marks that reveal belief or disbelief, see 2:273c; 7:46–48; 47:30. Some understand the marks upon their faces as an allusion to the effects of night vigil, as in a well-known ḥadīth, “Whose prayer is much at night, his face is beautiful by day” (IK, Q). When asked about the mark upon their faces in this verse, Mujāhid is reported to have said, “It is a light upon their faces [resulting] from humility” (Q). While such interpretations allude to the mark upon their faces being discernible in this life through the light in their faces and the expression of their countenance, others see it as a reference to the light upon their faces on the Day of Resurrection (Ṭs), though it can be understood as a reference to both. Others say that the mark upon their faces refers to the dust upon their foreheads after prostrations (Q, Ṭs). The parable of the sapling serves as a symbolic and allegorical description of the Companions of the Prophet. At the outset they were weak and few in number; but then their numbers grew and they acquired strength (Q). It provides a fitting end to this sūrah, as the events to which it alludes, the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, the conquest of Khaybar, and the conquest of Makkah, marked a decisive turn in the early history of Islam; through these events it was spread over the entire Arabian Peninsula in a few years. Such a spread would no doubt enrage the disbelievers. Seen in this light, the great reward refers to the victories that were to follow upon the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah and to the promise of Paradise.
Source: The Study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 Others
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