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Holy
Quran Section
> English
Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran by
Maulana Muhammad Ali (Table of
Contents)
>
Chapter
48 (Al-Fath- The
Victory)
> Section 1 (Verses 1 to 10) Section/Ruku 1
[Verses 1 to 10]: Hudaibiyah truce was a
victory: 1.
Introduction: As regards the date of revelation, we have ‘Umar’s testimony on record that the Holy Prophet recited it for the first time when returning from Hudaibiyah (B: 64:37). Hence its revelation belongs to the sixth year of the Hijrah. The chapter opens by declaring the Hudaibiyah truce to be a real victory, and after referring to the disappointment of the hypocrites and the idolaters, concludes with a reference to the aid and allegiance which the faithful rendered to the Holy Prophet. The second section deals with the false excuses of the hypocrites, and separates them from the faithful by not allowing them to join the Muslims in their expeditions. The third section prophesies more victories in battles — that at Khaibar and the conquest of Makkah being clearly hinted at. The fourth section brings the chapter to a close by making the important announcement that Islam will be made triumphant over all other religions of the world. 2. Translation: 1 Surely We have granted thee a clear victory,a 2 That Allah may cover for thee thy (alleged) shortcomings in the past and those to come,a and complete His favour to thee and guide thee on a right path,b 3 And that Allah might help thee with a mighty help.a 4 He it is Who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith to their faith. And Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is ever Knowing, Wise — 5 That He may cause the believing men and the believing women to enter Gardens wherein flow rivers to abide therein and remove from them their evil. And that is a grand achievement with Allah, 6 And (that) He may chastise the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the polytheistic men and the polytheistic women, the entertainers of evil thoughts about Allah. On them is the evil turn, and Allah is wroth with them and has cursed them and prepared hell for them; and evil is the resort. 7 And Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is ever Mighty, Wise. 8 Surely We have sent thee as a witness and as a bearer of good news and as a warner, 9 That you may believe in Allah and His Messenger and may aid him and revere him. And (that) you may declare His glory, morning and evening. 10 Those who swear allegiance to thee do but swear allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is above their hands. So whoever breaks (his faith), he breaks it only to his soul’s injury. And whoever fulfils his covenant with Allah, He will grant him a mighty reward.a 3. Commentary: 2a. For ghafr meaning covering or protecting, see 2:286a. The word dhanbi-ka occurring here has been misunderstood as meaning thy sin. In the first place dhanb means any shortcoming, not necessarily a sin; see 3:11a. Secondly, the Prophet never committed a sin and his istighfar meant the asking of Divine protection against the commission of sins; see 40:55a. Even before he was raised to the dignity of prophethood, he was known in Arabia as al-Amin or the faithful one. Dhanbi-ka therefore here means not the sin committed by thee but the sin committed against thee, or the shortcomings attributed to thee, as ithmi in 5:29 means not the sin committed by me but the sin committed against me, for which see 5:29a. Other examples of a similar use of idafah are met with in the Holy Qur’an. For instance, see 6:22, where shuraka’u-kum does not mean your partners but the partners set up by you, and in 16:27 shuraka’i does not mean My partners but the partners which you set up with Me. The idafah in dhanbi-ka carries a similar significance, and the word means thy alleged shortcomings. It is only in this sense that we can speak of sins in the past and those to come. These were the shortcomings attributed to the Prophet by his enemies, by those who were contemporaneous with him and those who were yet to come after him. Notwithstanding the fact that the Prophet was respected throughout Arabia for his righteousness and truthfulness before he laid claim to prophethood, the twenty years of opposition to the Truth which he brought had poisoned the minds of the Arabs to such an extent that they now drew a very dark picture of him, heaping all kinds of abuses on him. Their poets now indulged in vituperating him, thus poisoning the minds of the masses. The battles that were now being fought had, further, made it impossible for the Muslims to present a true picture of Islam to the Arabs. After several years of conflict, the Hudaibiyah truce brought about a change in the relations of the two parties and the truth about the Prophet now began to dawn on their minds. They now saw that the Prophet was not the man of terror as their leaders had pictured to them. They saw the great transformation which he had wrought and the life which he had infused into a dead nation. It was in this sense that God covered the shortcomings and failures which his opponents attributed to him. Their effect on the public mind was removed by the Hudaibiyah truce, which gave his enemies an occasion to ponder over the beauties of Islam. In the words those to come, there is a reference to the latter-day carpings of the enemies of Islam. As already stated, this chapter deals not only with the immediate triumph of Islam, but prophesies also its ultimate triumph in the whole world (v. 28). Hence there is a promise here that not only would those misunderstandings which already existed be corrected, but even those that remained behind and would be spread at a later date by the enemies of Islam, would also be dispelled, and Islam would thus shine in its full lustre not only in Arabia but in the whole world. [Back to verse 2] 2b. The completion of favours was accomplished by the spread of Islam, and the guiding on the right path signified the right way to success. [Back to verse 2] 3a. Large numbers becoming converts to Islam proved a mighty help in its cause. While proceeding to Hudaibiyah the Holy Prophet was accompanied by 1,500 men; two years later, when advancing on Makkah, 10,000 men marched under his banner, which shows how fast Islam spread after the Hudaibiyah truce. [Back to verse 3] 10a. The swearing of allegiance referred to here took place before the truce was concluded. The Holy Prophet had started with his men with the object of performing a pilgrimage, but when he reached Hudaibiyah, the Makkans opposed his entry into Makkah. Thereupon the companions of the Holy Prophet swore allegiance to him (under a tree as stated in v. 18), that they would defend him at all costs and die fighting at his side (B. 64:37). The necessity for this seems to have arisen from the fact that the Quraish advanced to fight the Muslims, who were unprepared for war. It may be noted here that the companions of the Holy Prophet swore allegiance to him twice at Makkah before the Flight — the swearers being in both cases the citizens of Madinah. Both these are known by the name of Bai‘at al-‘Aqabah. On the first occasion twelve men only were present, and the swearing of their allegiance implied only their belief in the truth of Islam, the promise given being: "We will not serve anyone but Allah; we will not steal; we will not commit adultery; we will not kill our children; we will not slander, and we will not disobey the Prophet in anything that is right" (B. 2:10). The second pledge at ‘Aqabah, which came a year later, was given by seventy-three Madinites, including two women, who undertook to defend the Holy Prophet, "as we defend our own backs". The third occasion on which an oath of allegiance was taken was the Hudaibiyah, and this is known as the Bai‘at al-ridwan (see v. 18). Women swore allegiance on one occasion, for which see 60:12a. [Back to verse 10]
Holy
Quran Section
> English
Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran by
Maulana Muhammad Ali (Table of
Contents)
>
Chapter
48 (Al-Fath- The
Victory)
> Section 1 (Verses 1 to 10)
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