- Indeed, we have given to you (O prophet) a clear victory (48:1). That God may forgive for you what has preceded of your sins and what has followed, and may perfect His favor upon you and may guide you to a straight path (48:2). And God may support you with a strong support (48:3).
Note: God has not only given victory to the prophet in the battles but He has also given him victory in the Hereafter perfecting His favor upon His prophet, forgiving his past and future sins, and guiding him to a straight path. He supports him with a powerful support as well. Thus, both victory in this worldly life and in the Hereafter comes from God.
- He is the One who places tranquility into hearts of the believers so that they may add faith to their faith. And to God belongs soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and God has been Knower, Wise (48:4). That He may admit the believing men and believing women into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath them, abiding therein forever, and He will remit their sins from them. And with God this is a great triumph (48:5). And He will punish the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women, and the idolater men and the idolater women, who think evil thought about God. Their evil will come back to them, and God’s anger is upon them, and He has cursed them and has prepared for them Hell, and is a miserable destiny! (48:6). And to God belongs soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and God has been Almighty, Wise (48:7).
Note: God strengthens the faith of the believers and remits the sins of the believing men and women and will admit them into Gardens flowing rivers beneath them, is a great triumph for the believers while He has wrath on the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women as well as the idolater men and the idolater women will punish them and has prepared Hell for them.
- Indeed, we have sent you a witness, and a bearer of good news, and a warner (48:8). That you (people) can believe in God and His messenger, as well as you can honor Him, and respect Him, and glorify Him morning and evening (48:9). Surely, those who pledge allegiance to you, are pledging allegiance to God; God’s hand is above their hands. Then whoever breaks, he only breaks for himself. And whoever fulfills what he has pledged to God, then God will grant him a great reward (48:10).
Note: God has sent messenger with witness, good news and warner so that people can believe in Him and His messenger to honor Him and respect Him as well as glorify Him morning and evening. Those who pledge to His messenger also pledge to Him. However, whoever breaks pledge, he breaks it for himself but whoever fulfills it will receive a great reward from God as any pledge to God’s messenger is also a pledge to God.
- Those who lagged behind of the Arabs will say to you, “Our properties and our families kept us busy, so ask forgiveness for us!” They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, “Then who has power for you against God in anything, if He intends any harm for you, or He intends any benefit for you?” No, God is fully aware of what you do (48:11). Yes, you thought that the messenger (prophet) and the believers would never return to their families ever, and it has been made fair-seeming that in your hearts; and you thought an evil thought, and you have become a ruined people (48:12). And whoever does not believe in God and His messenger, then indeed, we have prepared a Blazing fire for the disbelievers (48:13). To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He forgives whomever He wills, and punishes whomever He wills. God is Forgiving, Most Merciful (48:14).
Note: Fighting was an opportunity for the believers during the time of ignorance to get closer to God whether they killed or were killed. Those who did not participate in the war saying that they are busy with their wealth and family were liars, and those who conspired secretly that the messenger and the believers would not return to their families from war were wicked because of their evil thought. God is forgiving and merciful He will forgive whomever He wills and He will punish whomever He wills.
- Those who lagged behind will say, when you set forth to collect the spoils of war: “Let us follow you!” They want to change God’s words. Say: “You will not follow us; this is what God has said beforehand.” They will then say: “No, you are envious of us.” Alas, they rarely understood anything (48:15).
Note: Those who did not participate in the war but intended to have the spoil of war saying that we will follow you but God knew that they would not follow His messenger and those who believed with him. Thus, they even wanted to change the words of God.
- Say to those of the Arabs who lagged behind: “You will be called to fight a people who possess a great military skill, until they surrender. Then if you obey, God will grant you a good reward, but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment.” (48:16). There has not been any blame on the blind, nor has there been any blame on the cripple, nor has there been any blame on the sick. And whoever obeys God and His messenger, He will admit him to gardens flowing the rivers of their underneath; and whoever turns away, He will punish him a painful punishment (48:17).
Note: Those who lagged behind but have military skill are called to fight until the surrender of their enemies without turning away and who obeyed will receive a good reward from God while there is no blame for the cripple or the sick for not going to war.
- God has been pleased with the believers when they pledge allegiance to you (prophet) under the tree. As He has known what is in their hearts, so He has sent down the tranquility upon them, and has rewarded them a near victory (48:18). And abundant spoils of war that they will take, and God has been Almighty, Most Wise (48:19). God has promised you abundant spoils of war that you will take. Thus He Has hastened this for you, and He has withheld the people’s hands against you; that it may be a sign for the believers, and that He may guide you to a straight path (48:20). And there were others you had no victory over them, God withheld them. And God is powerful over all things (48:21).
Note: God knows what is in the hearts of the believers when they promise. He was pleased with them, and He will reward them with a near victory as well as He promised them abundant spoils for them.
- And if those who have disbelieved have fought you, surely, they would turn the backs, then they would not find a protector nor a helper (48:22). It is God’s system which has passed down from before, and you will not find any change for God’s system (48:23). He is the One who withheld their hands against you, and your hands against them in the valley of Makkah, after He had given you victory over them. And God has been Seer of what you do (48:24). They are those who have disbelieved and have hindered you from the Sacred Masjid, and are preventers of your offering from reaching its destination. And there had been believing men and believing women whom you did not know, you may have hurt them, and you would have committed a sin unknowingly. God will admit into His mercy whomever He wills. If they were apart, We would have punished those of them who disbelieved with a painful punishment (48:25). When has placed disdain in their hearts of those who had disbelieved – a disdain of the time of ignorance; then God has sent down tranquility upon His messenger and upon the believers, and has made them adhere to a word of the righteousness, and they have been worthiness of it and its worthiness. And God has done being Knower of everything (48:26). Certainly, God has fulfilled the vision of His messenger (prophet) with the truth: “Surely, you will enter the Sacred Masjid, if God has willed being secure having shaved of your heads and shortened, not to fear.” Thus, He had known what you do not know; so, He has made a near victory other than that (48:27).
Note: God gives victory to the believers over the disbelievers and this is God’s system from the past which never changes. God withheld the hands of both parties against each other after He had given the great victory, which came when prophet together with the believers was able to enter the Sacred Masjid being secure, and fulfill the Hajj rituals with no fear. The believers who have committed sin for hurting the believing men and women unknowingly in the opposition group will admit into God’s mercy. The History indicates that in the meantime, the Ka’ba was under the control of the idol worshipers of Mecca, who used it as a shrine for the tribal gods and idols of Arabia, and prevented prophet and the believers from entering it for performing Hajj therein. The Quraysh held an annual pilgrimage to the Ka’ba and a fair that attracted pilgrims from all over Arabia.
- He is One who has sent His messenger with the guidance and a religion of the truth, that He would make it prevail over the religion of any of it, and it has sufficed with God as a Witness (48:28). Muhammad, a messenger of God and those who are with himself are harsh against the disbelievers, while are merciful between themselves. You see them as bowers and prostrators seeking blessing from God and pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from a trace of the prostration. That is their analogy in the Torah, while their analogy in the Gospel is like a seed has produced its shoot, then it has strengthened it, then it has become thick, then it has stood upon its stem to please the sowers that He can enrage the disbelievers by them. God has promised those who have believed and have done the righteous deeds of them forgiveness and a great recompense (48:29).
Note: It is God’s system to send messenger with guidance and His religion, which will prevail over any other regions. Muhammad, a messenger of God and those who believe with him should maintain close relationship among them but be harsh on the disbelievers. However, the sign of the true believers is mentioned in the Quran as well as Torah and the Injeel, which indicates that guidance sent with all His messengers make God’s religion prevail over all other religions in all generations of people.
Conclusion
There are 29 verses in the sura Al-Fat’h (The Victory) and the major aspects that are covered in it are: (1) victory comes from God, (2) He gives victory to the believers over the disbelievers, (3) This is God’s system that never changes, (4) the believers have a greater responsibility to fulfill pledge when they make it to God or His messenger, (5) reward for the believers and punishment for the hypocrites and polytheists, (6) the wicked people lagged behind, (7) the believers must fight until the surrender of their enemies, (8) He who participates in the war is entitled to receive spoils, (9) God’s system is to send messengers with guidance and true religion, (10) Muhammad, a messenger of God was sent with the same for the believers, and (11) sign for identification of the true believers among the people of all generations.
This sura is a 111th revelation which contains a conclusive snapshot on fighting through declaration of the final victory of the believers over the disbelievers, the hypocrites and the idol worshipers when the believers were able to enter the Ka’ba and perform the hajj safely. Afterwards, God withheld the hands of both the believers and the disbelievers against each other but God is sufficient for the disbelievers. This is a clear indication that fighting is decreed for the believers in the cause of God to practice His religion freely and safely. It also makes clear that we cannot attack or kill anyone because of differences in faith or criticism of His religion or to expand the territory. Like other messengers, Muhammad has been sent with guidance and true religion, and those who believed him and the message sent with him, and fought with him without turning away, elevated their rank with God being forgiven of their past sins as well as the future ones. Thus, the reward for the believers is as same as that of His messengers if they strive in the cause of God as they should be strived in the cause of Him.
God did not give victory to the believers over the disbelievers without fighting. Fighting was a test as well as another way to develop the souls of the believers participating in the war. We are not in the same situation as the believers had been 1500 years ago but test prevails and we still need to fight to elevate our rank with God and that can be achieved through intellectual fighting. We can gain strength through studying and dissecting the Quran that Muhammad left for us to fight against corruptions and innovations incorporated to our religion over the period of time to establish appropriate belief in our hearts and perfect our practices as given by God to elevate our rank with Him.
The key message that can be derived from this review is the declaration of final victory upon entering the Ka’ba for performing Hajj safely and God will remit the sins of the believing men and believing women to enter into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath them, abiding therein forever, is a great triumph with God.
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.
Tafazzal (11/4/2016).