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CHAPTER 48

Al-Fat: The Victory(REVEALED AT MADNAH: 4 sections; 29 verses)

This chapter is entitled Al-Fat or The Victory, a very appropriate name, because it dealswith the conquests of Islm, from the great moral victory gained at udaibiyah, men-tioned in the opening verse, to the nal triumph of Islm over all religions of the worldin v. 28. The word fat itself occurs several times in this chapter. It is remarkable thatalthough the Muslims had already been victorious in several battles, not one of thosevictories but a truce, apparently disadvantageous to the Muslims, is made the basis of the triumphant career of Islm. There is an indication in this that the triumph of Islmlay in its moral conquests, the rst of these after the Flight being the apparent disadvan-tage, but the real moral conquest, gained at udaibiyah. This fact makes clear the con-nection of this chapter with the last, which speaks of the victory of Islm in battles, thisone drawing attention to its real triumph, which lay in moral conquests.

As regards the date of revelation, we have Umars testimony on record that theHoly Prophet recited it for the rst time when returning from udaibiyah (B: 64:37).Hence its revelation belongs to the sixth year of the Hijrah.

The chapter opens by declaring the udaibiyah truce to be a real victory, and afterreferring to the disappointment of the hypocrites and the idolaters, concludes with a refer-ence to the aid and allegiance which the faithful rendered to the Holy Prophet. The sec-ond section deals with the false excuses of the hypocrites, and separates them from thefaithful by not allowing them to join the Muslims in their expeditions. The third sectionprophesies more victories in battles that at Khaibar and the conquest of Makkah beingclearly hinted at. The fourth section brings the chapter to a close by making the importantannouncement that Islm will be made triumphant over all other religions of the world.

994

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Part 26] UDAIBIYAH TRUCE WAS A VICTORY 995

SECTION 1:udaibiyah Truce was a Victory

In the name of Allh, the Benecent,

the Merciful.1 Surely We have granted thee aclear victory,a

2 That Allh may cover for thee thy(alleged) shortcomings in the past andthose to come,a and complete His

1a. The victory referred to is that gained by the truce at udaibiyah in 6 A.H. (B.64:37). The fact that there was no actual ghting at udaibiyah has led many to think that the words contain a prophecy about the conquest of Makkah, which, however, isreferred to later on in the third section of this chapter. The truce at udaibiyah was sure-ly a real victory for the Muslims, because it opened the way for the propagation of Islmamong the disbelievers, and by putting a stop to hostilities gave the opponents an occa-sion to ponder over the merits of the religion against which they had hitherto struggledin vain on the eld of battle. As a result of this truce large numbers came over to Islm,and the words are thus prophetical, and their truth was demonstrated long after their rev-elation. It may be added here that Umar had some misgivings as to the good of the truceconcluded at udaibiyah; he thought that the truce was not honourable for the Muslims,for the conditions to which they yielded were disadvantageous to them. One of the con-ditions of the truce was that, if anyone from among the Makkans came over to the HolyProphet, he would return him to the Quraish, though he were a Muslim, while theQuraish were not bound to return anyone who deserted the Prophet and joined theQuraish. The Muslims felt it very hard that one of their brethren should be returned tosuffer persecution at the hands of the disbelievers; but, as the Quraish refused to make atruce unless this condition was included, the Holy Prophet accepted it. Immediatelyafterwards Divine revelation dispelled all those misgivings, and declared the truce to bea great victory leading to glorious results, as it actually proved to be.

2a. For ghafr meaning covering or protecting, see 2:286a. The word dhanbi-kaoccurring here has been misunderstood as meaningthy sin. In the rst placedhanbmeans any shortcoming, not necessarily asin; see 3:11a. Secondly, the Prophet nevercommitted a sin and hisistigh

fr meant the asking of Divine protection against the com-mission of sins; see 40:55a. Even before he was raised to the dignity of prophethood, hewas known in Arabia asal-Amnor the faithful one. Dhanbi-ka therefore here means notthe sin committed by theebut the sin committed against thee, or the shortcomings attrib-uted to thee, as ithmin 5:29 means not the sin committed by mebut the sin committed against me, for which see 5:29a. Other examples of a similar use of ifah are met within the Holy Qurn. For instance, see 6:22, whereshuraku-kum does not mean your partners but the partners set up by you, and in 16:27shurak does not mean My part-

ners but the partners which you set up with Me. The ifah in dhanbi-ka carries a simi-lar signicance, and the word meansthy alleged shortcomings. It is only in this sensethat we can speak of sins in the past and those to come. These were the shortcomingsattributed to the Prophet by his enemies, by those who were contemporaneous with himand those who were yet to come after him. Notwithstanding the fact that the Prophet wasrespected throughout Arabia for his righteousness and truthfulness before he laid claimto prophethood, the twenty years of opposition to the Truth which he brought had poi-soned 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,

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favour to thee and guide thee on aright path,b

3 And that Allh might help theewith a mighty help.a

4 He it is Who sent down tranquilli-ty into the hearts of the believers thatthey might add faith to their faith.And Allhs are the hosts of the heav-ens and the earth, and Allh is everKnowing, Wise

5 That He may cause the believingmen and the believing women toenter Gardens wherein ow rivers toabide therein and remove from themtheir evil. And that is a grandachievement with Allh,6 And (that) He may chastise thehypocritical men and the hypocriticalwomen, and the polytheistic men andthe polytheistic women, the entertain-ers of evil thoughts about Allh. Onthem is the evil turn, and Allh is

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 Islm to theArabs. After several years of conict, the udaibiyah truce brought about a change inthe relations of the two parties and the truth about the Prophet now began to dawn ontheir minds. They now saw that the Prophet was not the man of terror as their leadershad pictured to them. They saw the great transformation which he had wrought and thelife which he had infused into a dead nation. It was in this sense that God covered theshortcomings and failures which his opponents attributed to him. Their effect on thepublic mind was removed by the udaibiyah truce, which gave his enemies an occasionto ponder over the beauties of Islm. In the wordsthose to come, there is a reference tothe latter-day carpings of the enemies of Islm. As already stated, this chapter deals notonly with the immediate triumph of Islm, but prophesies also its ultimate triumph in thewhole world (v. 28). Hence there is a promise here that not only would those misunder-standings which already existed be corrected, but even thosethat remained behind andwould be spread at a later date by the enemies of Islm, would also be dispelled, andIslm would thus shine in its full lustre not only in Arabia but in the whole world.

2b. The completion of favours was accomplished by the spread of Islm, and theguiding on the right path signied the right way to success.

3a. Large numbers becoming converts to Islm proved a mighty help in its cause.While proceeding to udaibiyah the Holy Prophet was accompanied by 1,500 men; twoyears later, when advancing on Makkah, 10,000 men marched under his banner, whichshows how fast Islm spread after the udaibiyah truce.

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Part 26] THE DEFAULTERS 997

wroth with them and has cursed themand prepared hell for them; and evil isthe resort.7 And Allhs are the hosts of theheavens and the earth; and Allh isever Mighty, Wise.8 Surely We have sent thee as a wit-ness and as a bearer of good news andas a warner,9 That you may believe in Allh and

His Messenger and may aid him andrevere him. And (that) you may declareHis glory, morning and evening.10 Those who swear allegiance tothee do but swear allegiance to Allh.The hand of Allh is above their hands.So whoever breaks (his faith), hebreaks it only to his souls injury. Andwhoever fulls his covenant withAllh, He will grant him a mightyreward.a

SECTION 2:The Defaulters

11 Those of the dwellers of thedesert who lagged behind will say to

10a. The swearing of allegiance referred to here took place before the truce wasconcluded. The Holy Prophet had started with his men with the object of performing apilgrimage, but when he reached udaibiyah, the Makkans opposed his entry intoMakkah. Thereupon the companions of the Holy Prophet swore allegiance to him (undera tree as stated in v. 18), that they would defend him at all costs and die ghting at hisside (B. 64:37). The necessity for this seems to have arisen from the fact that theQuraish advanced to ght the Muslims, who were unprepared for war.

It may be noted here that the companions of the Holy Prophet swore allegiance tohim twice at Makkah before the Flight the swearers being in both cases the citizensof Madnah. Both these are known by the name of Baiat al-Aqabah. On the rst occa-sion twelve men only were present, and the swearing of their allegiance implied onlytheir belief in the truth of Islm, the promise given being: We will not serve anyone butAllh; we will not steal; we will not commit adultery; we will not kill our children; wewill 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-threeMadinites, including two women, who undertook to defend the Holy Prophet, as we

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Part 26] MORE VICTORIES FOR ISLM 999

Nay, you are jealous of us. Nay, theyunderstand not but a little.16 Say to those of the dwellers of the desert who lagged behind: Youwill soon be called against a people of mighty prowess to ght against themuntil they submit. Then if you obey,Allh will grant you a good reward;but, if you turn back as you turnedback before, He will chastise you witha painful chastisement.a

17 There is no blame on the blind,nor is there blame on the lame, nor isthere blame on the sick. And whoeverobeys Allh and His Messenger, Hewill cause him to enter Gardenswherein ow rivers. And whoeverturns back, He will chastise him witha painful chastisement.

SECTION 3:More Victories for Islm

18 Allh indeed was well pleasedwith the believers, when they sworeallegiance to thee under the tree,a andHe knew what was in their hearts, so

He sent down tranquillity on them andrewarded them with a near victory,b

16a. The power of the Makkan enemy was now broken, as was proved by theadvance on Makkah two years later. Hence, the defaulters are told that they would becalled on to join the forces of Islm against another powerful enemy. This appears to bea reference to the wars against the Roman and Persian empires in the time of the earlyCaliphs, again referred to in v. 21.

18a. It should be noted that the 1,500 men who swore allegiance at udaibiyah arehere declared to be those with whom Allh is well pleased. These words should set atrest the doubts of the adherents of a great schism in Islm as to the sincerity of the com-panions of the Holy Prophet. The Prophet was sitting under a tree when allegiance wassworn to him at udaibiyah (B. 65:xlviii, 5).

18b. The near victory prophesied here was obtained atKhaibar , soon after thereturn from udaibiyah.

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19 And many gains which they willacquire. And Allh is ever Mighty,Wise.a

20 Allh promised you many gainswhich you will acquire, then He has-tened this on for you, and held back thehands of men from you; and that itmay be a sign for the believers and thatHe may guide you on a right path,a

21 And others which you have not

yet been able to achieve Allh hassurely encompassed them. And Allhis ever Powerful over all things.a

22 And if those who disbelieve ghtwith you, they will certainly turn(their) backs, then they will nd noprotector nor helper.23 (Such has been) the course of Allh that has run before, and thou wiltnot nd a change in Allhs course.24 And He it is Who held back theirhands from you and your hands fromthem in the valley of Makkah after Hehad given you victory over them. AndAllh is ever Seer of what you do.a

19a. These many gains predict the later conquests of the Muslims, beginning withthe conquest of Makkah which made the Muslims masters of Arabia, and then extendingto other countries, both in the East and the West.

20a. What was hastened on was the udaibiyah truce, which is called a clearvictory in the very rst verse of this chapter. By this trucethe hands of menwere held back from the Muslims, i.e., the Muslims were not persecuted any more. So persecutionhaving ceased, people began to enter Islm in large numbers. This was moreover anindication that the promised conquests of Islm were not only conquests of countries butalso conquests of hearts.

21a. This reference is to the great Muslim conquests under the successors of theHoly Prophet. The vanquishment of the enemy is plainly spoken of in the next verse.

24a. This is again a reference to the udaibiyah truce. Thrice already had the disbe-lievers attacked Madnah with very strong forces to crush Islm, and the Muslims hadrepulsed them every time, inicting severe loss on them. This is referred to in the words,after He had given you victory over them. Yet they offered terms which were humiliat-ing to the Muslims and the Prophet accepted them to avoid bloodshed, so deeply did he

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Part 26] MORE VICTORIES FOR ISLM 1001

25 It is they who disbelieved anddebarred you from the SacredMosque and the offering withheldfrom reaching its goal. And were itnot for the believing men and thebelieving women, whom, not havingknown, you might have troddendown and thus something hatefulmight have aficted you on theiraccount without knowledge sothat Allh may admit to His mercy

whom He pleases. Had they beenapart, We would surely have chas-tised those who disbelieved fromamong them with a painful chastise-ment.a

26 When those who disbelievedharboured disdain in their hearts, thedisdain of Ignorance, but Allh sentdown His tranquillity on HisMessenger and on the believers andmade them keep the word of obser-vance of duty, and they were entitledto it and worthy of it. And Allh isever Knower of all things.

love peace. Thus the hands of both sides were held back. Authentic reports state clearlythat Umar openly gave vent to his injured feelings (B. 54:15). The chief terms of theagreement were: (1) That the Muslims should return without performing a pilgrimage.(2) That they should be allowed to perform a pilgrimage next year, but should not stayfor more than three days. (3) That if a disbeliever, being converted, went over to theMuslims, he should be returned, but if a Muslim went over to the disbelievers he shouldnot be given back to the Muslims (B. 54:15). The last term of the agreement was spe-cially dissatisfying to the Muslims; but it shows the strong conviction which the HolyProphet had in the truth of Islm, for he was condent that none of his companionswould go over to disbelief and join the Quraish; and also that those who became con-verts to Islm would not desert it on account of persecution. Thus it happened that theconverts to Islm from among the Makkans, not being allowed to settle at Madnah,formed an independent colony of their own (B. 54:15), proving thereby the genuinenessof their convictions and the strength of their faith.

25a. One of the reasons given here for the truce is that the welfare of the Muslimsdemanded it, inasmuch as there were Muslims at Makkah who were unknown even totheir brethren at Madnah, and that, if a battle had taken place, they would have sufferedalong with the enemy. This shows how Islm was making silent progress at Makkahitself, even without the guidance of a preacher, and in spite of persecution.

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SECTION 4:Ultimate Triumph of Islm

27 Allh indeed fullled the vision

for His Messenger with truth. Youshall certainly enter the SacredMosque, if Allh please, in security,your heads shaved and hair cut short,not fearing. But He knows what youknow not, so He has ordained a nearvictory before that.a

28 He it is Who has sent HisMessenger with the guidance and theReligion of Truth that He may makeit prevail over all religions. AndAllh is enough for a witness.a

29 Muammad is the Messenger of Allh, and those with him are rm of heart against the disbelievers,a com-passionate among themselves. Thou

27a. The Holy Prophets journey to Makkah to perform a pilgrimage with 1,500 of his companions was undertaken on the basis of the vision stated here. In a vision, theProphet had seen himself and his companions performing a pilgrimage. Convinced of the truth of his vision, he set out with about 1,500 of his companions with the object of performing a pilgrimage. The Makkans, however, opposed him at udaibiyah, and atruce was there arranged, according to which the Holy Prophet had to return without per-forming a pilgrimage. The truth of the vision is therefore asserted here. It is made clearthat the Prophets return did not falsify the vision, which had to be, and was, fulllednext year. This was the answer which the Holy Prophet gave to Umar when he objectedto returning without performing a pilgrimage (B. 54:15). Thenear victory referred tohere as comingbefore that , i.e., before the vision was fullled by the actual performanceof the pilgrimage during the following year, is the conquest of Khaibar which happenedin the month of afar in the seventh year of the Hijrah.

28a. This prophecy of the prevalence of Islm over all other religions is a prophecywhich extends into the distant future, while Arabia saw its fullment in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. The prevalence of Islm does not, however, mean the politicalsupremacy of its adherents at all times, nor does the prophecy signify that other religionswould at any time entirely disappear. It only indicates that the superiority of the religionof Islm over all other religions will at last be established, and Islm will be the religionof the majority of the nations of the earth. No other scripture prophesies the triumph of the religion it preaches in such unmistakable terms. See also 9:33; 61:9.

29a. Ashidd is plural of shadd , which means rm, strong, powerful,as well asbrave, rm of heart (LA, Q, LL).Shiddat , the root word, also signies rmness of heart (T). The translation erce, or vehement , adopted in English translations, is not correcthere. The Muslims stood rm against the disbelievers but they were never erce or hardin their treatment towards them.

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Part 26] ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF ISLM 1003

seest them bowing down, prostratingthemselves, seeking Allhs grace andpleasure. Their marks are on theirfaces in consequence of prostration.That is their description in the Torah and their description in the Gospel like seed-produce that puts forth itssprout, then strengthens it, so itbecomes stout and stands rmly on itsstem, delighting the sowers that Hemay enrage the disbelievers on

account of them. Allh has promisedsuch of them as believe and do good,forgiveness and a great reward.