Surah 48. Al-Fath, Ayah 26

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 negotations between the Prophet and the emissary of the Meccans, Suhayl ibn 'Amr. The Prophet began to dictate to 'Al' ibn Ab' 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.)

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.

 This is when the pagans prevented the Prophet (ﷺ) and the believers from entering the Sacred House for ’umrah and the arrogance they showed when drafting the peace agreement.

 The declaration of faith that there is only one God to be worshipped and that Muḥammad (ﷺ) is His Messenger.

While the Unbelievers were blustering and excited, and meticulously objected to introductory words such as "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful (they did not like the titles), the Prophet remained calm and collected, and got the substance of their demands embodied in the Treaty without worrying about words. Even though the terms of the Treaty appeared to the companions, at first, to be unfair to Muslims, they remained faithful to their Leader and showed trust in his better judgment, a trust that was vindicated by the events that followed.

Cf. above xlviii. 18, and n. 4894.

It=Tranquillity. Their calmness amid much provocation was a gift of Allah; they had earned a right to it by their obedience and discipline, and showed themselves well worthy of it.