Surah 48. Al-Fath

1.

Indeed, We have granted you a clear triumph 'O Prophet'¹

 This Medinian sûrah takes its name from the clear triumph (i.e., Treaty of Ḥudaibiyah) in verse 1. The Prophet (ﷺ) and 1400 of his companions travelled to Mecca to perform the minor pilgrimage (’umrah) in 6 A.H./628 C.E. He (ﷺ) sent ’Uthmân ibn ’Affân to let the Meccans know that the Muslims had come in peace, only to visit the Sacred House. When the Meccans delayed ’Uthmân, the Prophet (ﷺ) thought they might have killed his envoy. So he (ﷺ) called upon the faithful to pledge allegiance to him under a tree at Ḥudaibiyah in the outskirts of Mecca. Shortly after, ’Uthmân returned safely and a peace agreement was signed by the Muslims and Meccan pagans, stating in part that the Muslims would have to return to Medina and come back next year for ’umrah. The Treaty of Ḥudaibiyah is described as a clear triumph since it established peace, temporarily diffused the tension between the Muslims and the Meccan pagans, and gave the Muslims plenty of time to spread awareness and understanding of their faith. Thousands from different tribes accepted Islam during that truce.

2.

so that Allah may forgive you for your past and future shortcomings,¹ perfect His favour upon you, guide you along the Straight Path,

 See footnote for 47:19.

3.

and so that Allah will help you tremendously.

4.

He is the One Who sent down serenity upon the hearts of the believers so that they may increase even more in their faith. To Allah 'alone' belong the forces of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

5.

So He may admit believing men and women into Gardens under which rivers flow- to stay there forever- and absolve them of their sins. And that is a supreme achievement in the sight of Allah.

6.

Also 'so that' He may punish hypocrite men and women and polytheistic men and women, who harbour evil thoughts of Allah.¹ May ill-fate befall them! Allah is displeased with them. He has condemned them and prepared for them Hell. What an evil destination!

 i.e., that Allah will not support His Prophet (ﷺ) and that misfortune will befall the believers.

7.

To Allah 'alone' belong the forces of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

8.

Indeed, 'O Prophet,' We have sent you as a witness, a deliverer of good news, and a warner,

9.

so that you 'believers' may have faith in Allah and His Messenger, support and honour him, and glorify Allah morning and evening.¹

 Another possible translation: “… so that you ˹all˺ may believe in Allah and His Messenger, support ˹His cause˺, revere, and glorify Him morning and evening.”

10.

Surely those who pledge allegiance to you 'O Prophet' are actually pledging allegiance to Allah. Allah's Hand is over theirs. Whoever breaks their pledge, it will only be to their own loss. And whoever fulfils their pledge to Allah, He will grant them a great reward.

11.

The nomadic Arabs, who stayed behind, will say to you 'O Prophet', 'We were preoccupied with our wealth and families, so ask for forgiveness for us.' They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, 'Who then can stand between you and Allah in any way, if He intends harm or benefit for you? In fact, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.

12.

The truth is: you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families again. And that was made appealing in your hearts. You harboured evil thoughts 'about Allah', and 'so' became a doomed people.'

13.

And whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, then We surely have prepared for the disbelievers a blazing Fire.

14.

To Allah 'alone' belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He forgives whoever He wills, and punishes whoever He wills. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

15.

Those who stayed behind will say, when you 'believers' set out to take the spoils of war, 'Let us accompany you.' They wish to change Allah's promise.¹ Say, 'O Prophet,' 'You will not accompany us. This is what Allah has said before.' They will then say, 'In fact, you are driven by jealousy against us!'² The truth is: they can hardly comprehend.

 Those who pledged allegiance at Ḥudaibiyah were promised by Allah that the spoils of war obtained from the Tribe of Khaibar would be exclusively theirs.

 Meaning, you only say so to deprive us of our share.

16.

Say to nomadic Arabs, who stayed behind, 'You will be called 'to fight' against a people of great might,¹ who you will fight unless they submit. If you then obey, Allah will grant you a fine reward. But if you turn away as you did before, He will inflict upon you a painful punishment.'

 This refers to Hawâzin and Thaqîf, two pagan Arab tribes.

17.

There is no blame on the blind, or the disabled, or the sick 'for staying behind'. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him into Gardens under which rivers flow. But whoever turns away will be subjected by Him to a painful punishment.

18.

Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you 'O Prophet' under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down serenity upon them and rewarded them with a victory at hand,¹

 The conquest of Khaibar in 7 A.H./628 C.E.

19.

and many spoils of war they will gain. For Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

20.

Allah has promised you 'believers' abundant spoils, which you will gain, so He hastened this 'truce'¹ for you. And He has held people's hands back from 'harming' you, so it may be a sign for the believers, and so He may guide you along the Straight Path.

 Or the spoils of Khaibar.

21.

And 'there are' other gains which are beyond your reach that Allah is keeping in store 'for you'. For Allah is Most Capable of everything.

22.

If the disbelievers were to fight you, they would certainly flee.¹ Then they would never find any protector or helper.

 lit., turn their backs.

23.

'This is' Allah's way, already long established 'in the past'. And you will find no change in Allah's way.

24.

He is the One Who held back their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of 'Hudaibiyah, near' Mecca, after giving you the upper hand over 'a group of' them.¹ And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.

 A group of Meccans wanted to attack the Muslims on their way to Mecca, but were taken captive by the Muslims, then were released.

25.

They are the ones who persisted in disbelief and hindered you from the Sacred Mosque, preventing the sacrificial animals from reaching their destination.¹ 'We would have let you march through Mecca,' had there not been believing men and women, unknown to you. You might have trampled them underfoot, incurring guilt for 'what you did to' them unknowingly. That was so Allah may admit into His mercy whoever He wills.² Had those 'unknown' believers stood apart, We would have certainly inflicted a painful punishment on the disbelievers.

 The animals that Muslims had brought along to be sacrificed after completing the rituals of the minor pilgrimage (’umrah).

 By doing so, the Meccan Muslims who were unknown to their fellow believers were safe, along with the pagans who later accepted Islam.

26.

'Remember' when the disbelievers had filled their hearts with pride- the pride of 'pre-Islamic' ignorance¹- then Allah sent down His serenity upon His Messenger and the believers, inspiring them to uphold the declaration of faith,² for they were better entitled and more worthy of it. And Allah has 'perfect' knowledge of all things.

 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.

27.

Indeed, Allah will fulfil His Messenger's vision in all truth: Allah willing, you will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, in security- 'some with' heads shaved and 'others with' hair shortened- without fear.¹ He knew what you did not know, so He first granted you the triumph at hand.²

 Pilgrims are required to shave or trim their hair upon successfully completing the rituals of pilgrimage.

 This refers to the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyah and/or the gains of Khaibar before the fulfilment of the Prophet’s vision to enter Mecca for ’umrah.

28.

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with 'right' guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others. And sufficient is Allah as a Witness.

29.

Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm with the disbelievers¹ and compassionate with one another. You see them bowing and prostrating² 'in prayer', seeking Allah's bounty and pleasure. The sign 'of brightness can be seen' on their faces from the trace of prostrating 'in prayer'. This is their description in the Torah.³ And their parable in the Gospel is that of a seed that sprouts its 'tiny' branches, making it strong. Then it becomes thick, standing firmly on its stem, to the delight of the planters⁴- in this way Allah makes the believers a source of dismay for the disbelievers.⁵ To those of them who believe and do good, Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward.

 This passage and the next should be understood in their historical context. The Muslims were urged to be firm with the Arab pagans and their allies who were at war with Muslims at that time. Otherwise, Islam encourages Muslims to treat peaceful non-Muslims with kindness and fairness. See 60:8-9.

 Prostration means lying down on one’s face (i.e., touching the ground with the forehead and nose while resting on knees and flat palms of both hands) as an act of prayer and submission to Allah.

 In Deuteronomy 33:1-3, ˹Moses proclaimed:˺ “The Lord came from Sinai. Rising from Seir upon us, he shone forth from Mount Paran, accompanied by a myriad of his holy ones, with flaming fire from his right hand for them. Indeed, lover of people, all of his holy ones are in your control. They gather at your feet to do as you have instructed. [sic]” Paran is a mountain in Mecca.

 In Matthew 13:3-9, “˹Jesus˺ spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow. … ˹A seed˺ fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. “He who has ears, let him hear.”’ Or the parable of the growing seed in Mark 4:26-28.

 See the first footnote for 48:29.