﴿In a few years﴾ and that is from the least of the number because it is in the first rank, which is the rank of individuals. He expressed it with 'few' and did not specify to keep the servants in a state of a kind of ignorance, to incapacitate them and challenge those who opposed by denying what he informed them of or knowing what he concealed of it. This was legislated for obscurity if it led to a benefit. The explanation of that is that there were continuous wars between Persia and Rome, and numerous armies over long periods, until they met in the eighth year of the Prophethood of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ during the time of Khosrow son of Hormizd son of Anushirvan. Persia triumphed over Rome. This was reported by Sanid ibn Dawud in his tafsir, Al-Wahidi in the reasons for revelation, Al-Tirmidhi in the tafsir of Surah Al-Rum from his collection, and others. I have gathered what they mentioned, and perhaps I have included some of their narrations within others.

Sanid said from Ikrimah: There was in Persia [a woman] who would not give birth except to heroes. Khosrow called her and said: I want to send an army [to Rome] and appoint a man from your sons over them, so advise me whom I should appoint. She advised him of a son named Shahrazad, so he appointed him over the army of the people of Persia. The scholar Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Miskawayh said in his book "Experiences of Nations and the Consequences of Aspirations": She described her sons: This one is Farhan, more resolute than [a spear], this one is Shahrazad, more judicious than this, this one is so-and-so, more cunning than this, so appoint any of them you wish. He appointed Shahrazad. Then Caesar sent a man named Qitmir with an army from the Romans, and he met Shahrazad at Adhri'at and Busra, which is the nearest to the land of the Arabs. Persia overcame the Romans and they defeated them, killing them and destroying their cities and cutting down their olive trees. This reached the Prophet ﷺ and his companions may Allah be pleased with them while they were in Mecca, and this distressed them. The Prophet ﷺ disliked that the illiterates from the Magians should prevail over the people of the Book from the Romans, because Persia did not have a scripture, and they denied the resurrection, worshipped fire and idols. The disbelievers of Mecca rejoiced and mocked. Al-Tirmidhi reported from Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with both of them: The polytheists loved that the people of Persia should prevail over the Romans, [while the Muslims loved that the Romans should prevail over Persia] because they were people of the Book. It ended. "So the polytheists met the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and said: You are people of the Book, and the Christians are people of the Book, and we are illiterates, and the people of Persia are illiterates. Our brothers from the people of Persia have prevailed over your brothers from the people of Rome, so if you fight us, we will certainly prevail over you. Abu Bakr mentioned this to the Prophet ﷺ, and the verse was revealed. He ﷺ said: 'Indeed, they will prevail in a few years.'"

Al-Tirmidhi said, "From Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned it to them and they said: 'Set a term between us and you. If we prevail, we will have this and that, and if you prevail, you will have this and that.' So he set the term of five years, and they did not prevail. They mentioned that to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: 'Why did you not set it for a shorter time?' meaning less than ten, for 'a few' is between three and nine. Then the Romans prevailed after that." Al-Tirmidhi also narrated from Niyar ibn Makram al-Aslami, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: "A good, authentic, and strange hadith." He said: "When the verses: ﴿Alif Lam Meem﴾ [Al-Rum: 1] ﴿The Romans have been defeated﴾ [Al-Rum: 2] ﴿In the lowest part of the land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious﴾ [Al-Rum: 3] ﴿In a few years﴾ were revealed, Persia was, on the day this verse was revealed, defeating the Romans. The Muslims loved the victory of the Romans over them because they and the Romans were people of the Book. In this, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said: ﴿And on that Day, the believers will rejoice﴾ ﴿In the victory of Allah; He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful﴾ [Al-Rum: 5]. Quraysh loved the victory of Persia because they and the Persians were not people of the Book and did not believe in resurrection. When this verse was revealed, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, went out shouting in the neighborhoods of Mecca: ﴿Alif Lam Meem﴾ [Al-Rum: 1] ﴿The Romans have been defeated﴾ [Al-Rum: 2] ﴿In the lowest part of the land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious﴾ [Al-Rum: 3] ﴿In a few years﴾! Some people from Quraysh said to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him: 'That is between us and you. Your companion claimed that the Romans will defeat Persia in a few years. Shall we not wager with you on that?' He said: 'Yes,' and that was before the prohibition of gambling. [So Abu Bakr and the polytheists wagered and agreed on the wager.] They said to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him: 'How do you define a few between three years and nine years? So name a middle term that we can reach.' They agreed among themselves on six years. The six years passed before they prevailed. The polytheists took Abu Bakr's pledge, may Allah be pleased with him. When the seventh year began, the Romans prevailed over Persia. The Muslims criticized Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, for naming six years because Allah, glorified and exalted is He, said: ﴿In a few years﴾. Ibn al-Jawzi said in 'Zad al-Masir': They said: 'Why did you not affirm it as Allah affirmed it? If He had wanted to say: 'Six,' He would have said so.' Al-Tirmidhi said in his narration: And many people embraced Islam at that time. Al-Tirmidhi also narrated, and al-Wahidi in the reasons for revelation, from Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with him, that the victory of the Romans over them was on the Day of Badr. Al-Zamakhshari mentioned in what he narrated from Sanid that it was on the Day of Hudaybiyyah. He said after he mentioned what has passed: 'Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the polytheists: 'May Allah not allow your eyes to see! By Allah, the Romans will certainly prevail over Persia after a few years.' Ubayy ibn Khalaf said to him: 'You have lied, O Abu Fudhayl! Set a term between us and I will wager with you on it.' - and 'wagering' means 'to bet' - So they wagered on ten camels from each of them and set the term for three years. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, informed the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'A few is between three and nine.' He increased the stakes and extended the term, making it one hundred camels for nine years. Ubayy died from the wound inflicted by the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in Uhud. The Romans prevailed over Persia on the Day of Hudaybiyyah, which was at the beginning of the seventh year. It was said that the victory was on the Day of Badr for both parties. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, took the pledge from the descendants of Ubayy and brought it to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'Give charity with it.'" The end.

And perhaps he supported the saying by stating that the year of Al-Hudaybiyyah was the year six, as found in the two Sahihs from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, from Abu Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, in the letter of the Prophet ﷺ to Heraclius and the question of Heraclius to Abu Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him. In it, it is mentioned that this was when Allah revealed to him the armies of Persia and he walked from Homs to Aelia in gratitude for what Allah had granted him. It is known that the letter of the Prophet ﷺ to him and to other kings was after returning from Al-Hudaybiyyah. And this verse is among the clear signs that testify to the truth of prophethood, and that the Qur'an was revealed from Allah with clear truth, for it is news of the knowledge of the unseen that only Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows, and reality matched it. Ibn Al-Jawzi said: And regarding the one who took charge of placing the wager from the polytheists, there are two sayings: one of them is Ubayy ibn Khalaf - as stated by Qatadah, and the second is Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, as stated by Al-Suddi. End.

And Abu Hayyan mentioned the story in his tafsir 'Al-Bahr', and he added from Mujahid that when they met, Persia was in the island. And from Al-Suddi that it was in the land of Jordan and Palestine. And when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, intended to migrate, Ubayy ibn Khalaf requested from him a guarantor for the danger that was between them in that matter. His son, Abdur-Rahman, may Allah be pleased with him, guaranteed for him. When Ubayy intended to go [to Uhud], Abdur-Rahman sought him for the guarantee, and he gave him a guarantor. Ubayy was killed by a wound inflicted by the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Ibn Al-Furat said in his history: There was a truce between Khosrow Anushirvan and the King of Rome. A dispute occurred between two men from their companions, and the Roman wronged the Persian. Khosrow sent to the King of Rome because of this, but he did not heed his message. Khosrow invaded him with seventy thousand fighters and took the cities of Dara, Edessa, Manbij, Qinnasrin, Aleppo, and Antioch - which was the best city in the Levant - and Famiya, Homs, and many cities, and he took possession of what was in them. He captured the people of Antioch and transported them to the land of the black soil. The King of Rome continued to pay him tribute, and he remained victorious and supported, feared by the nations, and many from the Turks, China, the Khazars, and their like would visit him. He also said regarding the reign of Abrawiz ibn Hormuz ibn Anushirvan: He was very perceptive, strong in intellect. He once sent the Aspahbad - meaning Shahbaraz - to Rome and took the treasures of the Romans, sending them to Khosrow. Khosrow feared that the Aspahbad would turn against him due to the victory he had achieved, so he sent to have him killed. The man came to him and saw in his intellect and planning what prevented him from killing him and said: Someone like this should not be killed. He informed him of what he had come for. Khosrow sent to Caesar, the King of Rome: I wish to meet you. They met, and he said to him: The wicked has plotted to kill me, and I intend to destroy him. So make for me from yourself what I can feel secure with, and I will give you from the houses of his wealth what I have taken from you. He gave him the covenants, and Caesar marched with forty thousand fighters. He descended upon Khosrow, and Khosrow realized how matters had unfolded. He called for a Christian priest, meaning he wrote with him a letter. Ibn Miskawayh said: Abrawiz sent a man from his distinguished companions in a mighty army to the lands of Rome, and he inflicted damage upon them and reached them. He opened the Levant and reached their paths in their traces. His matter grew great, and Abrawiz feared him, so he wrote to him with two letters. In one of them, he commanded him to appoint a trustworthy person over his army and to come to him, and in the other, he commanded him to remain in his position. For when he contemplated his matter and deliberated, he found no one to take his place, and he did not feel safe from disruption if he were absent from his position. He sent the two letters with a trustworthy messenger and said to him: Deliver the first letter [with the command] to come, and if he is quick about it, then that is what I wanted. If he is reluctant and hesitates about obedience, then remain silent about him for a few days, then inform him of the second letter and return to him so he may remain in his position. The messenger of Khosrow went until he arrived at the commander of the army in the lands of Syria. He delivered the first letter to him, and when he read it, he said: Either Khosrow has changed towards me and dislikes my position, or his mind has become confused by someone like me while I am in the midst of the enemy. He called his companions and read to them the letter [and they denied it. When three days had passed, he delivered to him the second letter in the same position, and he made him believe that a messenger had come with it. When he read it, he said: This is confusion and has not occurred from him, and he sent to the King of Rome someone who consulted him about establishing peace between them on the condition that he would clear the way for the King of Rome until he enters the lands of Iraq unexpectedly from Khosrow, and that the King of Rome would have what he could dominate over without Iraq, and for the Persian what is beyond that to the lands of Persia. The King of Rome agreed to this, and the Persian withdrew from him to a part of the island, taking the mouths of the roads. Khosrow did not know until the news of the King of Rome reached him from the direction of Qirqisiyya, and Khosrow was unprepared, and his army was scattered in his works. He leaped from his throne upon hearing [the news] and said: This is a time for cunning, not a time for severity. He began to scratch the ground for a while, then he called for a parchment and wrote a small letter in fine handwriting to his companion in the island saying in it: You have known what I commanded you regarding maintaining contact with the King of Rome and enticing him towards yourself and clearing the way for him until he enters our lands, then I will take him from before him, and you will take him and whoever we have appointed for that from behind him, and that will be his destruction. What we have planned has been completed at this time, and your appointment for the attack on him is on such and such a day. Then he called a monk who was in a monastery beside his city and said: What kind of neighbor have I been to you? He said: The best neighbor. He said: [Indeed] we have a need for you. The monk said: The king is too great to have a need for someone like me, but I am willing to sacrifice myself for what the king commands. Khosrow said: Carry [for me] a letter to so-and-so my companion - and Ibn Al-Furat said: to the Aspahbad - and do not let anyone know about this.

And he gave him a thousand dinars. He said: Yes! Kisra said: You are passing by your Christian brothers, so conceal it. He said: Yes. When the monk turned away from him, Kisra said to him: Did you know what is in the book? He said: No. He said: Do not carry it until you know what is in it. When he read it, he put it in his pocket and then went on. When he reached the Roman camp, he looked at the crosses and the priests and their clamor with sanctifications and prayers. His heart burned for them, and he feared what might befall them. He said to himself: I am the worst of people if I carry in my hand the destruction of Christianity and the ruin of these people. So he shouted: I have not been entrusted by Kisra with a message, nor do I have a book with me. They took him, and they found the book with him. Kisra had sent a messenger before that, who had taken a shortcut until he passed by the Roman camp as if he were a messenger to Kisra from his companion who matched the kingdom of the Romans. He had with him a letter in which the king had commanded me to approach the king of the Romans and to deceive him and to clear the way for him so that the king could take him from in front of him, and I would take him from behind him. And I did that. The king saw in informing me the time of his departure to him. The king of the Romans took the messenger and read the letter and said: I am astonished that this Persian has deceived Kisra. And Abrwaz came to him from his army. He found the king of the Romans had fled. So he followed him, killing and capturing whoever he caught. And he reached the defeat of the Romans, so he wanted to save himself and cover his sin for what he had missed of what he had planned. He went after the fleeing Romans, and only a few of them escaped. Ibn al-Furat said: The priest went out with the book and delivered it to Caesar, saying: He intended nothing but our destruction, and he was defeated. Kisra followed him and escaped with a small group. Kisra opened several of the lands of his enemies, and his cavalry reached Constantinople and Africa. Ibn Miskawayh also mentioned what could be intended by the verse and explained the reasons for that. He mentioned that Hormuz ibn Anushirwan, when he sent Bahram ibn Bahram, nicknamed 'Jubin', to the king of the Turks and was successful against him and then against his son, behaved poorly towards him and did not permit him to return. Rather, he commanded him to advance in what Bahram did not see as correct and feared his opposition. Hormuz was very good in conduct, a cultured and clever man, a strategist except for a trait that his maternal uncles had inherited from the Turks. For this reason, he was excluding the nobles and the people of the houses and the scholars. He had no opinion except in winning over the lowly and reforming them. Thus, the intentions of the great ones among his army became corrupt. When Bahram feared him, he gathered the leaders of his army and went out to them in women's attire, holding a spindle and cotton. Then he sat in his place and placed a spindle and cotton before each one of them. They were displeased with that. He said: The king's letter has come to me regarding this, so there must be obedience to his command if you are obedient. They refused and deposed Hormuz, and they showed that his son Abrwaz was more suitable for the kingdom than him. When Abrwaz heard of this, he feared for himself from his father, so he fled to Azerbaijan. When the army that was in the presence of Hormuz heard of his deposition, they were pleased, and his matter weakened. Then they all agreed to depose him, so they deposed him and handed him over. Abrwaz was informed of this, so he hastened to Bahram and preceded him and sat on the throne of kingship. The people obeyed him, and he entered upon his father and informed him that he was his deputy, and he apologized to him that what had happened to him was not by his opinion nor with his consent, nor was he present to defend him. So he excused him. Bahram intended him, and long matters occurred between them, and great wars took place, in which Abrwaz weakened and felt from his companions a slackness, and failure became evident among them. He went to his father and consulted him, and he saw for him the path to the king of the Romans. He set out for that with a small number among them, Bindawih and Bistam, who was his companion, and a Kurdish man, the brother of Bahram, who was hostile to his brother Bahram and supportive of Abrwaz. They crossed the Euphrates and went to a monastery on the outskirts of the settlement. Bahram's cavalry caught up with them, and Bindawih said to Abrwaz: Give me your armor and adornments so that I may disguise myself for you and sacrifice myself for you. He did so, and he commanded him to escape with those with him, and he remained in the monastery. When he was surrounded, Bindawih looked down from above the monastery and deceived them into thinking that he was Abrwaz by what he was wearing of armor and adornments. They suspected him and asked for a delay until tomorrow to surrender himself to them, so they held back, and the monastery was guarded. When morning came, he looked at them and said: I have some remaining work to prepare for prayers and worship, so give us a delay. He kept defending until most of the day passed, and he knew that Abrwaz had escaped them. Then he opened up and informed their leader of their matter, and he turned back to Bahram Jubin and imprisoned him.

When Abrwaz arrived at Antioch, the scribe of the King of Rome, he asked for his support. He responded and they became close, to the extent that he married his daughter Maryam to him and brought her to him. He sent to him sixty thousand fighters, among them his brother Tiyadhus, and asked him to abandon the tribute that his ancestors used to demand from the Kings of Rome when he took power. Abrwaz was pleased with him and marched with them. When he reached Adani, in their land, many from the people of Persia joined him, and he gained strength against Bahram. Bahram then headed to the lands of the Turks, and their king honored him. Abrwaz continued to be friendly with the King of Rome who supported him until the Romans turned against him regarding something they found unacceptable from him, so they killed him and appointed another in his place. His son fled to Abrwaz, who appointed him over the Romans and sent with him a large army led by Shahrbaraz. He conquered their lands, and the ruler of Khosrow took Jerusalem and aimed for Constantinople. They negotiated on the shore of the gulf near it, and no one from the Romans submitted to the son of the king whom Khosrow had directed. They had killed the one they appointed after his father when his immorality and poor management became evident, and they appointed a man over them named Heraclius.

Ibn al-Furat said: Indeed, Abrwaz sent with the son of the king who had supported him three of his commanders in a large and dense army. One of them was said to be Zamirzan, whom he directed to the lands of Ash-Sham. He conquered it until he reached the lands of Palestine. He entered the city of Bayt al-Maqdis and took its archbishop and those who were in it from the priests and other Christians with the wood of the cross. It had been buried in a garden in a coffin made of gold, and something was planted above it. They guided him to it, so he dug it up and sent it to Khosrow in the year twenty-four of his reign. As for the second commander, who was said to be Shahir, he marched until he encompassed Misr, Alexandria, and the lands of Nubia. He sent to Khosrow with the keys of the city of Alexandria in the year twenty-eight of his reign. As for the third commander, who was said to be Farihan, he aimed for Constantinople until he camped near water and set up his tent there. Khosrow commanded him to devastate the lands of the Romans in anger for what they had violated from Morik, meaning the king who had supported him. He did this for the sake of his son, seeking revenge against them. No one from the Romans submitted to the son of the king who had done this for him, because when they killed the king, they appointed a man named Heraclius over them. Then Ibn al-Furat and Ibn Fathun said: When Heraclius saw the great destruction in the lands of the Romans caused by the Persian armies and their killing of their fighters, and the capturing of their offspring, and the violation of their wealth, he supplicated to Allah, the Exalted, and increased in prayer and supplication. It is said that he saw in his dream a man of great stature and high status. A visitor entered upon them, and that man left his assembly and said to Heraclius: Indeed, I have delivered him into your hand. He did not recount that dream in his wakefulness until similar dreams continued to come to him. He saw in some of his nights as if a man entered upon them with a long chain in his hand, which he threw around the neck of the man of high status, then he handed him over and said to him: Here, I have delivered Khosrow to you entirely. Ibn al-Furat said: So fight him, for you are able against him, and you will attain your wish in your battles. When these dreams continued to come to him, he narrated them to the nobles of the Romans and their scholars. They advised him to wage war against him. So Heraclius prepared and appointed his son over the city of Constantinople. He took a different route than the one in which Shahbaraz, Khosrow's commander, was. He marched until he entered the lands of Armenia and camped at Nisibis after a year. The commander of that frontier from Khosrow had been summoned for a matter that was from Khosrow against him. As for Shahbaraz, the letters of Khosrow were sent to him in the stronghold at the location where he was, and he was instructed to leave the outpost. Then Khosrow learned of Heraclius's advance with his armies to Nisibis, so he sent a man from his commanders named Rahzad with twelve thousand cavalry. He commanded him to establish himself at Nineveh, which is now called Mosul, on the banks of the Tigris, and to prevent the Romans from crossing it. Khosrow had received news of Heraclius and that he was advancing while he was then residing at the royal Daskara. Rahzad found it difficult to fulfill Khosrow's command and to camp where he ordered him, so Heraclius crossed the Tigris from another location to the side where the Persian army was. Rahzad ignited the eyes upon him, so they returned to him and informed him that he was with seventy thousand fighters. Rahzad was certain that he and those with him from the army were unable to confront him. He wrote to Khosrow more than once, informing him that Heraclius was attacking him with those whom he could not withstand due to their numbers and the quality of their equipment. Ibn al-Furat said: Khosrow wrote back: If you are unable against the Romans, you are not unable to shed your blood in my obedience. When the responses from Khosrow continued to come to Rahzad with that, he gathered his army and confronted the Romans with them. The Romans killed Rahzad and six thousand men, and the remainder of them fled, running away. Khosrow learned of the killing of the Romans of Rahzad and six thousand, and what Heraclius gained of victory distressed him, so he retreated from Daskara to the cities and fortified himself there due to his inability to confront Heraclius. Heraclius marched until he was close to the cities.

Ibn al-Furat said: Khosrow prepared for his fight, then Khosrow opposed the kingdom of the Romans and returned to his land, carrying his treasures by sea. The wind blew and cast them at Alexandria, and his companions from the Romans seized them. Al-Mas'udi mentioned this, and he opposed some of the opposition: he said: A certain Roman noble named Quqas leaped forth, and those who followed him against Tamuriaqas, the king of the Romans, killed him and appointed Quqas as king. This news reached Abrawiz, and he became angry for the sake of his nobleman and sent armies to the Romans. There were lengthy accounts regarding this. He sent Shahryar, the Marzbān of the West, to war against the Romans, and he descended upon Antioch. There were lengthy accounts and correspondences between him and the king of the Romans and Abrawiz until the king of the Romans went out to fight Shahryar. He had previously sent his treasures by sea in a thousand ships. The wind cast them to the shore of Antioch, and Shahryar seized them and carried them to Abrawiz, and they were named the treasures of the wind. Then the situation deteriorated between Abrawiz and Shahryar. Shahryar did not remain with the king of the Romans, so Shahryar sent him towards Iraq until he reached the river known as Nahrawan. Abrawiz schemed with some of the bishops of Christianity who were under his protection until he returned him to Constantinople, and he spoiled the situation between him and Shahryar. Abu Hayyan said: The reason for the emergence of the Romans was that Khosrow had sent to Shahbaraz, who was appointed to fight the Romans, saying: 'Kill your brother Farakhan.' This concludes the continuation of what was previously mentioned regarding the story of the woman who only gave birth to heroes, and that Khosrow sent her son Shahbaraz to fight the Romans, and he was victorious over them.

Ibn Miskawayh said: When Persia overcame Rome, Farakhan sat drinking and said to his companions: I saw as if I were sitting on the throne of Khosrow. His saying reached Khosrow, so he wrote to Shahrazad: When this letter reaches you, send me the head of Farakhan. Shahrazad wrote back to him: O king, you will not find anyone like Farakhan, for he has a way of dealing with the enemy and a voice, so do not do it. He wrote to him: There are men in Persia who can replace him, so hasten to me with his head. He replied to him, and Khosrow became angry and sent a messenger to the people of Persia: I have removed Shahrazad from you and appointed Farakhan. Then he handed the messenger a small document and said: When Farakhan takes the kingship and his brother submits to him, give it to him. When Shahrazad read the letter, he said: I hear and obey, and he descended from his throne. Farakhan sat down, and the messenger handed him the document, and he said: Bring me Shahrazad, for he was presented to be executed. He said: Do not rush until I write my will. He said: Do it. He called for a box and gave him three documents, and said: All of this I have consulted with Khosrow about you, and you wanted to kill me with one letter. He returned the kingship to his brother. Shahrazad wrote to Caesar, the king of Rome: I have a need for you that cannot be carried by the messengers nor reached by the letters, so let it be, and do not meet me except with fifty Romans, for I will also meet you with fifty Persians. Caesar came with five hundred Romans, and he began to place spies before him on the road, fearing that he might have plotted against him until his spies informed him that he had only fifty men with him. Then he spread out for them, and they met in a tent of brocade that was set up for them, and they both had a knife with them, and they called for a translator between them. Shahrazad said: Those who destroyed your cities and reached you and your soldiers as they did, I and my brother did so with our bravery and cunning, and Khosrow envied us and wanted me to kill my brother, but I refused. Then he ordered my brother to kill me, so we both removed him, and we fight him with you. He said: You have spoken rightly and been guided. Then one of them gestured to his companion that the secret is only between two, and if it exceeds two, it becomes public. His companion said: Indeed. They both stood up to the translator with their knives and killed him, and they agreed to fight Khosrow. Shahrazad and Heraclius cooperated against Khosrow, and the Romans overcame Persia. Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Hakam mentioned in the early conquests of Egypt something similar to this narration from the narration of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that he heard Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, asking al-Hurmuzan about the reason for the Romans' appearance against Khosrow, and he informed him about it. It was also among the reasons for the dissent against him that those who fled after the killing of their leader Rahzad were sought, and he ordered that they be punished for their defeat, which compelled them to dissent against him and seek ways to save themselves from him. If the battle in which the Romans were defeated was at Adhri'at or in Jordan, it is the closest land of the Romans - that is, the nearest to the noble Mecca. And if it was in the island, it is closer in relation to Khosrow. This is what the verse has confirmed in the apparent wording and its clarity, along with what has been added to that from the victory of the Arabs over the Persians also at this time in the battle of Dhi Qar - as I have explained in my commentary on my poem of the Prophetic biography titled 'The Poem of the Jewels from the Biography of the Master of the First and the Last.' Its summary will come soon - until it is said: The support of the Romans and the Arabs and the support of the Muslims at Badr was at the same time.

Among the wonders that fall under the meaning of the verse, from the subtleties of miracles in the depth of its indication and hint, is that our time has seen the soldiers of the Turks and others overpowering the kingdom of Egypt. Then, the Circassians among them have dominated for about a hundred years. They are among those who do not have a book in origin, even though their Islam has nullified what they were upon before. When one of them dies and has a son, they would appoint his son for the sake of his possessions and following his father until they devise a way to depose him. Most of their children would be small or in their minority until the year 566 AH. It so happened that the one in charge at that time from among them was the supported Ahmad ibn al-Ashraf Eynal al-Alai, who had nearly reached forty. He had firmness and cleverness, and the duration of his rule after his father exceeded four months, which became very burdensome for them. The great prince Khashqadam, one of the possessions of the supported, was an old man and a Roman. Their custom was that if they deposed one of the sons of the kings, even if it was the king who was in the supreme command, the Circassians chose his rule, even if it was from others, over the rule of one born in Islam in the lands of the Arabs. They devised a plan regarding him until they all agreed on his deposition, even his possessions and those of his father. They stood up in that matter as one man at the end of the month of Ramadan of the mentioned year. When he found no supporter, he surrendered himself on the second day of their assault against him. They offered the rule to a person among them, and he did not see anyone greater than him in rank, so he pointed to the great prince and they appointed him. Then, some of them exerted effort to remove him, but Allah did not decree that for them, nor did He unite their words upon anyone. He acted in the matter with great seriousness and firmness, and gentleness in severity and determination, until his matter was firmly established, and his status grew, and the number of 'a few' was calculated in letters, and it turned out to be seventy-two and eight hundred. This is the measure of the years that have passed from the time of the revelation of the verse until his rule. This is because the victory of the people of Persia over the Romans, as previously mentioned, was in the eighth year of the Prophethood, and at that time the verse was revealed. If we say that its revelation was in the month of Ramadan of that year, it would have been six years before the Hijrah if we consider the fraction of the eighth year as a year. The Battle of Badr occurred on the seventeenth of Ramadan in the second year of the Hijrah in the seventh month. Therefore, the victory of the Romans, if we confirm it as it should be, should not be believed otherwise, as indicated by the great Quran regarding it, as the hint suggests that it was in the year of the Battle of Badr at the end of the seventh year from the time of the revelation of the verse. The rule of the Sultan Khashqadam was at the end of the month of Ramadan at the beginning of the year 666 AH. If you add to it the six years that were before the Hijrah, the total would be eight hundred and seventy-two, which corresponds to the number of 'a few' mentioned in the verse, whether we confirm it as supported by what is in the authentic narration from Abu Sufyan that the victory of the Romans was at the time of Hudaybiyyah, and that was in Dhul-Qi'dah in the sixth year of the Hijrah. As we said, the revelation of the verse was two months or so before the Hijrah, it is confirmed that the victory of the Romans was at the beginning of the seventh year from the revelation of the verse, as in the narration of al-Tirmidhi from [Niyar] may Allah be pleased with him. It coincided with the number of 'a few' in the year 272 AH, in which a person from the Romans was defeated. This is because it appears that Khashqadam died in the first spring of the year 272 AH. After him, the great prince Yalabiya, who was among the Circassians, was appointed, but the matter did not stabilize for him, and he was deposed in Jumada al-Ula of that year. The great prince Tamrabaqa was appointed and was titled al-Dhahir, and he was a Roman. This was among the clear signs if this matter coincided with the mentioned number in both narrations: the narration of those who said that the victory was on the day of Badr, and the narration of those who said it was on the day of Hudaybiyyah. If it were not for the rule of Yalabiya, only one of them would have been confirmed. Indeed, in that is a lesson. This is if we count the individual years, and if we count them by hundreds, it is in a few of them. For it is in the ninth hundred as indicated by the teacher Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam ibn Burjan in his Tafsir, saying: The wisdom of Allah, glorified is His mention, in the circles of decree is that the end of the words returns in them to the beginnings. Among the circles is predetermined, and among them is expanded according to the measure of Allah's will in it and by it. When Allah, the Exalted, informed about the Romans that they were defeated in the lowest land, which is the land of Sham, it was a notification from Him about what would happen - and Allah knows best - and a glad tidings that He gave to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and the believers that this would happen. The meaning of 'defeated' is built for the passive if it is in relation to Persia, the meaning is that its defeat occurred. If it is in relation to the Muslims, the meaning is that the time of its defeat is near at the hands of the Muslims. Then it was said: That was in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, when he defeated them in the land of Sham and took the Al-Aqsa Mosque from their hands.

And the number from three to nine, and the descent of this Surah was in Makkah. This was within a few weeks of twenty to eight and twenty years. Then the opening continued after that, connecting and expanding until the end that was previously determined. Then he mentioned the return of the determination with the conquest of the Romans over some parts of the Levant, and then with the rescue of the Muslims from them. He looked at that sometimes according to the weeks and sometimes according to the hundreds, and sometimes in other ways. He confirmed its occurrence in the number by the predominance and the subjugation repeatedly. This is from the wonders of insights and the subtleties of great secrets.

And when the predominance of one kingdom over another is among the tremendous matters, and the news of it before its occurrence is more awe-inspiring, he mentioned the reason for that and said: "To Allah alone belongs the command." And when the context indicated concern for the Romans, it was possible that one might assume that the victory of Persia over them in that incident and the delay of their victory until the number might have been due to an obstacle that could not be removed. He negated that by establishing the beneficial preposition that His command, glorified and exalted is He, began from the time before their victory, so that Persia did not overcome them except by it. It begins from the time after it, so the delay is by it and not by another, for a wisdom that He, glorified is He, has planned. He said: "Previously," meaning before the dominion of the people of Persia over the Romans, then the dominion of the Romans over Persia, not to an extent that would be the beginning of His exclusivity in matters therein, glorified is He, they overcame them. "And afterwards," meaning after the dominion of the Romans over them and their dominion over the Romans, also not to an extent in it, the Romans also overcame them. He omitted the addition to it, which is what he understood that the time of the victory of Persia over them and what follows from the number is mentioned as entering into His matter twice.

And when he informed of this miracle, he followed it with another miracle, which is that the people of Islam will not have what concerns them, so they will rejoice in His victory. He said: "And on that Day," meaning when the Romans overcame Persia, "the believers will rejoice," meaning those who are deeply rooted in this description from the followers of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.