(p-273) Surah Al-Fath

Its intended meaning is the implication of its name, which encompasses the conquest of Mecca and what preceded it from the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and the conquest of Khaybar and similar events. It also includes the confirmation of the news regarding the victory of the Romans over the people of Persia and what branched from the conquest of the honored Mecca, such as the Islam of the people of the Arabian Peninsula, the fighting against the people of apostasy, and the conquests of all the lands, all of which are gathered in the manifestation of the religion over all other religions. This is all in the utmost clarity as expressed in its beginning and middle in some of its verses: "Certainly, Allah has fulfilled His Messenger's vision with truth" [Al-Fath: 27]. And its conclusion: "To make it prevail over all religions" [Al-Fath: 28] "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" [Al-Fath: 29] to His saying: "To make the disbelievers angry with them" [Al-Fath: 29], meaning: with the greatest conquest and what is less than it from the conquests. "And Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness" [Al-Fath: 29] just as it was in its beginning for the Messenger [blessings and peace be upon him] "and a great reward" [Al-Fath: 29]. Likewise, with all the conquests and what they contained of spoils for the great reward for that in the abode of recompense. "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" the Sovereign, the Greatest, encompassing all things with power and knowledge, "the Most Gracious" who has encompassed the accountable beings with the blessing of promise and warning, "the Most Merciful" who has chosen the people of His party for establishing His true religion, thus He made them prevail over all other servants.

* * Since that Surah is the Surah of jihad, and this Surah of conquest is a glad tidings (p-274) for the Mujahideen among the people of this religion of victory, triumph, and success over all who disbelieve, and this is as will come from the relationship of Surah Al-Nasr to Surah Al-Kafirun. It informed about the fighting against the disbelievers by nullifying their deeds and destroying them through combat, and corrupting all conditions, and about those who believed in what was revealed to Muhammad [blessings and peace be upon him] with guidance and rectification of the heart, and concluding with the urging to struggle against them after He guaranteed victory and steadfastness for those among them who supported Him. And He threatened those who turned away with replacing them with others, and indeed that replacement will not turn away from the enemy nor will it abandon him. Thus, this was a necessity for the decline of disbelief and the elevation of faith, and that in itself is the clear victory. [Thus, He began this with His saying in the manner of the result of that, affirming that it must happen and that it] is something that should be emphasized for the delight of the noble souls in it, and to refute those in whose hearts is a disease, and they are the majority of the people at that time.

"Indeed, we" meaning: with the greatness that cannot be withstood by the mountains, "have opened" meaning: We have brought about the appropriate opening for Our greatness for everyone related to the perfection of the means that produce it without doubt, and for that reason, He expressed it in the past tense.

And when the benefit of that for him, blessings and peace be upon him, was that the exaltation of the word of Allah would be through it, and it would elevate him, and the earth would be filled with his security, so no one among them would do a good deed except that he would have a reward like it. They would be, in their short time, two-thirds of the people of Paradise. This would be a honor for him - and other secrets, which the disbelievers struggle to grasp the simplest of them. He said: "For you" meaning: by the peace of Hudaybiyyah in Dhul-Qi'dah, the sixth year of the Hijrah, in which this surah was revealed regarding it. They would accompany him in returning from it to the honored city. Al-Azhari said: There was no greater victory than the peace of Hudaybiyyah. This is because the polytheists mixed with the Muslims, so they heard their words and saw nothing more just or better than it. Islam prevailed over their hearts and was established among them. Many of them embraced Islam within three years. Likewise, from the victory was the strengthening of his affair, blessings and peace be upon him, by the confirmation of what was revealed to him from a surah about his victory over the people of Persia, in the narration of those who said that it was during the time of Hudaybiyyah. Then he emphasized it by saying: "A victory" and he increased its greatness by saying: "Clear" meaning: there is no ambiguity in it for anyone, but every person of reason knows that you are dominant over all the people of the earth because you were alone. And among the people of disbelief, it was believed that you were in their hands, and that your affair would not extend beyond them. So weak people followed you, and they were tortured, and they were with them in the worst conditions. This was established in their minds for a long time, for thirteen years. Then Allah saved your followers from them by the migration to the Negus, may Allah have mercy on him, first, and to the honored city second, while they were assured that you - and you are their leader - nothing would be organized for them without you, nor would they achieve any victory over them unless you were with them. They believed that you were in their grasp, and there was no escape for you from them nor release from their land. So Allah brought you out from among them after He protected you against all odds while you were among them from being killed, despite their efforts in that and their exhausting their strength in harming you. Then they exerted their utmost effort to prevent you from migrating, but they could not. Then, in your return, they could neither endure nor succeed nor triumph.

Rather, they were defeated and overpowered. Then He supported you with righteous and good helpers. You were, despite your fewness, like fierce lions and surging seas. Whenever you turned towards a direction, you overwhelmed it. You gained half of its lords, either by killing them or capturing them, and you continued to increase and grow stronger, while they decreased and weakened. Until you came to them in their lands, which they claimed to be their kingdoms. It was impossible for anyone else to overpower them or even to approach them. They did not defend against your entry except with a truce. They asked you to establish peace and reconciliation. The banners of victory appeared in the most complete manner. The possessors of hearts knew that it was inevitable for you to ascend to the heights and rise to the ranks of greatness in any matters. Imam Ahmad narrated from Majma' ibn Jariyah al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: 'We witnessed Hudaybiyyah with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. When we departed from it, the people were shaking their camels. Some of them said: What is the matter with the people? They said: Revelation has come to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. So we rushed out and found the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, standing on his mount at the place of Ghamim. When the people gathered around him, he recited: ﴿Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory﴾. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Is it a victory, O Messenger of Allah? He said: 'Yes, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul.'

And Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubair said: The connection of this Surah with the one before it is clear from several aspects - and some of them may be obscure - among them is that the Surah of Combat, when they were commanded in it to fight their enemy in His saying, the Most High: "So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks" [Muhammad: 4]. And they were informed of assistance when the truth was established in His saying: "If you support Allah, He will support you" [Muhammad: 7]. This called for the souls' yearning for the state of the outcome, so they recognized that in this Surah, and He, the Most High, said: "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory" [Al-Fath: 1]. So the Most High informed His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, of His great favor upon him, and followed that with the glad tidings for the believers in general, saying: "He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers" [Al-Fath: 4] - the verses. And it included the clarification of the state of those who broke their pledge to him, blessings and peace be upon him, and the ruling on the Bedouins who lagged behind, and the encouragement for jihad, and the clarification of the state of those with excuses, and His great blessing, glorified is He, upon the people of his pledge: "Indeed, Allah is pleased with the believers" [Al-Fath: 18], and He rewarded them with victory and taking the spoils, and with the glad tidings of the conquest of Mecca: "You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque" [Al-Fath: 27], to what He, glorified is He, mentioned of His great blessing upon them, and He reminded them in the Torah and the Gospel of what this noble Surah contains. Another aspect is that when Allah, the Most High, said at the end of the Surah of Combat: "So do not weaken and call for peace while you are superior, and Allah is with you, and He will not deprive you of your deeds" [Muhammad: 35], this was a summary of the great favors He bestowed upon them and the magnificent gifts He gave them. Thus, the Surah of Muhammad contained the explanation of this summary and its elaboration. This necessitates an elaboration of the words that were not relied upon in this commentary, and it is still understood from what has preceded of the indications in the first aspect. Another aspect that may be obscure is that His saying, the Most High: "And if you turn away, He will replace a people other than you, then they will not be like you" [Muhammad: 38] is an indication of those who will enter the religion of Islam from the Persians and others when the Arabs turn away. He also indicated this in His saying, the Most High: "O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allah will bring forth a people He will love and who will love Him" [Al-Ma'idah: 54] - the verses. And he indicated that, blessings and peace be upon him, when he said: "Woe to the Arabs from a great evil that has approached. Today, a breach has been opened from the wall of Gog and Magog like this," and he made a gesture with his index finger and thumb. He indicated, blessings and peace be upon him, the turning away of the Arabs and the dominance of others that will occur in the two verses. And he indicated, blessings and peace be upon him, by saying: "today" to the precedence and postponement. This matter was directed to the days of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, when the Persians, Kurds, and the people of China and the regions of China - which are near Gog and Magog - prevailed. And it was a victory, honor, and triumph for the word of Islam. These people dominated in plans and administrative arrangements and excelled over others. For this reason, he, blessings and peace be upon him, regarded their coming as a victory, saying: "Today has been opened." If he intended otherwise, he would not have expressed it with: "opened." Do you not see the saying of Umar to Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with them both, in the Hadith of the Fitnah when he said to him: "Indeed, there is a closed door between you and it"? Umar said: "Will that door be opened or broken?" He said: "Rather, it will be broken." So there is a difference between opening and breaking. He only indicated the killing of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. That is why he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "opened" and said: "from the wall of Gog and Magog," meaning from their direction and regions; because the Persians and those who came with them are the people of the regions that are near the wall. Thus, His saying, the Most High: "And if you turn away, He will replace a people other than you" [Muhammad: 38] is an indication of the dominance of those we mentioned and their spread in the states, religious plans, and scholarly positions. And when this was before his matter was clarified, it might imply a deficiency and error. He clarified that it is a renewal of victory and a glorification from Him, the Most High, for the word of Islam, saying, the Most High: "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory" [Al-Fath: 1]. The judge Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi mentioned in the summary of the summary the scholars of the Maliki school, indicating the disparity of their ranks. Then he said: "And they proceeded in their consideration with determination, and the strongest among them in it is the people of Khurasan: the non-Arabs by lineage and lands, the Arabs by beliefs and faith, those in whom the promise of the truthful one is fulfilled, and Allah has granted them the keys of realization when the Arabs turned away from knowledge and turned away from it, and they turned to the world and secured themselves from it. The companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "O Messenger of Allah, who are those whom Allah said: 'And if you turn away, He will replace a people other than you, then they will not be like you'" [Muhammad: 38]? He pointed, blessings and peace be upon him, to Salman and said: "If faith were in the Pleiades, men from these would attain it."" The end.