'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah An-Nasr

It is a Medinan surah in consensus.

The saying of the Exalted:

﴿When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest﴾ ﴿and you see the people entering the religion of Allah in multitudes﴾ ﴿then glorify the praises of your Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of Repentance﴾

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest," and Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, asked a group of the elderly companions, and in the presence of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, about the meaning of this surah and its reason. They all said: The apparent meaning of its words is that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded at the conquests that were opened to him - Mecca and others - to glorify his Lord, praise Him, and seek His forgiveness. Umar said to Ibn Abbas: What do you say, Ibn Abbas? He said: It is the end of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Allah, the Exalted, informed him of his nearing end when he saw these things. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I do not know anything of it except what you mentioned. And this interpretation mentioned by Ibn Abbas was also mentioned by Ibn Mas'ud and his companions, Mujahid and his companions, Qatadah and Al-Dahhak, and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated its meaning from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, saying: "When Mecca was opened and the Arabs embraced Islam, he would often say: 'Glory be to Allah and praise Him, O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness,' interpreting the Qur'an in this surah. And he once said: 'I see it only as the arrival of my end.'" Umar and Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, interpreted it in the presence of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and they were truthful.

And "the victory" that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, saw was his triumph over Quraysh and Hawazin and others. And "the conquest" is the conquest of Mecca, Ta'if, and the cities of Hijaz and much of Yemen. And "the people entering the religion of Allah in multitudes"; this was from the conquest of Mecca until the death of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his book "Al-Isti'ab fi al-Sahaba" in the chapter of Abu Khurash al-Hudhali: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did not die while there was a disbeliever among the Arabs, rather all entered Islam after Hunayn and Ta'if, some of them came, and some of them came with their delegations. Then after him, there was some apostasy, but they all returned to the religion.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the intended - and Allah knows best - are the polytheist Arabs. As for the Christians of Banu Taghlib, I do not see that they ever embraced Islam during the life of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, but they paid the jizyah.

And "the multitudes" refers to groups following groups, as He, the Exalted, said: ﴿A group was thrown into it﴾ [Al-Mulk: 8]. And Muqatil said: The intended by "the people" are the people of Yemen, and from them came seven hundred men. This was also said by Ikrimah. The majority said: The intended is all the delegations of the Arabs; for they said: When the sanctuary is opened for Muhammad, and Allah has protected him from the Abyssinians and others, then you have no claim against him. And Jabir ibn Abdullah mentioned a group of the companions and wept, saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: "The people entered the religion in multitudes and they will exit from it in multitudes."

'And His saying, the Most High: "Indeed, He was Accepting of Repentance" after "And seek His forgiveness" is a great encouragement for those who seek forgiveness. May Allah make us among them. Al-Naqqash reported from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that the victory refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and that the opening refers to the opening of Mecca. Ibn Umar said: This surah was revealed to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, at Mina during the middle days of Tashriq, in the Farewell Pilgrimage, and he lived after it for eighty days or so, blessings and peace be upon him. The interpretation of Surah [An-Nasr] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.