An-Nasr

See ayat 3 for tafseer.

See ayat 3 for tafseer.

The first verse of this sūrah states: “When the help of God and the victory comes” (إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ), “and you see people entering the religion of God in groups” (وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا), then, as gratitude for this great blessing and for this divine victory and assistance, glorify your Lord with praise and seek His forgiveness, for indeed He is most accepting of repentance (فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا). In these three brief yet profound verses, there are numerous points whose careful consideration helps in understanding the central objective of this sūrah. 1. In the first verse, “help” is ascribed to God (نصر الله). This attribution is not unique to this passage; rather, this meaning is reflected in many verses of the Qur’an. Among them is verse 214 of Sūrat al‑Baqarah: (أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ), “Behold, indeed the help of God is near.” Likewise, in Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 126, and in Sūrat al‑Anfāl, verse 10, it is stated: (وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلاَّ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ), “Victory is only from God.” This indicates that help and success, in all circumstances, come solely by God’s will. It is true that to overcome the enemy one must gather resources and material strength, but a monotheistic believer understands victory to be from God alone; therefore, upon success, he is not overcome by arrogance but instead gives thanks to God. 2. In this sūrah, mention is first made of divine help, then of victory and success, and afterward of the spread and influence of Islam and people entering God’s religion in groups. These three are related as cause and effect. Without divine support, victory and success are not achieved; and without victory and the removal of obstacles, people do not enter Islam in groups. After these three stages—each of which is a great blessing—a fourth stage follows: gratitude, praise, and glorification of God. Conversely, divine assistance and victory are granted for the sake of the ultimate objective, namely that people enter the religion of God and that universal guidance be realized. 3. The term “victory” is mentioned here in an absolute sense. Based on the contextual indications previously noted, it refers to the conquest of Mecca, which indeed produced precisely this outcome. The conquest of Mecca truly marked a new chapter in Islamic history, for through it the principal center of polytheism was destroyed, idols were shattered, the hopes of the idolaters turned into despair, and the obstacles that stood in the way of faith in Islam were removed. For this reason, the conquest of Mecca should be regarded as the stage of Islam’s firm establishment, first in the Arabian Peninsula and thereafter throughout the world. Accordingly, after the conquest of Mecca—apart from a single incident that was quickly subdued—no significant resistance from the polytheists is observed, and people from all regions came to the Prophet to enter Islam. 4. In the third verse, the Messenger of God (and, by extension, all believers) is given three important commands, which in reality constitute gratitude for this great victory and an appropriate response to divine assistance: glorification (tasbīḥ), praise (ḥamd), and seeking forgiveness (istighfār). Glorification means declaring God free from every imperfection and deficiency; praise means describing and extolling Him through attributes of perfection; and seeking forgiveness reflects acknowledgment of human shortcomings and failings. This great victory reduced the prevalence of corrupt thoughts, manifested God’s beauty and perfection more clearly, and enabled those who had gone astray to return to the truth. It also prevented people from imagining that God abandons His friends, demonstrated His power to fulfill His promises, and led servants to confess their own deficiencies before His greatness. Moreover, moments of success can give rise to undesirable reactions such as arrogance, self‑exaltation, or seeking revenge against enemies. These three commands teach that at sensitive moments of victory one must remain mindful of God’s majesty and beauty, attribute all things to Him, and remain engaged in seeking forgiveness, so that arrogance and heedlessness are dispelled and the impulse for revenge is restrained. 5. It is certain that the Messenger of God, like all prophets, was infallible. Why, then, is he commanded to seek forgiveness? The answer is that this serves as an exemplar and guideline for the entire community. First, during the prolonged struggle—which lasted nearly twenty years and involved severe and painful trials for the Muslims—there were times when circumstances became so difficult that hearts reached the throats and some people developed improper doubts about divine promises, as the Qur’an states regarding the Battle of the Confederates: (وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا). Now that victory has been attained, it becomes clear that those doubts and anxieties were misplaced, and thus seeking forgiveness is appropriate. Second, no matter how much a person praises God, he can never fully discharge the right of gratitude, and therefore should seek forgiveness for his inadequacy even after praise. Third, after victories, satanic temptations often emerge, producing arrogance on one side and harshness or vengefulness on the other; hence constant remembrance of God and continual seeking of forgiveness are necessary to prevent or remove such states. Fourth, as noted at the beginning of the sūrah, this announcement of victory also signifies the nearing completion of the Prophet’s mission and his approaching departure to meet his Lord, a state most fittingly accompanied by glorification, praise, and seeking forgiveness. For this reason, reports indicate that after the revelation of this sūrah the Messenger of God frequently repeated: “سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك، اللهم اغفر لي إنك أنت التواب الرحيم”. 6. The phrase (إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا) explains the reason for seeking forgiveness; that is, seek forgiveness and repent, because God is most accepting of repentance. Implicitly, it may also suggest that just as God accepts your repentance, you too should, after success, accept the repentance of others as far as possible and not distance them unless signs of renewed hostility or conspiracy appear. As has been observed, during the conquest of Mecca the Messenger of God presented the highest example of Islamic compassion and mercy toward defeated and embittered enemies. This conduct is not unique to the Messenger of God; rather, it is evident throughout the history of all prophets. For example, when the Prophet Joseph attained political authority in Egypt and, after a long separation, was reunited with his parents and brothers, he said: (رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ). Likewise, when the Prophet Solomon saw the throne of the Queen of Sheba placed before him, he declared: (هَذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ).

The conquest of Mecca, as previously noted, opened a new chapter in Islamic history and brought nearly twenty years of resistance by the enemies of Islam to a definitive end. In reality, with the conquest of Mecca, polytheism and idol‑worship were uprooted from the Arabian Peninsula, and Islam became prepared to move beyond Arabia toward other regions of the world. In summary, after the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah, the disbelievers violated their covenant and disregarded the peace agreement. They committed aggression against some of the Prophet’s allies. When these allies lodged their complaint, the Messenger of God resolved to assist them. At the same time, all the conditions were in place for dismantling the central stronghold of idolatry, polytheism, and hypocrisy in Mecca, an action that was necessary under all circumstances. Therefore, by the command of the Prophet of God, preparations were made to proceed toward Mecca. The conquest of Mecca took place in three stages. Stage 1. This was the preparatory stage, which involved securing the necessary resources and capabilities, selecting the appropriate timing, and obtaining sufficient intelligence regarding the enemy’s physical and psychological strength, as well as its overall capacity. This stage was carried out with extreme precision, subtlety, and care. In particular, the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny sealed the routes between Mecca and Medina in such a manner that no information about this massive mobilization reached the people of Mecca. Consequently, they made no preparations whatsoever and remained completely unaware. As a result, despite the magnitude of the operation and the sanctity of the land, almost no blood was shed. Even the letter written by the weak‑faith Muslim Ḥāṭib b. Abī Baltaʿah to Quraysh, which he sent toward Mecca through a woman of the Muzayna tribe named Kufūd or Sārah, was disclosed to the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny in a miraculous manner. ʿAlī عليه السلام, accompanied by others, set out swiftly, intercepted the woman at a station between Mecca and Medina, retrieved the letter from her, and brought both the letter and the woman back to Medina. The details of this incident have already been discussed at length under the first verse of Sūrat al‑Mumtaḥanah. Stage 2. The Muslims finally reached the outskirts of Mecca and established camp outside the city, in the surrounding valleys at a location known as Marr al‑Ẓahrān, a few kilometers from Mecca. At night, they lit numerous fires, either for cooking or to demonstrate the scale of their presence. When a group of the Meccans witnessed this scene, they were astonished. Up to that moment, information regarding the approach of the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny and the army of Islam had remained concealed from Quraysh. That night, the Meccan leader Abū Sufyān and several other chiefs of the polytheists left the city to gather intelligence. At this juncture, the Prophet’s uncle al‑ʿAbbās feared that if the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny entered Mecca forcefully, none of Quraysh would survive. With the Prophet’s permission, he mounted the Prophet’s riding animal and went forth in hopes of encountering someone whom he could instruct to inform the people of Mecca so they might seek amnesty. While proceeding, al‑ʿAbbās heard the voice of Abū Sufyān speaking to his companion Budayl, remarking that they had never seen so many fires. Budayl suggested that the Khuzāʿah tribe had lit them, but Abū Sufyān replied that Khuzāʿah was too weak to kindle such fires. At that moment, al‑ʿAbbās called out to Abū Sufyān, who recognized him and asked what the situation was. Al‑ʿAbbās replied that the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny was approaching with ten thousand fighters. Abū Sufyān became deeply alarmed and asked what he should do. Al‑ʿAbbās advised him to come with him to seek protection from the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny, otherwise he would be killed. Al‑ʿAbbās brought Abū Sufyān with him on the Prophet’s mount and returned swiftly to the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny. As they passed by various groups and fires, al‑ʿAbbās would say that this was the Prophet’s uncle riding on his mount, not a stranger. When they reached ʿUmar b. al‑Khaṭṭāb, he recognized Abū Sufyān and declared that God had finally placed Abū Sufyān under his control, requesting permission to execute him. Al‑ʿAbbās intervened and stated that he had granted Abū Sufyān protection, and the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny confirmed that he too granted him security, instructing that he be brought back the following day. The next day, when al‑ʿAbbās brought Abū Sufyān before the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny, the Prophet asked him whether the time had not yet come to believe in the One God. Abū Sufyān affirmed this and declared the unity of God. When asked whether he now recognized the Prophet as God’s Messenger, he hesitated briefly but eventually he and two of his companions embraced Islam. The Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny then instructed al‑ʿAbbās to take Abū Sufyān to a mountain pass so he could witness the army of God marching by. Upon seeing the immense force, Abū Sufyān admitted that resistance was futile. The Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny granted amnesty by declaring that whoever entered Abū Sufyān’s house, the Sacred Mosque, or remained in their own home with the door closed would be safe. Abū Sufyān returned to Mecca warning Quraysh not to resist and calling them to accept Islam for their own safety. Despite resistance from his wife Hind, the city ultimately surrendered. Stage 3. After this swift and magnificent victory, the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny stood at the door of the Kaʿbah and addressed the people of Mecca, asking what they expected of him. They pleaded for mercy, acknowledging his nobility. The Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny, with tears in his eyes, declared that he would say what his brother Yūsuf had said: "لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ" and announced a general pardon, declaring: “You are all free.” He ordered that no blood be shed, except in a very limited number of exceptional cases involving extremely dangerous individuals. When he heard that Saʿd b. ʿUbādah had proclaimed “اليوم يوم الملحمة” (today is the day of vengeance), the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny ordered that the banner be taken from him and replaced with the proclamation “اليوم يوم المرحمة” (today is the day of mercy). Thus, Mecca was conquered without bloodshed. The unexpected generosity and mercy of Islam profoundly affected hearts, and people entered Islam in large numbers. The fame of this victory spread throughout Arabia, firmly establishing the authority of Islam. Standing at the door of the Kaʿbah, the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny declared: "لا إله إلا الله وحده، أنجز وعده، ونصر عبده، وهزم الأحزاب وحده، ألا إن كل مالٍ أو مأثرةٍ أو دمٍ تحت قدميّ هاتين" This historic declaration nullified all claims, privileges, and blood feuds of the pre‑Islamic era, effectively closing all past accounts and granting the people of Ḥijāz a new life under Islam, free from the conflicts of the past. This act greatly accelerated the progress of Islam and remains a guiding principle for both present and future generations. O God, grant us the capacity to uphold this enduring greatness among the true followers of the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny. O Lord, grant us the ability to spread Islamic justice in the world in such a way that people everywhere accept it willingly and wholeheartedly. Āmīn, O Lord of all the worlds.