SURAH AL-FATH (THE CONQUEST)

MEDINAN PERIOD

Division: 666

1-3Surely, We have granted you a manifest conquest so Allah may forgive your past and future sins, complete His blessings upon you, guide you to the straight path and Allah may help you with a strong victory.400

4He is the One Who casts tranquility and assurance/morale upon the hearts of the believers so they may increase in faith with their faith. Armies of the Heavens and the Earth belong only to Allah. And Allah is the Most Knowing, the Best Law-Maker.

(111/48; Al-Fath/1-4)

Division: 667

7Armies of the Heavens and the Earth belong only to Allah. Allah is the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Most Honorable, the Invincible/the Subduer, the Best Law-Maker, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible.

8,9-5,6Surely, We have made you a messenger to be a witness, a harbinger of good tidings and a warner so you may believe in Allah and His Messenger, help Him, show respect to Him and exonerate Him from all deficiencies;

so He may admit believing men and women into the gardens of Jannah [Heaven/Paradise], underneath of which rivers flow, to abide therein eternally and He may forgive their sins –this is a great salvation before Allah-;

and He may punish those infidel men and women who invent evil assumptions about Him, those men and women who associate others with Him –Evil be upon them. Allah has punished and cursed them; deprived them of His mercy and prepared Jahannah [Hell] for them. How an evil destination it is!-.401

(111/48; Al-Fath/7-9, 5-6)

Division: 668

10Surely, those who take oath of loyalty to you actually take oath of loyalty to Allah. Power; blessings and support of Allah is over their power; support and service. Therefore, whoever forsakes his promise has forsaken it only against himself. And whoever is faithful to his promise to Allah, Allah will bestow upon him a great reward.

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11Those among Bedouin Arabs, who have left behind; who have not come with you, will soon tell you: “Our wealth and families distracted/forbade us. Ask Allah for forgiveness for us”. They utter with their tongues that which is not within their hearts. Say: “Should Allah wish a loss or a benefit upon you, who can prevent it? Quite contrary, Allah is All-Aware of what you do”.

12You truly thought that the Messenger and the believers shall not return to their families/relatives forever. This seemed pleasing to your hearts. And you made an evil assumption and became a people, manipulated/destroyed.

13And whoever disbelieves Allah and His Messenger should know that We have prepared a blazing fire for the infidels; those who consciously deny the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer].

14And the dominion of the Heavens and the Earth belongs only to Allah. He forgives whomever He pleases and punishes whomever He pleases. And Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

15When you leave with booties, those who lagged behind will say: “Let us follow you”. They intend to manipulate the words of Allah. Say: “You will never go with us. Allah has commanded so”. Then they will say: “Quite contrary, you envy us”. Quite contrary, they do not understand but a little.

16Say to those among Bedouin Arabs who lagged behind: “You shall soon be called to fight against a powerful people, either you will fight them or they will become Muslims. And if you obey, Allah will bestow upon you a great reward. Yet, if you turn away like you did before, He will punish you with a painful punishment”.

17There is no sin upon the blind nor upon the lame nor upon the sick. Yet, whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, Allah will admit him into the gardens of Jannah [Heaven/Paradise], underneath of which rivers flow. And whoever turns away, He will punish him with a painful punishment.

(111/48; Al-Fath/10-17)

Division: 669

18,19Surely, Allah was pleased with the believers when they took the oath of loyalty to you under that tree. He knew that which is within their hearts and sent upon their hearts tranquility, assurance and peace/morale and rewarded them with a close conquest and many booties they would gain soon. And Allah is the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Most Honorable, the Invincible/the Subduer, the Best Law-Maker, the One Who precludes corruption best/makes incorruptible.

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20,21And Allah has promised many war booties you will take and all other thing which you are unable to reach but Allah enshrouds for you so you may benefit from them and as a sign for the believers and so Allah may guide you to the straight path. Allah has bestowed this upon you right away and then withdrew his hands from upon you. And Allah is the Omnipotent.

22,23And had the infidels; those who consciously deny the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer] fought you, they would have fled away as the long-established law/implementation of Allah. –You cannot find any change in the law of Allah.- And they shall never find a guide, protector and helper.

24,25And Allah is the One Who withdrew their hands from upon you and your hands from upon them in the Valley of Mecca; Hudaybiyyah after He made you victorious over them so Allah may admit whomever He pleases into His mercy. And Allah is the Most Seeing of what you do. And they are the ones who deny the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer] and forbid you from the Masjid al-Haram and prevent the sacrifices/the food sent to the pilgrims to be delivered. And if not for the believing men and women whom you do not know them and upon whom you may have liability arise from crushing them unintentionally; had they been divided, We would have surely punished those among them who disbelieve the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer] with a painful punishment.

26And when the infidels; those who consciously deny the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer] ignited within their hearts the arrogance and haughtiness left from the time of Jahiliyyah [Ignorance] and conservatism, Allah sent upon the hearts of His Messenger and the believers tranquility, assurance, peace/morale and ensured that those believers were faithful to their word of “Taqwa/submission under the guardianship of Allah”. Then, they were worth and capable of this. Allah is the Most Knowing of all things.

(111/48; Al-Fath/18-26)

Division: 670

27And surely, Allah has revealed to His Messenger that vision in Truth; “By the will of Allah, you shall admit the Masjid al-Haram fearlessly as shaved and short haired people”. Therefore, Allah knows what you do not know. Then He bestowed upon you a conquest lesser than that/that is close.

28Allah is the One Who has sent His Messenger with the Qur’an, the guidance to the righteous path, and the religion of the Truth so He may raise the religion of the Truth above all other religions. And Allah is sufficient as witness.

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(111/48; Al-Fath/27-28)

Division: 671

29Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and his companions are severe against the infidels; those who consciously deny the Divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb [the Lord, the Cherisher, the Nurturer, the Sustainer] so Allah may provoke enemies through them, and they are merciful among themselves. You see them as the people who teach the oneness of Allah, who prostrate and surrender, asking a favor and a pleasure of Allah. Their mark of prostration can be seen from their very existence/all over them. This is their example in the Torah. And their example in the Bible is like a crop that has sprouted its offshoots and become thicker by strengthening it. Sowers delight over this. Allah has promised to the believers and doers of good deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.

(111/48; Al-Fath/29)

400 Here, the Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty and the Pledge of Ridwan [Pleasure] are dealt with. It had been 6 years since the Hijra and no one could have contacted his nation and relatives. Longing and homesickness hit the Muhajirun [Emigrants] and Ansar [Helpers] were longing for the Kaaba. For this reason, Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] instructed those who wished to travel to Mecca to prepare. On the first Monday of Dhu al-Qadah [March 13 th, 628 AD], 1400 men set out for Mecca. To show that their purpose was peaceful, they took no weapons but a blade called the traveler’s sword. Meccan people who associate others with Allah, who became aware of this, decided to prevent Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] from entering Mecca at all costs and to ensure that he would not get close to Mecca, they sent a troop of 200 horsemen led by Khalid ibn al-Walid. Meanwhile, Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] and his companions arrived to the Hudaybiyyah area that is located in the vicinity of Mecca. Rasulullah sent an envoy to Mecca to declare their purpose and to learn about the attitude of the Meccan people who associate others with Allah against their presence, who would inform that they did not intend to fight but only to visit Kaaba and they would return upon completion of their Umrah [Pilgrimage]. However, the people who associate others with Allah tried to kill the envoy by hitting his camel and causing him to fall. Some foreigners intervened and saved the life of the envoy. The envoy returned and informed Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] thereof. The Meccan people who associate others with Allah considered the entrance of the believers to Mecca a great dishonor to them and thought that in such a case Arabs would disgrace them. Upon such suggestion, Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] sent Uthman ibn-Affan, who still had influence and many affluent relatives in Mecca, to Quraysh. Initially, Uthman ibn-Affan conveyed the message of Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] and said: “We have not arrived to wage a war, we have come for Pilgrimage only”. The Quraysh said to Uthman ibn-Affan: “Visit KAaba if you wish; but we cannot let all of you to enter Mecca and visit Kaaba”. Upon his denial, they took Uthman ibn-Affan into custody in Mecca. While the belief that Uthman ibn-Affan had been killed had spread among the believers, Rasulullah invited all believers to pledge. All the believers pledged to him that they would not evade the war at all costs, even death. This is mentioned in the 10 th, 18th and 19th Ayat of the Surah. From these Ayat forth, this pledge was called “the Pledge of Ridwan [Pleasure] and the tree under which the pledge took place was called the Sajarat ar-Ridwan [the Tree of Pleasure]. Thereafter, it was learnt that the news of Uthman ibn-Affan’s death was false. In the meantime, envoys from both

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sides were shuttling between and a solution for agreement was sought. The people who associate others with Allah were determined not to let the believers enter Mecca. On the other hand, Rasulullah offered peace bay stating: “We are not here to fight. Our only purpose is to visit Kaaba and Pilgrimage. The Quraysh have gotten weak in wars. I would like to sign a treaty with them if they will. It would be good if they accept but otherwise I will fight with them till I fall”. The Meccan people who associate others with Allah could not risk to fight due to the determination of Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] and released Uthman ibn-Affan and other Muslims who had been kept prisoner in Mecca. Then they sent a committee led by Suhayl ibn-Amr to Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah] to sign a treaty. Accordingly; 1) the Muslims and the people who associate others with Allah would not fight for 10 years; 2) the Muslims would not visit Kaaba for one year and go back to Medina but visit Kaaba in the following year, they would stay in Mecca, evacuated by the people who associate others with Allah, for three days and carry no weapons but aforementioned traveler’s sword; 3) should a Meccan citizen convert to Islam and take refuge in Medina, he would be returned; yet should a Medinan citizen take refuge in Mecca, he would not be returned; 4) Arab clans would be free to sign a treaty with any party.

The Muslims frustrated upon seemingly disadvantageous nature of the conditions and said to Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah]; “Are you not Rasulullah [the Messenger of Allah]? Is our cause is the Truth? Why should we accept this people?”. After camping 19 days in Hudaybiyyah, they set out for Medina. This Surah was revealed while they were travelling back to Medina.

401 Due to technical and semantic reasons, we rearranged this passage differently than the Official Mushaf. For detailed information, see Al-Tabyeen al-Qur’an.

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