The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 39
CHAPTER 48 AL-FATH (Revealed after Hijrah) Title, Date of Revelation, and Context According to consensus of scholarly opinion the Surah was revealed when, after signing the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, the Holy Prophet was on his way back to Medina, in the 6th year of Hijrah in the month of Dhul-Qa'dah (Bukhārī). The Treaty being an epoch-making event, all incidents connected with it have been carefully preserved in Islamic history. So complete agreement exists concerning the date and place of the revelation of this Surah. The Surah is entitled Al-Fath (the Victory). The title is appropriate in that a seemingly diplomatic defeat eventually proved to be a master stroke of strategy and led to the Fall of Mecca, and consequently the conquest of the whole of Arabia. The Surah further, referring by implication to the Fall of the Roman and Persian Empires, embodies a prophecy about the eventual triumph of Islam over all the religions of the world. Towards the close of the preceding Surah, believers were given definite promise of victory over their opponents. The present Surah declares in clear and unequivocal terms that the promised victory is not a thing of some indefinite distant future, but is near at hand. It is so near that it may be said to have actually arrived, and it will be so decisive and overwhelming that even the most skeptic will find it hard to deny. Summary of Subject Matter The Surah opens with a firm and unequivocal declaration that the promised victory has actually arrived and that it would be clear, definite, and overwhelming. The Holy Prophet is told that as a result of the victory people will join the fold of Islam in such large numbers that it would prove a formidable task for him adequately to train and educate the new converts in the tenets and principles of Islam. He should therefore implore God's assistance in the discharge of his onerous duty, and ask for His forgiveness and mercy lest, due to human limitations, some defects should remain in its full execution. The Surah proceeds to say that because of lack of proper realization of the import of the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah the believers were downcast. God would send down solace and tranquillity on them and their faith would increase, while the false satisfaction and delight of disbelievers would be short-lived. The believers are further told that they should not have doubted the wisdom of the Prophet's action in signing the Treaty since he was God's 2935