Surah an-Nasr

It is called Surah Idha Ja'a. It is reported from Ibn Mas'ud that it is called Surah al-Tawdi' (The Surah of Farewell) because of the indication it contains regarding his passing—upon him be blessings and peace—and his bidding farewell to the world and all that is in it.

It has come in several narrations from Ibn Abbas and others that when it was revealed, he—upon whom be the blessings of the Exalted be—said: "My death has been announced to me." In a narration by al-Bayhaqi from him: when it was revealed, he summoned Fatimah—may the Exalted be pleased with her—and said: "My death has been announced to me." She wept, then she laughed. She was asked about this, and she said: "He informed me that his death had been announced to him, so I wept. Then he informed me that I would be the first of his family to join him, so I laughed." Umar—may the Exalted be pleased with him—understood this from it, and after that, the Prophet—upon him be blessings and peace—acted as one bidding farewell.

It is a Medinan surah, according to the more correct opinion regarding the definition of the Medinan. Al-Tirmidhi in his Musnad and al-Bayhaqi recorded, through the hadith of Musa ibn Ubaydah, Abdullah ibn Dinar, and Sadaqah ibn Bashar from Ibn Umar—may the Exalted be pleased with both of them—that he said: "This surah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah—upon him be blessings and peace—in the middle of the Days of Tashriq, meaning while he was on the Farewell Pilgrimage: 'When the victory of Allah comes and the conquest...' until the end of it." Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abd ibn Humayd, and others also recorded it. However, the Hafiz Ibn Rajab, after recording it from the former two, stated that its chain of narration is very weak, and concerning Musa ibn Ubaydah, Ahmad said: "It is not lawful to narrate from him." Therefore, if this is authentic, its revelation was very close to the time of his passing—upon him be blessings and peace—for the time between the Farewell Pilgrimage and his answering the caller of the Truth was three months and a little more.

Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Qatadah that he said: "By Allah, the Prophet—upon him be blessings and peace—did not live more than two years after the revelation of 'When the victory of Allah comes and the conquest...', then he passed away—upon him be blessings and peace." In al-Bahr, it is stated that its revelation was upon his return from Khaybar. You know that the Battle of Khaybar was in the year seven, at the end of Muharram, so the period between them would be more than two years.

Its being Medinan is also indicated by what Muslim, Ibn Shaybah, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Abbas, who said: "The last surah revealed from the Quran in its entirety is 'When the victory of Allah comes and the conquest...'." Its verses are three by consensus. It contains an indication of the decay of the religion of idols and the appearance of the religion of Allah—the Almighty and Majestic—in the most perfect manner, which is the aspect of its connection to the preceding surah; other possibilities exist as well. According to what al-Tirmidhi and others recorded from the hadith of Anas, 'When the victory of Allah comes and the conquest...' is one-quarter of the Quran, though I have not attained the reason for this. What pertains to it will come, if the Exalted wills.

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

"When the victory of Allah comes": That is, His divine aid and making you prevail over your enemy. This is the meaning of nasr (victory) when it takes the preposition ‘ala (over). It is interpreted this way because it is more consistent with His saying, "and the conquest (al-fath)." It is permissible that it is intended as the nasr that takes the preposition bi (with), which means preservation/protection. Since the conquest includes the victory in the first sense, the discourse then encompasses the benefits of both types of victory. The first [interpretation] is the apparent one.

"When" (idha) is governed by the verb "glorify" (sabbih), and the particle fa (in "then glorify") does not prevent this, according to the majority of scholars regarding such constructions. Abu Hayyan holds that it is governed by the verb that follows it and is not linked to it [in a genitive construct]. Another opinion will be mentioned, if Allah Almighty wills.

The intended meaning of this "victory" is what took place regarding the affair of Mecca: the triumph of the Prophet—upon him be prayer and peace—over the Quraysh. Al-Naqqash narrated from Ibn Abbas that the victory refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which occurred at the end of the sixth year. As for "the conquest," a group [of scholars] recorded from him and from Aisha that it refers to the conquest of Mecca. This is also narrated from Mujahid and others, and the majority have deemed it correct. It took place in the eighth year. Ibn Shihab said: on the thirteenth night remaining in the month of Ramadan, marking eight and a half years since the Migration. The Prophet—upon him be prayer and peace—departed as recorded by Ahmad with an authentic chain of authority from Abu Sa'id, on the second night of the month of Ramadan. Another narration says the twelfth, and according to Muslim, the sixteenth. Al-Waqidi said he departed—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—on Wednesday, the tenth of Ramadan after the Afternoon ('Asr) prayer, though al-Qastallani considered this weak. The Muslims in that expedition numbered ten thousand from the Emigrants (Muhajirin) and the Helpers (Ansar) and groups from the Arabs. In al-Iklil, it is stated that there were twelve thousand. The reconciliation [between these figures] is that he—upon him be prayer and peace—departed from Medina with ten thousand, then the two thousand joined him later.

The best approach is to interpret the victory as that which occurred alongside the aforementioned conquest. If the noble Surah was revealed before that event, the matter is clear, and it constitutes an announcement of that before it occurred, which is among the signs of Prophethood. If it was revealed after it, al-Maturidi says in al-Ta'wilat that idha (when) carries the meaning of idh (when/since), which is used for the past tense, and its arrival with this meaning is frequent in the Qur'an. According to this, it is linked to an implicit [verb] such as "the command was completed" or "He perfected the blessing upon the servants" or something similar, rather than to "glorify," because the phrasing would then be like saying, "Strike Zayd yesterday."

Some eminent scholars say it is for the future, as is its most frequent usage. In that case, there is no choice but to consider some of that as future, viewed from the perspective that the conquest of Mecca was the "Mother of Conquests" and the blueprint for what was to follow. Thus, it is anticipated in terms of what it signifies, even if it is realized in terms of its own essence. It is also permissible that the "future" aspect refers to the totality of what is contained within the scope of idha, part of which is future, namely what is contained in His saying, Glory be to Him...