Tafsir of An-Nasr 110:2

"And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes."

It is also possible, from another perspective, that [this part] is inclusive; however, this is not without issue if the revelation occurred after the completion of that entry. It has been said that the intent is the genus of Allah the Exalted’s aid to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the believers, and the genus of conquest—thus, it is general, covering the affair of the conquest of Makkah (may Allah increase it in honor) and other events. The matter of it being in the future tense is apparent regarding it. In any case, the intent of "coming" is occurrence, which is its literal meaning according to the apparent speech of al-Raghib, while al-Qadi stated it is metaphorical.

The apparent meaning is that the address in "you see" is directed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The vision is either ocular or intellectual, transitive to two objects. "The people" are the Arabs, and "the religion of Allah" is the creed of Islam, which is attributed to Allah the Exalted because no other religion is attributed to Him.

"Multitudes" (afwajan) is the plural of fawj, which is—according to al-Raghib—a group that passes by quickly, though it is intended here as a general group. Al-Huwi said: "The analytical rule for its plural is afwaj, but the damma on the waw was felt to be heavy, so it was changed to afwajan." In al-Bahr, it is noted that the rule for a sound-mid-radical verb (fa'l) is to pluralize it as af'ul, not af'al, and for a hollow-mid-radical verb, the opposite; thus, the rule for it is af'ul (like hawd to ahwud), while af'al is irregular (like thawb to athwab).

"Multitudes" is in the accusative case as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the pronoun in "entering." As for the sentence "entering," it is a circumstantial qualifier for "the people" according to the first possibility regarding the vision, and a second object according to the second possibility. Its status as a circumstantial qualifier is also achieved by making "see" mean "know," as al-Zamakhshari stated. Abu Hayyan critiqued this, saying: "There is no proof that 'to see' (ra'ayta) has come to mean 'to know' ('arafta), so that requires verification."

The intent of the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes—meaning in large groups—is their conversion without warfare. This occurred between the conquest of Makkah and his (peace and blessings be upon him) death. Before the conquest, they used to enter one by one or two by two. Al-Bukhari recorded from 'Amr ibn Salamah: "When the conquest occurred, every tribe hastened to offer their Islam to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The tribes had been delaying their Islam, waiting for the conquest of Makkah, saying: 'Leave him and his people; if he prevails over them, then he is a Prophet.'"

From al-Hasan, it is said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah, the Bedouins said: 'Since he has overcome the people of Makkah—whom Allah the Exalted protected from the companions of the Elephant—you have no power against him,' so they entered the religion of Allah in multitudes." Abu 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not cease to have a disbeliever among the Arabs; rather, all entered into Islam after Hunayn and Ta'if. Some came personally, and some sent delegations." Ibn 'Atiyyah interpreted this, saying: "The intent, and Allah knows best, is the idol-worshipping Arabs, for I do not see that the Christians of Banu Taghlib became Muslims during the life of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather they paid the jizya." Some specified that they did not convert at that time; thus, the intent by "the people" is the idol-worshipping Arabs, such as the people of Makkah, Ta'if, Yemen, Hawazin, and their likes.

'Ikrimah and Muqatil said the intent by "the people" is the people of Yemen; seven hundred men from them arrived and converted to Islam. This is supported by what Ibn Jarir extracted via al-Husayn ibn 'Isa from Ma'mar from al-Zuhri from Abu Hazim from Ibn 'Abbas: "While the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in Madinah, he said: 'Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest! The help of Allah has come, and the conquest has come, and the people of Yemen have come.' They are a people whose hearts are tender and whose obedience is soft; faith and jurisprudence are Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemeni." He also extracted it from the path of 'Abd al-A'la from Ma'mar from 'Ikrimah in a mursal manner.

The statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "Faith is Yemeni," appears in a hadith extracted by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu' manner with the wording: "There has come to you the people of Yemen; they are the most tender of heart and softest of soul. Faith is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemeni." It is said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said this because Makkah is Yemeni, and from it he (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent and faith spread. Others said he intended to praise the Ansar because they are Yemeni and provided the home and the faith. Ibn 'Abbas's report stating this was in Madinah contradicts those who say he (peace and blessings be upon him) only said it at Tabuk, though Makkah and Madinah are both the homes of faith and its manifestations. It is possible the statement was repeated, but the apparent meaning is that it is praise for the people of Yemen for their hastening to faith and accepting it without the sword. This includes the Ansar from the people of Yemen and others, as if faith were in the root of their hearts, so they accepted it as one who finds what he has lost. Similar to this in praise of them is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "I find the scent of your Lord from before Yemen."

'Isam al-Din stated: "It is possible that the address in 'you see the people' is general for every believer." Then he added: "Something that occurs to the heart is that the 'people' in His saying, 'entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,' might mean that the 'conquest' refers to the opening of the door of religion unto them." Both matters are as you see. Ibn 'Abbas read—as Abu 'Ubaydah and Ibn al-Mundhir extracted from him—"When the conquest of Allah and the help come." Ibn Kathir read, in one narration, "entering" (yudkhaluna) in the passive voice.