Tafsir of Al-Fath 48:20

"Allah has promised you many spoils..."

(Many spoils): These are what Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and the majority of exegetes have stated: they are the spoils that Allah the Exalted promised the believers until the Day of Resurrection.

(That you will take): At the times destined for each one of them.

(And He hastened for you this): That is, the spoils of Khaybar.

(And He restrained the hands of the people from you): The hands of the people of Khaybar and their allies from the tribes of Asad and Ghatafan, when they came to aid them; for Allah the Exalted cast terror into their hearts, so they retreated. Mujahid said: He restrained the hands of the people of Makkah through the peace treaty. Al-Tabari said: He restrained the Jews of Madinah after the departure of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to al-Hudaybiyyah and to Khaybar. Zayd ibn Aslam and his son said: The "many promised spoils" are the spoils of Khaybar, and the "hastened" is the pledge of allegiance and the release from the affair of Quraysh through the peace treaty. The majority hold the view we have previously mentioned.

The context, following the mention of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through the mode of address and others through the mode of the third person—as in His saying: "Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you"—requires, according to what has been transmitted from some scholars, that this follows the method of predominance (taghlib), even if a variation in address is possible within it.

Al-Jalabi stated regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted, "And He hastened for you this," that if it occurred after the conquest of Khaybar, as is apparent, then the entire Surah was not revealed upon his return, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from al-Hudaybiyyah. If it were before that, on the basis that it is a report of the unseen, then the reference of "this" is to place the spoils in the position of being present and witnessed, and the use of the past tense is for the sake of certainty. End quote.

The first option was chosen, and their statement that "it was revealed during his return, peace be upon him, from al-Hudaybiyyah" is based on the majority or on its apparent meaning, but the "return" is to be considered an extended period of time. This was contested by the fact that the apparent nature of the reports implies no such extension, and that it was revealed from its beginning to its end between Makkah and Madinah. Perhaps the most appropriate course is to choose the second option, and the reference of "this" is to the spoils with which He rewarded them, mentioned in His saying: "And rewarded them with a near conquest and many spoils which they will take"—which are the spoils of Khaybar. If the reference is made to the pledge of allegiance, as you have heard from Zayd and his son—and it is also narrated from Ibn Abbas—then there is no need for the interpretation that it was revealed during his return, peace be upon him, from al-Hudaybiyyah.

(And so that it may be a sign for the believers): The hidden pronoun—it is said—refers to the "restraint" (kaff) understood from "He restrained" (kaffa), and the feminine form is due to the predicate. It is also said that it refers to the "act of restraining" (kaffah), in which case the feminine form is apparent. It is also permissible that it refers to the spoils of Khaybar referred to by "this." The "sign" (ayah) is the indication; that is, that it may be an indication for the believers by which they know they have a station with Allah the Exalted, or by which they know the truthfulness of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in his promise to them of the conquest of Khaybar and what was mentioned regarding the spoils, the conquest of Makkah, and the entry into the Sacred Mosque.

The lam is connected either to a delayed implied verb—that is, "And that He may be a sign for them, He did what He did"—or to what the two previous verbs were connected to, that is: "And He hastened for you this" or "And He restrained the hands of the people from you" so that you may benefit from that, and so that it may be a sign. The waw (and), according to the Irshad, is parenthetical in the first case, and connective in the second. According to the Kufans, the waw is redundant and the lam is connected to "restrained" or "hastened."

(And guides you) by that sign (to a straight path): Which is trusting in the bounty of Allah the Exalted and relying upon Him in all that you do and leave.