Tafsir of Al-Fath 48:21

"And [other]" is a conjunctive to "this" in the phrase "So He hastened for you this," as if it were said: "You have these spoils, and He has hastened for you other spoils," which are the spoils of Hawazin in the battle of Hunayn. "Hastening" is relative to what follows; thus, it is permissible for the hastened items to be multiple, just as one might initiate something with two things.

His saying—Exalted is He—{which you have not yet been able to take} is in the place of an adjective. Describing them as being beyond their capacity—due to the retreat that occurred there beforehand—is intended to further increase their desire for them.

His saying—Exalted is He—{Allah has already encompassed them} is in the place of a second adjective for "other," conveying the ease of acquiring them relative to His power—Exalted is He—after explaining the difficulty of attaining them relative to their own power. "Encompassment" is a metaphor for complete acquisition; Allah the Exalted has already determined them and is in control of them. They are within the grasp of His power, and He will make whomever He wills victorious over them, and He has already made you—Glorious is His Majesty—victorious over them and granted you success in obtaining them. It is also said that it is a metaphor for protection, meaning: He has preserved them for you and withheld them from others.

Through His saying—Glorified is He—{and ever is Allah, over all things, competent}, the meaning is more consistent with the first interpretation, as the generality of His power—Exalted is He—is a requirement of the Essence; thus, it cannot change, nor can it fail, vanish, or depart from the Essence for any reason, as has been established in its appropriate place. Therefore, its relation to all possibilities is equal, without being specific to some rather than others; otherwise, it would be inconsistent.

It is permissible that "other" is in the accusative case due to an implied verb that is explained by {Allah has already encompassed them}, such as "decreed." This is countered by the argument that informing of Allah’s decree after they have been included in the category of spoils promised in His saying—Exalted is He—{Allah promised you much booty which you will take} offers no additional benefit. The benefit lies solely in the declaration of their being hastened. It has been objected that the "much booty" promised is not specified so that "other" might be included within it; and even if we concede it, the intended meaning of the statement is not merely that they are decreed, but what follows—so contemplate this.

It is also permissible that it is in the nominative case as an initial noun (mubtada'), with the sentence following it as an adjective, and the sentence {Allah has already encompassed...} as its predicate. Abu Hayyan favored this view. Some have said the predicate is omitted, estimated as "there is," or similar. Al-Zamakhshari permitted it to be in the genitive case by the implication of rubba (many a), as in the verse: "And many a night, like the sea's waves, has let down its veils." Abu Hayyan countered this by stating that it is strange, for rubba does not appear in the Noble Qur'an as a preposition, despite its frequent occurrence in the speech of the Arabs, so how could it be implied here? You know that such strangeness does not invalidate this.

Interpreting "other" as the spoils of Hawazin was narrated by 'Abd ibn Humayd from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, and it was chosen by more than one. Qatadah and Al-Hasan said: "It is Makkah." They had attempted it in the year of Hudaybiyyah but did not attain it, so they were informed that Allah the Exalted would grant them victory over it and reveal them to it. In another narration from Ibn Abbas and Al-Hasan, and narrated from Muqatil, it is said that it refers to the lands of Persia and Rome and what the Muslims conquered. This is not apparent if one interprets the "much booty" promised previously as what Allah the Exalted promised the Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. Furthermore, some countered this by noting that {which you have not yet been able to take} implies a previous attempt at those lands and a failure to attain the desired result, yet no such attempt had occurred.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "It is Khaybar." This has also been narrated from Al-Dahhak, Ishaq, and Ibn Zayd. There is obscurity in this, so do not be heedless.