Tafsir of Al-Fath 48:24

"And it is He who withheld their hands from you"—meaning the disbelievers of Mecca. The use of the expression kaffa (withheld/restrained) rather than man'a (prevented) or similar terms contains a subtlety that is not hidden.

"And your hands from them within the valley of Mecca"—referring to al-Hudaybiyyah, as reported by 'Abd bin Humayd and Ibn Jarir from Qatadah. It has been previously noted that some of it is within the Sacred Precinct (Haram) of Mecca, and for that which is not, its extreme proximity suffices; thus, the application of "the valley of Mecca" to it is an exaggeration.

"After He gave you victory over them"—making you manifest over them. The verb is connected with 'ala (over) because it implies the meaning of being made dominant and superior; that is, He made you possessors of total victory. Imam Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaybah, 'Abd bin Humayd, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa'i reported, among others, from Anas: "On the day of al-Hudaybiyyah, eighty men from the people of Mecca descended upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his companions, armed, from the direction of Mount al-Tan'im, seeking to catch the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) off guard. He prayed against them, so they were seized. Then he pardoned them, and this verse was revealed: 'And it is He who withheld,' etc."

Ahmad, al-Nasa'i, al-Hakim (who authenticated it), Ibn Marduyah, and Abu Nu'aym in al-Dala'il reported from 'Abdullah bin Ma'qil: "We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) at the base of the tree that Allah the Exalted mentioned in the Quran... While we were thus, thirty young men armed with weapons emerged upon us and rushed toward our faces. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed against them, and Allah the Exalted seized their hearing"—the wording of al-Hakim says "their sight"—"so we stood up to them and captured them. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to them, 'Did you come under anyone's covenant, or has any security been granted to you?' They said, 'No.' So he let them go, and Allah the Exalted revealed: 'And it is He who withheld their hands from you,' etc."

Ahmad and others reported from Salamah bin al-Akwa': "We arrived at al-Hudaybiyyah with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), numbering fourteen hundred. Then the polytheists of Mecca sent to us proposing peace. When we made peace and mingled with one another, I came to a tree and lay down in its shade. Four of the polytheists of Mecca came to me and began slandering the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so I despised them and moved to another tree. They hung up their weapons and lay down. While they were like that, a caller shouted from the bottom of the valley: 'O Emigrants, Ibn Zunaym has been killed!' I drew my sword and rushed at those four while they were asleep. I took their weapons and put them in my hands, then said, 'By the One who honored the countenance of Muhammad, no one among you will raise his head except that I will strike what is between his eyes.' I brought them driving them toward the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). My uncle 'Amir also came with a man from the polytheists called Mikraz, leading him, until we stood with them before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) along with seventy polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) looked at them and said, 'Let them go; let them have the start of treachery and its repetition.' So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) pardoned them, and Allah the Exalted revealed: 'And it is He who withheld,' etc." All of this supports what we have stated.

Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Ibn Abzi: "When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went out with the sacrificial animals and reached Dhu al-Hulayfah, his uncle said to him, 'O Prophet of Allah, you are entering upon a people who are at war with you, without weapons or horses.' So he sent to Medina and did not leave a single horse or weapon but that he brought it. When he drew near to Mecca, they prevented him from entering, so he traveled until he reached Mina and camped there. His scout came to him saying, 'Ikrima bin Abi Jahl has gathered five hundred against you.' He said to Khalid bin al-Walid, 'O Khalid, this is your cousin who has come against you with the cavalry.' Khalid said, 'I am the sword of Allah and the sword of His Messenger; on that day he was named the Sword of Allah. O Messenger of Allah, cast me [at them] if you wish.' He sent him with cavalry, and Ikrima met him in the mountain pass and he defeated him until he drove him into the walls of Mecca. Allah the Exalted revealed: 'And it is He who...' the verse." In al-Bahr, it is stated that Khalid defeated them until they entered the houses of Mecca and took many of them captive, and they were driven to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who showed them favor and released them. However, this report is not sound, because the Islam of Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) was after al-Hudaybiyyah, before the 'Umrat al-Qada', and it is said [it was] after it; that was in the seventh year.

Ibn Ishaq and others reported that Khalid was at al-Hudaybiyyah with the Quraysh cavalry of two hundred horsemen, and he arrived with them at Kura' al-Ghamim. He drew near until he saw the companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ordered 'Abbad bin Bishr, who advanced with his cavalry, stood in his armor, and drew up his companions. The time for the noon prayer arrived, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed the prayer of fear with his companions. From Ibn 'Abbas: The people of Mecca sent a number of horsemen at al-Hudaybiyyah intending to attack the Muslims, but Allah the Exalted made them manifest over them with stones until they drove them into the houses. Some have denied this, and Allah the Exalted knows best the authenticity of the report.

It is said: This withholding occurred on the day of the conquest of Mecca. Imam Abu Hanifah cited as evidence what is in the verse: "After He gave you victory over them," based on the view that the conquest of Mecca was by force. The aforementioned view and the citing of the verse as evidence based upon it have been challenged. As for the first, [it is argued] because the verse was revealed before the conquest of Mecca. It has been rebutted that if it is meant that it was revealed in its entirety before it, this is not established; rather, some reports suggest otherwise. If not, it provides no benefit, although it is possible that this is news of the unseen, as has been said regarding other verses in the Surah. As for the second, its indication of conquest by force is denied. Al-Zamakhshari said: Al-Fath (victory/conquest) is mastering something, whether by force or by peace. The difference between mastering over something ('ala) and mastering of something (bi) in terms of superiority exists because they made peace while they were forced [to do so], and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and those with him were the ones choosing. There is a subtlety here that is not hidden, as there is in what was used to rebut the first point.

In summary, this view, as well as the evidence cited from the verse, is not far-fetched; however, most sound reports and what follows them support what we said first regarding the interpretation of the verse.

"And Allah is of what you do"—your deeds, or everything you do, and from that is pardoning after victory—"All-Seeing." (24)

"He will reward you for it." Abu 'Amr read it as ya'malun (they do) with the third-person ya', in which case the speech is a threat to the disbelievers.