Surah Al-Fath (The Victory)

This Surah has twenty-nine verses and was revealed in Medina.

Verse 1:

{Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory.}

Verse 2:

{That Allah may forgive you your past and future sins, and complete His favor upon you, and guide you to a straight path,}

Verse 3:

{And that Allah may aid you with mighty assistance.}

Al-Fath (The Victory): Verses 1–3

"Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory..."

Issues Discussed:

There are several interpretations regarding what this "victory" signifies:

1. The Conquest of Mecca: This is the apparent meaning.
2. The Conquest of Rome and others.
3. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
4. The victory of Islam through argument, proof, the sword, and the spear.
5. Judgment/Decision, as in the verse: "Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth" (Al-A'raf: 89).

The Preferred Interpretations:

1. The Conquest of Mecca.
2. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
3. The victory of Islam through signs, clear exposition, proof, and evidence.

Arguments for the Conquest of Mecca being the intended meaning (linking it to the preceding verses in Surah Muhammad):

1. Regarding the call to spend: Since Allah mentioned the command to spend in His cause and warned against stinginess (Muhammad: 38), the opening of Mecca is highlighted. They conquered their homes and gained manifold what they spent; if they had been stingy, they would have lost it all, meaning their stinginess would only harm themselves.
2. Regarding divine support: Since Allah said, "And Allah is with you," and "And you are the uppermost" (Muhammad: 35), the conquest of Mecca served as the proof that they became the uppermost.
3. Regarding peace: Since Allah said, "So do not lose heart and call for peace" (Muhammad: 35), this implies that they should not initiate the request for peace from their side, but rather be patient, as the enemy would eventually seek peace and strive for it, just as happened at Hudaybiyyah (one interpretation of Fath). Similarly, in the Conquest of Mecca, the leaders of Quraysh came seeking amnesty, belief, and submission.

Addressing the use of the past tense ("We have granted"):

If the intended meaning is the Conquest of Mecca, which had not yet occurred when this verse was revealed, how can Allah use the past tense, "We have granted you a manifest victory"?

• Answer 1: It was granted in Allah's decree and estimation.
• Answer 2: What Allah has decreed is destined to happen, so He informed it using the past tense as an indication that it is an unavoidable matter, an event that cannot be averted.

The phrase, "That Allah may forgive you..." implies that the victory is a cause for forgiveness. But how can a military/political victory be a cause for forgiveness?

• Answer 1: The victory was not made the cause for forgiveness alone, but for the combination of all mentioned matters: forgiveness, completion of favor, guidance, and support. It is as if Allah said: "That Allah may forgive you, complete His favor upon you, guide you, and support you." The gathering of these things was certainly established through the victory, as the favor was completed and support became widespread afterward.
• Answer 2: The Conquest of Mecca was the cause for purifying the Sacred House (Ka'bah) from the filth of idols, and the purification of His House became the cause for the purification of His servant (the Prophet, peace be upon him).
• Answer 3: The victory leads to the Hajj (pilgrimage), and through Hajj, forgiveness is attained. Do you not see the Prophet's supplication during Hajj: "O Allah, make it a righteous Hajj, a appreciated effort, and a forgiven sin"?
• Answer 4 (Definition/Clarification): The meaning is clarification: "Indeed, We have granted you a victory so that it may be known that you are forgiven and protected." People had already known after the Year of the Elephant that the enemy of Allah (the cursed one) could not take Mecca; only the beloved of Allah, the forgiven one, could enter and take it.

If the Prophet (PBUH) had no sin, what is there to forgive?

This has been addressed previously in several ways:

1. The intended meaning is the sins of the believers.
2. The intended meaning is leaving the better action (omitting the preferable).
3. Minor sins, as these are permissible for Prophets through forgetfulness or error, and this prevents them from self-admiration.
4. The intended meaning is Ismah (infallibility/protection), the nature of which we explained in Surah Al-Qital (Muhammad).

"What has passed of your sin and what is to come..." What does "what is to come" mean?

There are several interpretations:

1. It is a promise to the Prophet (PBUH) that he will not sin after prophethood.
2. What occurred before the victory and what occurred after the victory.
3. Generality: It is like saying, "Strike whomever you meet and whomever you do not meet," even though one cannot strike those one does not meet, indicating generality.
4. What preceded prophethood and what followed it. Under this view, what preceded prophethood is forgiven by pardon, and what followed is protected by infallibility.

(Other, weaker interpretations are omitted, such as the one relating it to the incident of Maryah or Zaynab, as they do not fit the context.)

Regarding the phrase, "And complete His favor upon you":

1. The obligations (Takalif) were completed upon the victory, as the Hajj became obligatory, which was the last of the obligations, and obligations are favors.
2. He completes His favor upon you by clearing the earth of your opponents. On the Day of the Conquest, the Prophet (PBUH) had no significant enemy left; some were destroyed at Badr, and the rest either believed or sought amnesty on the Day of the Conquest.
3. He completes His favor upon you in this world by answering your supplication for the victory, and in the Hereafter through your intercession for sins, even if they were extremely ugly.

Regarding the phrase, "And guide you to a straight path":

1. The clearest meaning: He will keep you firm on the Straight Path until no misguider remains who can sway people from it, or who has the power to coerce others into disbelief. This aligns with "And I have approved for you Islam as a religion" (Al-Ma'idah: 3), as those who argued against it were destroyed, and they were compelled toward belief.
2. The victory served as a cause for guidance to the Straight Path because it made Jihad easier for the believers, knowing the immediate benefits of victory and the future rewards promised. Jihad is the following of Allah's path, which is why the warrior in Allah's path is called a Mujahid.
3. As mentioned before, the meaning is clarification: to make it known that you are on the Straight Path, since victory is only granted to one who is on Allah's path, evidenced by the story of the Elephant.

Regarding the phrase, "And support you with a mighty support":

This is clear, as victory became manifest through the conquest, and the matter became famous. This involves two issues: one linguistic and one conceptual.

Aziz usually describes the one who possesses the support (i.e., the one who is mighty/dominant).

• Answer 1 (Al-Zamakhshari): It has three possibilities:
  1. It means "support in which there is might" (like fi 'ayshatin radiyah - in a pleasing life).
  2. It is a metaphorical attribution, describing the support with the quality of the supported (like saying "a truthful speech" when the speaker is truthful).
  3. It means support whose possessor is mighty.
• Answer 2 (Our view): The above interpretations are only necessary if we define Aziz as "dominant/overcoming." If we define Aziz as "precious, rare in kind," or "needed but rarely found," then the support was needed, and nothing like it existed—taking the Sacred House from the firmly established disbelievers without a large army.

Why did Allah say, "That Allah may forgive you," then follow with "And complete," and "And guide you," without repeating the name of Allah, yet He repeated it in "And Allah will support you with a mighty support"?

Normally, when multiple actions stem from one actor, the name is mentioned only in the first action (e.g., "Zayd came, spoke, and left").

• Answer: This repetition is a guidance toward the means of support. Allah rarely mentions support without linking it to Himself: "With the support of Allah, He supports" (Ar-Rum: 5); "It is He who aided you with His support" (Al-Anfal: 62); "When the support of Allah and the Victory come" (An-Nasr: 1); "Support from Allah and a near victory" (As-Saff: 13); and "And victory is only from Allah" (Al-Anfal: 10).
• The essence: Support comes through patience (sabr), and patience is through Allah. "And be patient; and your patience is not but through Allah" (An-Nahl: 127). Patience is the stillness and tranquility of the heart, which comes through the remembrance of Allah ("Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest" - Ar-Ra'd: 28). By saying "And Allah will support you," Allah explicitly mentions His name to teach that through His remembrance, the heart finds tranquility, through tranquility comes patience, and through patience is support realized.

Another Point: Why "We granted" instead of "So that We may forgive you"?

Allah said, "Indeed, We have granted you..." then "That Allah may forgive you..." instead of "Indeed, We have granted you so that We may forgive you." This is to magnify the status of the Victory.

Although forgiveness is great, it is general: "Indeed, Allah forgives all sins" (Az-Zumar: 53). Even if we interpret the forgiveness for the Prophet (PBUH) as infallibility, this is not exclusive to him; other messengers were also protected. Completing the favor and guidance are also general concepts mentioned for others.

However, the Victory was unique to the Prophet (PBUH). Allah magnified it by saying: "Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory." This magnification is twofold:

1. "Indeed, We" (Inna): Emphasizing the gravity of the act.
2. "For you" (Laka): Indicating it was a favor specifically for him.

Verse 7:

"It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might increase in faith along with their faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth. And ever is Allah Knowing and Wise."