Tafsir of Al-Fath 48:22

Surah Al-Fath (The Victory): Verse 22

...and if those who disbelieve were to fight you, they would surely turn their backs (in flight); then they would find no protector nor helper.

This verse serves as a refutation for those who claim that the restraint (from fighting the Muslims) was merely coincidental or circumstantial.

They argue: If the Arabs had united against the Muslims as they intended, they would have prevented them from conquering Khaybar and seizing its spoils.

Al-Razi's Response:

This is not the case. Rather, whether they fight or do not fight, they will not be victorious. The triumph is destined for the Muslims. Therefore, their situation is not a matter of chance, but rather a divine decree, firmly established and inevitable.

And His saying, the Exalted: {then they would find no protector nor helper}.

We have mentioned repeatedly that averting harm from a person occurs in one of two ways:

1. A Wali (Protector/Patron): One who benefits through kindness and gentle means.
2. A Nasir (Helper): One who repels harm through force and violence.

The disbelievers have neither of these available to them.

In His saying, the Exalted: {then} (implying immediately after turning back), there is a subtle point (latifa): Whoever turns their back seeks salvation from being killed by joining with something that saves them. However, the verse states: "and not when they turn their backs will they be saved; rather, after turning their backs, destruction will follow them."

{This is the established way of Allah which has passed before; and you will never find for the way of Allah any change.}