Al-Fath (The Victory): (4) It is He Who Sent Down...

When the Almighty said, {And may Allah give you victory} (48:3), He clarified the manner of that victory. This is because Allah Almighty may grant victory to His Messengers through a terrifying cry that destroys their enemies, or an earthquake that decrees their annihilation, or by sending down legions from the heavens, or by granting the believers tranquility, strength, and steadfastness of heart, for which they will receive immense reward.

Therefore, He said: {It is He Who sent down the Sakinah (tranquility)} as a realization of the victory.

Regarding Sakinah, there are several interpretations:

1. It is stillness/calmness.
2. It is reverence towards Allah and His Messenger, which stems from stillness.
3. It is certainty (Yaqin).

All these meanings derive from the concept of stillness. In this regard, there are several issues:

The Sakinah mentioned here is different from the Sakinah mentioned in the verse: {And their Prophet told them, "Indeed, the sign of his kingship is that the Ark will come to you..."} (2:248), according to most commentators. However, it is possible that the intended meaning in both instances is certainty and the steadfastness of hearts.

The Sakinah sent down upon them is the reason for their remembrance of Allah, just as the Almighty said: {Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest} (13:28).

Allah Almighty said concerning the disbelievers: {And He cast terror into their hearts} (33:26) using the word Qadhf (casting/throwing), which implies agitation. But concerning the believers, He said: {He sent down the Sakinah} using the word Inzal (sending down), which implies establishment.

There is a subtle implication here: one who already knows something, remembers it, and constantly recalls it, will not be shaken when it occurs. Conversely, one who is heedless of something and it suddenly befalls him, his heart will tremble.

Consider this analogy: If someone is warned about a terrifying cry and told not to be alarmed by it, and then the cry occurs, he will not tremble. But if he was not warned, or was warned but became heedless, he will tremble when it happens. Similarly, the disbeliever was approached by Allah from an unexpected direction, and fear was cast into his heart, causing him to tremble. The believer was approached from the direction he was already remembering (Allah), so his heart became tranquil.

There are several interpretations for this phrase:

1. Sequential Obligations: They were commanded with obligations one after another. They believed and obeyed the first command (e.g., Monotheism), then they believed and obeyed the next (e.g., fighting or Hajj), thus increasing their faith upon their existing faith.
2. Knowledge to Witness: The Sakinah was sent down, enabling them to be patient. They then witnessed the certainty of what they had previously believed in the unseen (faith in the unseen). Thus, they gained faith derived from direct observation alongside their faith derived from the unseen.
3. Branches and Roots: They increased in faith in the secondary matters (Furu') alongside their faith in the fundamental principles (Usul). They believed that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, that Allah is One, and that resurrection will occur (the Usul). They also believed that everything the Prophet (PBUH) says is true and everything Allah commands is obligatory (the Furu').
4. Deductive Faith and Innate Faith: They increased in faith derived from rational proof (Istidlal) alongside their innate faith.

A subtlety arises here: Allah Almighty said concerning the disbelievers: {We only grant them respite so that they may increase in sin} (3:178), and He did not say "along with their disbelief." This is because their disbelief is born of obstinacy (Inad), and there is no innate disbelief in existence for the obstinate disbelief to join. Disbelief is purely obstinate. Similarly, one does not say one increases in disbelief in the secondary matters alongside disbelief in the fundamental principles, because disbelief in the fundamentals necessitates disbelief in the secondary matters. However, faith in the fundamentals does not necessitate faith in the secondary matters in the sense of obedience and submission. Hence, He said: {that they may increase in faith along with their faith}.

Allah was capable of destroying the enemy with His hosts, even with a single cry, yet He did not do so. Instead, He sent down Sakinah upon the believers so that the destruction of their enemies would be achieved by their own hands, thereby earning them reward.

Regarding the hosts of the heavens and the earth, there are several interpretations:

1. They are the Angels of the heavens and the earth.
2. They are the beings in the heavens (Angels) and those on earth (animals and Jinn).
3. They are the celestial and terrestrial means/causes (e.g., a falling meteorite from the sky or an earthquake from the earth are among His hosts).

When He mentioned: {And to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth} and their number is countless, He affirmed Knowledge ('Alim) to indicate that {Not even the weight of an atom escapes Him in the heavens or on the earth} (34:3). Furthermore, since He mentioned the matter of the hearts by saying: {It is He Who sent down the Sakinah into the hearts of the believers}, and faith is an action of the heart, mentioning Knowledge indicates that He knows the secret and what is more hidden.

The statement Wise (Hakim) coming after Knowing ('Alim) indicates that He acts in accordance with His Knowledge. The Wise is one who performs a perfect action based on knowledge. If someone performs a marvelous act purely by chance, he is not called wise. And one who knows but acts contrary to his knowledge is not called wise.

And the Almighty's saying:

! 7 < { That He may admit the believing men and believing women to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally, and remove from them their evil deeds. And that was, in the sight of Allah, a great attainment. } > 7 !

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