48al-FatḥMilitary Breakthroughسُورَةُ الفتح

We have in fact conferred upon you [Muhammad] a manifest [military] breakthrough,

So that Allah could forgive you all of your former as well as upcoming mistakes, and [thus] fulfill His blessings upon you [Muhammad], and guide you to a straightforward course [through life],

And [so that] He could grant you a dignified victory.

It is He who bestowed steadying serenity upon the hearts of the committed [combat] muslims so that they would intensify their sense of commitment, knowing that to Allah belong the recruited [natural and social] forces of the heavens and the earth, and that Allah has always been all-knowing, truly wise.

[This unfolds in real life] so that He would admit committed muslims, both men and women, into gardens beneath which rivers flow, therein to dwell forever, and [so that] He would efface their misdeeds: and that is, in the sight of Allah, an astounding success!

And [all this unfolds as it does so] that He [in accordance with His natural and social laws] can aggravate the dual-loyalists (munāfiqs), both men and women, and the mushriks, both men and women, who hold objectionable thoughts concerning Allah. A cycle of malev- olence they are in, and Allah is angry with them, and He condemns them, and He has prepared Hell for them — and what an awful fate!

For, Allah’s are the enlisted forces [natural and social] of the heavens and the earth; and Allah has always been grand, superbly wise.

Indeed, We have sent you, [O Muhammad, to humanity] as a witness [to truth and justice], and as a bearer of good news [for those who listen and obey you] and a bearer of bad news [for those who neither listen nor obey] —

So that you [O people of the world] commit yourselves to Allah and His Apostle, and reinforce Him and pay tribute to Him, and exalt Him morning and evening.

Indeed, those who pledge their allegiance to you [O Muhammad] are in fact pledging their allegiance to Allah: Allah’s hand [power prerogative] soars higher than their hands [abilities and potentials]. Hence he who contravenes his pledge contravenes it to his own detriment, whereas whoever honors what he has pledged unto Allah, to him will He grant a vast reward.

The Arabian nomads who stayed behind [not joining the potentially risky Prophet-led journey to Makkah for the ‘Umrah] will say to you [Muhammad], “We are preoccupied with our responsibilities toward our chattels and our families, so ask [Allah] to forgive us.” [Thus] they say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, “Who, then, has it in his power to influence Allah [on your behalf and in your favor] were He to decree something [apparently] harmful or something [apparently] beneficial for you? Rather, Allah has always been well- versed on whatever you do.

“Or [perhaps] you thought that the Apostle and the committed muslims [with him] would never return back to their folks [from their journey to Makkah], and that [notion] was fancied within your hearts, and you entertained [such] bad ideas because you have always been unproductive people!”

And [be informed that for] whoever does not commit to Allah and His Apostle, indeed, We have prepared for [such] God-deniers flickering fire.

And to Allah belongs the dominion [and authority] of the heavens and the earth: He forgives whom He wills, and He afflicts whomever He wills — and [withal] Allah has always been forgiving, very merciful.

When you [O Prophet] are about to set out on a war effort that augurs [acquisition of] booty [as happened at Khaybar], those who stayed behind [while you journeyed to al-Ḥudaybīyah] will surely say, “Leave us alone; we want to go along with you [on our terms]”; what they want to do is disprove the word of Allah [that exposed their disloyalty]. Say [to them], “You will not come along with us; appropriately Allah has stated earlier [the truth about your disposition and character].” Thereupon they will reply, “Rather you have hard feelings about us [acquiring a portion of the war rewards].” More exactly, they [the political dual-loyalists] have a scant understanding [of Our power and ability].

Say [O Muhammad] to the Arabians who stayed behind [and did not volunteer to join you and the committed muslims on their journey to a potential battle in Makkah], “In times to come, you will be called upon to engage people of fierce warlike prowess in combat — [until you die] or they surrender; if you heed [that call], Allah will offer you a splendid reward; but if you relapse [and fail to show up for your military responsibilities] as you did before, He will punish you with a painful punishment.”

There is no culpability imputed to a blind person, nor is there culpability imputed to a lame person, nor is there culpability to a sick person [for being absent from war participation in Allah’s cause]; but whoever complies with [the call of] Allah and His Apostle, him will He admit into gardens beneath which rivers flow, whereas he who turns his back [on his military duty] will be reprimanded with a very painful punishment.

Indeed, Allah is well satisfied with the committed muslims [well over a thousand] who pledged their allegiance to you [O Muhammad] under that tree, for He knew what was in their hearts; and so He placed steadying tranquility upon them, and rewarded them with [the good news of] an impending military breakthrough,

And [of] the many war-gains they would procure: for Allah has constantly been grand, extremely wise.

[O committed companions of the Prophet]! Allah has promised you many war-gains that you shall, in time, acquire; and He has accelerated [the pace at which you would acquire] these [war-gains of Khaybar], while blunting those [hostile] forces of people against you so that it may serve as a demonstration [of Allah’s power and authority] for the committed muslims, and so that He may guide you to a straightforward path [throughout your lives].

And there are other [gains] that are not yet in your capacity [to obtain], [but] which Allah has within His capacity [to cause you to acquire]: and Allah has always been most powerful to do anything.

And [after all these years], if the God-deniers were to engage you in combat, they would indeed turn their backs [fleeing], and would not find anyone to watch over them or to assist:

[Identifying these events controlled by Allah is to know that] these are Allah’s social laws that have been effectual in times past — and you will not find a substitute for Allah’s social laws.

And it was He who withheld their [the mushriks’] forces that were positioned to take you on and withheld your forces from [assaulting] them in the interior of Makkah, after He had enabled you to score a military success over them; and Allah has continually been observant of what you do.

It was they, the God-deniers, who barred you from access to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām [the Sacred Sanctuary] and prevented your sacrificial offerings from reaching their destination; and had it not been for the committed muslim men and the committed muslim women [who were living secretively among the mushriks in Makkah], whom you were not aware of and whom you might have [inadvertently] trampled [to death], and on whose account you might have acquired the guilt, without knowing it, of a terrible mistake — [had it not been for these facts known to Us but not known to you, you would have been allowed to fight within the city confines of Makkah, but you were not allowed] so that [in time] Allah might admit whomever He wills into His grace. Had the distinction between them [the committed muslims living in Makkah and the mushriks of Makkah] been very clear [to you, the committed muslims around the Prophet] We would have subjected the God-deniers among them [the Makkan inhabitants] to a painful punishment.

The God-deniers had nursed an arrogant aversion [to truth and justice] in their hearts — the arrogant aversion of the era of [pre-Islamic] idiocracy. [As that was the case] Allah placed stabilizing serenity upon His Apostle and upon the committed muslims, and bound them to be on guard [concerning His might and authority that works for truth and justice]: for they indeed were most worthy and deserving of it. And Allah has always been incredibly informed of everything.

Indeed, Allah has confirmed the vision of His Apostle to accord with truth and justice: that you [the committed combat muslims] will most certainly enter into al-Masjid al-Ḥarām [the Sacred Sanctuary] when Allah wills it, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short, without any fear — for He always knew what you could not know yourselves. Thus, He arranged for you besides this [triumphant entrance into Makkah] a forthcoming military breakthrough [at Khaybar].

He it is who sent His Apostle with [divine] guidance in accordance with a system of truth and justice so that it may [one day] prevail over all [ideological] systems; and none can sufficiently witness [to this fact] as Allah does.

Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah; and those who are with him [in good times and in bad times] are stern against the God-deniers and kindhearted toward one another. You can see them bowing down [in meekness], prostrating themselves [in humility], seeking abundance from Allah and [His] favorable acceptance; their miens identify their humbleness borne of prostration. That is the way they are projected in the Torah, as well as the way they are projected in the Injīl [Gospel]: like a seed that brings forth its sprout, and then He strengthens it so that it stiffens, and [finally] it stands firm upon its stem, gratifying the farmers. [In the same way will Allah cause the committed muslims to grow in strength] so that through them He will confound the God-deniers. Allah has promised the committed muslims and those among them who do what is right and virtuous a [well deserved] forgiveness [of their unintended faults] and an enormous reward.