Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ { لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللّٰهُ رَسُوْلَهُ الرُّءْيَا بِالْحَقِّ:} Its grammatical construction is of two types: one is that {’’ صَدَقَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} is the verb and subject, {’’ رَسُوْلَهُ ‘‘} is its object, and before {’’ الرُّءْيَا ‘‘} the preposition {’’فِيْ‘‘} is omitted, due to which {’’ الرُّءْيَا ‘‘} is in the accusative case; this is called accusative by the removal of the preposition. The translation of {’’أَيْ فِي الرُّؤْيَا۔‘‘} has been done according to this construction, that indeed, surely Allah has given His Messenger the true news in the dream or has spoken the truth. An example of this is the verse: « مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوْا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللّٰهَ عَلَيْهِ » [الأحزاب: ۲۳] {’’أَيْ فِيْ مَا عَاهَدُوا اللّٰهَ عَلَيْهِ‘‘} “Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to Allah.” The second construction is that {’’ صَدَقَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} is the verb and subject, {’’ رَسُوْلَهُ ‘‘} is the first object, and {’’ الرُّءْيَا ‘‘} is the second object. That is, indeed, surely Allah showed His Messenger a true dream. In this case, {’’ صَدَقَ ‘‘} will be transitive to two objects. {’’ بِالْحَقِّ ‘‘} means exactly according to reality.

➋ { لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ …:} Before departing for Hudaybiyyah, in Madinah Munawwarah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a dream that he, along with his companions, was entering Makkah in peace and security, without any fear, performing Tawaf of the House of Allah and other rites of Umrah, then some were shaving their heads and some were shortening their hair. Since the dream of a Prophet is revelation and can never be false, the Muslims became very happy and generally thought that the entry into Makkah would be that very year. But when they returned from Hudaybiyyah without entering Makkah, some companions had some doubts in their hearts regarding this, that the dream had not been fulfilled. So at that time, Allah revealed this verse and clarified that it was We who showed this dream to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is absolutely true and will surely be fulfilled. Accordingly, the following year, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Makkah and performed Umrah in peace and security and then returned. In reality, the time of its fulfillment was not mentioned in the dream itself, whereas sometimes the interpretation of a dream becomes apparent after many years, as when Yusuf (peace be upon him) said, after many years of seeing the dream, when his parents and brothers came to Egypt: « يٰۤاَبَتِ هٰذَا تَاْوِيْلُ رُءْيَايَ مِنْ قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّيْ حَقًّا » [ یوسف : ۱۰۰ ] “O my father! This is the interpretation of my earlier dream; indeed, my Lord has made it come true.” Here, some Muslims had understood on their own that the entry into Makkah would be that very year. Thus, in a long hadith in Sahih Bukhari, when the treaty had been concluded, Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) says: [ فَأَتَيْتُ نَبِيَّ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقُلْتُ أَلَسْتَ نَبِيَّ اللّٰهِ حَقًّا؟ قَالَ بَلٰی، قُلْتُ أَلَسْنَا عَلَی الْحَقِّ وَعَدُوُّنَا عَلَی الْبَاطِلِ؟ قَالَ بَلٰی، قُلْتُ فَلِمَ نُعْطَی الدَّنِيَّةَ فِيْ دِيْنِنَا إِذًا؟ قَالَ إِنِّيْ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ، وَلَسْتُ أَعْصِيْهِ وَهُوَ نَاصِرِيْ، قُلْتُ أَوَ لَيْسَ كُنْتَ تُحَدِّثُنَا أَنَّا سَنَأْتِي الْبَيْتَ فَنَطُوْفُ بِهٖ؟ قَالَ بَلٰی، فَأَخْبَرْتُكَ أَنَّا نَأْتِيْهِ الْعَامَ؟ قَالَ قُلْتُ لاَ، قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ آتِيْهِ وَمُطَّوِّفٌ بِهٖ، قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ! أَلَيْسَ هٰذَا نَبِيَّ اللّٰهِ حَقًّا ؟ قَالَ بَلٰی، قُلْتُ أَلَسْنَا عَلَی الْحَقِّ وَعَدُوُّنَا عَلَی الْبَاطِلِ ؟ قَالَ بَلٰی قُلْتُ فَلِمَ نُعْطَی الدَّنِيَّةَ فِيْ دِيْنِنَا إِذًا ؟ قَالَ أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ! إِنَّهُ لَرَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَيْسَ يَعْصِيْ رَبَّهُ وَهُوَ نَاصِرُهُ ، فَاسْتَمْسِكْ بِغَرْزِهِ، فَوَاللّٰهِ ! إِنَّهُ عَلَی الْحَقِّ، قُلْتُ أَلَيْسَ كَانَ يُحَدِّثُنَا أَنَّا سَنَأْتِي الْبَيْتَ وَنَطُوْفُ بِهٖ ؟ قَالَ بَلٰی، أَفَأَخْبَرَكَ أَنَّكَ تَأْتِيْهِ الْعَامَ؟ قُلْتُ لاَ، قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ آتِيْهِ وَمُطَّوِّفٌ بِهٖ، قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ قَالَ عُمَرُ فَعَمِلْتُ لِذٰلِكَ أَعْمَالاً ] [بخاري، الشروط، باب الشروط في الجہاد… : ۲۷۳۱،۲۷۳۲ ] “So I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘Are you not truly Allah’s Prophet?’ He said, ‘Why not!’ I said, ‘Are we not upon the truth and our enemies upon falsehood?’ He said, ‘Why not!’ I said, ‘Then why are we accepting humiliation in our religion?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Indeed, I am Allah’s Messenger and I do not disobey Him, and He is my Helper.’ I said, ‘Did you not used to tell us that we would go to the House of Allah and perform Tawaf?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Did I tell you that you would go there this year?’ I said, ‘No!’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘You will surely go there and perform Tawaf.’ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘Then I went to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, “O Abu Bakr! Is he not truly Allah’s Prophet?” He said, “Why not!” I said, “Are we not upon the truth and our enemies upon falsehood?” He said, “Why not!” I said, “Then why are we accepting humiliation in our religion?” He said, “O (servant of Allah)! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is surely Allah’s Messenger and he does not disobey his Lord, and He is his Helper, so hold firmly to his stirrup.” I said, “Did he not used to tell us that we would go to the House of Allah and perform Tawaf?” He said, “Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tell you that you would go there this year?” I said, “No!” He said, “Then you will surely go there and perform Tawaf.” Zuhri says that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Then I performed many deeds as expiation for this haste.” In another place in Sahih Bukhari, this conversation of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and their same answer is narrated from Sahl bin Hunaif (may Allah be pleased with him), and at the end of it is: [ فَنَزَلَتْ سُوْرَةُ الْفَتْحِ فَقَرَأَهَا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلٰی عُمَرَ إِلٰی آخِرِهَا، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! أَوَ فَتْحٌ هُوَ؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ ] [بخاري، الجزیۃ والموادعۃ، باب إثم من عاھد ثم غدر : ۳۱۸۲ ] “At that time Surah Al-Fath was revealed, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this Surah to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) till the end. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is this a victory?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Yes (this is a victory).’”

➌ { اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ:} Here is a famous question: “Insha’Allah” is said for exception, that if Allah wills, this work will happen, otherwise not. Even after an oath, if “Insha’Allah” is said, the oath does not take effect, because there is no certainty or firmness in it. Whereas in the speech of Allah, there is no question of doubt or exception, so what is the meaning of saying {’’ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} here? The scholars have given several answers to this. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “This {’’ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} is for emphasis and to assure the truth of this news, not for exception in any way.” (Ibn Kathir) Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), while assuring the Muslims of their victory over the Tatars, swore by Allah and said Insha’Allah, and also said: {’’إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ تَحْقِيْقًا لَا تَعْلِيْقًا۔‘‘} Ibn Ashur said: One usage of {’’إِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ‘‘} is that it is said about something when it is to occur after a long time in the future, as when someone is told to do a task and he says, “Insha’Allah, I will do this task.” So it is not understood from this that he will do it immediately or in the near future, but it is understood that he will do it after some time, but will surely do it. Among the explanations given by Ibn Juzayy, the author of Al-Tashil, three are these: one is that this is from Allah to teach His servants etiquette, that they should say “Insha’Allah” for every future action. (As in Surah Al-Kahf (24,23) it is said: «وَ لَا تَقُوْلَنَّ لِشَايْءٍ اِنِّيْ فَاعِلٌ ذٰلِكَ غَدًا (23) اِلَّاۤ اَنْ يَّشَآءَ اللّٰهُ» ) The second is that this exception is made with each individual in mind, because it is possible that some of them may die before this entry, or may not be able to go due to illness. The third is that here {’’ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘ ’’إِذَا شَاءَ اللّٰهُ‘‘} is in the meaning of “when,” that surely you will enter Masjid al-Haram when Allah wills. Alusi has given an example of this in {’’ إِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ بِكُمْ لَلَاحِقُوْنَ ‘‘}. All these answers are correct, firm, and strong.

➍ { اٰمِنِيْنَ مُحَلِّقِيْنَ:} Upon completing Hajj and Umrah, the head is shaved or the hair is shortened. The precedence of {’’ مُحَلِّقِيْنَ ‘‘} indicates its superiority. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed three times for those who shaved their heads and once for those who shortened their hair. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُحَلِّقِيْنَ، قَالُوْا وَلِلْمُقَصِّرِيْنَ، قَالَ اللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُحَلِّقِيْنَ … قَالَهَا ثَلاَثًا قَالَ وَ لِلْمُقَصِّرِيْنَ ] [ بخاري، الحج، باب الحلق والتقصیر عند الإحلال: ۱۷۲۸ ] “O Allah! Forgive those who shave their heads.” The companions said, “And those who shorten their hair as well.” He said, “O Allah! Forgive those who shave their heads.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (upon the companions’ repeated request) prayed the first prayer three times, then said, “And forgive those who shorten their hair as well.”

➎ { مُحَلِّقِيْنَ رُءُوْسَكُمْ وَ مُقَصِّرِيْنَ:} Those who shave their heads and those who shorten their hair. The word {’’ رُءُوْسَكُمْ ‘‘} is evidence that shaving or shortening is for the head, not the beard.

➏ { لَا تَخَافُوْنَ:} Here is a question: {’’ اٰمِنِيْنَ ‘‘} refers to those who have no fear, so what is the need to mention {’’ لَا تَخَافُوْنَ ‘‘} again? The answer is that {’’ اٰمِنِيْنَ ‘‘ ’’ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ ‘‘} is a circumstantial clause referring to the pronoun, meaning you will be in a state of security at the time of entry, and {’’ لَا تَخَافُوْنَ ‘‘} is a promise for the future that even afterwards you will have no fear of enemy attack or any of his plots.

➐ { فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوْا:} That is, what Allah had shown His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the dream was absolutely true. that you will surely enter Masjid al-Haram, etc. In your opinion, this entry should have been that year, but He knew the wisdoms in your not entering Makkah that year, which you did not know. Among these wisdoms are those mentioned earlier, such as, due to the treaty, countless people embracing Islam, protecting those believing men and women in Makkah whom the Muslims did not know, strengthening the financial and numerical condition of the Muslims through victories and spoils before entering Makkah, etc., and some are those wisdoms which only the All-Knowing, All-Wise knows.

➑ { فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُوْنِ ذٰلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيْبًا:} So He ordained a near victory for you before your entry into Makkah and Tawaf of the House of Allah. Some have interpreted this near victory as the conquest of Khaybar, and some as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The more correct view is that it refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, because Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it: [ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! أَوَ فَتْحٌ هُوَ؟ ] “O Messenger of Allah! Is that a victory?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ نَعَمْ ] “Yes!” [مسلم، الجہاد و السیر، باب صلح الحدیبیۃ: ۱۷۸۵] as has been mentioned before, and {’’ اِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِيْنًا ‘‘} also refers to this. Both can be meant, but the conquest of Makkah cannot be meant, because entry into Makkah was to occur before that victory.

27. 1 Before the incident of Hudaybiyyah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw in a dream that he, along with the Muslims, was entering the House of Allah and performing Tawaf and ‘Umrah. The dream of a prophet is also considered revelation. However, in this dream, it was not specified that this would happen in that same year. But the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims, considering it a great glad tiding, immediately prepared for ‘Umrah and made a general announcement for it and set out. Eventually, at Hudaybiyyah, the treaty took place, the details of which have just been mentioned. Whereas, in Allah’s knowledge, the interpretation of this dream was for the following year, as in the next year the Muslims performed this ‘Umrah with complete peace, and Allah made His Messenger’s dream come true.

27. 2 That is, if the treaty had not taken place at Hudaybiyyah, then due to war, the weak Muslims residing in Makkah would have been harmed. Only Allah knew the benefits of this treaty.

27. 3 Besides the conquest of Khaybar and the conquest of Makkah, it also refers to the large number of people who became Muslim as a result of the treaty, because that too is a great kind of victory. At the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Muslims were one and a half thousand; two years later, when the Muslims entered Makkah victoriously, their number was ten thousand.

27. Surely Allah had shown the true dream [41] for His Messenger in truth: you will certainly enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security, with your heads shaved or hair cut short, having no fear. He knew what you did not know [42], so He granted you a near victory (Khaybar) before this [43].

[41]
The Reality of the Dream About ‘Umrah:

Leaving aside the disbelievers or hypocrites, even some Muslims were in doubt about this matter: that the dream of a Prophet is revelation. Then what is the matter that we have been prevented from performing ‘Umrah, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself is agreeing to this condition? One answer was given by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Sayyiduna ‘Umar ؓ: “When did I say that this ‘Umrah would be this year?” (i.e., there was no specification of time in the dream), and the second answer was given by Allah Himself: the dream of the Prophet was indeed true and We showed it, it will certainly be fulfilled. You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque in safety and security and perform ‘Umrah. You will shave your heads and trim your hair. Here, shaving the head is mentioned first, from which it is understood that shaving the head is superior to trimming the hair. Thus, in the year following the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Muslims performed the ‘Umrah al-Qada’ and all these things were fulfilled.

An Example of Fulfilling a Covenant:

According to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, it was agreed that the Muslims would come for ‘Umrah the following year and, within three days, perform ‘Umrah and return to their homeland. When the Muslims arrived, the Quraysh of Makkah could not bear to see the Muslims freely enter the Ka‘bah and perform the rites of ‘Umrah in front of their eyes. Therefore, instead of vacating only the Sacred Mosque, they vacated the entire city and themselves stayed on the surrounding hills for three days. During this time, if the Muslims had wanted, they could have easily taken control of Makkah. But the Muslims considered such opportunism in fulfilling a covenant to be the worst crime. Therefore, no one even thought of such a thing, and after the agreed period of three days, the Muslims performed ‘Umrah and returned.

In What Sense Is ‘Umrah al-Qada’ Called ‘Umrah al-Qada’?

Some people think that since the Muslims were prevented from performing ‘Umrah at Hudaybiyyah, it was obligatory to make up that ‘Umrah, which they performed the following year. The confusion probably arises from the word “qada.” However, here “qada” is used in its literal sense, meaning the ‘Umrah about which it was decided in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah that the Muslims would not perform it that year but would come and perform it the following year. The proof of this is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not make any such announcement the following year that those who were prevented from ‘Umrah the previous year should prepare for ‘Umrah, and the Muslims who were present at Hudaybiyyah were free in this matter: those who could come, came, and those who could not, did not. As is clarified in the following hadith: Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas رضی اللہ عنہما says that qada is obligatory upon one who breaks his Hajj by having intercourse with his wife, and upon one who is prevented by an excuse, an enemy, or some illness, he should remove his ihram and no qada is due upon him. And if he has a sacrificial animal with him and cannot send it to the Haram, he should slaughter it there, and if he can send it to the Haram, then until the sacrifice reaches there, he cannot remove his ihram. And Imam Malik and others said that when he is stopped, he may slaughter the sacrifice wherever he wishes, shave his head, and no qada is due upon him. Because the Messenger of Allah and his companions slaughtered their sacrifices at Hudaybiyyah and shaved their heads before performing tawaf and before the sacrifice reached the House of Allah. Then, in no narration is it mentioned that he ordered any of them to perform qada or to repeat it. And Hudaybiyyah is outside the boundary of the Haram. [بخاری۔ کتاب المناسک۔ ابواب المحصر۔ باب من قال لیس علی المحصر بدل]
[42] That is, this ‘Umrah will be next year, not this year.
[43] That is, this victory of Khaybar is being given to you as a reward for your patience and endurance over the difficulties you faced at Hudaybiyyah and for your obedience to Allah and His Messenger.