Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ By {هُوَ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْزَلَ السَّكِيْنَةَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ: ’’ السَّكِيْنَةَ ‘‘} is meant that tranquility, reassurance, and steadfastness of heart which Allah sent down continuously upon the hearts of the believers from the time they left Madinah until the attainment of this clear victory, and which became an important cause of this victory. Otherwise, if the Muslims, at the time of leaving Madinah for ‘Umrah, had started thinking like the hypocrites that this was clearly walking into the mouth of death, or when they received news on the way that the Quraysh were determined to fight to the death, they would have lost courage, or when they reached Hudaybiyyah and the disbelievers prevented them from entering Masjid al-Haram and tried to provoke them by launching raids and night attacks, then when the news of the martyrdom of ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) spread, at any of these points, if the Muslims had lost control over themselves and not remained steadfast in obedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), this clear victory would never have been achieved. It was only the tranquility sent down by Allah that kept them steadfast in obedience at every moment. Then, when the terms of the treaty were presented to them, which were very displeasing to the Muslims and, in their view, a cause of humiliation—especially when Abu Jandal (may Allah be pleased with him), a picture of oppression, appeared before the general assembly—at that moment, it was the blessing of this tranquility that everyone submitted to the decision of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

➋ { لِيَزْدَادُوْۤا اِيْمَانًا مَّعَ اِيْمَانِهِمْ:} That is, they already had faith, but by remaining steadfast through all these trials, their faith kept increasing, and when the pleasant results of this steadfastness became apparent, their faith increased even more. This verse is also among the many verses and hadiths that are evidence for the increase and decrease of faith. Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned this issue with evidence from numerous verses and hadiths. In Ruh al-Ma‘ani it is stated: “Bukhari said, I met more than a thousand scholars in many cities, and I did not see a single person among them who disagreed that faith is both statement and action, and that it increases and decreases, and they have presented both rational and textual proofs for this. The rational proof is that if there were no difference in the reality of faith, then the faith of the common people of the Ummah, who are immersed in sin and immorality, would be equal to the faith of the Prophets, and this is an invalid consequence, so the premise is also invalid. The textual proof is that there are many verses and hadiths with this meaning, among which is this verse under discussion.” (Summarized) It is also understood that the increase in faith does not only mean an increase in actions, but also an increase and decrease in the affirmation and certainty of the heart. Sometimes the certainty is such that a person is ready to sacrifice his life, wealth, and everything in the way of Allah, and sometimes there is such a decrease in certainty that even the capital of faith he acquired at the time of accepting Islam is put at risk. It is astonishing and regrettable that such great scholars of hadith, despite such clear verses and hadiths, are not willing to accept that faith increases and decreases; the height of their knowledge is that through interpretation they prove that the faith of all Muslims is equal. The only reason is that some elder of their group has said that faith neither increases nor decreases.

➌ { وَ لِلّٰهِ جُنُوْدُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ:} That is, despite the lack of apparent means, this clear victory was not achieved due to your own efforts or personal excellence, but rather by the help of Allah, because He alone is the owner of the countless armies of the heavens and the earth, and He helps whom He wills with whichever army He wills. Examples of the armies of the heavens are the angels who descended at Badr, the wind that came in the Battle of Ahzab, and the rain that fell at Badr; and examples of the armies of the earth are the magnificent army of ten thousand mujahideen that came at the conquest of Makkah. By bringing {’’ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘} first, exclusivity is established, meaning that Allah does not even acknowledge that anyone else besides Him has any army in the heavens and the earth, because no one has any standing before Him.

➍ { وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ عَلِيْمًا حَكِيْمًا:} That is, Allah alone is the owner of the armies of the heavens and the earth, and such armies that even a single member of any of these armies, if Allah commands, can annihilate all the disbelievers. Yet He granted this clear victory and mighty help in the form of a treaty, because Allah is All-Knowing, Perfectly Wise. In His knowledge and by His wisdom, it was appropriate that now, instead of striking the disbelievers with the sword, they should be given the opportunity to understand Islam and the Muslims and to hear their invitation, so that the disbelievers may become Muslims and enemies may become friends. Note that here {’’ عَلِيْمًا حَكِيْمًا ‘‘} is mentioned, whereas later, where punishment and curse for the disbelievers and hypocrites is mentioned, {’’ عَزِيْزًا حَكِيْمًا ‘‘} is stated, because for the mention of punishment and wrath, the attribute ‘Aziz is more appropriate than the attribute ‘Alim.

4. 1. That is, after the anxiety that afflicted the Muslims due to the conditions of the treaty, Allah sent down tranquility into their hearts, by which their hearts attained satisfaction, peace, and an increase in faith. This verse is also evidence that faith increases and decreases.

4. 2. That is, if Allah wills, He can destroy the disbelievers by any of His armies (مثلًا فرشتوں), but He, in His perfect wisdom, did not do so and instead commanded the believers to fight and strive in His cause.

4. He is the One who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers [4], so that they may increase in tranquility along with their faith. And to Allah belong the armies of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

[4]
The Two Extremes of the Muslims’ Emotions at Hudaybiyyah:

At the place of Hudaybiyyah, two opposing states arose among the Muslims, and both reached their extremes, and both were the result of submitting to the command of Allah and His Messenger. First, the pledge was taken on blood, which incited the Muslims to such an extent for battle that they became ready to risk their lives against the disbelievers. After that, in reality, the Muslims were not in favor of reconciliation at all, let alone being willing to accept reconciliation on extremely humiliating terms. The incident of Sayyiduna Abu Jandalؓ further inflamed these feelings, filling the hearts of all the Muslims, and if it had been in their power, they would have wanted to tear the disbelievers to pieces right then. And at that time, they also had the ability to do so. But when Allah and His Messengerﷺ calmed them down, suddenly their emotions cooled. Whenever one Muslim would ask another why such a humiliating reconciliation was being made today, everyone would reply, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The temperament of Sayyiduna Umarؓ was the most passionate regarding the disbelievers. He did show some agitation, as is clear from the two aforementioned hadiths. However, he did not reach the limit of disobedience, and Sayyiduna Umar regretted this for his entire life. Allah Ta’ala says that the tranquility sent down at that time to cool the Muslims’ fervor was from Allah. Otherwise, it was quite possible that the situation could have taken a different turn. If crushing the disbelievers had been the objective, Allah had many other ways and means of help available. However, in these two extremes, the Muslims were tested as to how far they would remain obedient to the command of Allah and His Messengerﷺ. Then, when they passed this test, this very thing became a cause for further increase in their faith, and Allah bestowed His favor upon His Messenger and upon the Muslims as well.