Surah Al-Balad (90) — Ayah 2

The tafsir of this verse may be read with the following verses.

2. 1. This is a reference to the time when Makkah was conquered; at that time, Allah made fighting lawful for the Prophet ﷺ in this sacred city, even though fighting is not permitted in it. Thus, it is mentioned in the hadith: The Prophet ﷺ said, "Allah made this city sacred from the time He created the heavens and the earth. So, by Allah's decree, it will remain sacred until the Day of Judgment. Its trees should not be cut, nor its thorns uprooted. It was made lawful for me only for one hour of one day, and today its sanctity has returned as it was yesterday. If anyone uses my fighting here as a proof for fighting, then say to him that Allah's Messenger was given permission by Allah, whereas you have not been given this permission." (Sahih Bukhari)

2. And you are one who will make this city lawful [2],

[2]
The Literal Meaning of ﴿حل﴾:

The basic meaning of ﴿حِلَّ﴾ ﴿حَلَّ﴾ is "to untie a knot," and its opposite is عَقَدَ, meaning to tie a knot. The well-known terms "Arbab-e-Hall-o-Aqd" and "Arbab-e-Bast-o-Kushad" are derived from this. The process of tying and untying luggage is such that a traveler ties up his belongings when setting out on a journey, and when he settles somewhere, he unties them. Therefore, the word ﴿حل﴾ also began to be used for settling, halting, and residing at a place. In addition, the word halal is also used in contrast to haram. Haram refers to anything that is strictly forbidden, i.e., a knot has been tied on it, and halal refers to the untying of that knot. And ﴿حِلٌّ﴾ is the active participle from ﴿حَلَّ﴾. For this reason, several meanings are given for ﴿حل﴾. For example, one is that Makkah is the city where you will one day descend in a victorious state. The second is that in this city, all kinds of oppression and injustice against the Muslims and you have been considered halal. And the third is that a time will come when you will enter this city in a victorious state and break the sanctity that has been established since the time of Sayyiduna Ibrahim ؑ and make it halal, even though this will be for only one hour. In our opinion, this third meaning is the most correct because the following hadiths support this meaning:

The Sanctity of Makkah:

1. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that in the year of the conquest of Makkah, the tribe of Khuza'ah killed a man from the tribe of Banu Laith, because Banu Laith had previously killed a man from Khuza'ah. When the Prophet ﷺ was informed of this incident, he mounted his camel and delivered a sermon. Allah Almighty had prevented the people of the Elephant from killing in Makkah, and now Allah, His Messenger, and the Muslims are dominant over the disbelievers of Makkah. Listen! Makkah was not made halal for anyone before me, nor will it be made halal for anyone after me, and for me too, it was made halal for only one hour of the day. Listen! Makkah is still sacred; its thorns should not be cut, its trees should not be felled, and nothing fallen should be picked up from here, except by someone who intends to return it to its owner. If someone is killed here, his heir has the choice of two things: either to accept blood money or to seek retribution (the killer is handed over to him). Meanwhile, a man from Yemen (Abu Shah) came and said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Please write down what you have said for me." The Prophet ﷺ said to the companions, "Write it for him." Then a Quraishi (Sayyiduna Abbas ؓ) requested, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Please allow us to cut idhkhir (a type of grass), as we use it in our homes and graves." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Alright, idhkhir is permitted." [بخاری، کتاب العلم۔ باب کتابۃ العلم]

2. Abu Shurayh said to Amr bin Sa'id (who was the governor of Madinah on behalf of Yazid) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon the day after the conquest of Makkah. First, he praised Allah, then said: Allah has made Makkah sacred, not the people. So whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, it is not permissible for him to shed blood here or to cut down any tree. And if someone argues that Allah's Messenger fought here, then say to him: Allah Almighty granted His Messenger a special permission (on the day of the conquest of Makkah) which He did not grant you. And I too was only given permission for one hour of the day. After that, its sanctity is the same as it was yesterday. And whoever is present here should convey this to those who are not present. People asked Abu Shurayh, "So what did Amr bin Sa'id reply to you?" Abu Shurayh said, Amr replied, "I know more than you. Makkah does not grant refuge to a sinner, nor to one who flees after shedding blood or committing theft." [بخاری، کتاب العلم۔ باب لیبلغ العلم الشاہد الغائب]

In this verse, the Prophet ﷺ is both comforted and given a great prophecy, which was made at a time when the Muslims were being crushed under the tyranny and oppression of the disbelievers, and at that time, no one could have even imagined such a thing. But Allah is capable of all things. This prophecy was fulfilled one hundred percent in 8 AH.