سُوْرَةُ الرُّوْمِ
Surah Ar-Room (30) — Ayah 5
بِنَصْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿5﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
With the help of Allâh. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
بِنَصْرِ
binaṣri
With (the) help
ٱللَّهِ ۚ
l-lahi
(of) Allah
يَنصُرُ
yanṣuru
He helps
مَن
man
whom
يَشَآءُ ۖ
yashāu
He wills
وَهُوَ
wahuwa
And He
ٱلْعَزِيزُ
l-ʿazīzu
(is) the All-Mighty
ٱلرَّحِيمُ
l-raḥīmu
the Most Merciful
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
5-1. In the era of Prophethood, there were two great powers: one was Persia (Iran), and the other was Rome. The former government was fire-worshipping, and the latter was Christian, that is, People of the Book. The sympathies of the polytheists of Makkah were with Persia because both were worshippers of other than Allah. Whereas the sympathies of the Muslims were with the Christian Roman government, because Christians, like Muslims, were People of the Book and believed in revelation and prophethood. There was constant rivalry between them. A few years after the advent of the Prophet ﷺ, it so happened that the Persian government prevailed over the Christian government, which made the polytheists happy and saddened the Muslims. On this occasion, these verses of the Noble Quran were revealed, in which it was foretold that the Romans would again prevail, and the victorious would be defeated and the defeated would become victorious. Apparently, according to the circumstances, this prophecy seemed impossible to be fulfilled. However, because of Allah’s statement, the Muslims were certain that it would definitely happen. That is why Abu Bakr al-Siddiq made a bet with Abu Jahl that the Romans would again prevail within five years. When this came to the knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ, he said that the word بِضْع is used for a number between three and ten; you have set the period of five years too short, so increase it. Accordingly, following his guidance, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq had this period increased. And then it happened that within nine years, that is, in the seventh year, the Romans again prevailed over Persia, which certainly brought great joy to the Muslims. Some say that the Romans achieved this victory at the time when the Muslims gained dominance over the disbelievers at Badr, and the Muslims rejoiced at their victory. This victory of the Romans is a great proof of the truthfulness of the Noble Quran. By “the nearest land” is meant the areas near the land of Arabia, that is, Syria, Palestine, etc., where the Christians ruled.
