Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 18

(Ayah 18) ➊ {لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ … :} Before this, in {’’ اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يُبَايِعُوْنَكَ اِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُوْنَ اللّٰهَ ‘‘}, after declaring the pledge at Hudaybiyyah on the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as a pledge to Allah, the condition of those who stayed behind was described. Now, once again, Allah mentions His pleasure with those who pledged and other glad tidings.
➋ The Companions who pledged allegiance under that tree received the greatest blessing of the universe at the time of the pledge, and that is the pleasure and approval of Allah, because there is no greater blessing than this, as He said: « وَ رِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ اَكْبَرُ» [ التوبۃ : ۷۲ ] “And a little of Allah’s pleasure is the greatest.” Because Allah said: « لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ اِذْ يُبَايِعُوْنَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ » “Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to him under the tree.” Because of this pleasure, it became known as the Pledge of Ridwan. Allah’s pleasure and entry into Paradise are inseparable. (See Mujadila: 22; Tawbah: 72) When Allah has testified about these Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that He is pleased with them, how unfortunate is the group that is displeased with these accepted servants and harbors hatred and enmity against them, and says that later, God forbid, they became apostates. Did Allah not have knowledge of the future, and what kind of pleasure is it that, despite it, those servants become apostates upon whom He is pleased? The mention of further blessings, in addition to attaining Allah’s pleasure, is coming ahead.
Apart from the Noble Qur’an, there are also many virtues of the Companions who participated in the Pledge of Ridwan mentioned in authentic ahadith. Amr bin Dinar says that he heard Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrate: “On the day of Hudaybiyyah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: [ أَنْتُمْ خَيْرُ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ ] ‘You are the best of the people on earth.’ And (at that time) we were fourteen hundred, and if I could see today, I would show you the place of that tree.” [ بخاري، المغازي، باب غزوۃ الحدیبیۃ : ۴۱۵۴ ] Umm Mubashir (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say at the house of Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her): [ لَا يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ، إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الشَّجَرَةِ أَحَدٌ الَّذِيْنَ بَايَعُوْا تَحْتَهَا ] [ مسلم، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب من فضائل أصحاب الشجرۃ… : ۲۴۹۶ ] “Insha’Allah, none of those who pledged allegiance under this tree will enter the Fire.” Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a slave of Hatib (may Allah be pleased with him) came with a complaint against Hatib and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Hatib will surely enter the Fire.” So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ كَذَبْتَ لَا يَدْخُلُهَا فَإِنَّهُ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا وَالْحُدَيْبِيَةَ ] [ مسلم، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب من فضائل حاطب بن أبي بلتعۃ… : ۲۴۹۵ ] “You have lied; he will not enter the Fire, for he participated in Badr and Hudaybiyyah.”
➌ Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: [ كُنَّا يَوْمَ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ أَلْفًا وَ أَرْبَعَ مِائَةٍ فَبَايَعْنَاهُ وَعُمَرُ آخِذٌ بِيَدِهِ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ وَهِيَ سَمُرَةٌ ] [ مسلم، الإمارۃ، باب استحباب مبایعۃ الإمام الجیش… : ۱۸۵۶ ] “On the day of Hudaybiyyah, we were fourteen hundred, we pledged allegiance to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was holding his hand under the tree, and it was an acacia tree.”
➍ Tariq bin Abdullah narrated that he went for Hajj and saw some people praying. He asked, “Is this a place for prayer?” They said, “This is the tree where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the Pledge of Ridwan.” He went to Sa’id bin Musayyib and told him, so Sa’id said, “My father told me that he was among those who pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) under the tree, so when we came the next year, the tree was made forgotten to us, and we could not find it.” Sa’id said, “The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know it, and you have come to know it, so are you more knowledgeable?” [ بخاري، المغازي، باب غزوۃ الحدیبیۃ : ۴۱۶۳ ] Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [ رَجَعْنَا مِنَ الْعَامِ الْمُقْبِلِ فَمَا اجْتَمَعَ مِنَّا اثْنَانِ عَلَی الشَّجَرَةِ الَّتِيْ بَايَعْنَا تَحْتَهَا، كَانَتْ رَحْمَةً مِّنَ اللّٰهِ ] [ بخاري، الجھاد والسیر، باب البیعۃ في الحرب أن لا یفروا : ۲۹۵۸ ] “When we came again the next year, not even two of us could agree on the tree under which we had pledged allegiance; this was a mercy from Allah.” While explaining this in Fath al-Bari, Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The wisdom in this was that people would not fall into trial because of the good deed done under that tree, because if its identification had remained, there was a danger that some ignorant people would venerate it, to the extent that they might believe that the tree itself had the power to benefit or harm, as is observed even now in lesser things.” Ibn Hajar was speaking of his own time; in our era, the obsession with relics has gone even further. Nowadays, those who do not refrain from worshipping the trees, stones, and graves at the shrines of saints—if they had found that tree, who knows what they would have done.
➎ { فَعَلِمَ مَا فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ فَاَنْزَلَ السَّكِيْنَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ:} That is, Allah knew the truthfulness, sincerity, and obedience because of which they pledged to remain steadfast in the field until the end, despite being very few in number compared to the enemy and almost unarmed, and also the intense anxiety and restlessness that arose in their hearts due to the unpleasant conditions of the treaty, which was not due to any disobedience but rather out of love for Allah, His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and Islam, and the desire for their honor and elevation. So, due to their truthfulness and sincerity, Allah sent tranquility upon their hearts, by which they attained inner satisfaction and peace with every command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and just as they were ready to fight to the death, they also became ready to accept the terms of the treaty accepted by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
➏ This verse is clear evidence of the sincere faith of the Companions of the Pledge of Ridwan, because Allah Himself has testified to the sincerity of their hearts. Most unfortunate are those who say about such sincere believers that they were hypocrites. [ نَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰہِ مِنْ ذٰلِکَ ]
➐ { وَ اَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيْبًا:} Most commentators interpret this “near victory” as the conquest of Khaybar, and this is not far-fetched. However, one view among the scholars is that it refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, because after the Pledge of Ridwan, this was the fundamental and important victory that opened the way for all other victories for the Muslims, and shortly after, Khaybar was conquered, then Makkah was conquered, until the entire Arabian Peninsula came under Islam during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At the beginning of this surah, this very treaty is called a clear victory.