Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 24

(Ayah 24) ➊ {وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ كَفَّ اَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنْكُمْ وَ اَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ … :} When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were at Hudaybiyyah, during the negotiations for the treaty and even after the treaty was concluded, the polytheists made efforts so that somehow fighting would break out and the treaty would not be possible. Several of their groups secretly came to act against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions, but they could not cause any harm; rather, every time they were captured by the Muslims. They could have been killed, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) let them go, because if punishment was given, war would have become inevitable, whereas the benefit for the Muslims was in peace. Allah Almighty has reminded of His favor in this verse. Here, three incidents of the disbelievers’ attempts are mentioned:
(1) Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) says, I used to stay with Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him), give water to his horse, massage it, serve him, and eat at his place, and I had left my family and wealth while migrating to Allah and His Messenger. Then, when peace was established between us and the people of Makkah and we started meeting each other, I cleared thorns from under a tree and lay down in its shade. Four polytheists from the people of Makkah came to me and started speaking ill of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Out of aversion to them, I went under another tree, and they hung their weapons on the tree and lay down. Meanwhile, someone called out from the bottom of the valley: “O Muhajirun! Ibn Zunaim has been killed.” I took my sword and attacked those four; they were asleep. I gathered their weapons in my fist and said to them: “By the One who has honored the face of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Whoever among you raises his head, I will strike off his head in which his eyes are.” Anyway, I drove them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and my uncle ‘Amir brought a polytheist named Mikraz from the Abalat. Until we brought them, along with seventy (70) polytheists, before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at them and said: [ دَعُوْهُمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ بَدْءُ الْفُجُوْرِ وَ ثِنَاهُ ] “Let them go, so that the beginning and repetition of breaking the covenant remains upon them.” Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forgave them, and Allah Almighty revealed this verse: « وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ كَفَّ اَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنْكُمْ وَ اَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ اَنْ اَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ» [ الفتح : ۲۴ ] “And He is the One who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah after He had given you victory over them.” [ مسلم، الجہاد، باب غزوۃ ذي قرد وغیرھا : ۱۸۰۷ ]
(2) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that eighty (80) armed men from the people of Makkah descended from Mount Tan‘eem. They wanted to take advantage of the heedlessness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, but he captured them alive and let them live, so Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: «وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ كَفَّ اَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنْكُمْ وَ اَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ اَنْ اَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ » [ الفتح:۲۴] “And He is the One who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah after He had given you victory over them.” [ مسلم، الجہاد، باب قول اللّٰہ تعالٰی : «وھو الذی کف أیدیہم عنکم» : ۱۸۰۸ ]
(3) ‘Abdullah bin Mughaffal Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at Hudaybiyyah under that tree which Allah Almighty mentioned in the Qur’an. Its branches were touching the back of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Suhail bin ‘Amr were in front of him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): “Write, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” Suhail grabbed his hand and said: “We do not know what ‘the Most Gracious’ is; write what is known among us regarding our matter.” He said: “Write: {’’ بِسْمِكَ اللّٰهُمَّ۔‘‘}” Then they wrote: “This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), has agreed upon with the people of Makkah.” So Suhail bin ‘Amr grabbed his hand and said: “By Allah! If you are Allah’s Messenger, then we have wronged you; write what is known among us regarding our matter.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Write, this is what Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abd al-Muttalib has agreed upon, and I am also Allah’s Messenger.” While this was happening, thirty armed youths came out before us and became agitated in front of us. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against them, so Allah Almighty blinded them, and we went forward and captured them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked them: “Did you come under anyone’s covenant, or has anyone given you protection?” They said: “No!” So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) released them, and upon this Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: « وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ كَفَّ اَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنْكُمْ وَ اَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ اَنْ اَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ» [ الفتح : ۲۴ ] “And He is the One who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah after He had given you victory over them.” [ مسند أحمد:۴ /۸۶،۸۷،ح:۱۶۸۰۵ ] The researchers of Musnad Ahmad have declared it justified.
➋ Here, the name of the city of the House of Allah is mentioned as “Makkah,” whereas in Surah Al ‘Imran (96) its name is given as “Bakkah.” It is thus known that this city has both names.
➌ { وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ بَصِيْرًا:} That is, Allah Almighty was well aware of the utter injustice of the disbelievers and your patience and obedience, yet for many wise reasons He withheld their hands from you and your hands from them.