48. Al-Fath (Victory) [29 verses]

Medina Period 111

Asad’s Version:

48:29

MUHAMMAD is God's Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding 43 towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another. 43 Thou canst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves [in prayer], seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration. 45 This is their parable in the Torah as well as their parable in the Gospel: 46 [they are] like a seed that brings forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm upon its stem, delighting the sowers....

[Thus will God cause the believers to grow in strength,] so that through them He might

confound 47 the deniers of the truth. [But] unto such of them as may [yet] attain to faith and do righteous deeds, God has promised forgiveness and a reward supreme. 48

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاء عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاء بَيْنَهُمْ ...

48: 29. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah;

and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.

C4913. Cf. 9:128.

The devotees of Allah wage unceasing war against evil, for themselves, and for others; but to their own brethren in faith-especially the weaker ones- they are mild and compassionate: they seek out every opportunity to sympathize with them and help them.

...تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا ...

Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure.

C4914. Their humility is before Allah and His Apostle and all who have authority from Allah, but they yield no power or pomp, nor do they worship worldly show or glitter. Nor is their humility before Allah a mere show for men.

...سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ...

On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration.

C4915. The traces of their earnestness and humility are engraved on their faces, i.e., penetrate their inmost being, the face being the outward sign of the inner man.

If we take it in its literal sense, the traces might mean the marks left by repeated prostration on their foreheads.

Moreover, a good man's face alone shows in him the grace and light of Allah; he is gentle, kind and forbearing, ever helpful, relying on Allah and possessing a blessed Peace and Calmness (Sakina, 48:26, 48:18 n. 4894) that can come from no other source. (R).

... ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ...

This is their similitude in the Torah;

C4916. In the Book of Moses, which is now found in a corrupt form in the Pentateuch, the posture of humility in prayer is indicated by prostration: e.g., Moses and Aaron "fell upon their faces", Num. 16:22.

...وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنجِيلِ...

and their similitude in the Gospel is:

C4917. The similitude in the Gospel is about how the good seed is sown and grows gradually, even beyond the expectation of the sower: "the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how; for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear": Mark. 4:27-28.

Thus Islam was preached by the holy Prophet;

the seed seemed to human eyes lost in the ground; but it put forth its shoot, and grew, and became strong, until it was able to stand on its own legs, and its worst enemies recognised its existence and its right to live.

Note how much more complete the parable is in the Quran. The mentality of the sowers of the seed is expressed in beautiful terms: its growth and strength filled them "with wonder and delight."

...كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ ...

like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem,

...يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ...

(filling) the sowers with wonder and delight.

As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at him.

C4918. 1 construe the particle "Ii" as expressing not the object, but the result.

The result of the wonderful growth of Islam in numbers and strength was that its enemies were confounded, and raged furiously within their own minds, a contrast to the satisfaction, wonder, and delight of the Prophet and his Companions.

The pronoun in "rage at them" of course refers to the Prophet and his Companions, and goes back to the earlier-words, "on their faces" etc.

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ﴿٢٩﴾

Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds Forgiveness, and a great Reward.

Yuksel’s Version:

48:29 Muhammad, the messenger of God, and those who are with him, are severe against the ingrates, but merciful between themselves. You see them kneeling and prostrating, they seek God's blessings and approval. Their distinction is in their faces, as a result of prostrating. Such is their example in the Torah. Their example in the Injeel is like a plant which shoots out and becomes strong and thick and it stands straight on its trunk, pleasing to the farmers. That He may enrage the ingrates with them. God promises those among them who acknowledge and do good works a forgiveness and a great reward.

[[ Asad’s notes -

37 Lit., "the word of God-consciousness" (kalimat at-taqwa): implying that their consciousness of God and of His all-pervading power enabled them to bear the "stubborn disdain" of their enemies with inner calm and serenity.

38 Shortly before the expedition which ended at Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet had a dream in which he saw himself and his followers entering Mecca as pilgrims. This dream-vision was destined to be fulfilled a year later, in 7 H., when the Muslims were able to perform their first peaceful pilgrimage to the Holy City.

39 Male pilgrims usually shave or (which is the meaning of the conjunctive wa in this context) cut their hair short before assuming the pilgrim's garb (ihram), for it is not permitted to do so while in the state of pilgrimage. A repetition of the same act marks the completion of the pilgrimage

(cf 2:196).

40 Namely, the future.

41 See note 22.

42 Sc, "through the revelations which He grants to His prophets". See also 3:19 "the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [maris] self-surrender unto Him": from which it follows that any religion (in the widest sense of this term) which is not based on the above principle is, eo ipso, false.

43 This composite gives, I believe, the full meaning of the term ashidda' (sing, shadid) in the above context.

44 Lit., "among themselves". Cf. 5:54 - "humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth".

45 The infinitive noun sujud ("prostration") stands here for the innermost consummation of faith, while its "trace" signifies the spiritual reflection of that faith in the believer's manner of life and even in his outward aspect. Since the "face" is the most expressive part of maris personality, it is often used in the Qur'an in the sense of one's "whole being" .

46 Regarding the significance of the term Injil ("Gospel") as used in the Qur'an, see surah 3, note 4.

47 Lit., "infuse with wrath".

48 Whereas most of the classical commentators understand the above sentence as alluding to believers in general, Razi relates the pronoun minhum ("of them" or "among them") explicitly to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding sentence - i.e., to those of them who might yet attain to faith and thus achieve God's forgiveness: a promise which was fulfilled within a few years after the revelation of this verse, inasmuch as most of the Arabian enemies of the Prophet embraced Islam, and many of

them became its torchbearers. But in a wider sense, this divine promise remains open until Resurrection Day (Tabari), relating to everybody, at all times and in all cultural environments, who might yet attain to the truth and live up to it. ]]