Surah Al-Fath, Ayah 24

Good News of abundant Spoils of War

Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَةً تَأْخُذُونَهَا

(Allah has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture,) refers to the spoils that Muslims earned up until this time, while,

فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـذِهِ

(and He has hastened for you this,) means, the conquest of Khaybar. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said,

فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـذِهِ

(and He has hastened for you this,) means, "The peace treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah." Allah said,

وَكَفَّ أَيْدِىَ النَّاسِ عَنْكُمْ

(and He has restrained the hands of men from you,) meaning, `no harm that your enemies had planned against you, both fighting and warfare, touched you. Allah also restrained the hands of men, whom you left behind close to your families and children, from harming them,'

Commentary

بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ (...in the valley of Makkah...) The Arabic word used here is batn which means 'belly' and in relation to a city, it refers to its center.

However, in the present context it is used for Hudaibiyah, because of its close proximity to Makkah. This supports the Hanafi view that some parts of Hudaibiyah are included in the حِرِم Haram. The relevant details may be found in our commentary on the verse 2:196.

It was the law of God that when the Prophet’s initial addressees refused to answer his call, He destroyed them. On the occasion of Hudaybiyyah the Quraysh’s refusal had finally been made known. Under these circumstances, had things reached the stage of battle, the angels of God would have come down to strengthen the Muslims so that they might defeat their enemies. But, with regard to the polytheists, it was God’s intention that they should not be destroyed so that their extraordinary human talents could be utilized for the purposes of Islam. Therefore, Almighty God guided his Prophet towards the No-War Pact.