Surah Al-Fath, Ayah 4

Allah sent down the Sakinah into the Hearts of the Believers

Allah the Exalted said,

هُوَ الَّذِى أَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ

(He it is Who sent down As-Sakinah), meaning, tranquility. Qatadah commented, "Grace into the hearts of the believers", that is, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, on the Day of Al-Hudaybiyyah. The companions were they, who accepted the call of Allah and His Messenger and obeyed the decisions of Allah and His Messenger . When their hearts felt content with acceptance and were at peace, Allah increased their faith, joining it to the faith they already had. Al-Bukhari, and other Imams, relied on this Ayah as proof that faith increases and decreases in the hearts. Allah the Exalted said next that had He willed, He would have inflicted defeat on the disbelievers, Allah says;

وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(And to Allah belong the armies of the heavens and the earth) and had He willed to send only one angel to them, that angel would have brought destruction to all what they had. However, Allah the Exalted willed Jihad and fighting to be established for, and by, the believers for great wisdom, clear reasons and unequivocal evidences that He had in all this. This is why Allah the Great said next,

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً

(and Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.) Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

لِّيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ جَنَّـتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَا

(That He may admit the believing men and the believing women to Gardens under which rivers flow to abide therein forever,) We mentioned the Hadith that Anas narrated in which the Companions said, "Congratulations, O Allah's Messenger! This good news is for you, so what good news do we have" Allah the Exalted sent down this Ayah,

لِّيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ جَنَّـتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَا

(That He may admit the believing men and the believing women to Gardens under which rivers flow to abide therein forever,) meaning they will remain in Paradise forever,

وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَـتِهِمْ

(and He may expiate from them their sins;) Allah will not punish them for their errors and mistakes. Rather, He will forgive, absolve and pardon them and cover the errors, grant mercy and appreciate,

وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عِندَ اللَّهِ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً

(and that is with Allah supreme success.) Allah the Exalted said in a similar Ayah,

فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ

(And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful.) (3:185) Allah said,

وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ وَالْمُنَـفِقَـتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَـتِ الظَّآنِّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ

(And that He may punish the hypocrites, men and women, and also the idolators, men and women, who think evil thoughts about Allah,) who question the wisdom in Allah's decisions and think that the Messenger and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, might be killed and exterminated. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

عَلَيْهِمْ دَآئِرَةُ السَّوْءِ وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَنَهُمْ

(for them is a disgraceful torment. And the anger of Allah is upon them, and He has cursed them) He has cast them away from His mercy,

وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَآءَتْ مَصِيراً

(and prepared Hell for them -- and worst indeed is that destination.) Allah the Exalted and Most Honored asserted His ability to take revenge from the enemies of Islam and all disbelievers and hypocrites,

وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزاً حَكِيماً

(And to Allah belong the armies of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.)

Bounties of Allah upon the Participants of Hudaibiyah

In the first three verses of this Surah, reference was made to Allah's particular bounties bestowed upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the wake of the manifest victory. Some of the participants of Hudaibiyah congratulating the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، asked him that the favours are conferred exclusively upon him, but what is there in it for them? In response to this query, verses 4-7 were revealed. They distinctly refer to the good graces of Allah upon the participants of Hudaibiyah and the Pledge of Ridwan. These favours were generously bestowed upon them because of faith in, and obedience to, the Holy Prophet ﷺ . All believers whose faith and obedience are complete and perfect will receive similar good graces of Allah.

In the sixth year of the Hijrah, the Prophet Muhammad left Madinah for Makkah along with his companions, so that he could perform the rite of pilgrimage there. He had reached Hudaybiyyah when the pagans of Makkah came forward and barred his way, saying that they would not allow him to enter Makkah. Mutual negotiations followed, as a result of which a peace treaty was drawn up and signed by both sides. This treaty was executed apparently on the unilateral terms and conditions dictated by the polytheists. As a consequence, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad were very disheartened: they considered it a degrading treaty. But on the way back from Hudaybiyyah, this verse was revealed, ‘We have granted you a clear victory.’ The reason for this was that according to this Treaty it was agreed that for ten years there would be no war between the Muslims and polytheists. The end of fighting was in fact synonymous to the opening of the door of dawah. After the Hijrah (migration to Madinah), due to incessant fighting, dawah activity had stopped. Now the truce had created an open atmosphere in which there could be a free exchange of thought between the opponents. In this way, this treaty changed the sphere of combat. Formerly, the competition between the two sides had been held on the battlefield where the Muslims’ antagonists had the upper hand. Now rivalry shifted to the field of intellect and in this, the theory of the one God clearly triumphed over polytheism. Here now was the ‘straight path’, i.e. the way which made the victory of the flag-bearers of monotheism an absolute certainty.