Translation and Explanation of Surah An-Nasr [110]
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Surah Nasr (110) is a Madni Surah and was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage. This Surah is called the Farewell Surah as that soon after this the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) passed away. It is also called Surah Fateh, which should not be confused with Surah Fath (48) because the Fateh mentioned here refers to the Conquest of Makkah, when the city of Makkah was returned in the hands of the Muslims.
It is three verses, nineteen words long, and all three of these verses were revealed together, making it the last complete surah to be revealed altogether.
The direct theme of this surah is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanding the believers to be grateful for the favors and blessings bestowed by Him, since this surah discusses one of the greatest blessings given to the Nabi ﷺ, and that is the victory the believers had against Quraish, and the Conquest of Makkah. This is a great blessing for the Messenger ﷺ and the believers, so the Prophet ﷺ is commanded to thank Allah for this. That’s why at the end of the surah fasabbih bihamdi rabbika, the tasbeeh of Allah, declaring His perfection is a form of saying thanks to Allah and expressing gratefulness.
Many have said that fasabbih bihamdi rabbika, the tasbeeh, means pray. This can proven by the action of RasulAllah ﷺ that when he entered Makkah at the Conquest, he prayed eight rakah, some have said that the rakah were for Salat ul Duha, however it is also believed that He ﷺ was not consistent with Salat ul Duha, so the eight rakah were Salat ul Fateh.
The indirect message within this surah, which only a few companions understood was that the Nabi ﷺ’s death was approaching. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying to the Messenger ﷺ that when the victory of Allah comes, and the conquest of Makkah happens, and the people enter into Islam group upon group, then this is a sign that your death is upon approach, so spend the remaining time of your life making tasbeeh of Allah’s perfection and seeking His forgiveness.
1: When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest,
The word Itha cuts out all doubt that follows in the sentence, that this is absolutely without doubt, certain information.
For those who believe that this surah was revealed before the Conquest, then the Itha refers to certainty that the believers will have a conquest, the matter is only to wait until then. That this inevitable event will be a great victory, a huge event in Islam.
Nasru Allah is when Allah gives the believers power, authority and victory over the unbelievers or enemy. The greatest form of Nasr given to the Prophet ﷺ, which was unique only to him, and had not happened to any prophet before him, was that he ﷺ was given victory over the enemy and that Allah placed fear into the hearts of the enemy for a distance of one month’s journey. This is the greatest nasr that He had given the Messenger ﷺ, and this was in Ghazwa Tabuk to fight the Romans. Before the Prophet ﷺ left Madinah for the journey, the Romans had so much fear in their hearts that they did not appear on the battlefield. The Muslims declared victory and returned back to Madinah. This nasr came with fateh, but fateh does not necessarily always come with nasr. In the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ the believers would sometimes get nasr only, like in the battle of Badr, they only were victorious in that but got no conquest. And sometimes Allah gave the believers fateh but no nasr, like when the jews, Bani Nazeer were expelled from Madinah without any fighting.
For the Conquest of Makkah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted the believers nasr and fateh. The victory was against the Quraish, and the conquest was of Makkah. Allah returned the land back into the hands of the believers, and this was an honor from Allah to the Messenger ﷺ and the believers, because Makkah is basically the birthplace of Al-Islam. From the very beginning the Nabi ﷺ emerged, his message was to restore the Kabah back to tawheed. For twenty years of the Prophet’s life, this was the mission of Islam, and this is proved by the fact that after the Conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ returned to Allah.
Fateh also refers to the victories following the conquest of Makkah, even after the Prophet's demise. In other words, the fateh primarily refers to the fateh of Makkah but it also refers to the conquests after, like in the lives of Abu Bakr and Umer.
The victory came, but how long did the prophet ﷺ and companions wait for this victory.
“Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.” (29:2-3)
“Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, "When (will come) the Help of Allah?" Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near!” (2:214)
There are three things that need to be present for victory of the believers. If these things gather at one time, the victory is near. They are wars, famine and a shake of faith.
All of these happened in the life of the Prophet ﷺ, when the believers faced wars like Badr, Uhad, Tabuk. They also had hunger, famine, poverty, and there was also an earthquake. This earthquake refers to a shake in faith, a test that shakes the belief of the believer. The shake was there to see who would remain with the Prophet ﷺ, like in the battle of Khundak.
“When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.” (33:10)
When this trial came upon the believers, the hypocrites were revealed, who said to the others that the believers had been betrayed and deceived by the Prophet ﷺ. They made excuses to run away from battle, stating that children and women were alone back home.
When these three matters happened, then victory came. Similarly, even today if we see these three matters occur simultaneously, we must understand that the victory of Allah is near.
2: And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,
After the conquest of Makkah, groups continuously entered Islam in the life of the Prophet ﷺ till he passed away. The proof of this is Allah saying yadkhuloon is a present tense, which implies continuity. At the farewell pilgrimage, 120,000 companions were with the Prophet ﷺ, which is far more than the 30,000 companions present at battle of Hunain, evidencing that people continued to accept Islam.
Allah says waraayt which implies that the blessing which is seen with the eye is more effective on a person than the blessing that is not seen. In other words, the fact that we see the blessing means it is more encouraging to us to say thanks, having a positive effect on us. For example when we see someone sick, that is when we realize we have good health and thank Allah.
Therefore when we witness people accept Islam, we are supposed to be excited, and allow ourselves to feel happy inside. It is supposed to encourage us to thank Allah more than we currently do, because it reminds us of our own guidance, whether as being born Muslim or gaining faith.
The entering into the deen of Islam is being compared to entering something like a house, which implies that the deen of Allah is a religion where one find’s comfort, peace and safety. This is why there is no one who after entering Islam compared his life to before entering Islam and said he was free before.
3: Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.
Allah is saying to the Messenger ﷺ that when these three things happen, which are the victory of Allah, the conquest of Makkah, and groups upon groups entering Islam, then know that this is a sign of your death, so how should you prepare yourself for the meeting with Allah? How should you spend your last moments on this earth?
Tasbeeh is one of the greatest worships a person can worship Allah with. Some scholars have interpreted tasbeeh as being salah, but especially it can be physical worship like prayer, or verbal worship like saying Subhanallahi Wa Bihamdihi Subhanallah Hil Azeem.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "(The following are) two words (sentences or utterances) that are very easy for the tongue to say, and very heavy in the balance (of reward), and most beloved to the Gracious Almighty (And they are): Subhan Allahi wa bi-hamdihi; Subhan Allahi-l-'Adhim," (Sahih al-Bukhari 6682)
The entire universe worships Allah through tasbeeh, and this was the message of Prophet Ibraheem when he met Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the heavens on journey of miraj.
Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I met Ibrahim (ﷺ) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra), and he said to me: 'O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar (Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah; there is no true god except Allah; and Allah is Greatest)." (Riyad as-Salihin 1440)
Ayesha RA has said that when this verse was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ he was seen making tasbeeh and istighfaar all the time, more than he used to. He would also make it in his sujood and ruku, and he increased the number of times he said it, saying in his ruku:
It was narrated that 'Aishah said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say when bowing and prostrating: 'Subhanakallahumma, Rabbana wa bihamdik. Allahumma-ghfirli (Glory be to You O Allah, Our Lord, and praise. O Allah, forgive me," following the command of the Quran. (Sunan an-Nasa'i 1122)
The tasbeeh and istighfaar then became the highlight of the Prophet’s last days. He ﷺ would recite them in salat, sujood, ruku, in gatherings, and at home. This was how ﷺ would respond to the commandments given to him by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Why did the Prophet ﷺ have to seek forgiveness, what sin had he committed that he needed to seek forgiveness? The scholars have said that seeking forgiveness can be distributed in two types, one being ‘seeking forgiveness of the sinful people’ in which people seek forgiveness for their minor and major sins. The other type is seeking forgiveness of the obedient people, the obedient people seek forgiveness for their worship. They would do this because no one on earth can claim that they worship Allah the way He deserves to be worshiped.
A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to say:
Observe moderation (in doing deeds), and if you fail to observe it perfectly, try to do as much as you can do (to live up to this ideal of moderation) and be happy for none would be able to get into Paradise because of his deeds alone. They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: Allah's Messenger, not even you? Thereupon he said: Not even I, but that Allah wraps me in His Mercy, and bear this in mind that the deed loved most by Allah is one which is done constantly even though it is small. (Sahih Muslim 2818 a)
Allah’s name At-Tawwab is much greater and carries more mercy and forgiveness than His name Al-Ghafoor. At-Tawwab means that Allah accepts and turns to the slave, fulfilling his needs more than the slave turns to Allah. Allah first grants the slave ability to ask for forgiveness, then He accepts the tawbah.
This surah consists of two commandments, and two messages. The commandments are to make tasbeeh and seek forgiveness, while the messages are that the victory of Allah will continue to be for the believers for as long as the believers continue to make proper tasbeeh and istaghfar of Allah, because they are from the gratefulness to Allah. Proper tasbeeh refers to proper implementation of the deen. The second message of the surah was that the death of the Prophet ﷺ was approaching.
In regards to this, the scholars have said that believers should seek forgiveness after performing every good deed. That every good deed should be concluded with istighfaar. We do so to ask for forgiveness from any shortcomings in our performed good deed.
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(some parts paraphrased or left out for the sake of keeping the text manageable to read)
Tafseer taken from recorded lecture of Sheikh Abu Bakr Zoud, Quran translations from Quran.com
