Lesson Ten
Fortress of Divine Victory
(An-Nasr Surah )
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
1- "When Allah’s Victory and Explained Opening come,
2- And you see people entering God’s Religion in groups,
3- Let (yourself) sink into praising your Provider and seek His Forgiveness. He is ever Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy)."
In this noble Fortress, God gives comfort to His Envoy and shows His Favor for him. The Fortress also acquaints us with God’s Sympathy and Tenderness towards His creatures.
When the Envoy (PBUH) felt sad about his uncle Abu Lahab, who opposed him and lost the favor which he would have gained if he had believed, the Almighty God gave him comfort. He showed him the great grace with which He obliged him when He supported him (PBUH) in His Victory, made people be guided, and indicated the right way through reason and by means of him. Therefore, the verse says:
Verse no. 1
33. "When Allah’s Victory and Explained Opening."
"Allah’s Victory" here refers to God’s Support for His Envoy when He revealed righteousness on his tongue and inspired him with His Revelation, enabling him to refute his opponents’ claims and disprove the pretexts of his opposers and enemies.
"Opening" in Arabic is ‘Fat’h’ which is derived from the verb ‘fataha’ ‘to open.’ In this context, it means to reveal something after it was imperceivable and to disclose it and acquaint with it after it was hidden and obscure.
Thus when applied to a judge who adjudicates between two opponents, the word ‘fataha’ means that the judge has uncovered and revealed the truth and pronounced a verdict that is just. In the context of Almighty Al’lah, the verb ‘fataha’ is used meaning to show a person the truth of a certain matter, make him aware of it and acquaint him with it.
The words "Explained Opening" here is meant to be the guidance and knowledge acquaintance which God demonstrated to people, and the belief and science to which their hearts opened when the Envoy – the faithful Envoy of God (PBUH) –brought them the revelation and teaching.
As for the word "When" mentioned in this verse, it is a conditional particle. The term ‘conditional’ here means that the occurrence of something depends on the occurrence of something else. For example, you could say: "If somebody comes, entertain them." In this sentence, the person must come before you can entertain them, and so their arrival is an essential condition that must be in place for you to entertain them.
"When" originally is used in this way to express something that will undoubtedly happen in the future. In the above example, the use of the word ‘if’ indicates a lack of certainty. Maybe someone will come and maybe they will not. On the contrary, the word ‘when’
indicates certainty. We use the word ‘when’ instead of the word ‘if’ when we are sure that something will happen. For example, you could say: ―When John comes, entertain him." In this example, there is no doubt that John will come. We can see this in the Holy Qur’an, when God says: "But in the end, when such a person comes before us, he shall say(the disbeliever speaking to his companion): ‘would that we were as far apart as the east is from the west. An evil companion indeed!’." The Holy Qur‟an, Fortress
43, Az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of Luxury), verse 38
The coming mentioned in this verse occurs in the future and it happens after death.
"When" may express past time if the context and the connection of speech signify this, as when God says: "Yet (it happened that) when they saw some merchandise or merriment they rushed to it, leaving you standing all alone..."The Holy Qur‟an, Fortress 62, Al-Jumu'a (The Congregation of Friday), verse1
In this verse, the ‘seeing’ happened and occurred before the verse descended upon the Envoy (PBUH). The noble verse descended and showed the story of that incident.
Yet "When" may also be abstracted from either past or future time in a circumstantial expression. For example, God says: "And the fall of night, when it grows still and overspreads (its darkness)." The Holy Qur‟an, Fortress 92, Al-Layl (The Night), verse
The purpose here is to make humanity remember the greatness of the miracle of the night when it begins and veils half of the globe.
This applies to God’s Saying: "When Allah’s Victory and Explained Opening come." It is not meant that "Victory" will be extended to the Envoy (PBUH) in the future, because the Envoy achieved God’s Victory at the first moment he received his mission, when inspiration descended upon him.
Also, the purpose here is not to describe the situation or tell us that the Godly Victory and Support have been extended to the Envoy (PBUH) beforehand, such that the time of this occurrence has already passed. In fact, God’s Victory and Support have been attendant on His Prophet since He charged him with his mission, throughout each period of his lifetime, and right up until Allah took him to be close to His Presence.
Thus, the meaning we understand from God’s saying: "When Allah’s Victory and Explained Opening come" is that the occurrence of Victory and its endless duration and renewal are established; that is to say, the verse demonstrates that this Victory is inseparable from the Envoy (PBUH) throughout his life. Besides, we know that God has mentioned this only to show His Favor for His Envoy (PBUH), and to remind him of the great grace with which He has obliged him.
What we understand of the verse "When Allah’s Victory and Explained Opening come" is: "Now that you have received Godly support and have revealed your revelation to people – as it was inspired by your Provider – and as you have refuted the allegation of each opposer, so that people yielded to you and their hearts opened to guidance and belief…"
Then, showing His perfect Favor for His noble Envoy, the Almighty God continues His Statement:
Verse no. 2
34. "And you see people entering God’s Religion in groups,"
"Religion" means legislation and statute.
"God’s Religion" is meant to be the way of righteousness, which God revealed to His obedient followers on the tongue of His Envoy and which results in happiness and welfare for humanity.
The word "group" means band and sect.
This verse means: "Remember My Boon to you when making people follow what is right at your hands. Once you know that, sink freely into your Provider’s Grace and Favor." God says:
Verse no. 3
35. "Let (yourself) sink into praising your Provider and ask His Forgiveness."
That is, let yourself sink into God’s Favor and indulge freely in tasting His Benefaction and the charity that He sends to you.
"Praise" is the feeling of gratitude which arises in the spirit, directed towards one’s benefactor, resulting from some good thing that was presented to you or a favor that was done.
The support with which God sustained His Envoy, and the explained opening He uncovered to him amounted to a great grace and a big favor with which the Almighty obliged His Envoy. Therefore, He addressed him by saying: "Let (yourself) sink into praising your Provider..." :that is, let your spirit swim in the favor He has obliged you with, and indulge in tasting the charity He has sent to you.
"…and ask His Forgiveness" : when we say that God has forgiven a wrongdoer, it means that He has made their spirit good and has cured it of the dirt that was attached to it, that so it has become pure and virtuous. Thus, the meaning of the phrase "ask His Forgiveness" in this verse is: ―Ask your Provider to forgive the believers by making their spirits clean of the desires that are attached to them, and ask Him to cure them of their ailments and the diseases that exist in their hearts."
However, how does God’s Envoy ask Forgiveness for others?
I say: forgiveness is not sought by words from the mouth, but is a spiritual state. If the Envoy (PBUH) – who has achieved the greatest and loftiest nearness to his Provider, upon whom the highest Revelation and the greatest Light and Sustenance continuously descend from Allah – turns himself towards those of his companions who drew near to him and believed in his mission and in what he brought them from Allah, then the Godly light will flow through the Envoy (PBUH) into his companions and into those who believe in him.
In this case, the Envoy will become a medium between God and His creatures and a means that lightens the power of that Revelation, that the spirits will be able to receive it and to bear it. This is because if the Almighty God was to reveal Himself directly to people’s spirits without the Envoy (PBUH) being positioned between them, their spirits would crack as they would be unable to endure such Revelation. They would lose consciousness and their minds would be drawn away due to the power of that Light.
However, since your Provider is wise, He selected those who love Him the most out of all people to be His Prophets, and those who can most endure His Light as to be mediums between Him and His obedient followers.
Out of God’s Mercy and Tenderness towards His creatures, He has ordered the Envoy (PBUH) to direct himself towards the believers in order to act as a means by which that Godly Light can flow into their hearts, and to be a medium between them and their Provider. Through this Light they can obtain purity and forgiveness and attain a spiritual cure.
How great, then, is the Favor of God for His obedient follower! How great is His Tenderness for His creation! We have so much need for the Envoy to seek Forgiveness for us, and so much need for his sympathy.
God says: "...And communicate with them, for your such communication is a source of comfort for them..." The Holy Qur‟an, Fortress 9, At-Tawba (Repentance), verse 103
"He is ever Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy)" : in Arabic, ‘return’ here is ‘Taba’ meaning ‘repent.’ When we say that a person returned (repented) to his Provider, it means that he refrained from disobeying God and returned to follow His Commands; but when we say that Al’lah has returned to the obedient follower, it means that He has returned His Grace to them. That statement "Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy)" is a translation of the Arabic word ‘Tawwaba’ which is one of Al’lah’s Supreme Attributes. The term ‘Tawwaba’ occurs in the intensive form to indicate the ever-readiness of God for forgiveness.
The word "ever" means that this attribute is one of God’s Self Attributes which His Supreme Self has; that is, there is no beginning or limit to such an attribute. It is not confined to a particular group of people, but embraces all of creation.
Following on from this, what we understand of the verse: "He is ever Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy)" is that, God, the Almighty, never leaves His obedient follower at all. However much the obedient follower draws far away from God, however much they disbelieve or behave arrogantly, and however much they disobey or make mistakes, their Provider never leaves them. He sends different kinds of hardships to them sometimes, and at other times sends them benevolence and charity. The latter is to act as a reminder of their Provider’s Favor and to provide a motive that urges them to return and resort to the Protection of their Lord and Creator.
They can then enjoy His Boons and become worthy of tasting His great Benefaction and His perfect Charity.