Tafseer of The Romans · Ar-Room · 30:4
Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
( In a few years. To Allah belongs the command, both before ) — namely the victory of Persia over them — ( and after ) — namely their victory over Persia. He decides among His creatures what He wills and judges what He desires, and He gives victory to whom He wills of them over whom He loves to make victorious. ( And on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah ). He says: and on the day on which the Romans (Byzantines) overcome Persia, the believers in Allah and His Messenger will rejoice over the help that Allah granted them against the polytheists (mushrikīn), and over the victory of the Romans over Persia. ( He helps ) — Allah, exalted be His mention — ( whom He wills ) of His creatures, against whom He wills; this is the help to the believers against the polytheists at Badr. ( And He is the Almighty ). He says: and Allah is severe in His retribution against His enemies; nothing restrains Him from that, and no obstacle stands between Him and that. ( the Merciful ) toward whoever of His creatures shows repentance and returns to obedience to Him, that He does not punish him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd related to us — or Saʿīd al-Thaʿlabī, who is called Abū Saʿd, of the people of Ṭarsūs — he said: Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī ʿAmra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Muslims wished that the Romans, the People of the Book, would attain victory, and the polytheists wished that the people of Persia would prevail, because they were idol-worshippers. He said: They mentioned that to Abū Bakr, and Abū Bakr mentioned it to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Indeed, they will be defeated." He said: Then Abū Bakr mentioned that to the polytheists. He said: They said: Shall we set a term between us and you? If they prevail, you get such-and-such, and if we prevail, we get such-and-such. And he said: So they set between them and him a term of five years. He said: That passed, and they had not been defeated. He said: Then Abū Bakr mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, who said to him: "Should you not have set it at less than ten?" Saʿīd said: and al-biḍʿ (a few) is what is below ten. He said: Then the Romans were defeated, and afterward they prevailed. He said: That is His statement: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land, and they, after their defeat, will overcome, in a few years ). He said: al-biḍʿ is what is below ten. ( To Allah belongs the command, both before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah ). Sufyān said: It has reached me that they prevailed on the day of Badr.
Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abān al-Miṣrī related to me, saying: Mūsā ibn Hārūn al-Bardī related to us, saying: Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land … ) — the verse — was revealed, Abū Bakr made a wager with Quraysh. Afterward he came to the Prophet ﷺ and said to him: I have made a wager with them. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: "Would you not have been more cautious, for al-biḍʿ is what is between three and nine?" Al-Jumaḥī said: al-munāḥaba means the making of a wager; and that was before this was forbidden.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated … ) up to His statement: ( and on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah ). He said: This has already passed; it concerned the people of Persia and the Romans. Persia had defeated them, and afterward the Romans defeated them. And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ met the polytheist Arabs on the day on which the Romans and Persia met each other. Allah helped the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims who were with him against the polytheist Arabs, and He helped the People of the Book against the polytheist non-Arabs. Thus the believers rejoiced over the help that Allah granted them and over the help to the People of the Book against the non-Arabs. ʿAṭiyya said: I asked Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī about that, and he said: We, together with Muḥammad the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, met the polytheist Arabs, and the Romans and Persia met each other. Allah helped us against the polytheist Arabs, and Allah helped the People of the Book against the Magians (Zoroastrians). Thus we rejoiced over the help that Allah granted us against the polytheists, and we rejoiced over the help that Allah granted the People of the Book against the Magians. That is His statement: ( and on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah ).
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, about His statement: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land, and they, after their defeat, will overcome ): Persia defeated them, and afterward the Romans prevailed.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: ʿAbd Allāh said: Five have already passed: the smoke (al-dukhān), the lasting punishment (al-lizām), the great blow (al-baṭsha), the moon (al-qamar), and the Romans (al-Rūm).
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated ) has already passed.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated … ) up to His statement: ( most people do not know ). He said: He mentioned the victory of Persia over them, and the turn in favor of the Romans against Persia, and the rejoicing of the believers over the victory of the Romans, the People of the Book, over Persia, the idol-worshippers.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that the Romans and Persia fought with each other in the nearby land. They said: and the nearby land at that time was Adhriʿāt; there they met each other, and the Romans were defeated. That reached the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, while they were in Mecca, and it weighed heavily upon them. The Prophet ﷺ detested that the illiterate ones among the Magians should prevail over the People of the Book among the Romans. Then the disbelievers (kuffār) in Mecca rejoiced and jeered, and they met the companions of the Prophet ﷺ and said: You are People of the Book, and the Christians are People of the Book, and we are the illiterate ones; and our brothers, the people of Persia, have prevailed over your brothers among the People of the Book; and if you fight us, we will surely prevail over you. Then Allah revealed ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land, and they, after their defeat, will overcome, in a few years. To Allah belongs the command, both before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah … ) — the verses. Then Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq went to the disbelievers and said: Do you rejoice over the victory of your brothers over our brothers? Do not rejoice, and may Allah not cool your eyes; for by Allah, the Romans will surely prevail over Persia — our Prophet ﷺ informed us of that. Then Ubayy ibn Khalaf stood up against him and said: You lie, O Abū Fuḍayl. Abū Bakr — may Allah be pleased with him — said to him: You are the greatest liar, O enemy of Allah. He said: I wager with you ten young she-camels of mine and ten young she-camels of yours; if the Romans prevail over Persia, I lose, and if Persia prevails over the Romans, you lose — within three years. Then Abū Bakr came to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him, and he said: "I did not say it thus; al-biḍʿ is only what is between three and nine. So increase the stake and extend the term." Then Abū Bakr went out and met Ubayy, and said: Perhaps you have regretted it? He said: No. He said: I increase the stake for you and extend the term for you; let us make it a hundred young she-camels against a hundred young she-camels up to nine years. He said: Agreed, that I have done.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Bakr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: In Persia there was a woman who bore none but kings and heroes. Kisrā (the Persian king) summoned her and said: I wish to send an army to the Romans and appoint over it one of your sons; so advise me which of them I should appoint. She said: This one is so-and-so, and he is more cunning than a fox and more wary than a falcon; and this one is Farrukhān, and he is more piercing than a spearhead; and this one is Shahrbarāz, and he is more deliberate than such-and-such. So appoint whichever of them you wish. He said: I have appointed the deliberate one. Thus he appointed Shahrbarāz, who marched with the people of Persia against the Romans and prevailed over them; he killed them, destroyed their cities, and felled their olive trees. Abū Bakr said: I related this report to ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, and he said: Have you seen the lands of al-Shām (Syria)? I said: No. He said: Indeed, had you seen it, you would see the cities that have been destroyed and the olive trees that have been felled. Then I came to al-Shām after that time and saw it.
ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī said: Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar related to me, that Caesar (Qayṣar) sent a man called Qaṭma, with an army of the Romans, and that Kisrā sent Shahrbarāz. They met each other at Adhriʿāt and Buṣrā, and that is the part of al-Shām nearest to you. Persia met the Romans and defeated them. Over that the disbelievers of Quraysh rejoiced, and the Muslims detested it. Then Allah revealed ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land … ) — the verses. Then he mentioned something similar to the report of ʿIkrima, and added: Shahrbarāz kept trampling them and destroying their cities until he reached the strait (al-Khalīj). Then Kisrā died, and his death reached them. Thereupon Shahrbarāz fled with his companions, and the Romans then fell upon them in force and pursued them, killing them. He said: and ʿIkrima said in his report: When Persia prevailed over the Romans, Farrukhān sat drinking and said to his companions: It is as though I saw myself sitting on the throne of Kisrā. That reached Kisrā, and he wrote to Shahrbarāz: When my letter reaches you, send me the head of Farrukhān. He wrote back to him: O king, indeed, you will not find an equal of Farrukhān; he has striking power and martial prowess against the enemy, so do not do it. He wrote to him: Among the men of Persia there is a replacement for him; so hasten and send me his head. He answered him again. Then Kisrā became enraged and did not answer him, and sent a courier to the people of Persia: Indeed, I have deposed Shahrbarāz over you and appointed Farrukhān over you. Then he handed the courier a small note: When Farrukhān assumes the kingship and his brother submits to him, give him this. When Shahrbarāz read the letter, he said: To hear is to obey. He stepped down from his throne, and Farrukhān sat, and he handed him the note. He said: Bring me Shahrbarāz. He had him brought forward to strike his neck. He said: Do not hasten, until I have written my testament. He said: Yes. Then he asked for the chest (al-safaṭ) and gave him three notes, and said: All of this I pleaded on your behalf with Kisrā, and you wanted to kill me on the basis of one letter. Thus he returned the kingship to him. And Shahrbarāz wrote to Caesar, the king of the Romans: I have a matter to discuss with you that a courier cannot carry and that notes cannot convey; so meet me, and meet me alone with fifty Romans, for I will meet you with fifty Persians. Then Caesar came with five hundred thousand Romans, and he began to place scouts ahead of himself along the way, fearing that a trick was being played on him, until his scouts informed him that there were only fifty men with him. Then a tent was spread out for the two of them, and they met each other in a pavilion of brocade that had been set up for them; with each of the two of them was a knife. Then they had an interpreter summoned between the two of them, and Shahrbarāz said: Indeed, those who destroyed your cities are I and my brother, by our cunning and courage; and indeed, Kisrā became jealous of us and wanted me to kill my brother, but I refused; then he commanded my brother to kill me. So we have both renounced him, and we will fight him together with you. He said: You have acted rightly. Then one of the two of them gestured to his companion that the secret remains between two, but when it exceeds the two, it spreads. He said: Indeed. Then the two of them killed the interpreter together with their two knives. Thus Allah caused Kisrā to perish. And the news reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the day of al-Ḥudaybiya, and he rejoiced, and whoever was with him likewise.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated ). He said: Persia defeated them in the nearby part of al-Shām. ( and they, after their defeat, will overcome … ) — the verse. He said: When Allah revealed these verses, the Muslims believed their Lord and knew that the Romans would prevail over Persia. Thus they and the polytheists made a wager of five young she-camels against five young she-camels, and set between them a term of five years. Abū Bakr — may Allah be pleased with him — took on the wager of the Muslims, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf took on the wager of the polytheists; and that was before gambling was forbidden. Then the term passed, and the Romans had not prevailed over Persia, and the polytheists demanded their wager. The companions of the Prophet mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "It was not fitting for you to set a term of less than ten, for al-biḍʿ is what is between three and ten; so increase the stake against them and extend the term against them." They did that, and Allah made the Romans prevail over Persia at the end of a few years after their first wager; and that was upon his return from al-Ḥudaybiya. Then the Muslims rejoiced over their peace treaty that came about and over the victory of the People of the Book over the Magians; and that was among that by which Allah strengthened Islam. That is His statement: ( and on that day the believers will rejoice over the help of Allah … ) — the verse.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, about His statement: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated … ) up to His statement: ( and on that day the believers will rejoice ). He said: The Prophet ﷺ had informed the people in Mecca that the Romans would prevail. He said: Then the Qurʾān descended about that. He said: and the Muslims wished for the victory of the Romans over Persia, because they were People of the Book.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: Persia had the upper hand over the Romans, and the polytheists wished that Persia would prevail over the Romans, while the Muslims wished that the Romans would prevail over Persia, because they were People of the Book and nearest to their religion. When ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated ) up to ( in a few years ) was revealed, they said: O Abū Bakr, indeed, your companion says that the Romans will prevail over Persia in a few years. He said: He spoke the truth. They said: Will you gamble with us? Then they agreed with him on four young she-camels up to seven years. The seven years passed, and nothing happened. Over that the polytheists rejoiced, and it weighed heavily upon the Muslims. They mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "How many are a few years according to you?" They said: Less than ten. He said: "Go, increase the stake against them and add two years to it." He said: The two years had not yet passed when the riders came with the news of the victory of the Romans over Persia. Over that the Muslims rejoiced. Then Allah revealed: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated … ) up to His statement: ( the promise of Allah; Allah does not break His promise ).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash and Maṭar, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The [prophecy concerning the] Romans has passed.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said about His statement: ( Alif Lām Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearby land ). He said: the nearby land is al-Shām. ( and they, after their defeat, will overcome ). He said: Persia had defeated the Romans, and afterward it turned in favor of the Romans against Persia. And it was mentioned that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Indeed, the Romans will defeat Persia." Then the polytheists said: This is among what Muḥammad claims by guesswork. Abū Bakr said: Will you wager with me? — and al-munāḥaba is the making of a wager — they said: Yes. Then Abū Bakr made a wager with them, and set the years at four or five. Then he came to the Prophet ﷺ, and the Messenger ﷺ said: "Indeed, al-biḍʿ is what is between three and nine; so return to the people and increase the wager." Then he returned to them. They said: So he made a wager with them and increased. He said: Then the Romans prevailed over Persia.
