Tafseer of The Victory · Al-Fath · 48:10
Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. So he who breaks his word only breaks it to the detriment of himself. And he who fulfills that which he has promised Allah - He will give him a great reward.
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.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا (10) (Verily, those who pledge allegiance to you only pledge allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands. So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only to his own detriment; and whoever fulfills what he has promised Allah, He will give him a great reward) (48:10).
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: ( Verily, those who pledge allegiance to you ) at al-Ḥudaybiya, of your companions, on the condition that they would not flee when meeting the enemy and would not turn their backs to them ( only pledge allegiance to Allah ). He says: by their oath of allegiance to you, they in reality pledge allegiance to Allah, because Allah has guaranteed them the Garden if they fulfill this toward Him.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, 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 of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( Verily, those who pledge allegiance to you ), he said: on the day of al-Ḥudaybiya.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( Verily, those who pledge allegiance to you only pledge allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands. So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only to his own detriment ): and they are those who pledged allegiance on the day of al-Ḥudaybiya.
And in His saying ( the hand of Allah is above their hands ) there are two aspects of interpretation: the first is that the hand of Allah is above their hands in the pledging, because they pledged allegiance to Allah through their oath of allegiance to His Prophet ﷺ; and the other is that the power of Allah is above their power in aiding His Messenger ﷺ, because they pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ only to aid him against the enemy.
And His saying ( So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only to his own detriment ). The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: whoever breaks his oath of allegiance to you, O Muḥammad, and violates it, and does not aid you against your enemies, and acts contrary to what he promised his Lord, ( breaks it only to his own detriment ). He says: he only violates his oath of allegiance, for by that deed he departs from the circle of those to whom Allah has promised the Garden on account of their fulfilling the oath of allegiance; thus by his oath-breaking he harms no one but himself, and he breaks it only to his own detriment. As for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is his helper against his enemies, whether the oath-breaker among them breaks his oath or fulfills his oath of allegiance.
And His saying ( and whoever fulfills what he has promised Allah )... the āyah. The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: and whoever fulfills what he has promised Allah regarding standing firm when meeting the enemy in the path of Allah and aiding His Prophet ﷺ against his enemies ( He will give him a great reward ). He says: Allah will give him a great reward, namely that He admits him into the Garden as recompense for his fulfilling what he promised Allah, and for the covenant he made with His Messenger to stand firm with him at the time of battle, confirmed by the solemn oaths.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( He will give him a great reward ): and that is the Garden.
