Tafseer of The Victory · Al-Fath · 48:27
Certainly has Allah showed to His Messenger the vision in truth. You will surely enter al-Masjid al-Haram, if Allah wills, in safety, with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened, not fearing [anyone]. He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand].
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: لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لا تَخَافُونَ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا (27) (Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth: you shall surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security, with your heads shaved and your hair cut short, without fear. He knew what you did not know, and so He ordained, before that, a near victory) (48:27).
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: indeed Allah has fulfilled for His Messenger Muḥammad the vision that He showed him, namely that he and his companions would enter the Sacred House of Allah in security, without fearing the polytheists (ahl al-shirk), some of them cutting their head-hair short and others shaving it.
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 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 ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth: you shall surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security ), he said: that is the entering of the House by Muḥammad ﷺ and the believers, with their heads shaved and their hair cut short.
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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( the vision in truth ), he said: at al-Ḥudaybiya it was shown to him that he would enter Mecca with his companions, with their heads shaved. Then his companions said, when he slaughtered the sacrificial animals at al-Ḥudaybiya: where is the vision of Muḥammad ﷺ?
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth ), he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw that he would circumambulate the House with his companions, and Allah fulfilled his vision, and He said ( you shall surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security )... up to where He came to ( without fear ).
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth ), he said: it was shown to him in sleep that they would enter the Sacred Mosque, and that they would be secure, with their heads shaved and their hair cut short.
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth )... to the end of the āyah. He said: the Prophet ﷺ said to them: "Indeed, I have seen that you shall enter the Sacred Mosque with your heads shaved and your hair cut short." But when he halted at al-Ḥudaybiya and did not enter in that year, the hypocrites (munāfiqūn) slandered concerning that and said: where is his vision? Then Allah said ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth ), and he continued reading until he came to ( and your hair cut short, without fear ): "I did not see that he would enter it this year, and it shall surely come to pass."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq ( Indeed, Allah has fulfilled the vision of His Messenger in truth )... to His saying ( if Allah wills, in security ): concerning the vision of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that was shown to him, namely that he would enter Mecca securely, without fear. He says: with their heads shaved and their hair cut short, without fear.
And His saying ( He knew what you did not know ). The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: Allah, exalted be His praise, knew what you did not know, and that is His knowledge, the Exalted whose praise is mentioned, concerning the believing men and women who were in Mecca, whom the believers did not know; and had they entered Mecca in that year, they would have trampled them down with horses and footmen, so that an evil would have afflicted them through them unknowingly. Therefore Allah held them back from Mecca.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying ( He knew what you did not know ), he said: He held him back because of the believing men and women who were in their midst, and He deferred it so that Allah, in His mercy, might bring in whom He wills of those whom He wishes to guide.
And His saying ( and so He ordained, before that, a near victory ). The people of interpretation differed concerning the near victory that Allah ordained for the believers before their entering of the Sacred Mosque with their heads shaved and their hair cut short. Some of them said: it is the peace treaty that came about between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the polytheists of Quraysh.
* 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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( before that, a near victory ), he said: the sacrifice at al-Ḥudaybiya; and they returned and thereupon conquered Khaybar; then he afterwards performed the ʿumra. Thus his vision was fulfilled the following year.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning His saying ( and so He ordained, before that, a near victory ): he means the peace treaty of al-Ḥudaybiya. And no victory was achieved in Islam greater than this. For the fighting took place only where the people met one another; but when the truce came, war was laid down, and all the people were secure, the one from the other. Thus they met one another and exchanged views about the matter and spoke about it. No one with any understanding was addressed about Islam without entering it; and in those two years there entered into Islam as many people as had been in Islam before that, and even more.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq ( and so He ordained, before that, a near victory ), he said: the peace treaty of al-Ḥudaybiya.
And others said: by the near victory in this place is meant the conquest of Khaybar.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying ( and so He ordained, before that, a near victory ), he said: Khaybar, when they returned from al-Ḥudaybiya; Allah granted them its conquest and he divided it among all the people of al-Ḥudaybiya, except one man of the Anṣār, named Abū Dujāna Simāk ibn Kharasha, who had indeed been present at al-Ḥudaybiya but was absent at Khaybar.
And the correct of the sayings concerning this is that one says: that Allah has informed that He has ordained, for His Messenger and those who were with him, of the people of the pledge of good pleasure (bayʿat al-riḍwān), a near victory before their entering of the Sacred Mosque and before the fulfillment of the vision of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And the peace treaty of al-Ḥudaybiya and the conquest of Khaybar were before that. And Allah, the Exalted whose praise is mentioned, did not restrict His report concerning that to one particular conquest to the exclusion of another, but He kept it general; and all of that is a victory that Allah ordained before that.
And the correct course is that one keeps it general as He kept it general, and that one says: Allah, before the fulfillment of the vision of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning the entering by him and his companions of the Sacred Mosque with their heads shaved and their hair cut short, without fearing the polytheists, ordained the peace treaty of al-Ḥudaybiya and the conquest of Khaybar.
