Tafseer of The Victory · Al-Fath · 48:29
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers - so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and 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: مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإِنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا (29) ("Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking grace and good pleasure from Allah. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot, which strengthens it, so that it becomes thick and stands firm upon its stalks, delighting the sowers — that He may through them enrage the unbelievers. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness and a tremendous reward.") (29)
And His saying مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ("Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves"): the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and his followers among his companions who are with him upon his religion, أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ ("are harsh against the unbelievers [kāfir]") — their hearts are rough toward them, their mercy toward them is little — رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ("merciful among themselves"), He says: their hearts are tender toward one another, their temperament is gentle toward them, mild toward them in their dealings with one another.
As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ("merciful among themselves") — Allah cast mercy into their hearts, for one another. تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا ("You see them bowing and prostrating"), He says: you see them at times bowing before Allah in their prayer, at times prostrating. يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلا مِنَ اللَّهِ ("seeking grace from Allah"), He says: they seek, through their bowing and their prostrating, their harshness against the unbelievers and their mutual mercy, grace from Allah, and that is His mercy toward them, in that He bestows His favor upon them and admits them into His paradise (janna). وَرِضْوَانًا ("and good pleasure"), He says: and that their Lord be pleased with them.
And His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), He says: their distinguishing sign is on their faces from the trace of prostration in their prayer.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the mark (sīmā) that Allah intended in this place. Some of them said: it is a sign that Allah places on the Day of Resurrection upon the faces of the believers, by which they are recognized on account of their prostration before Him in the worldly life.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: their prayer appears on their faces on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, he said: ʿUbayd Allāh al-ʿAtakī related to us, on the authority of Khālid al-Ḥanafī, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: that is recognized on the Day of Resurrection on their faces from the trace of their prostration in the worldly life, and it is like His saying تَعْرِفُ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ نَضْرَةَ النَّعِيمِ ("you recognize on their faces the freshness of bliss").
ʿUbayd ibn Asbāṭ ibn Muḥammad related to me, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the places of prostration on their faces will be on the Day of Resurrection the whitest parts of their faces.
Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to us, he said: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā related to us, he said: Ibn Fuḍayl informed us, on the authority of Fuḍayl, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, with something similar.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, he said: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Fuḍayl, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, with something similar.
Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Fuḍayl informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, with the same.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: al-Muʿtamir related to us, he said: I heard Shabīb saying, on the authority of Muqātil ibn Ḥayyān, he said: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the light on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, he said: Hārūn ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: ʿAlī ibn al-Mubārak said: I heard more than one person on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: a whiteness on their faces on the Day of Resurrection.
Others said: no, it is the mark of Islam, its appearance and its humility (khushūʿ), and by it is meant that this is seen upon them in the worldly life.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to us, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ ("Their mark is on their faces"), he said: the goodly appearance.
He said: Mujāhid related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: al-Ḥasan ibn Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: it is not that which you see, but it is the mark of Islam, its complexion, its appearance and its humility.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the humility and the meekness.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid, with the same.
He said: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the humility.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning this āyah سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the complexion.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: it is the humility. I said: it is the trace of prostration. He said: between his eyes there would be a mark like the knee of a goat — and it is as Allah wills it.
Others said: it is a trace that arises upon the faces of those who pray, like the trace of vigil (sleeplessness), which appears upon the face as blotches (kalaf), swelling and yellowness, and the like, which the vigil and the fatigue bring out upon the face. And they directed the interpretation of it toward the position that it is a mark in the worldly life.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the yellowness.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, he said: the old man who used to tell stories in ʿUsr claimed — and he recited سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration") — he claimed that it is the vigil that is seen upon their faces.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb al-Qummī related to us, on the authority of Ḥafṣ, on the authority of Shamir ibn ʿAṭiyya, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ ("Their mark is on their faces"), he said: a swelling in the face from the vigil of the night.
Others said: they are traces seen in the face from the dust of the earth, or from the moisture of the ablution (wuḍūʾ).
* Mention of who said that:
Ḥawthara ibn Muḥammad al-Minqarī related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Masʿada related to us; and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, both on the authority of Thaʿlaba ibn Suhayl, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Abī al-Mughīra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: the dust of the earth and the moisture of the ablution.
Ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, he said: Hārūn ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: ʿAlī ibn al-Mubārak related to us, he said: Mālik ibn Dīnār related to us, he said: I heard ʿIkrima saying: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: it is the trace of the dust.
The most correct of the statements concerning this is that one says: Allah, the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, has informed us that the mark of these people whose attribute He has described is on their faces from the trace of prostration, and He has not restricted that to one time to the exclusion of another. Since that is so, it applies to all times: their mark by which they were recognized in the worldly life was the trace of Islam, and that is its humility, its guidance, its asceticism and its appearance, and the traces of fulfilling its obligations and its voluntary acts; and in the Hereafter that which He has informed us they are recognized by, and that is the radiance on the face and the whiteness on the hands and the feet from the trace of the wuḍūʾ, and the whiteness of the faces from the trace of prostration.
And in the same sense as what we have said concerning the meaning of the mark (sīmā), the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he says: their distinguishing sign — or: their mark — is the prayer.
And His saying ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah"), He says: this attribute which I have described to you of the attribute of the followers of Muḥammad ﷺ who are with him, is their description in the Torah.
And His saying وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), He says: and their description in the Gospel of ʿĪsā is the description of a crop that brings forth its shoot (shaṭʾ), which are its sprouts. One says of that: the crop has brought out its shaṭʾ, when it sprouts; one says ashṭaʾa al-zarʿ — yushaṭṭī — ishṭāʾan. He compared them only to the sprouting crop, because they began to enter Islam while they were few in number, and afterward they increased, and after them the multitude entered, then one multitude after another, until their number became great — just as from the root of the crop the sprout arises, then the sprout after it, until it becomes numerous and grows.
And in the same sense as what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ ("Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him") — his companions — their likeness, that is to say: their description was written down in the Torah and the Gospel before He created the heavens and the earth.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, he said: ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ ("Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are harsh against the unbelievers") … up to His saying ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah"), then He said وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot") … the āyah.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah"): that is to say, this likeness is in the Torah. وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot") — this is the likeness of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the Gospel.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), he said: ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot").
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration; that is their likeness in the Torah"): he means the mark on the faces, that is their likeness in the Torah, and it is not their likeness in the Gospel. Then He said, mighty and exalted is He: وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot") … the āyah; this is their likeness in the Gospel.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration; that is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot").
ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to me, he said: Marwān ibn Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning the saying of Allah: مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ ("Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him") … the āyah, he said: this is their likeness in the Torah, and another likeness in the Gospel: كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot, which strengthens it") — the āyah.
Others said: these two likenesses, in the Torah and in the Gospel, together constitute their likeness.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah") — and the Gospel are one [likeness].
The most correct of the two statements concerning this is the statement of the one who said: their likeness in the Torah is different from their likeness in the Gospel, and that the report concerning their likeness in the Torah ends at His saying ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah"). That is because, had it been as Mujāhid said, namely that their likeness in the Torah and the Gospel is one, the revelation would read: "and their likeness in the Gospel and like a crop that brings forth its shoot," so that their comparison to the crop would be connected (by a conjunction) to His saying سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ مِنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ("Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration"), so that this would be a report that this is their likeness in the Torah and the Gospel. In the fact that the predicate comes without the wāw (the conjunctive particle) in His saying كَزَرْعٍ ("like a crop") lies a clear proof of the correctness of what we have said, and that their saying وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ ("and their likeness in the Gospel") is a newly commencing report concerning their attribute that is in the Gospel, distinct from what of it is in the Torah.
And in the same sense as what we have said concerning His saying أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("brings forth its shoot"), the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaḥyā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Masʿūdī related to me, he said: my father related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Khaythama, who said: while ʿAbd Allāh was having a man recite the Qurʾān to him at sunset, he came upon this āyah كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), whereupon he said: you are the crop, and your harvest has drawn near.
He said: Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Ṭawīl, he said: Anas ibn Mālik recited كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot, which strengthens it"), he said: do you know what its shaṭʾ is? He said: its sprout.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), he said: its ear of grain, when its sprout detaches itself from its grains.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), he said: this is the likeness of the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ in the Gospel. It was said to them: a people will appear who grow up as the crop grows up; among them will be a people who enjoin the proper and forbid the reprehensible.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda and al-Zuhrī: كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), they both said: it brought forth its sprout.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His saying وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("and their likeness in the Gospel is like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), he means: the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ; they will be few, then they increase, become numerous and become firm.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot"): its progeny, then its progeny became numerous.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot"), he said: what comes out at the side of the field and completes itself and grows.
And His saying فَآزَرَهُ ("which strengthens it"), He says: so it strengthened — that is to say: the crop strengthened its shoot and supported it; it is derived from al-muwāzara, which has the meaning of support. فَاسْتَغْلَظَ ("so that it becomes thick"), He says: so the crop became thick. فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ ("and stands firm upon its stalks"), and al-sūq is the plural of sāq (stalk); the sāq of the crop and the tree is that which bears them.
And in the same sense as what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: فآزَرَهُ ("which strengthens it"), he says: its sprout together with its thickening when it forms ears. ذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الإنْجِيلِ ("That is their likeness in the Torah, and their likeness in the Gospel") — it is a likeness that He set for the People of the Book: when a people appears who grow up as the crop grows up, and among them men arise who enjoin the proper and forbid the reprehensible, and they then become firm; they are those who were with them. And it is a likeness that Allah set for Muḥammad ﷺ; He says: Allah sent the Prophet alone, then there gathered around him a few people who believed in him, then the few become many, and they become firm, and Allah through them enrages the unbelievers.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying فَآزَرَهُ ("which strengthens it"), he said: so it strengthened and supported it.
And His saying عَلَى سُوقِهِ ("upon its stalks"), he said: its roots.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda and al-Zuhrī: فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ ("which strengthens it, so that it becomes thick and stands firm upon its stalks"), he says: so it joined together.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying فَآزَرَهُ ("which strengthens it"): that gathered together and thickened. He said: and likewise the believers arose while they were few and weak, and Allah continued to increase them and to support them with Islam, just as He supported this crop with its sprouts, so that it strengthened them; thus it became a likeness for the believers.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to me, he said: Marwān ibn Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ ("like a crop that brings forth its shoot, which strengthens it, so that it becomes thick and stands firm upon its stalks"), he says: grains of wheat that are scattered and strewn, and each single grain sprouts, then each of them causes [more] to sprout, until it becomes thick and stands firm upon its stalks. He says: the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ were few, then they became numerous, then they became firm, لِيَغِيظَ ("that He may enrage") — Allah — بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("through them the unbelievers").
And His saying يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("delighting the sowers, that He may through them enrage the unbelievers"): the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: this crop, which has become thick and stands firm upon its stalks, in its completeness, the beauty of its growth, its ripening and its perfection, delights those who have sown it. لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("that He may through them enrage the unbelievers"), He says: likewise is the likeness of Muḥammad ﷺ and his companions, and the gathering of their number until they became numerous and grew, and their affair became weighty, like this crop whose attribute He, whose praise is exalted, has described. Then He said لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("that He may through them enrage the unbelievers"), and that points to an omitted portion of the speech, namely that Allah, the Exalted, did that with Muḥammad ﷺ and his companions so that He might through them enrage the unbelievers.
And in the same sense as what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("that He may through them enrage the unbelievers"), Allah says: their likeness is like the likeness of a crop that brought forth its shoot, which strengthened it, so that it became thick and stood firm upon its stalks, until it reached the most beautiful growth; it delights the sowers by its abundance and the beauty of its growth.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ ("delighting the sowers"), he said: its beauty delights the sowers. لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ("that He may through them enrage the unbelievers") — through the believers, on account of their numerousness. This, then, is their likeness in the Gospel.
And His saying وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ("Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness and a tremendous reward"): the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Allah has promised those who held Allah and His Messenger to be true وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ("and do righteous deeds"), He says: and acted according to what Allah commanded them of His obligations which He imposed upon them.
And His saying مِنْهُمْ ("among them") means: of the shoot that the crop brought forth, that is those who enter Islam after the crop whose attribute our Lord, blessed and exalted is He, has described. The hāʾ and the mīm in His saying مِنْهُمْ ("among them") refer to the meaning of the shoot, not to its word-form, and therefore it is put in the plural so that one says "minhum" (among them) and not "minhu." The shoot is put in the plural only because by it is meant: whoever enters the religion of Muḥammad ﷺ up to the Day of Resurrection, after the multitude whose attribute Allah described with His saying وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا ("and those who are with him are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves; you see them bowing and prostrating").
And His saying وَمَغْفِرَةً ("and forgiveness") means: remission of what has passed of their sins and the evil of their deeds, in exchange for the good of them. And His saying وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ("and a tremendous reward") means: and an abundant reward, and that is the paradise (janna).
End of the tafsīr of Sūrah Al-Fatḥ.
