Tafseer of The Victory · Al-Fath · 48:5
[And] that He may admit the believing men and the believing women to gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein eternally and remove from them their misdeeds - and ever is that, in the sight of Allah, a great attainment -
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 words of the Exalted: لِيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا (5) (That He may admit the believing men and the believing women into gardens beneath which the rivers flow, abiding therein eternally, and that He may remove from them their evil deeds; and that, with Allah, is a tremendous triumph (5))
The Exalted, whose renown is great, says: verily, We have wrought for you a manifest victory, that you should thank your Lord and praise Him for it, so that He may forgive you what preceded of your sins and what came after, and that the believers in Allah their Lord should praise Him and thank Him for His favor to them, namely the victory which He has wrought and which He has decided between them and their enemies among the polytheists (mushrikīn), by making them prevail over these — and thereby He shall admit them into gardens beneath which the rivers flow, abiding therein unto eternity, and that He may remove from them their evil deeds through the good deeds which they perform out of gratitude on their part toward their Lord for that which He has decreed for them and the favor He has bestowed upon them. ( وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا ) and that, with Allah, is a tremendous triumph — the Exalted, whose renown is great, says: and that which Allah has promised them of this promise, namely their admission into gardens beneath which the rivers flow, and His removal of their evil deeds through the good deeds which they perform, that, with Allah, is for them ( فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا ) a tremendous triumph — He says: a triumph for them through that for which they hoped and toward which they strove, and a deliverance from that which they feared, namely a tremendous chastisement from Allah.
It has already been mentioned earlier in the narration that this verse was revealed when the believers said to the Messenger of Allah — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — or rather when he recited to them the words of Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He: إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُبِينًا * لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ (Verily, We have wrought for you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive you what preceded of your sins and what came after): "This is for you, O Messenger of Allah, so what then is there for us?" — whereupon Allah clarified to them that which He would do with them.
ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words ( لِيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأنْهَارُ )... up to His words ( وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ ): Thus did Allah, praised be He, make it known to His Prophet — upon him be blessing and peace.
His words ( لِيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ) that He may admit the believing men and the believing women connect with the lām (the conjunctive particle "that") of His words لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ (that Allah may forgive you what preceded of your sins), according to the explanation that the expression is repeated: إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُبِينًا * لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ (Verily, We have wrought for you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive you) — We have wrought for you a victory that He may admit the believing men and the believing women into gardens beneath which the rivers flow. And for this reason the wāw (the conjunction "and") which is inserted into the expression for coordination is not inserted, and so it was not said: "and that He may admit the believers".
