Tafseer of The Victory · Al-Fath · 48:9
That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.
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.
Then the reciters differed over the reading of His words ( لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ ) that you may believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that you may support him and honor him and glorify Him. Most of the reciters of the cities, with the exception of Abū Jaʿfar al-Madanī and Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ, read all of that with the tāʾ (second person): ( لِتُؤْمِنُوا - وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ - وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ - وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ ), with the meaning: that you, O people, may believe in Allah and His Messenger. And Abū Jaʿfar and Abū ʿAmr read all of that with the yāʾ (third person): ( لِيُؤْمِنُوا - وَيُعَزِّرُوهُ - وَيُوَقِّرُوهُ - وَيُسَبِّحُوهُ ), with the meaning: indeed, We have sent you as a witness to the creatures, that they may believe in Allah and His Messenger and support him.
And the correct judgment concerning this is to say: they are two well-known readings, both sound in meaning, and with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he is correct.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes 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, concerning His words ( إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا ) Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner: he says: as a witness over his community that he has conveyed to them the message, and as a bearer of glad tidings of the Garden for whoever obeys Allah, and as a warner against the Fire.
His words ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ) and that you may support him and honor him — the exegetes differed over its interpretation. Some of them said: you exalt him and you venerate him.
* 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: ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ ) means: the exaltation; ( وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ) means: the glorification.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ): all of this is glorification and exaltation.
And others said: the meaning of His words ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ ) is: and they help him, and the meaning of ( وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ) is: and they exalt him in esteem.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ ): they help him; ( وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ): Allah has commanded that he be exalted and raised in esteem.
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 words ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ ): he said: they help him, and they honor him, that is to say: that they may exalt him.
Abū Hurayra al-Ḍubaʿī related to me, saying: Ḥaramī related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abū Bishr Jaʿfar ibn Abī Waḥshiyya, on the authority of ʿIkrima: ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ ): he said: they fight alongside him with the sword.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to me, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, in the same manner.
Aḥmad ibn al-Walīd related to me, saying: ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, in a similar manner.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā and Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, both of them saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, in the same manner.
And others said: the meaning of that is: and they exalt him.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words ( وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ ): he said: obedience to Allah.
And these statements are close to one another in meaning, even though the wordings of their proponents differ over it. The meaning of taʿzīr (support) in this place is: strengthening through help and assistance, and that comes about only through obedience, glorification, and exaltation. And we have already expounded its meaning with its evidences in what preceded, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat here. As for the tawqīr (honoring): that is the glorification, the exaltation, and the raising in esteem.
His words ( وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلا ) and that you may glorify Him morning and evening — He says: and you pray to Him, that is to say to Allah, in the mornings and the evenings. And the hāʾ (the pronoun "Him") in His words ( وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ ) refers to Allah alone, not to the Messenger. And it has been mentioned that in some readings this reads: ( وَيُسَبِحُوا الله بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلا ) (and that they may glorify Allah morning and evening).
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes 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: ( وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلا ): in some readings ( ويسبحوا الله بكرة وأصيلا ) (and that they may glorify Allah morning and evening).
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: in some variants ( وَيُسَبِحُوا الله بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلا ).
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words: ( وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلا ): he says: they glorify Allah — it refers back to Him alone.
