GET TO KNOW: Ep. 9 - Surah Al-Fath - Nouman Ali Khan - Quran Weekly

Auzu billahi minashaitanirrajim. Bismillahir rahmanir rahim. Inna fatahna laka fathan mubina. Liyaghfira lakallahu ma taqaddama min dhanbika wa ma ta'akhkhar. Wa yutimma ni'matahu alayka wa yahdiyaka siratan mustaqima. Wa yansurakallahu nasran aziza.

Rabbi shrahli sadri wa yassirli amri wahlul uqdatan min lisani yafqahu qauli. Falhamdulillah wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wasahbihi ajmain. Thumma amma ba'd.

Once again everybody, Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. I have a tall task ahead of me. I'm hoping that you get to know Surah Al-Fath today, Surah number 48 of the Quran.

Not a long surah, but an extremely profound and very different surah of the Quran that has many, many implications. I actually spent almost three quarters of a year trying to understand Surah Al-Fath because it's just that heavy as far as I'm concerned.

In uh not only understanding its its profound wisdom and its meaning, but also how it relates to our view of the world as it stands today. Islam is being talked about in so many different ways by so many different people and our relationship with our ourselves as an ummah and our relationship with the outside world is constantly being contested and challenged.

This is one of those surahs that answers some of the most fundamental questions about what Islam is, what the struggle of Islam means, what the goal of the ummah is in the most comprehensive way if we allow it to, you know, if we allow that kind of comprehensive reflection on it.

Uh it's itself is called Fath, which means opening or victory in the Arabic language and it's inspired by the first ayah of the surah, Inna fatahna laka fathan mubina.

We no doubt have granted you an open, unequivocal, manifest victory, and a victory that clarifies everything.

And the word mubina is beautiful because it's not just something clear, it's something that clarifies. In the victory that is being talked about in the surah, it will clarify things.

It will clarify what victory actually means. It will clarify what what kind of victory should Muslims be aspiring towards, what should they be working towards. There are several very long narrations that are associated with this surah.

If I went into those, this would be a detailed lecture of several hours, so I'm going to summarize all of it for you now.

The Muslims, this is later on, maybe six between sixth and seventh year of the Prophet's life in Medina, the the Muslims have gone through several military engagements with the Meccans now, with the Quraysh.

And the worst of them has just happened, which was the Battle of Al-Ahzab, where the Quraysh were able to merge several factions of Arabia and convince all of them that the real problem in Arabia is the Muslims in Medina.

Let's get together and, you know, basically surround the city of Medina and attack the city of Medina and kill every man, Muslim, woman and child, you know, every every civilian, we don't care.

Annihilate them and take over the spoils and we'll distribute them among among ourselves, not only will we get rich off of this, we'll have solved the biggest problem in the region, Islam itself, we'll have fixed it.

And the Quraysh were able to use their political capital to convince multiple factions to do this, an army of 10 to 12,000 was gathered and they started marching towards the city of Medina to end the problem of Islam. The last minute suggestion of one of the companions of the Prophet and out of the box thinker, someone who came from Persia, Salman Al-Farsi, gives a suggestion that the only thing holding us holding that army off, we were not going to be able to stand up against them, is a trench that we should dig that blocks their path into the city.

So a a trench is dug, everybody, all the civilian population of Medina gets involved in digging a trench so that they they can't enter from this side.

And this remarkable battle is actually not the subject of this surah, that's the subject of Surah Al-Ahzab, Surah number 33, literally called the factions, where all these factions got together to try to annihilate the Muslims.

But this just happened, right? And they just they these bloodthirsty Quraysh and all these other tribes camped outside Medina, tried to kill all the Muslims there, their attempts failed and a few weeks later, they all decided that it's too expensive a venture to stay camped out with their militaries, you know, on the road like this, they decide to leave and the city of Medina is safe once again.

As soon as that happens, and this is not even a little over a year according to some, maybe not even a year goes by, the Prophet sees a dream, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, that he is performing the pilgrimage, Hajj.

And Hajj means that you go to Mecca and you go unarmed, basically, you only the only weapon you carry, which is what the Arabs don't even consider a weapon, the knife to slaughter an animal.

That's not a sword, it's not a shield, nothing. So, he's basically going to go perform the pilgrimage in Mecca.

Now, mind you, Mecca is contested territory, we went to war with these people several times and the last time around, they were so motivated for the blood of Muslims that they left their homes and came all the way into the city of Medina to try to kill us.

And now not even a year later, the Prophet says, let's go, you know, armless, disarmed to do the pilgrimage at Mecca, who's with me? And since it's the Prophet's dream, and the Prophet's dream is considered revelation, we all follow suit.

1800 according to some, up to 1800 people get together and they start marching towards Mecca, not as an army, but as pilgrims for worship.

Now, the Meccans, they because they're a multi-religious society, people used to come for pilgrimage all the time, even pagans used to do pilgrim pilgrimage at at the Kaaba because it was surrounded by idols over time, even though originally it's the house built by Ibrahim, it was polluted by other, you know, idolatrous and and ignorant practices.

So they're familiar with the idea of pilgrimage and they know that when somebody comes for pilgrimage, it's not an act of war and we can't attack them, but they and realizing this, they decide to send their armies to try to cut the Muslims off in their path and kill them in the in the way.

And the Prophet had his intelligence, had his scouts ahead of time, tell him that they're coming your way, so they diverted routes and they went to a they went down a road that you don't normally go by, human beings wouldn't be able to traverse it under normal circumstances.

But it was suggested that they go through this uncharted territory, which had burnt rock and thorns and jagged rock and things like that, and so these pilgrims who don't have high strap boots and things like that, walk barefoot or walk with the slippers, the kinds of slippers that started melting off because of the burnt rock at the bottom and started scraping themselves.

Some narrators describe that as they traveled this caravan of 1800, not a single pilgrim was there that doesn't have blood marks on his clothes because of the scrapings as they're walking and they reached this barren field called Hudaybiyyah.

They get there and there's a dried up well there and the Prophet prays and he spits into the well and he throws an arrow into the well and the well starts producing water so much so that the entire caravan and their animals fed.

The Quraysh now realize that they've reached all the way to Hudaybiyyah, somehow they get word, they try to assassinate the Prophet and the Muslims by sending 80 assassins to come and quickly do a quick attack, but they get disarmed.

I'm fast forwarding the story, they get disarmed, the Muslims are enraged, but no, the Prophet says, we're not going to retaliate, we came here for pilgrimage, they release the captives, they disarmed them and released them back.

And now the Quraysh are forced to negotiate because now they're in sacred territory. If the Quraysh attack the Muslims now, it's going to become exposed to all of the region that these people don't don't abide by the sanctuary of Mecca.

So if they can attack people inside Mecca, what's to say they're not going to attack our tribe next, the Quraysh will lose their universal respect in Arabia, so they can't attack anymore.

Anyway, negotiations begin and when these negotiations happen, they go back and forth, multiple insults are hurled towards the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, and towards the Muslims.

And finally, when things are wrapping up, the negotiations are wrapping up, the conclusion is very demeaning. The conclusion is that you're not going to get to make the pilgrimage this year.

You're going to go back with your sacrificed animals or or the animals that you're supposed to sacrifice, just go back, don't do the pilgrimage.

And they're told that if any Muslim, any anybody who's Muslim in Mecca runs away from us and makes it to Medina, you're going to return him back to us.

He's our captive, you can't have any escapees, you know, but not the other way around.

And they put multiple clauses in this treaty, all of them to a disadvantage of the Prophet. And one of the most biggest insults was the beginning of the treaty was this is between the Arabs, the Quraysh and Muhammad Rasulullah, Muhammad the Messenger of Allah.

They said, we don't accept you as the messenger, cross that out, Muhammad the son of Abdullah. So literally the name had to be crossed and the Muslims were enraged when this treaty was signed.

And now they're super frustrated because they saw they they the Prophet told them, I saw a dream that we're going to make Hajj.

And so Omar, radiAllahu anhu, lost his cool. This is by the way an incident where you have, I mean, Omar, radiAllahu anhu, losing his cool, people hear that and they say, understandable.

But when you hear Abu Bakr lost his cool, because he did, and he actually even at one point in the negotiations hurled out a, you know, some some explicative language that wasn't expected of him, but it did happen.

You know, so there the level of frustration is very, very high. The people that are supposed to be the source of calm for the Muslims, even there just they're not they're very tense at this time.

So now all of this is going on and the Muslims are heading back and Omar ibn Khattab just gets up and says, didn't you see a dream that we're going to do Hajj this year?

And the Prophet turns to him and says, I never said this year. And at that point, Omar's frustration has not been settled.

Because if you never said this year, what are we doing here?

He could have said that, but he doesn't.

He goes to Abu Bakr and he goes to Abu Bakr and says, didn't he say this year?

Didn't he say that we're he saw a dream? And Abu Bakr said, watch it.

He just told him to watch it, you're going to lose all your good deeds, show your loyalty to the Prophet.

Now the Prophet, you know, tells the the the companions to basically take their ihram, their sacred garments off and shave their heads.

Nobody listens. This is the first time in the history of the Prophet's career, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

That he speaks to the entire congregation of Muslims, the nation that is known as Samina wa atana.

That we hear and we obey. These is their classic phraseology in the Quran, these are the people of listening and obeying.

They hear the Prophet explicitly say, get up and change and they don't, they don't get up and they don't shave their heads.

And yet in the Prophet goes back inside the tent and he tells our mother, you know, he tells her they're not listening.

She said, just you do it yourself, they'll follow suit.

So he does, he takes off his ihram and he starts shaving his head and they all start following suit.

And this is one of the most disappointing, painful experiences in the Prophet's life, they're traveling back.

Now they're going back this painful journey, it's not like a flight that's two hours long, this is going to be weeks in the making.

And they're they're traveling back and Omar feels bad and he he put runs his horse and his camel actually up to the Prophet and says, can I speak with you?

And the Prophet doesn't respond and he pulls back again.

And he pulls up again, can I speak with you? And he doesn't respond.

The Prophet is upset, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. He pulls up again, can I speak with you?

Doesn't respond. So he ran his horse way forward ahead of the caravan and said, Omar is as good as dead.

The Prophet is upset with me and he was just really depressed and not too long went by and a rider caught up with him and said, the Prophet's calling you.

And he said, I was so scared, some Quran was revealed, reprimanding me.

Man, I can it's bad enough the Prophet's mad at me, now Allah's words are going to be coming down towards me.

So he comes to see the Prophet scared and nervous and he says that I saw on his face a a brilliance that I've never seen before and the Prophet was smiling his face end to end, just a big smile.

And the Prophet he he comes close, he calls him close, he calls Omar close and he recites all of this surah, all of Surah Al-Fath from the beginning to the end.

And the first words of this surah are, we have given you a a victory that clarifies and a victory that can't be denied.

Right? And then 29 long ayat later, Omar ibn Khattab hears the whole thing and he goes, is that really victory?

You know, like almost like he's saying, how's that victory?

And the Prophet said, yes, it is. And he said, if it is, then it is.

And he was happy, he was just absolutely overjoyed, Omar ibn Khattab.

What has changed? I mean, think about this, what has changed in all of this incident?

They're still heading back, they still have to send the captives back, they were still humiliated, they still didn't get to make Hajj.

Nothing has changed. The only thing that's changed is Allah decided to reveal, you need to look at this differently.

And that's enough. You just need to look at this differently.

Every political scientist, expert, every soldier on the field, everybody would have looked at it one way.

Allah says, no, I I want you to submit not just what your actions are, I want you to submit your emotions and your attitudes.

Your attitude towards this incident needs to be that it's victory.

So he switches it.

And thus Allah defines victory in the Quranic sense that we could not have defined in our human sense.

It's a different definition of victory.

That's what this surah is about to look at victory from the lens with which the Quran wants you to see it.

As opposed to looking at it looking at it from a worldly sense, it's such a powerful lesson in the Quran, I cannot begin to emphasize how remarkable and how incredible it is.

You know, in this introduction, I could talk to you about the several subject matter that occur in the surah, I'll run you through some of them.

You know, the first Allah describes the victory and then he gives the purpose of the victory.

And the purpose of the victory is forgiveness.

And you know, instead of me giving you a very textual explanation as an overview of the surah, I'll just share one thing with you.

What is the purpose of victory?

Usually victory itself is a purpose.

You know, why why do you want to, you know, fight the election so I can win?

Why do you want to win? No, winning is the goal.

In this surah, winning is not the goal.

Inna fatahna laka fathan mubina is a means, we've given you victory is a means, means to what?

Liyaghfira lakallah, so Allah may forgive you.

Now think about this, we're we're going to solve that real.

What is victory have to do with forgiveness?

There's some connections being drawn here that we don't normally see.

And then on top of that, this is the first ayah of the surah where Allah says, the purpose of victory is forgiveness.

The last part of this surah, the very last words of this surah, Allah has promised those who believe and the those who did good deeds.

What does he promise them victory? No, he says, I'll promise them forgiveness and great compensation.

The purpose of victory is forgiveness in the beginning, the great goal by the end is also forgiveness.

And the very middle of this surah, the 15th ayah of this surah, right down the middle, Allah Azza wa Jalla says, The beginning, middle and end of this surah is forgiveness.

Now what in the world does that mean?

The purpose of the Prophet's mission was not to gain territory, the purpose of the Prophet's mission was to liberate the House of Allah built by Ibrahim Alaihi Salam.

And Ibrahim Alaihi Salam built that house so people can worship only Allah and earn their forgiveness. The reason Muslims went to the Hajj is so they can earn their forgiveness.

But Allah has given them that forgiveness anyway because now that the Quraysh have entered that treaty, the the Quraysh will fall like dominoes and there's not going to be a war necessary.

And when that happens, the Kaaba will be liberated and when the Kaaba is liberated, people's door to earning Allah's forgiveness will be wide open.

And there are going to be billions and billions of people all over the world for generations to come that are going to try and earn their forgiveness with Allah by coming and visiting the House of Allah so that Allah can forgive, so that Allah can forgive.

The goal of Islam was to open the doors for forgiveness for humanity, that is the goal of Islam, that's the goal of the victory of Islam that is so beautifully articulated in this remarkable and absolutely fascinating surah.

I have done an exhaustive lecture series on this surah because it's just that important, uh because I do feel that our attitudes towards victory and our attitude towards what is what is the Prophet's mission and what is the goal of that of that mission, the struggle of the Prophet is convoluted in our times today with different kinds of ideas.

And I'm hoping that through it, inshallah, we can go back to the original spirit of the Quran. This is one of those surahs that I would highly recommend that you study exhaustively as exhaustively as you possibly can.

Barakallahu li walakum, wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.