S110. SURAH AN-NASR (HELP)

NAME: In the first verse the coming of Allah’s Help (Nasr) is mentioned, and the Surah takes its name from this reference.

TIME OF REVELATION: It was revealed in Madina. Ibn Abbas says that this is the last Surah that was revealed to the Prophet (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. IV, page 561, with reference to Nasai). The subject matter of the Surah confirms it. Besides, as mentioned by Ibn Abbas in this Surah there is a hint that the time of departure of the Prophet from this world has come near. It is narrated in Bukhari that Umar asked Ibn Abbas what his opinion about the Surah An-Nasr was. He said that in this Surah the Prophet has been Informed that when Allah’s help and victory have come, his time for departure has also arrived, therefore he should busy himself in praising Allah, reciting His name and words and asking his pardon. Umar said that he also thought the same. -(Bukhari Kitabut- Tafseer). It is, therefore, clear that this Surah was revealed when the time of the Prophet’s death had come very near.

CENTRAL THEME: On the manifestation of Allah’s help and the victory of the religion, gratitude should be expressed to the Lord of the Universe, and to recite His name, words, and to pray for His pardon.

ORDER OF THE VERSES: In Verse No.1, mention is made of Allah’s help and the victory granted by Him. In Verse No.2, it is mentioned that people are embracing Islam in large numbers. Verse No.3 directs that on the achievement of this blessing more praises of the Lord be said, His name and words be recited and His pardon be sought.

110. SURAH AN-NASR (HELP) Ayah : 3

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. When there came Allah’s help and the victory.¹

2. And you saw the people entering Allah’s religion in masses ²,

3. Then recite the holiness with the praises of your Lord. ³ and ask forgiveness of Him.⁴ Surely, He is ever gracious to accept repentance. ⁵

1. By the help (Nasr) is meant that help which manifested in the form of a victory of Truth. Allah has promised His Messengers that He will essentially help them against their opponents:

“Surely, We do help our messengers, and those believe, in the life of the world and on the day when the witnesses arise.” -(Al-Mumin-51).

The full display of this help is seen when the fight between the Truth and the Falsehood reaches the last stage, and this is the help which is eagerly awaited by the companions of the messengers:

“When will Allah’s help come ?” Ah, verily, Allah’s help is near”. -(Al-Baqarah -214).

And in Surah Fatth this help is called “Nasran Aziza” (great help).

By victory is meant the victory of Makkah, which was a decisive victory, after which the might of the polytheists was broken and in Arabia Islam gained complete supremacy.

The victory of Makka was achieved in ( 08 A.H. January 630 A.D.) when the Prophet had advanced from Madina with his ten thousand brave companions. He entered Makka without any appreciable resistance. The Prophet declared that whoever would put down his weapons would be given shelter. In the general amnesty declared by him even those who were in the forefront in their hostility against Islam were also pardoned. On this occasion a very large number of people came to him and embraced Islam. In the House of Ka’ba, which was built by the iconoclast Prophet -Prophet Ibrahim - the Quraish had placed 360 idols. The Prophet cleared the House of Allah of this filth. He was knocking down the idols with a stick and reciting this verse:

“Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Surely, falsehood is ever bound to vanish.” -(Bani Israil-81).

The biggest idol among these idols was Hubal. The idolaters used to invoke him for help in their battles, but today, on the day of the victory of Makka, he himself had succumbed. How could he help others who were facing defeat. Thereafter the Prophet offered the thanks giving prayer for this victory, and raising the call of Greatness of Allah (Allahu Akbar), declared:

“There is no god save Allah. He has no partner. He fulfilled His promise, helped His slave, and defeated all the groups singly.” - (Abu Daud Kitabud-Diyat).

It may be noted that in Arabic the word ‘Iza’ is generally used for expressing future tense, but sometimes it is used for the past tense also, but here the circumstances and the interpretation of Ibn Abbas show that it is used to express past tense and accordingly we have translated the verse as ‘when Allah’s help and victory came,’ when generally it is translated as when Allah’s help and victory may come or will come.

2. The effect of the victory of Makka was not limited to the Quraish only, but it also greatly affected the different tribes living in the west. The representatives of these tribes began to arrive in Madina as delegates and during the years 09A. H. and 10 A.H. a large number of delegates met the Prophet and declared the acceptance of Islam and people began embracing Islam collectively, in groups, in masses. The religion, whose propagation the Quraish tried to stop for twenty one years reached every nook and cranny of Arabia in two years, till there was not a single polytheist in this land. In other words, the victory of Makka was the forerunner of this great revolution.

3. That is: This supremacy of the religion and the invigorating spectacle of people embracing Islam is the outcome of the Divine Help, and therefore, O Prophet! you should thank Allah for this great favour. And since the objective of his coming to the world has been achieved, the Prophet should busy himself in reciting praises of Allah, and His Holiness.

It also clarifies this important reality that the real ideal of the people of faith is to achieve nearness to God, and for this they have to strive till their last breath -during the efforts for the supremacy of the religion and even after its achievement.

4. That is: You should pray to God that He should pardon all your defects in performing this service and the errors that might have occurred in fulfilling the responsibilities.

By giving this direction to the Prophet, Allah has provided guidance to the faithful that on successfully accomplishing a job or on achieving victory in a battle they should not exult and feel proud like the other people of the world, but they should consider it the favour and grace of Allah, and they should praise Him and remember Him because He alone is deserving of praise. Besides they should always have the feeling that God alone knows what errors they might have committed in performing their duties, they should therefore ask for His pardon. On such occasions this should be the attitude of the people of faith, and they should avoid all methods and manners which would create in them a feeling of superiority instead of the feeling of obedience to God.

After the achievement of such a great victory and such a decisive supremacy, Quran did not command the Ummah to organize celebrations, but commanded it to present the gift of gratitude and obedience to the Almighty, which is a proof of the fact that this great teaching is the Divine Revelation and the great personality which presents it is the personality of a Prophet of God.

In the hadith it is mentioned that the Prophet used to recite words seeking Allah’s pardon hundred times in a day (Muslim Kitabuz-Zikr) moreover, in a hadith in Bukhari it is mentioned that after the revelation of this Surah, the Prophet used to recite these words in “Ruku” and ‘Sujud (bending and prostration):

“Holiness is for you alone; O Allah! O our Lord! I recite Your holiness with Your praise. O God! Forgive me”, -(Bukhari Kitabut-Tafseer).

5. Allah’s attribute is mentioned as ‘Tawwab’, i.e. the great Acceptor of repentance, which includes both the negative and the positive aspects. Its negative aspect means that if His slave asks for His pardon and repents for his past, He pardons him, and accepts his repentance. The positive aspect means that when the slave turns to Him, He turns to His slave with His favours. Here this attribute connotes that He will not only grant your request for pardon but will also bless you with His favours.