Victory, Conquest — Verse 23

That is the way of God sunnata’Llāhi is a verbal noun emphasising the import of the preceding sentence about the defeat of the disbelievers and the victory of the believers that is to say sanna’Llāhu dhālika sunnatan ‘God has established this as His way of dealing with believers and disbelievers’ which has taken its course before and you will never find in God’s way any change by Him.

Good News of abundant Spoils of War Mujahid said that Allah's statement, وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَةً تَأْخُذُونَهَا (Allah has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture,) refers to the spoils that Muslims earned up until this time, while, فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـذِهِ (and He has hastened for you this,) means, the conquest of Khaybar. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـذِهِ (and He has hastened for you this,) means, "The peace treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah." Allah said, وَكَفَّ أَيْدِىَ النَّاسِ عَنْكُمْ (and He has restrained the hands of men from you,) meaning, `no harm that your enemies had planned against you, both fighting and warfare, touched you. Allah also restrained the hands of men, whom you left behind close to your families and children, from harming them,' وَلِتَكُونَ ءَايَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (that it may be a sign for the believers,) with which they take heed and understand. Verily, Allah the Exalted and Most Honored shall help and protect the believers against all enemies, even though the believers are few in number. By doing so, the believers will come to know that Allah is truly the Knower of the consequences of all matters and that the best decisions are those which He prefers for His believing servants, even though these decisions might look unfavorable outwardly, وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ (It may be that you dislike a thing that is good for you) (2:216). Allah said, وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ صِرَطاً مُّسْتَقِيماً (and that He may guide you to the straight path) on account of your obeying His commands and adhering by His orders by following the path of His Messenger , Good News of continuous Muslim Victories until the Day of Resurrection The statement of Allah the Exalted and Most Honored, وَأُخْرَى لَمْ تَقْدِرُواْ عَلَيْهَا قَدْ أَحَاطَ اللَّهُ بِهَا وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيراً (And other (victories) which are not yet within your power; indeed Allah encompasses them. And Allah is Ever Able to do all things.) Meaning, there are other war spoils and victories to come which are not within your grasp now. However, Allah will make them within your reach and indeed He compasses all these victories for your benefit. Surely, Allah the Exalted provides provisions and sustenance for His servants who have Taqwa, from resources they could never imagine. Scholars of Tafsir differ over the reference to other war spoils mentioned here. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said that it refers to the conquest of Khaybar. This meaning is sound according to the Ayah, فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـذِهِ (and He has hastened for you this.) which refers to the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah. This is view of Ad-Dahhak, Muhammad bin Ishaq and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. Qatadah said that this part of the Ayah refers to the conquest of Makkah, and this opinion was preferred by Ibn Jarir. Ibn Abi Layla and Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it refers to victories over the Persians and the Romans, while Mujahid said that it refers to every victory and all spoils of war, until the Day of Resurrection. Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah, وَأُخْرَى لَمْ تَقْدِرُواْ عَلَيْهَا قَدْ أَحَاطَ اللَّهُ بِهَا (And other (victories) which are not yet within your power; indeed Allah compasses them.), "They are the victories that are continuing until this day." Had Makkah's Disbelievers fought at Al-Hudaybiyyah, They would have retreated in Defeat Allah said, وَلَوْ قَـتَلَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كفَرُواْ لَوَلَّوُاْ الاٌّدْبَـرَ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُونَ وَلِيّاً وَلاَ نَصِيراً (And if those who disbelieve fight against you, they certainly would have turned their backs; then they would have found neither a protector nor a helper.) Allah the Exalted and Most Honored delivers the glad tidings to His believing servants that had the idolators fought them, Allah would have given victory to His Messenger and His faithful servants. Then, the army of the disbelievers would have been defeated and would have deserted the battlefield and fled. They would not have found any helper or supporter, because they were fighting Allah, His Messenger and His Faithful Party. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said, سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلاً (That has been the way of Allah already with those who passed away before. And you will not find any change in the way of Allah.) means this is the way Allah deals with His creation. Whenever faith and disbelief meet at any distinguishing juncture, Allah gives victory to faith over disbelief, raises high truth and destroys falsehood. For instance, Allah the Exalted helped His loyal faithful supporters during the battle of Badr and they defeated His idolator enemies, even though the Muslims were few in num- ber and lightly armed, while the idolators were large in number and heavily armed. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said, وَهُوَ الَّذِى كَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُم بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِن بَعْدِ أَنْ أَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيراً (And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makkah, after He had made you victors over them. And Allah is Ever the All-Seer of what you do.) Allah the Exalted reminds His faithful servants of His favor when He restrained the hands of the idolators, and thereby, no harm touched the Muslims from the idolators. Allah restrained the hands of the believers and they did not fight the idolaters near Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Rather, Allah saved both parties from battle and brought forth a peace treaty that produced good results for the believers, in addition to, earning them the good end in this life and the Hereafter. We stated a Hadith from Salamah bin Al-Akwa` in which he narrated that when the Muslims brought forth those seventy idolator prisoners, they tied and paraded them before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who looked at them and said, «أَرْسِلُوهُمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ بَدْءُ الْفُجُورِ وَثِنَاه» (Release them, so that they earn the burden of starting hostilities and its infamy.) Thereafter, Allah the Exalted and Most Honored sent down this Ayah about that incident, وَهُوَ الَّذِى كَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُم (And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you and your hands from them...) Imam Ahmad recor- ded that Anas bin Malik said, "On the day of Hudaybiyyah, eighty armed men from Makkah went down the valley coming from Mount At-Tan`im to ambush the Messen- ger of Allah . The Messenger invoked Allah against them, and they were taken prisoners." `Affan added, "The Messenger ﷺ pardoned them, and this Ayah was later on revealed, وَهُوَ الَّذِى كَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُم بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِن بَعْدِ أَنْ أَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ (And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makkah, after He had made you victors over them.)" Muslim, Abu Dawud in his Sunan and At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i, in the Tafsir section of their Sunan, collected this Hadith.

سنة الله التي سنَّها في خلقه من قبل بنصر جنده وهزيمة أعدائه، ولن تجد -أيها النبي- لسنة الله تغييرًا.

ثم قال تبارك وتعالى "سنة الله التي قد خلت من قبل ولن تجد لسنة الله تبديلا" أي هذه سنة الله وعادته في خلقه ما تقابل الكفر والإيمان في موطن فيصل إلا نصر الله الإيمان على الكفر فرفع الحق ووضع الباطل كما فعل تعالى يوم بدر بأوليائه المؤمنين نصرهم على أعدائه من المشركين مع قله عدد المسلمين وعددهم وكثرة المشركين وعددهم.

وقوله ( سُنَّةَ الله التي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلُ ) زيادة فى تثبيتهم وفى إدخال السرور على قلوبهم . . ولفظ ( سُنَّةَ ) منصوب على المصدرية بفعل محذوف . أى : سن الله انتصار أهل الحق على أهل الباطل سنة قديمة وممتدة إلى أن يرث الله الأرض ومن عليها .( وَلَن تَجِدَ ) أيها العاقل - ( لِسُنَّةِ الله ) - تعالى - ( تَبْدِيلاً ) أو تغييرا أو تحويلا .وفى هذا المعنى ورت آيات كثيرة ، منها قوله - تعالى - : ( وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا المرسلين إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ المنصورون وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ الغالبون ).

وقوله ( سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: لو قاتلكم هؤلاء الكفار من قريش, لخذلهم الله حتى يهزمهم عنكم خذلانه أمثالهم من أهل الكفر به, الذين قاتلوا أولياءه من الأمم الذين مضوا قبلهم. وأخرج قوله ( سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ ) نصبا من غير لفظه, وذلك أن في قوله ( لَوَلَّوُا الأدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لا يَجِدُونَ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصِيرًا ) معنى سننت فيهم الهزيمة والخذلان, فلذلك قيل: ( سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ ) مصدرا من معنى الكلام لا من لفظه, وقد يجوز أن تكون تفسيرا لما قبلها من الكلام.وقوله ( وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلا ) يقول جلّ ثناؤه لنبيه محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم: ولن تجد يا محمد لسنة الله التي سنها في خلقه تغييرا, بل ذلك دائم للإحسان جزاءه من الإحسان, وللإساءة والكفر العقاب والنكال.

( سنة الله التي قد خلت من قبل ) أي كسنة الله في نصر أوليائه وقهر أعدائه ( ولن تجد لسنة الله تبديلا ) .

سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا (23(والسنة : الطريقة والعادة . وانتصب { سنة اللَّه } نِيابة عن المفعول المطلق الآتي بدلاً من فعله لإفادة معنى تأكيد الفعل المحذوف . والمعنى : سن الله ذلك سُنة ، أي جعله عادة له ينصر المؤمنين على الكافرين إذا كانت نية المؤمنين نصر دين الله كما قال تعالى : { يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن تنصروا الله ينصركم ويثبت أقدامكم } [ محمد : 7 ] وقال : { ولينصرن الله من ينصره } [ الحج : 40 ] ، أي أنّ الله ضمن النصر للمؤمنين بأن تكون عاقبة حروبهم نصراً وإن كانوا قد يُغلبون في بعض المواقع كما وقع يوم أحد وقد قال تعالى : { والعاقبة للمتقين } [ القصص : 83 ] وقال : { والعاقبة للتقوى } [ طه : 132 ] .وإنما يكون كمال النصر على حسب ضرورة المؤمنين وعلى حسب الإيمان والتقوى ، ولذلك كان هذا الوعد غالباً للرسُول ومن معه فيكون النصر تاماً في حالة الخطر كما كان يوم بدر ، ويكون سجالاً في حالة السعة كما في وقعة أحد وقد دل على ذلك قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم بدر :" اللهم إن تَهلِك هذه العصابة لا تعبَد في الأرض " وقال الله تعالى : { قال موسى لقومه استعينوا بالله واصبروا إن الأرض لله يورثها من يشاء من عباده والعاقبة للمتقين } [ الأعراف : 128 ] ، ويكون لمن بعد الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم من جيوش المسلمين على حسب تمسكهم بوصايا الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم ففي «صحيح البخاري» عن أبي سعيد الخدري عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم " يأتي زمان يغزُو فآمٌ من الناس فيقال : فيكم من صحب النبي؟ فيقال : نعم ، فيفتحُ عليه ، ثم يأتي زمان فيُقال : فيكم من صحب أصحاب النبي؟ فيقال : نعم فيفتح ثم يأتي زمان فيقال : فيكم من صَحِب من صَاحَبَ النبي؟ فيقال : نعم فيُفتحُ "ومعنى { خلت } مضت وسبقت من أقدم عصور اجتلاد الحق والباطل ، والمضاف إليه { قبلُ } محذوف نُوِي معناه دون لفظه ، أي ليس في الكلام دال على لفظه ولكن يدل عليه معنى الكلام ، فلذلك بُني { قبلُ } على الضم . وفائدة هذا الوصف الدلالة على اطرادها وثباتها .والمعنى : أن ذلك سنة الله مع الرسل قال تعالى : { كتب الله لأغلِبنّ أنا ورسلي إن الله قوي عزيز } [ المجادلة : 21 ] .ولما وصف تلك السنة بأنها راسخة فيما مضى أعقب ذلك بوصفها بالتحقق في المستقبل تعميماً للأزمنة بقوله : { ولن تجد لسنة اللَّه تبديلاً } لأن اطراد ذلك النصر في مختلف الأمم والعصور وإخبارَ الله تعالى به على لسان رسله وأنبيائه يدل على أن الله أراد تأييد أحزابه فيعلم أنه لا يستطيع كائن أن يحول دون إرادة الله تعالى .

وهذه سنة الله في الأمم السابقة، أن جند الله هم الغالبون، { وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا }

سنة الله التي قد خلت من قبل يعني طريقة الله وعاداته السالفة نصر أوليائه على أعدائه . وانتصب ( سنة ) على المصدر . وقيل : سنة الله أي : كسنة الله . والسنة الطريقة والسيرة . قال :فلا تجزعن من سيرة أنت سرتها فأول راض سنة من يسيرهاوالسنة أيضا : ضرب من تمر المدينة . ولن تجد لسنة الله تبديلا

It was the law of God that when the Prophet’s initial addressees refused to answer his call, He destroyed them. On the occasion of Hudaybiyyah the Quraysh’s refusal had finally been made known. Under these circumstances, had things reached the stage of battle, the angels of God would have come down to strengthen the Muslims so that they might defeat their enemies. But, with regard to the polytheists, it was God’s intention that they should not be destroyed so that their extraordinary human talents could be utilized for the purposes of Islam. Therefore, Almighty God guided his Prophet towards the No-War Pact.

وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّـهُ مَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَ‌ةً تَأْخُذُونَهَا فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَـٰ وَأُخْرَ‌ىٰ لَمْ تَقْدِرُ‌وا عَلَيْهَا قَدْ أَحَاطَ اللَّـهُ بِهَا (And (there are) other (victories) that have not come within your power as yet, (but) Allah has encompassed them...." (48:21). This verse embodies a prophecy that Muslims will achieve many more great victories after the victory of Khaibar. But Allah says that they were unable to achieve them at that time; they would happen in future. Among these victories, Makkah was the first one to be achieved. Therefore, some scholars refer this to the victory of Makkah. However, the wordings are general and refer to all the victories that will be achieved till the end of the world (Mazhari).

(It is the law of Allah which hath taken course aforetime) regarding past nations that they were exposed to killing and defeat when their rebelled against the prophets of Allah. (Thou wilt not find for the law of Allah) you will not find for the law of Allah of punishing those who rebel against the prophets (aught of power to change) any change.