ENTITLED, ASSISTANCE; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
WHEN the assistance of GOD shall come, and the victory;d
and thou shalt see the people enter into the religion of GOD by troops:e
celebrate the praise of thy LORD, and ask pardon of him;f for he is
inclined to forgive.
a Which are to be sacrificed at the pilgrimage in the valley of Mina.
Al Beidâwi explains the words thus: Pray with fervency and intense devotion,
not out of hypocrisy; and slay the fatted camels and oxen, and distribute the
flesh among the poor; for he says this chapter is the counterpart of the
preceding, exhorting to those virtues which are opposite to the vices there
condemned.
b These words were revealed against al As Ebn Wayel, who, on the death
of al Kâsem, Mohammed's son, called that prophet Abtar, which signifies one
who has no children or posterity.1
c It is said that certain of the Koreish once proposed to Mohammed that
if he would worship their gods for a year, they would worship his GOD for the
same space of time; upon which this chapter was revealed.2
d i.e., When GOD shall cause thee to prevail over thy enemies, and thou
shalt take the city of Mecca.
e Which happened in the ninth year of the Hejra, when, Mohammed having
made himself master of Mecca, and obliged the Koreish to submit to him, the
rest of the Arabs came in to him in great numbers, and professed Islâm.3
f Most of the commentators agree this chapter to have been revealed
before the taking of Mecca, and suppose it gave Mohammed warning of his death;
for they say that when he read it al Abbâs wept, and being asked by the
prophet what was the reason of his weeping, answered, Because it biddeth thee
to prepare for death; to which Mohammed replied, It is as thou sayest.4 And
hence, adds Jallalo'ddin, after the revelation of this chapter the prophet was
more frequent in praising and asking pardon of GOD, because he thereby knew
that his end approached; for Mecca was taken in the eighth year of the Hejra,
and he died in the beginning of the tenth.
1 Jallalo'ddin. 2 Idem, al Beidâwi. 3 See the Prelim.
Disc. Sect. II. p. 43. 4 Al Beidâwi.