Sūrah an-Naṣr (The Divine Help) is the last surah that was revealed unto Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It was resealed in Medina after the fall of Makkah, the stronghold of the pagans of Arabia. It is the third shortest surah consisting of just four verses after surahs Al-Asr and Al-Kawthar.
English translation of Sūrah an-Naṣr :
When comes the Help of Allah, and Victory,And you see the people enter Allah’s Religion in crowds,Celebrate the praises of your Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: For He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy).Sūrah an-Naṣr has many names like The Victory, Help, Divine Assistance or Succor. All pointing towards the most sought out victory over the pagans of Makkah and a big step towards consolidation of Islam as after the fall of Makkah pagans and non Muslims entered the fold of Islam in great numbers. All those who claim that Islam was spread with the sword should know that when Muslim army encircled Makkah, the pagans led them enter the city without any fight and Makkah fell without a drop of blood being shed.
The conquest of Mecca opened a new chapter in the history of Islam. When the call for Islam was made by the Prophet, many of the pagan tribes resisted accepting Islam and waited to see who would emerge victorious between the Prophet and the Quraysh. They reasoned that if the Quraysh were victorious, then Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a fake prophet! But if he was victorious, they reasoned, then he must really be a Messenger of Allah. And the fall of Makkah scored the point against their wishes as Islam in the end became victorious and there was no doubt left of the authenticity of the prophet-hood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Muslims waited for the fall of Makkah for a long time since they migrated to Medina and endured many a hardships at the hands of non Muslims and non believers. With the fall of Makkah thus, the victory that had Allah guaranteed to the Muslims finally came. And it also indicated that Allah had completed the mission of His Messenger by making him successful in conveying the message.
Praising Allah and asking for his forgiveness is the last message of Allah for it is Allah alone who brought joy of fall of Makkah and without the divine help, Muslims could not have seen the greatest of the victories over the non believers. Allah also instructs his believers to seek forgiveness upon reeving good tidings rather than boasting one's achievement out of vanity and pride, for Allah doe not like those who boast and place them at a high pedestal for achieving a landmark. It is Allah alone who can grant us happiness and victories, so we must turn to him and seek forgiveness lest our vanity overtakes our thankfulness.
When this surah was revealed, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) understood the divine message that whatever was revealed unto him has seen its culmination with the fall of Makkah and that his mission has completed. So must therefore he should praise Allah and ask seek Allah's forgiveness. A few months thereafter the Prophet breathed his last.
It is quoted that when this Surah was revealed and the holy Prophet (S) recited it to the followers, they all became happy, but Abbas, the uncle of the holy Prophet (S), began shedding tears. The holy Prophet asked him why he was crying. He answered that he feared the Surah foretoldProphet's death. And the Prophet said: "It is so, my uncle"
Praising Allah and prostrating and asking for forgiveness has been the ways of prophets always. If we recall an earlier verse of Quran (Surah Yousaf), Prophet Yousaf (Joseph) too prostrated in front of Allah when his father joined him and he was exalted to the throne, praising Allah for His many bounties and blessings and asking for forgiveness:
My Lord! You have given me something of sovereignty and power and have taught me something of the interpretation of visions. Creator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Protector in this world and the here after. Let me die in submission and join the righteous. (Qur'an 12:101)You may like to listen to the recitation of Sūrah an-Naṣr in Arabic along with English translation:
References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |
An effort has been made to gather explanation of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, those wanting detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to sites the references of which are given above.
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