110
اَلنَّصْرِ
[Divine] Support

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ۔

اِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ اللّٰهِ وَ الْفَتْحُ۔ وَ رَاَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُوْنَ فِيْ دِيْنِ اللّٰهِ اَفْوَاجًا۔ فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَ اسْتَغْفِرْهُ۔ؕ اِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا۔

In the name of God—the most compassionate, the most merciful.

When God’s support comes as well as victory, and you see mankind entering God’s religion in droves; then hymn your Lord’s praise and beg Him for forgiveness, since He is so Relenting!

These verses form the very last chapter to be revealed to the Prophet. It is one of the shortest chapters (along with Plenty 108, which likewise consists of three verses).

The message assures Muhammad that Islam will ultimately be successful. The word ‘support’ exists as both a noun and verb and is thus more effective in rendering such meanings or situations, so I use it in preference to ‘victory’ (which I have retained for the word fath as in Chapter 48).

This chapter is one of the last revelations of the Koran received by the Prophet. The place of its revelation was either the precincts of Mecca at his Farewell Pilgrimage in 10 AH, or Medina soon after his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage.

God’s special succor always accompanies dawah, the spreading of the call of truth. The Prophet and his companions made untiring efforts in the path of dawah. Ultimately God’s succor came and people began embracing Islam in their thousands. A number of neighbouring countries entered the fold of Islam. However, the victory of believers makes them all the more humble and conscious of their own failings. At such moments the faithful must be overwhelmed with the realization of God’s Grace and Mercy. They must attribute all success to the goodness and mercy of God.

For a believer, victory increases his feeling of humility. Even for his apparently right action, he seeks God’s pardon. Even the success he achieves, seemingly by his own efforts, is attributed by him to the will of God.