Transliteration:( Innal lazeena yubaayi'oonaka innamaa yubaayi'oonal laaha yadul laahi fawqa aydeehim; faman nakasa fainnamaa yankusu 'alaa nafsihee wa man awfaa bimaa 'aahada 'alaihullaaha fasa yu'teehi ajran 'azeemaa (section 1) )
"Surely, allegiance to those you indeed swear, swear allegiance to Allah. The Hand of Allah [23] is above their hands. But whoso breaks his oath, he breaks it to his own [24] loss, and whoso fulfills the promise which he had made with Allah, then Allah shall soon give him a great reward [25]."
This refers to the pledge of allegiance (Bai‘at al-Ridwan) taken by the Holy Prophet ﷺ from all the Ansar and Muhajireen at Hudaibiyyah, in relation to Jihad, not conversion to Islam. From this, several important points emerge:
All the Companions, especially those who took part in Bai‘at al-Ridwan, hold an exceptionally high status. Their number was fourteen hundred.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ enjoys such closeness to Allah that pledging allegiance at his hand is like pledging at the Hand of Allah.
Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) holds great significance, as the allegiance was given on his account.
Pledging allegiance at the hands of the pious is a practice of the Noble Companions—whether it is for Islam, piety, repentance, or any righteous commitment.
At the time of such oaths, it is permissible to embrace, but women’s allegiance will be taken verbally, without physical contact.
This verse presents an impossible suspended on an impossible—meaning, it implies a warning, though turning back is impossible for such people. Those who pledged allegiance to Allah via His Prophet cannot betray it. Just as Allah took the covenant from all Prophets (Surah Aal Imran, 3:82), betrayal from them or the Sahaba is unimaginable.
All the Companions who participated in Bai‘at al-Ridwan demonstrated unshakable loyalty and sincerity. As a result, they all became entitled to a great reward, which will be further elaborated in later verses concerning Bai‘at al-Ridwan.
The tafsir of Surah Fath verse 10 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Fath ayat 8 which provides the complete commentary from verse 8 through 10.
(48:10) Those who swore fealty to you, (O Prophet),[17] in fact swore fealty to Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their hands.[18] So whoever breaks his covenant breaks it to his own hurt; and whoever fulfils the covenant that he made with Allah,[19] He will bestow on him a great reward.
17. The reference is to the pledge that the Prophet (peace be upon him) took from his companions at Hudaibiyah at the rumor that Uthman had been killed at Makkah. According to some traditions it was a pledge unto death, and according to others it was an undertaking that they would not turn away from the battlefield. The first thing has been reported from Salamah bin Akwa and the second from Ibn Umar, Jabir bin Abdullah and Maqil bin Yasar. The purport of both is the same. The companions had pledged allegiance on the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) hand with the express object that if the news of Uthman’s martyrdom proved to be true, they would settle the matter with the Quraish there and then even if they were cut to pieces in the clash. As on this occasion it was not yet certain whether Uthman actually had been killed or was still living, the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed one of his own hands on the other and pledged allegiance on his behalf, and thus bestowed a unique honor on Uthman in that he made Uthman a partner in the pledge by making his own sacred hand represent the hand of Uthman. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) taking the pledge of allegiance on his behalf necessarily meant that he had full confidence that if Uthman had been present he would certainly have pledged the allegiance.
18. That is, the hand on which the Muslims were swearing allegiance was not the hand of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) person but of Allah’s representative, and this allegiance was in fact being sworn to Allah through His Messenger.
19. Here, instead of alaih-illah the words used in the original are alaih-ullah, which is a departure from the general rule of Arabic. Allama Alusi has given two reasons for the unusual use of the vowel points here. First, the object on this special occasion is to express the great glory, eminence and majesty of the Being to Whom the pledge was being sworn for which alaih-u is more appropriate than alaih-i; second, the ha in alaih-i actually represents vowel, therefore, adhering here to the vowel points of the original goes well with the theme of the allegiance.
[1508]- See footnote to 2:19. [1509]- Meaning that He (subḥānahu wa taʿālā) accepted their pledge.
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