Chapter 117
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.