Beams of Illumination From the Divine Revelation (juz' 'amma - the Last Section of the Qur'an)

Sura 7 : Surat an Nasr the Help

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful

This is probably the last surah that was revealed intact, and it was revealed two months before the Prophet's death, salla-llahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, when the Muslims entered Mecca in what is known as the "farewell Pilgrimage." At the final stage of this hajj, or pilgrimage, the chiefs of the Quraysh, who had fought against Islam to the very end, took refuge inside the Ka'bah, and the Prophet, together with his followers, surrounded them. Finally, however, the Quraysh were reprieved and the chiefs came out of the Ka'bah as if they had been re­surrected from the grave, so imminent had been their deaths.

1 When there comes the help of Allah, and vic­tory!

Nasr, from the verb nasara, means "vic­tory, help, aid." The events surrounding the revelation of this surah were significant because they presented many possibilities of great confrontations, which were always resolved in favor of the Muslims. People used to doubt the Prophet, salla-llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, especially in moments of weakness and difficulty, asking, "When will the aid of Allah come?" When the real outer victories occur and are matched with what we know inwardly, then there is an inner victory as well.

2 And you see mankind entering the religion of Allah in hosts,

Peoples, whole tribes, came into Islam not long after this, and joined hands with the Muslims.

3 Then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek forgiveness of Him - certainly, He is the One Who turns again and again (to mercy).

No matter what form these victories take, be they inward or outward, man must seek forgiveness, protection, safety and containment by tawbah (turning in repentance); and he must recognize that Allah is the One Who turns again and again in mercy towards man, so that he may return to his divine origin. Man must repent and return to the peaceful Source of all, for there is only One Reality encompassing all things. Whenever there is an inner opening, we can see the meaning of this surah, and whenever there is an inner enlight­enment for us, whatever may be its scale, magnitude, or type, that opening is a victory for us over our nafs, over the obstacles that we have imagined for ourselves. Victory does not mean overcoming kufr in our society or taking over the entire country and declaring it an “Islamic State." That is not our resonsibility: it is Allah's. Our respon­sibility is to overcome ourselves, to have victory over our selves by dhikr and the true awareness of the nature of our nafs.

This is a very important surah, especially for those who are in the forefront of the inner battle. As human beings, we all want openings and signs to give us encouragement in our struggle. May Allah increase our openings. May Allah give us nothing but opening upon opening, so that we see that in reality there are no doors and no gates barring our way to the Face of Allah!