1. Mujahid has said that the allusion is to the Makkan victory. However, on another occasion the Prophet (saws) referred to the Yemeni entry into Islam as the victory. Ibn `Abbas reports that, 'Once when we were with the Prophet he said: “Allah is Great. Allah is Great. Allah’s help and victory has arrived. The people of Yemen have arrived.” He was asked: “Who are the people of Yemen?” (Meaning, ‘what’s their specialty,’ or, alternatively, ‘of which part of Yemen?’: Au.), he replied: “A people of soft hearts and mild natures. Faith is in the Yemen. Understanding is in Yemen. And wisdom is Yemeni"' (Ibn Jarir).

A similar report is in Nasa’i (Ibn Kathir).

This hadith derives its strength from another, in slightly different words, in Ahmad. Also see Sahih of Albani, no. 1775 (Sayyid Ibrahim).

It is said that they were seven hundred in number, many busy with the recitation of the Qur’an, others engaged in other kinds of devotional acts. They pleased the Prophet and `Amr b. `Abbas cried at the sight. It is also said that the Prophet said: "I find the breath of your Lord coming from the direction of Yemen” (Qurtubi).

Sayyid writes: “The beginning of the first verse implicitly presents a concept of what goes on in this universe: the events that take place in this life, the role of the Messenger of Allah and his followers in the progress of Islam, and to what extent it depends on their efforts. 'When the victory granted by Allah,' denotes that it is Allah’s victory and Allah is the One who brings it about in His own good time, in the form He decides and for the purpose He determines. The Prophet and his companions have nothing to do with it at all, and they obtain no personal gain from it. It suffices them that He does it through them, appoints them as its guards and entrusts it to them."

2. This is because the adjoining Arabs used to say about the Prophet, 'Let him settle the issue with his own people. If he overcomes their resistance then he is the true Prophet.’ ['After all,' they used to say, 'Allah had protected them against the people of the elephant, hadn’t He?' - Qurtubi, Shawkani].’ Therefore, when Makkah was subdued, the Arabs of the outlying areas began entering into Islam in droves and throngs, until, in about two years time (after the fall of Makkah), the entire Peninsula became Islamic (Ibn Kathir).

Majid quotes: “Delegations flocked from near and far to offer allegiance to the prince-prophet .... Tribes and districts which had sent no representations before, sent them now. They came from distant `Uman, Hadramaut and al-Yaman. The Tayyi’ sent deputies and so did the Hamdan and Kindah. Arabia, which had hitherto never bowed to the will of one man, seemed inclined to be dominated by Muhammad and be incorporated into his new scheme. Its heathenism was yielding to a nobler faith and a higher morality” (Hitti, p. 119).

3. `A’isha (ra) says that (towards the end of his life) the Prophet used to frequently repeat these words:

I asked him: “(How come) I hear you repeating these words so often (these days)?” He answered: “My Lord had told me that He would show me some signs in my Ummah and that, should I see them, I should frequently say these words. Now, I have been shown those signs in: 'When Allah’s help comes and victory’, (it was the conquest of Makkah), 'And you see people entering Allah’s religion in throngs ... until the end.”

(The hadith is in Muslim: Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Umm Salamah has a similar hadith to narrate. Reports coming from Ibn Mas`ud, `Amr and Abu al-`Aliyyah suggest that the Prophet used to say these words quite frequently during the last few months of his life. According to Ibn `Abbas, the Prophet understood that through these verses he had been informed of his approaching death (Ibn Jarir).

In this context it might be stated that it is sunnah to offer eight raka`ah of salah as the first thing upon entry of a town when it falls to Islamic forces. This is what the Prophet did when Makkah fell, and this is what Sa`d b. Abi Waqqas did on the day Mada’in fell (Ibn Kathir).

The above then is another interpretation of verse 3 (Au.).

The Meaning of the Prophet’s Istighfar

As for the Prophet seeking Allah’s forgiveness, there are various interpretations. Apart from the obvious meaning that at the end of his mission he was ordered to seek forgiveness for the acts of commission and omission, it has also been said that his istighfar and of all the Messengers was a 'method of worship' specific to them and not the istighfar of the face value. It is also said that he was required to seek forgiveness for his Ummah and not for his own sins. The first opinion is, however, the weightier. Nonetheless, Hasan has said that it was a means of increase in good deeds before death (Shawkani).

The Prophet (saws) himself used to supplicate in words: “O my Lord. Forgive me my faults, my ignorance, my overdoing of things, and that which You know better than me. O Allah forgive me my faults, what I committed, my ignorance, my taking things lightly, and surely I find all these (faults) in me. O Allah forgive me for what I have sent forward and what I have left back, what I have made known and what I have concealed. You are the One who grants precedence and the One who puts off. Surely you have power over all things” (Qurtubi).

Sayyid adds: “Another touching thought is that seeking forgiveness at the moment of triumph arouses in one’s mind the feeling of impotence and imperfection at a time when an attitude of self-esteem and conceit seems natural. All these factors guarantee that no tyranny will afflict the conquered... So it was with Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), when all he wanted was achieved and his dream came true ... Then, at that moment of climax, Yusuf took himself away from the jubilations and from the embracing arms to turn towards his Lord, praising Him with a pure feeling of gratitude (12: 100): ‘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 hereafter. Let me die in submission and join the righteous.’ .. So it was with Muhammad all through his life. In the moment of triumph, as the conquest of Makkah was accomplished, he entered it on the back of his camel with head bowed down."

4. Ibn `Abbas said that `Umar (ra) used to give him preference over others in his assemblies. One day `Abdul Rahman protested: “We too have sons like him!” `Umar rejoined: “He is of those that (I’m sure) you know.” Then one day he asked him about Allah’s words: “When Allah’s help comes, and victory ...” Ibn `Abbas answered: “Allah informed the Prophet through this surah of the termination of his life.” `Umar said: “I too do not understand it but that way” (Ibn Jarir).

The report in Bukhari has more details such as that `Umar first asked others in the assembly to explain surah al-Nasr. Some answered, differently, while others remained silent (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani). P

The Relationship

Surah Al-Kafirun (no.109) announced that the Prophet has abandoned all false deities and worships one true God. The question arose as to what is the reward. The next surah, al-Nasr (no. 110) replied that it is help and victory in this world and forgiveness in the Hereafter. Now, this surah - Masad, numbered 111 - announces the reward reserved for those who opposed the Prophet (Razi).