The following is from a work-in-progress called The Qur'an: a Book Report, in which I read each surah of the Qur'an and write about what I learn.
In 622 C.E., after a series of conflicts with the powerful Quraysh tribe in Mecca, Muhammad led his small group of followers on a migration to Medina, where they would grow into a larger community of faith. After they had become established in Medina, God gave Muhammad a vision that he should lead his followers on a pilgrimage back to Mecca. This was, no doubt, a scary proposition, however he did it.
Outside of Mecca, Muhammad and his followers were stopped by the Quraysh. The two rival groups eventually signed a peace treaty (known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah), which said that Muhammad and his followers would not enter Mecca that year, but would return the following year. Also, the treaty provided for a ten-year truce between the two groups.
This is the context of the 48th surah. The “triumph” is not success in battle, but rather the successful negotiating of a peace treaty.
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| Qur'an surah 48 in Kufic script (8th-9th century C.E.) |
