The Madinan Period II, Part 4: The Treaty of al-Ḥudaybiyah, Abū Baṣīr and Sūrat al-Fatḥ
Section 7 of 10 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period, Part Two
Witness, Bearer of Glad Tidings and Warner
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ شَـٰهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا لِّتُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
“Indeed, We have sent you (O prophet,) as a witness and as a bearer of good news and as a warner, so that you (O people,) believe in Allah and His Messenger, and support him and revere him, and pronounce His (Allah’s) purity morning and evening.” (48:8–9)
We have truly sent you as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner. Here are three characteristics of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Number one, shāhid, witness. And what is a witness? A witness is someone who confirms or disproves a claim made by someone else. Someone goes to court and makes a claim, and a witness is brought to confirm that claim or to disprove it. And this is the role of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): he will confirm the claims of the believers, and he will disprove the claims of the non-believers. The next characteristic is mubashshir: he gives glad tidings to the believers. Wa nadhīrā: he delivers the warnings to the enemies of Allah. So that you, O people, may believe in Allah and His Messenger, and support him and honour him, and glorify Him morning and evening.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ يَدُ ٱللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۚ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِمَا عَـٰهَدَ عَلَيْهُ ٱللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
“Those who pledge allegiance with you (by placing their hands in your hand)- they, in fact, pledge allegiance with Allah. Allah’s hand is over their hands. Then, whoever breaks his pledge breaks it to his own detriment, and whoever fulfils the covenant he has made with Allah, He will give him a great reward.” (48:10)
And then Allah (swt) speaks of Bayʿat al-Riḍwān: verily, those who pledge allegiance to you do no less than pledge allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is over their hands. Allah is telling the believers: you did not give your pledge to the Messenger of Allah; you gave it to Allah. And the hand of Allah is above their hands. Then whoever violates his oath does so to the harm of his own soul — and the mufassirūn say that none of these Companions violated his oath: all of the fourteen hundred who gave the pledge to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), none of them violated their oath — and whoever fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah, Allah will soon grant him a great reward. That is why those who gave the pledge to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) under the tree hold a very high status. Notice here that yubāyiʿūnaka is in the present tense, even though it was a past event. That is to bring the image alive for us, to show us the importance of what occurred at that moment.