Surah 48. Al-Fath, Ayah 29

Lit., "among themselves". Cf. 5:54 - "humble towards the believers, proud towards all who deny the truth".

The infinitive noun sulud ("prostration") stands here for the innermost consummation of faith, while its "trace" signifies the spiritual reflection of that faith in the believer's manner of life and even in his outward aspect. Since the "face" is the most expressive part of man's personality, it is often used in the Qur'an in the sense of one's "whole being".

Regarding the significance of the term Injil ("Gospel") as used in the Qur'an, see surah {3}, note [4].

Lit., "infuse with wrath".

Whereas most of the classical commentators understand the above sentence as alluding to believers in general, Razi relates the pronoun minhum ("of them" or "among them") explicitly to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding sentence - i.e., to those of them who might yet attain to faith and thus achieve God's forgiveness: a promise which was fulfilled within a few years after the revelation of this verse, inasmuch as most of the Arabian enemies of the Prophet embraced Islam, and many of them became its torchbearers. But in a wider sense, this divine promise remains open until Resurrection Day (Tabari), relating to everybody, at all times and in all cultural environments, who might yet attain to the truth and live up to it.

This composite gives, I believe, the full meaning of the term ashidda' (sing. shadid) in the above context.

 This passage and the next should be understood in their historical context. The Muslims were urged to be firm with the Arab pagans and their allies who were at war with Muslims at that time. Otherwise, Islam encourages Muslims to treat peaceful non-Muslims with kindness and fairness. See 60:8-9.

 Prostration means lying down on one’s face (i.e., touching the ground with the forehead and nose while resting on knees and flat palms of both hands) as an act of prayer and submission to Allah.

 In Deuteronomy 33:1-3, ˹Moses proclaimed:˺ “The Lord came from Sinai. Rising from Seir upon us, he shone forth from Mount Paran, accompanied by a myriad of his holy ones, with flaming fire from his right hand for them. Indeed, lover of people, all of his holy ones are in your control. They gather at your feet to do as you have instructed. [sic]” Paran is a mountain in Mecca.

 In Matthew 13:3-9, “˹Jesus˺ spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow. … ˹A seed˺ fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. “He who has ears, let him hear.”’ Or the parable of the growing seed in Mark 4:26-28.

 See the first footnote for 48:29.

Cf. ix. 128. The devotees of Allah wage unceasing war against evil, for themselves, and for others; but to their own brethren in faith-especially the weaker ones- they are mild and compassionate: they seek out every opportunity to sympathise with them and help them.

Their humility is before Allah and His Apostle and all who have authority from Allah, but they yield no power or pomp, nor do they worship worldly show or glitter. Nor is their humility before Allah a mere show for men.

The traces of their earnestness and humility are engraved on their faces, i.e., penetrate their inmost being, the face being the outward sign of the inner man. If we take it in its literal sense, the traces might mean the marks left by repeated prostration on their foreheads. Moreover, a good man's face alone shows in him the grace and light of Allah; he is gentle, kind and forbearing, ever helpful, relying on Allah and possessing a blessed Peace and Calmness (Sakina, xlviii. 26) that can come from no other source.

In the Book of Moses, which is now found in a corrupt form in the Pentateuch, the posture of humility in prayer is indicated by prostration: e.g., Moses and Aaron "fell upon their faces", Num. xvi. 22.

The similitude in the Gospel is about how the good seed is sown and grows gradually, even beyond the expectation of the sower: "the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how; for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear": Mark. iv. 27-28. Thus Islam was preached by the holy Prophet; the seed seemed to human eyes lost in the ground; but it put forth its shoot, and grew, and became strong, until it was able to stand on its own legs, and its worst enemies recognised its existence and its right to live. Note how much more complete the parable is in the Qur-an. The mentality of the sowers of the seed is expressed in beautiful terms: its growth and strength filled them "with wonder and delight."

I construe the particle "li" as expressing not the object, but the result. The result of the wonderful growth of Islam in numbers and strength was that its enemies were confounded, and raged furiously within their own minds, a contrast to the satisfaction, wonder, and delight of the Prophet and his Companions. The pronoun in "rage at them" of course refers to the Prophet and his Companions, and goes back to the earlier words, "on their faces" etc.