An Analysis of the Approaches of the Commentators in Determining the Time of the Revelation of Sūrah Al-Fath

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 MA Graduate at Farabi College and PhD Student of the Qur'an and Hadith Sciences, the University of Qom

2 Associate Professor of Farabi College, the University of Tehran

Abstract

Commentators hold different views about the time of the revelation of surah Al-Fath. A
prevailing view among commentators about its time of revelation is in the sixth year of the
Hijrah during the incident of Hudaybiyyah. On the contrary, some have considered its revelation
in the eighth year of the Hijrah and during the conquest of Mecca. In a study reconstructing
the report of Orwa Ibn Zubayr on the incident of Hudaybiyyah, Andreas Gurkeh
argues that basically the verses of the mentioned surah have nothing to do with Hudaybiyyah
peace treaty. In a similar vein, the report of Arwa has not mentioned the revelation of surah
Al-Fath but from the time of Ibn Ishaq and Waqidi in the third century, a connection has been
established between the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah and the revelation of this surah. Using
descriptive-analytical method, this paper studies and evaluates the approaches regarding the
time of the revelation of surah Al-Fath, and by referring to the reliable hadiths related to the
revelation, and also by analyzing the content of the verses of surah Al-Fath, the context of
the surah and the compatibility with the historical situation of Hudaybiyyah the view of "the
revelation of the surah in return from Hudaybiyyah" has been accepted as an autonomous
quote.

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