Exegesis of Surat al-Nasr and the significance of this surah.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: This is the six-hundredth meeting of the meetings known as "The Open Door Meeting", which takes place every Thursday of every week. This Thursday is the second of the month of Jumada al-Thani, in the year 1416. We ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to grant everyone beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds.
In this meeting, we will speak about two surahs from the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): the first is Surat al-Nasr. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) says: : The address is to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), without doubt.
Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: : Victory: It is the empowerment of a person over his enemy, such that he is able to overcome him, cause him to fail, and suppress him. And it—meaning victory—is the greatest joy that befalls a servant in his deeds, because the victor finds great exhilaration, joy, and delight. But if it is for a right cause, it is good. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Meaning: His enemy is terrified of him if the distance between him and them is a month's journey. And terror: It is the most severe thing that destroys the enemy, because the one who has terror in his heart can never stand firm; rather, he will flee like the wind. So his saying: means: Allah’s victory for you over your enemy.
is conjoined to victory, and the opening is a victory without doubt, but its conjunction to victory is to emphasize its status. It is of the type of conjoining the specific to the general, like His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): meaning: In the Night of Decree. So the angels are the angels, and the Spirit is Jibril, and he was singled out for mention because of his honor.
The "al" in His saying: is for mental covenant, meaning: the opening that is known and recognized in their minds, which is the opening of Makkah.
And the opening of Makkah was in the eighth year of the Hijrah in Ramadan.
And its cause: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a treaty with Quraysh in the Battle of Hudaybiyyah, the famous treaty, they broke the covenant. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) campaigned against them, and he went out to them in secret and said: So he did not surprise them except while he was surrounding them, (peace and blessings be upon him). And he entered Makkah on the twentieth of the month of Ramadan in the eighth year of the Hijrah, victorious, triumphant, and supported. Until in the end, the disbelievers of Quraysh gathered around the Ka'bah, and he stood at the door saying: , and he was the one who, eight years before, was fleeing from them, and now they were in his grasp and under his control. He said: ما ترون أني فاعل بكم؟ قالوا: أخ كريم وابن أخ كريم، قال: إني أقول لكم كما قال يوسف لإخوته: لا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ What do you think I will do with you? They said: A noble brother and the son of a noble brother. He said: I say to you what Yusuf said to his brothers: No blame shall be on you today; Allah will forgive you, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) showed them mercy by pardoning them, so he pardoned them.
This opening, Allah (the Exalted) called it a clear opening, so He said: meaning: a great and clear one. And when it happened, the Arabs knew, indeed all people knew, that the outcome belongs to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and that the era of Quraysh and their followers had ended. So people began to enter the religion of Allah in groups, meaning: in crowds, after they used to enter it as individuals, and sometimes a person would not enter it except in secret. They began to enter the religion of Allah in groups, and delegations began to come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah from every direction, until the ninth year was called the Year of Delegations. So people began to enter the religion of Allah in groups.
Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: If you see this sign: : What was expected to be the answer was: Thank Allah for this blessing, and praise Him for it. Victory and opening, what is the reward from the servant?
Gratitude. This is what was expected, but what happened was contrary to what we expected. He said: , and this is similar to His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . What was expected was: that it would be said: So thank your Lord for this revelation, and fulfill its right, and the like of that. But He said: indicating that he will suffer harm through conveying this Qur'an and spreading it among the nation.
So the answer seemed to be incongruous with the condition, but when you reflect, you know the wisdom. The meaning: That when the victory of Allah and the opening come, your term has drawn near, so what remains for you is only glorification and praise: .
And the meaning of "Glorify with the praise of your Lord" is: Glorify Him with a glorification accompanied by praise. And glorification: It is purifying Allah (the Exalted) from what is not befitting His majesty. And praise: It is praising Him with perfection along with love and magnification. Combine the purification and the praise: meaning: Ask Him for forgiveness. So Allah (the Exalted) commanded him with two things:
The first command: Glorification accompanied by praise.
And the second: Seeking forgiveness. And seeking forgiveness is: asking for forgiveness. And forgiveness: It is Allah (the Exalted) covering His servant’s sins along with erasing them and passing over them. And this is the ultimate desire of the servant, because the servant is sinful, meaning: one with many sins, and he needs forgiveness. If Allah does not cover him with His mercy, he will perish. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , O Allah, cover us with Your mercy.
No one ever enters Paradise by his deeds, because if you wanted to compare your deed to one of the blessings, a single blessing, the blessings would encompass it. So how can it be a reward by which you enter Paradise?
For this reason, some of the knowers said in a poem of his:
"If my gratitude is a blessing of Allah, a blessing *** For which I must give thanks for its like
How can I reach gratitude except by His grace *** Even if days lengthen and life continues".
He (the Exalted) said: meaning: He (Mighty and Majestic) has always been accepting of repentance from His servants. So if you seek His forgiveness, He will accept your repentance.
This is the meaning of the surah, but the surah has a great significance that only the intelligent ones perceive. For this reason, when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) heard that people were criticizing him for bringing 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas close despite his young age, and not bringing close his like among the young Muslims, and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the most just of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, he wanted to make it clear to the people that he had not favored Ibn 'Abbas in anything. So he gathered the senior Muhajireen and Ansar on one day, along with 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, and said to them: ما تقولون في هذه السورة: إذا جاء نصر الله والفتح ؟ What do you say about this surah: When the help of Allah and the conquest come? So they interpreted it according to what was apparent only.
So he said: , the meaning: As if Allah is saying to him: Your mission has ended, and what remains for you is only departure. And you were not created for the world to enjoy it and remain in it for a long time; you were created for a mission that has ended. So it is the term of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So he said: .
So by that, the virtue of Ibn 'Abbas and his distinction became clear, and that he had of intelligence and knowledge of the intent of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) what many people lacked.
When this surah was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—who was the most worshipful of people to Allah and the most mindful of Allah—began to frequently say in his bowing and prostration: