According to Tabataba’i...

According to Tabataba’i, this verse was the subject of strong disagreement among the commentators. He then reports their different opinions: 1- Some of them said that the verse was revealed about the of the Prophet and that God fulfilled the promise He made to them by putting the land at their disposal, making their religion triumph, or by replacing their fear with safety.

In fact, after the death of the Prophet, during the time of the Caliphs (al- Khulafa al-Rashideen), God enabled Islam to progress and gain dignity, and consequently, the Muslims’ fear of Hypocrites and unbelievers was assuaged. These commentators also said that the believers’ inheritance mentioned in this verse refers to the inheritance of the four Caliphs after the Prophet or otherwise only to the first three Caliphs.

2- Other commentators said that the verse is aimed at the Community (Umma) of the Prophet in general. And the meaning of the inheritance of the Prophet’s Umma, the supremacy of their religion, and the replacement of their fear by safety are that they inherited the earth in the same way that the Communities before Islam inherited the earth.

Or it can also refer to the inheritance of the Caliphs after the Prophet in which case God fulfilled His promise by making the Caliphs triumph over the unbelievers and conquer cities and countries of the world. Here Tabataba’i remarks that, according to the two different views expressed above, this verse is among the predictions of the Qur’an because good tidings are mentioned that were not fulfilled at the time the verse was revealed and even the hope of their fulfilment was absent.

3- Other commentators said that this verse concerns the Mahdi whose reappearance is predicted in numerous authentic traditions, acknowledging that he will fill the earth with justice and equity as it was filled with tyranny and oppression. The meaning of “al-ladhina amanu minkum wa ‘amelu as-salehat” (“those among you who believe and work righteous deeds”) refers to the Prophet and the Imams from his family ().

Tabataba’i comments on the verse and gives his own opinion: “What we understand from the verse, leaving aside the many instances of negligence on the commentators’ part, is that the verse is undoubtedly aimed at some of the people of the Community (Umma) and neither at the Community as a whole nor at some designated individuals from the Community, and these people are the people who believe and work righteous deeds as mentioned in the verse.