Some commentators...

Some commentators, like Shaykh Tusi in Tibyan, have said that the purpose of it may be a place near the land of Iranians, that is, it happened in a land which was the nearest point between Turan and Rome.[^3] It is true that because of the existence of Alif and Lam in the Arabic word /’al ’ard/ , the first commentary is more suitable, but as we will explain later, from some view points, the second commentary seems more proper.

Here, there is a third commentary that, maybe from the point of result, does not differ so much from the second commentary. According to this commentary the objective of it is the land of Rome. That is, they confronted defeat then in the nearest parts of their boundaries with Iran; and this points to the importance and depth of this failure. Defeat in far points and distanced boundaries, is not so important.

The important matter is that a country is defeated in its nearest boundaries with enemy where it is more powerful and forceful than other places. Therefore, mentioning the phrase: /fi ’adnal ’ard/ (in a near land) is a hint to the importance of this defeat, and predicting the triumph of the defeated party during a few years in future is of a greater magnificence and it is not predictable but by the way of miracle.

Then the verse adds: “…but they, after being defeated, will soon be victorious,” The Qur’anic sentence /sayaqlibun/ (they will soon be victorious) was enough for stating the purpose definitely, but the sentence /min ba‘d-i-qalabihim/ (after being defeated) has particularly been added to it in order that the importance of this victory becomes more manifest, because when a defeated group can overcome the enemy in its nearest and strongest boundaries and specially during a short time, it is something unexpectedly, and the Qur’an explicitly predicts this event.

Then, through the next holy verse, the Noble Qur’an states the approximate years of its occurrence, but saying: “With in a few years…” And we know that the Arabic word /bid‘/ means a figure at least ‘three’ and at most ‘nine’. If we see that Allah (s.w.t.) predicts the future, it is because everything and every affair is in His authority whether before victory or after the victory of this defeated nation.

The verse says: “…To Allah belongs the Command before and after…” It is evident that everything being in Allah’s authority and by His command does not hinder our freedom and will for effort and endeavour and striving in the path of obtaining our aims.