Sūrat al-Fatḥ (Part 2)
Final part of observations on the structure, coherence, and organization of Sūrat al-Fatḥ
This is a continuation of last week’s post where we analyzed the macro-structure of Sūrat al-Fatḥ. Please refer to that post for introductory details of this sūrah.
Further dissecting the sūrah, it appears that it can be broken down into smaller rings. On a micro-level, there appear to be three smaller rings which constitute the internals of this sūrah.
CONNECTIONS
[G/G’] - The ring begins and ends with Allah ﷻ providing the Messenger ﷺ with great gifts (triumph and prophethood). In both cases, Allah ﷻ immediately follows the gift with an explanation of why He granted them (forgiveness and guidance).
[H/H’] - Allah ﷻ repeats in both sections that He alone owns the soldiers of the heavens and the earth.
[I]/[I’] - The center begins with mentioning the believers and their reward for belief. The center ends by describing the opposite group, the disbelievers, and their outcome if they remain on disbelief.
CONNECTIONS
[J/J’] - The ring begins and ends with Allah ﷻ praising those who pledged themselves to Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ
[K/K’] - Both parts begin by censuring the ones who did not go forth with the Muslims in their expeditions. Similarly, they both end condemning those who disbelieve or disobey Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ to a painful punishment.
[L] - The ring centers on Allah’s absolute control and ownership of our existence. He alone can forgive us and He alone can punish.
CONNECTIONS
[M/M’] - Allah ﷻ begins and ends this ring with mention of His promise. In the first part the details are outlined, and in the latter, it is simply summarized as “forgiveness and a great reward”.
[N/N’] - Both parts make reference to the disbelievers being defeated and overcome by the believers.
[O/[O’] - Allah ﷻ first states that His sunnah (established way) never changes and is if to reinforce that idea, the corresponding section mentions the prayer of Muslims which is no different than what can be found in previous (uncorrupted) scripture.
[P/P’] - In the first part, Allah ﷻ tells of how He held back the Muslims from physically conquering the disbelievers when they went to make ʿumrah (the minor pilgrimage) the first time. The corresponding part informs the Messenger ﷺ that his message and religion will conquer all.
[Q/Q’] - The first part begins with Allah ﷻ acknowledging how the Muslims were prevented from performing ʿumrah (the minor pilgrimage). The corresponding part has Allah ﷻ promising the believers that they will one day enter Mecca in safety. Both sections follow their intros with reference to how the Muslims were held back from entering Mecca by force. Allah ﷻ did not want the Muslims killing any secret believers on accident. Allah ﷻ accentuates His point by ending with, “He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand].”
[R] - The ring centers on the difference in the mindset and hearts of the believers versus the disbelievers.
When one looks at the center of each of these rings, it seems that the main themes may be summarized as so:
And Allah ﷻ knows best.