The Romans

This surah teaches the believers that victory comes from Allah.

Allah has blessed us with so many things that we should be grateful for.

The fact that we come from different backgrounds is a blessing from Allah.

Even though Allah has given us a lot of favours, many people fail to give Him thanks.

The idol-worshippers are criticized for making their false gods equal to Allah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions are told to always be patient and strong in faith.

The wicked will realize on Judgment Day that life in this world is very short.

The world's two biggest powers in the early 7th century were the Roman and Persian Empires.

When they went to war in the year 614 CE, the Romans were terribly defeated.

The Makkans were very happy because the Roman Christians were crushed by the Persians, who were idol-worshippers like themselves.

The Muslims were sad because the Romans had a holy book and believed in God.

Soon, verses 1-5 of this surah were revealed, saying that the Romans would defeat their Persian enemies in 3-9 years.

Eight years later, the Romans won an important battle against the Persians on the same day that the Muslims defeated the Makkans at the Battle of Badr.

{Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam Al-Qurtubi, & Imam At-Tabari}

Here are some interesting facts about verses 2-4: The Roman defeat was so bad that no one expected them to ever win again, not in a million years.

Verse 4 says that the Romans would win in 3-9 years.

According to verse 4, when the Roman Christians beat the Persian idol-worshippers, the Muslims would be happy too because they would defeat the Makkan idol-worshippers on the same

day.

The Dead Sea area (where the battle between the Romans and Persians took place) is described in verse 3 as 'adna al-ard' (ادنی الارض) which means 'the closest

land (to Arabia).

' In Arabic, the word 'adna' can also mean 'lowest point.

' According to NASA, "The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth at 418 meters below sea level.

"

Someone may ask, "If Allah knew that the Romans were going to win after 8 years, why did He say 3-9 years?

" Allah didn't say 8 years simply because training and preparing for victory was going to take time—it didn't just happen in the 8th year.

When the Romans won after 8 years, it opened the door for total victory.

When verses 1-5 of this surah were revealed, Abu Bakr (R.

A.

) was very confident that the Romans would win as the Quran says.

When the Makkan idol-worshippers challenged him to bet on it, he agreed.

Betting was not haram at that time.

They said to him, "3-9 years is a long period.

Let's make it 6.

So, if the Romans win in 6 years, you win.

If they don't, you lose.

" When the 6 years passed with no Roman victory, Abu Bakr (R.

A.

) had to pay.

The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that the verses said 3-9 years, not 6.

He then asked him to extend the period and increase the bet.

Two years later, the Persians were crushed by the Romans, and Abu Bakr (R.

A.

) won the bet.

When he brought the money to the Prophet (ﷺ), he (ﷺ) said that betting had been made haram and that money should be given away.

{Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam Al-Qurtubi, & Imam At-Tirmidhi}

Someone may ask, "If betting is haram, why was it allowed in Makkah?

" As we mentioned in the Introduction of this book, the surahs revealed in Makkah focused on building the believers' faith, including the belief in the One True

God, Allah's ability to create and bring everyone back to life for judgment, the reward of the believers, the punishment of the deniers, and the horrors of Judgment

Day.

Once the foundations of the faith were strong and the Muslims moved to Madinah, they were ordered to fast in Ramadan and perform hajj, and certain practices became

haram, such as gambling and drinking.

According to 'Aishah (R.

A.

), the Prophet's (ﷺ) wife, if these practices were banned from day one (when people were still taking baby steps in the faith), it would have been very

difficult for many to accept Islam.

{Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari}

Now, it's important to understand that a Muslim can only make money by selling something (such as food) or providing a service (such as fixing someone's car).

It's haram to get money for nothing, unless it's something like a gift.

This is why a Muslim is not allowed to gamble or take interest.

Many people seek out those who claim to see into the future.

Some visit palm-readers who say they can tell you your fortune by looking at the lines on your hand.

Others put their trust in superstitions, believing that avoiding things like black cats, the number 13, or broken mirrors will keep them safe.

To protect themselves from future harm and bring good luck, some people wear charms or amulets.

This can be a very personal belief.

For instance, the author of this text shared a story about his mother putting an amulet on him when he was a child.

When he eventually opened it out of curiosity, he found that it was just a piece of paper with some scribbled letters, an old coin, and some beans.

He realized that Allah is the only protector, and the amulet was completely powerless.

People also turn to horoscopes, which claim to predict the future based on the planets' positions at the time of their birth.

These predictions are usually very general and can apply to almost anyone.

The Makkan idol-worshippers will be defeated at Badr (54:45).

The Muslims will enter the Holy Mosque in Makkah for 'umrah (48:27).

Abu Lahab and his wife will die as disbelievers (111:1-5).

No one will ever match the style of the Quran (2:23-24).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said that before the end of time, the Arabs (one of the poorest people on earth at his time) would become so rich that they

would be competing with each other over who could build the tallest building.

(Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim) It's easy to understand why the idol-worshippers made fun of the Prophet (ﷺ) when he said something bold like this about

the powerless Arabs of his time, who lived in tents.

They wouldn't have challenged him if he mentioned the Egyptians, Romans, or Persians, which were rich civilizations known for building big structures.

It's interesting that the 'Clock Tower' in Makkah (601 metres high) became the tallest building in the world in 2012.

Two years later, the 'Burj Khalifa' (828 metres) was built in Dubai.

Shortly after, a very rich businessman in Saudi Arabia announced that he was going to build the 'Kingdom Tower' (now called 'Jeddah Tower'), a taller building (1,000 metres).

He (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not arrive until Arabia (which is mostly desert) will be forests and rivers the way it used to be.

" (Recorded by Imam Muslim) According to a recent BBC article, western researchers have revealed that Arabia used to be a 'paradise' with flowing rivers some 160,000 years

ago.

He (ﷺ) said that Islam would spread to lands that had been ruled by the two biggest empires of his time (Rome and Persia), such as Syria, Turkey,

Egypt, Yemen, and many others.

(Recorded by Imam Ahmad & Imam Muslim)

He (ﷺ) visited the battlefield right before the Battle of Badr and showed his companions the exact spot where each of his Makkan enemies would die.

'Umar (R.

A.

) swore by Allah that none of them missed his spot.

(Recorded by Imam Muslim)

Shortly before he (ﷺ) passed away, he told his daughter Fatimah (R.

A.

) (who was only 27 years old) that she would be the first family member to die after him.

She passed away only 6 months after his death.

(Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim)

He is the One who created the universe and created people.

He blessed them with husbands and wives and children.

He takes care of everyone and everything.

How can they say He has partners?

How can they worship them instead of Him?

How can they say He isn't able to bring them back to life?