110. An-Nasr
Succour
Asad's Introduction
REVEALED at Mina during the Prophet's Farewell Pilgrimage in the month of Dhu 'l-Hijjah, 10 H. - that is, a little over two months before his death - this is unquestionably the last complete surah conveyed by him to the world. It was preceded one day earlier (on Friday, the 9th of Dhu 'l-Hijjah) by the revelation of the words, "Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me (al-islam) shall be your religion'" (5:3); and since those words were almost immediately followed by the present surah, some of the Prophet's Companions concluded that his mission was fulfilled, and that he was about to die (Bukhari). As a matter of fact, the only revelation which the Prophet received after An-Nasr was verse 281 of Al-Baqarah.
WHEN GOD'S SUCCOUR comes, and victory,
and thou seest people enter God's religion in hosts,
extol thy Sustainer's limitless glory, and praise Him, and seek His forgiveness: for, behold, He is ever an acceptor of repentance.
Asad's Commentary (2 notes)
I.e., the religion of self-surrender to God: cf. 3:19 - "the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him".
Implying that even if people should embrace the true religion in great numbers, a believer ought not to grow self-complacent but should, rather, become more humble and more conscious of his own failings. Moreover, the Prophet is reported to have said, "Behold, people have entered God's religion in hosts and in time they will leave it in hosts" (Ibn Hanbal, on the authority of Jabir ibn Abd Allah; a similar Tradition, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, is found in the Mustadrak).