Surah Al-Fath
Chapter 48 · Verse 15 · Revealed in Madinah
“Those who remained behind will say when you set out toward the war booty to take it, "Let us follow you." They wish to change the words of Allah. Say, "Never will you follow us. Thus did Allah say before." So they will say, "Rather, you envy us." But [in fact] they were not understanding except a little.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُبَدِّلُواْ كَلَـمَ اللَّهِ
(They want to change Allah's Words), which refers to the promise that Allah gave those who were present at Al-Hudaybiyyah, according to the explanation reported from Mujahid, Qatadah, Juwaybir and which Ibn Jarir preferred. Allah said,
قُل لَّن تَتَّبِعُونَا كَذَلِكُمْ قَالَ اللَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
Injunctions and Related Issues
The reference in this passage is to the incident which took place in the 7th year of Hijrah after the Holy Prophet ﷺ returned from Hudaibiyah. When he intended to march on Khaibar, he took with him only those sincere Muslims who were with him at Hudaibiyah and participated in the Pledge of Ridwan. When Allah promised His Messenger ﷺ the conquest of Khaibar and great spoils, those Bedouin tribes who had contrived to remain behind when the Holy Prophet ﷺ went for ` Umrah, requested the Holy Prophet ﷺ to be allowed to join the Muslim army, either because they guessed that Khaibar would be conquered and they would receive a good share of the booty, or because they perceived the divine blessings bestowed on the Muslims as a result of the expedition of Hudaibiyah' and being remorseful on their wrong decision, they intended to join the new expedition. In response to their request, the Qur'an says: يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُبَدِّلُوا كَلَامَ اللَّـهِ "They wish to change the statement of Allah...[ 48:15] " 'Allah's statement' refers to the injunction that the right to participate in the expedition of Khaibar and receiving a share in its spoils is reserved exclusively for those sincere Muslims who were with the Holy Prophet ﷺ at Hudaibiyah. The same injunction is again referred to by saying, كَذَٰلِكُمْ قَالَ اللَّـهُ مِن قَبْلُ "Allah had said like this beforehand.... [ 48:15] " It means that the injunction of restricting the right of participation in Khyber to the participants of Hudaibiyah had been revealed by Allah before the revelation of these verses. However, this injunction is not available in the Qur'an anywhere else. So the question is: how is it then correct to refer this injunction as a 'statement of Allah' or as 'Allah has said like this'? Answer to this question depends on understanding the different kinds of the divine revelation which follow:
What does this verse bring up for you today?