Good News to the Participants of the Ridwan Pledge of Allah's Pleasure and earning Spoils of War

Allah declares that He is pleased with the believers who gave the pledge to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ under the tree. We mentioned the number of these believers as being one thousand and four hundred and that the tree was a Samurah tree, located in the area of Hudaybiyyah. Al-Bukhari narrated from Tariq that `Abdur-Rahman said, "I went on Hajj and passed by people praying and asked, `What is this Masjid' They said, `This is the tree where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ took the pledge of Ar-Ridwan.' So, I went to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib and told him. Sa`id said, `My father told me that he was among those who gave their pledge to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ under the tree. My father said: The following year, when we went out, we forgot its place and could not agree which tree it was.' Sa`id said, `The Companions of Muhammad ﷺ forgot where the tree was, but you know where it is. Therefore, you have better knowledge than them!"' Allah said,

فَعَلِمَ مَا فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ

Commentary

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَ‌ةِ (Allah was pleased with the believers when they were pledging allegiance with you by placing their hands in your hands under the tree,...48:18). The reference in this verse is to the same pledge that was given at Hudaibiyah and which was referred to earlier in verse 10. Verse [ 18] reinforces verse [ 10.]. In verse [ 18] Allah announces that those sincere participants who took this solemn oath have obtained His pleasure. Therefore, the oath came to be known as bai` at-ur-Ridwan (that is, the pledge that earned Allah's pleasure). The purpose of this is to compliment the participants of the allegiance and to emphasise the obligation of fulfilling the covenant. It is recorded in Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Jabir ؓ that on the day of Hudaibiyah, the companions were 1400 people, and the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to them: اَنتُم خَیرُ اھلِ الارضِ "You are the best of people living on the surface of the earth." It is recorded in Muslim on the authority of Umm Bishr ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said, لا یدخل النَّارَ اَحَدُ مِمَّن بَایَعَ تَحتَ الشَّجرَۃِ "None of those who swore fealty under the tree will enter the Fire" (Mazhari). Therefore, the participants of this allegiance are like the participants of the battle of Badr. The Qur'an and Hadith give glad tidings of Allah's pleasure and Paradise to the participants of the battle of Badr. Likewise the sources give glad tidings of Allah's pleasure and Paradise to the participants of bai` at-ur-Ridwan. These tidings bear testimony to the fact that these sincere participants meet their end in the state of faith, righteousness, and with deeds that please Allah, because this announcement of Allah's pleasure guarantees that.