It is a Meccan surah. ⦗1–7⦘ “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Alif-Lām-Mīm. * The Romans have been defeated * in the nearest land. Yet after their defeat, they will triumph * within a few years. The command belongs to Allah before and after. On that day the believers will rejoice * in Allah’s victory. He grants victory to whom He wills, and He is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.”

At that time, the Persians and the Romans were among the most powerful empires on earth, and wars and battles took place between them as ordinarily occur between evenly matched powers.

The Persians were polytheists who worshipped fire, whereas the Romans were People of the Book who professed adherence to the Torah and the Gospel. They were therefore closer to the Muslims than the Persians were, so the believers wanted them to defeat and prevail over the Persians. The polytheists, however—because they and the Persians shared in polytheism—wanted the Persians to prevail over the Romans.

The Persians prevailed over the Romans and inflicted a defeat upon them that did not encompass their entire empire, but only the nearest part of their territory. The polytheists of Mecca rejoiced at this, while the Muslims grieved. Allah therefore informed them and promised them (1) that the Romans would defeat the Persians.

“Within a few years”—nine, eight, or thereabouts: no more than ten and no fewer than three. Both the Persians’ defeat of the Romans and the Romans’ subsequent defeat of the Persians occurred by His will and decree. He therefore said, “The command belongs to Allah before and after.” Victory and triumph do not result merely from the presence of their apparent causes; divine decree and predestination must necessarily accompany them.

“On that day”—that is, on the day the Romans defeat and subdue the Persians—“the believers will rejoice in Allah’s victory. He grants victory to whom He wills.” In other words, they will rejoice at the Romans’ victory over the Persians, even though both sides are disbelievers, because some evils are less grievous than others. On that day, the polytheists will grieve.

“And He is the Almighty,” the One possessed of the might by which He has subdued all creation. He grants sovereignty to whom He wills, takes sovereignty from whom He wills, exalts whom He wills, and abases whom He wills. He is “the Most Merciful” to His believing servants, for He has provided them with means that bring them happiness and victory beyond all reckoning.