سورة الفتح

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse was revealed concerning the Bay'at al-Ridwan (Pledge of Ridwan), where Allah has said: لَقَدْ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ إِذْ یُبَایِعُونَکَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ [Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) did not take the pledge from the companions upon death; rather the pledge was upon not fleeing from battle.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The Prophet took a covenant from them that after this they would never repudiate any of the actions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and would not oppose him in any of the commands he gave them. Then Allah the Exalted, after the revelation of the verse of Ridwan, said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُبایِعُونَکَ إِنَّما یُبایِعُونَ اللهَ یَدُ اللهِ فَوْقَ أَیْدِیهِمْ فَمَنْ نَکَثَ فَإِنَّما یَنْکُثُ عَلی نَفْسِهِ وَ مَنْ أَوْفی بِما عاهَدَ عَلَیْهُ اللهَ فَسَیُؤْتِیهِ أَجْراً عَظِیماً [Indeed those who pledge allegiance to you, pledge allegiance only to Allah: the hand of Allah is above their hands. So whoever breaks his pledge, breaks it only to his own detriment, and whoever fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah, He will give him a great reward]. And divine pleasure was on this condition — that after this they would remain faithful to their covenant with Allah and would not break their pledge; and on the condition of adherence to this covenant, Allah becomes pleased with them. Thus a condition has been placed upon the Bay'at al-Ridwan, and indeed in the first stage the Bay'at al-Ridwan took place, then the verse of the condition upon them was set forth.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted has described those with whom He was pleased, from among those who pledged allegiance under the tree, with attributes which we know were not attained by all who pledged. Therefore, pleasure must be restricted to those who possess these attributes, because Allah the Exalted said: فَعَلِمَ ما فِی قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنْزَلَ السَّکِینَةَ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ أَثابَهُمْ فَتْحاً قَرِیباً [He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and rewarded them with a near victory] — He knew what was concealed within their hearts [of faith and truthfulness], and so He sent down tranquillity upon their hearts and granted them a near victory as a reward.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir narrated that I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "How many were the believers about whom Allah spoke in the verse: لَقَدْ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ إِذْ یُبَایِعُونَکَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ [Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree]?" He said: "One thousand two hundred." I said: "Was Ali (peace be upon him) among them?" He said: "Yes! Ali (peace be upon him) was their master and their noble one."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The verse لقَدْ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنِ المُؤْمِنِینَ إِذْ یُبَایِعُونَکَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ [Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree] was revealed about those present at the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Jabir says: On the day of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah we were one thousand four hundred people. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to us: "You are the best people on the face of the earth today." Under that tree we pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) that we would obey and support him until the last moment of our lives. Except for Ibn Qays, who was a hypocrite, not one of us broke his covenant and pledge. The most deserving of the people concerning this verse is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). For Allah has said: "and rewarded them with a near victory" (Al-Fath/18), which refers to the conquest of Khaybar by Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "I am the one whose name Allah mentioned in the Torah and the Injil as the supporter and helper of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and I was the first who pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) under the tree. Allah has said concerning this: لقَدْ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنِ المُؤْمِنِینَ إِذْ یُبَایِعُونَکَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ [Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree]."