لَّقَدۡ رَضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ إِذۡ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحۡتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِى قُلُوبِهِمۡ فَأَنزَلَ ٱلسَّكِينَةَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَأَثَٰبَهُمۡ فَتۡحًا قَرِيبًا
Certainly was Allah pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest.
The pledge mentioned above is Bay‘at ar-Ridwan, which took place at Hudaybiyah and whose participants, this ayah gives the glad tidings, attained the pleasure of Allah. The scholars of tafsir have narrated the event as follows:
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) reached Hudaybiyah, he sent Khirash ibn Umayyah of the Khuza‘ah tribe to the people of Makkah as his envoy, mounted on his camel named Tha‘lab. His purpose was to let them know that they had not come to fight, but only to visit the Ka‘bah and perform ‘umrah. But when Khirash delivered this message, they killed his camel and advanced on him to kill him as well. Saved from death when the Ahabish intervened, Khirash returned and told the Messenger of Allah what had happened.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then called ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to send him as his envoy. But ‘Umar said:
“O Messenger of Allah! They know the anger and hostility I feel toward them, so I cannot trust them. Besides, if any harm comes to me, I have no relative from Banu ‘Adi in Makkah to protect me. It would be better to send ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan instead. He has many relatives and close ones in Makkah, and they love him. He can deliver your message to them safely.”
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), sent him to Quraysh as his envoy, and told him:
“Tell them that we have not come to fight, that we only wish to visit the Ka‘bah and perform ‘umrah. And invite them to Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also instructed ‘Uthman to meet the believing men and women in Makkah, to give them the glad tidings of the coming conquest, and to tell them that the religion of Allah would soon prevail in Makkah.
With these instructions, ‘Uthman set out for Makkah. When he arrived, Aban ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As met him. Aban dismounted, put ‘Uthman on his own mount, and so brought him safely to Quraysh.
‘Uthman delivered the message of the Messenger of Allah to Quraysh. They replied:
“If you wish, you may circle the Ka‘bah yourself. But we cannot allow all of you to enter Makkah.”
‘Uthman answered:
“I will not circle it until the Messenger of Allah does.”
At that, Quraysh held ‘Uthman back and kept him under watch. Meanwhile, word reached the Messenger of Allah and the Muslims at Hudaybiyah that ‘Uthman had been killed.
On hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘We will not leave this place until we fight these people.’
Then the caller of the Messenger of Allah called out to the Muslims:
“Listen! The Holy Spirit has come to the Messenger of Allah and commanded him to take the pledge. So come, gather to pledge allegiance to the Prophet in the name of Allah!”
At this call, the Muslims hurried at once to the Messenger of Allah and pledged allegiance to him.
This historic pledge took place under a tree called the samurah.
It is narrated that over time the samurah tree under which Bay‘at ar-Ridwan took place became a place people visited. Some began going to it to pray beside it. When ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) learned of this, he ordered the tree to be cut down.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pointed to the high rank of the companions who took part in Bay‘at ar-Ridwan with these words:
“None who were present at Bay‘at ar-Ridwan will enter the Fire.”
Hadith
فَعَلِمَ مَا فِى قُلُوبِهِمۡ
And He knew what was in their hearts.
Allah saw their sincerity, their willingness to die for the truth, their complete submission. They weren’t there for spoils or glory.
They were there because they believed.
Because of what was in their hearts:
فَأَنزَلَ ٱلسَّكِينَةَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ
So He sent down tranquility upon them.
In earlier ayahs, when the believers were frustrated by the terms of the treaty, tranquility had to enter their hearts from within.
Now, having proven their sincerity, tranquility is poured onto them from above, a divine gift for their unwavering faith.
The reward?
وَأَثَٰبَهُمۡ فَتۡحًا قَرِيبًا
And rewarded them with an imminent conquest.
This may be Khaybar, the conquest that would come soon after Hudaybiyah.