Surah Rum: "in a few (bid`) years". Why Not an Exact Number?
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Asalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuh
What is the wisdom in the wording of the verse of surah Rum: “in a few (bid`) years” rather than an exact number?
Is it correct that the same day the Romans were victorious the muslims were victorious at Badr?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
Allah Most High says, “Alif Lam Mim The Byzantines have been defeated in a nearby land. They will reverse their defeat with a victory in a few (bid`) years’ time –– God is in command, first and last. On that day, the believers will rejoice at God’s help. He helps whoever He pleases: He is the Mighty, the Merciful.” [30.1-5]
The Romans had just been defeated by the Persians, and this delighted the disbelievers in Makkah who were against Islam, the Muslims, and religion in general, as the Romans were Christian. The disbelievers used this as an opportunity to show the superiority of their polytheism over Islam, and this is when these verses were revealed delighting the Muslims. Biqa`i comments, “whoever has a revealed book is in an overall better state than one who does not.” Faith is far superior to disbelief. [Biqa`i, Nazm al-Durar; Qutb, Fi Zilal al-Qur’an]
The word used in the verse is “bid`” which refers to a number between three and nine. I asked Shaykh `Ali Hani about this verse and he mentioned that this word sufficiently demarcated a period of time; more specificity could have opened the door to argumentation and debate, for instance, ”well the Qur’an said ‘seven years’ and it was actually six years and eleven months…” and other such irrelevant discourse.
What needs to be remembered here is that the defeat was unthinkable and seemingly impossible. Hence the reason Abu al-Su`ud Effendi writes, “These verses are from the dazzlingly clear proofs that attest to the veracity of the Prophethood and that the Qur’an is truly from Allah…” [Abu al-Su`ud, Irshad al-`Aql al-Salim ila Mazaya al-Kitab al-Karim]
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
