Surah An-Nasr: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah An-Nasr, "The Help" or "The Divine Support", is three short verses. It says that when Allah's help and the victory come, and you see people entering His religion in crowds, then glorify your Lord with praise and ask His forgiveness, for He always accepts repentance.

It reads like good news, and it is. But when it was revealed, some of the Companions understood something more from it: that the Prophet's ﷺ mission was complete, and his time in this world was nearly over.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning verse by verse.

The full surah

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجٗا فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ تَوَّابَۢا

Transliteration

1. Idhā jāʾa naṣrullāhi wal-fatḥ
2. Wa raʾaytan-nāsa yadkhulūna fī dīnillāhi afwājā
3. Fa-sabbiḥ bi-ḥamdi rabbika wastaghfirh, innahū kāna tawwābā

English translation (Saheeh International)

When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest, and you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes, then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of Repentance. (110:1-3)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

اِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ اللّٰهِ وَالۡفَتۡحُۙ وَرَاَيۡتَ النَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُوۡنَ فِىۡ دِيۡنِ اللّٰهِ اَفۡوَاجًاۙ فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ تَوَّابًا

You can read and listen to Surah An-Nasr with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

An-Nasr is the 110th surah of the Quran, with 3 verses, in the 30th juz. It is Medinan, from the last years of the Prophet's ﷺ life. Its name comes from the first verse, naṣrullāh, "the help of Allah". You'll also see it written as Surah Nasr, or called by its opening words, Idhā jāʾa naṣrullāh.

It was the last complete surah to be revealed. Ibn ʿAbbas asked ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdillah: "Do you know the last surah of the Quran revealed all at once?" He said: "Idhā jāʾa naṣrullāhi wal-fatḥ." Ibn ʿAbbas said: "You are right" (Sahih Muslim 3024). Individual verses came down after it, but no other whole surah.

Verse 1: When Allah's help and the victory come

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ

When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest. (110:1)

Naṣr is help that brings victory, and it is called naṣrullāh, "Allah's help". The victory is His, not the army's.

Al-fatḥ, "the opening" or "the conquest", is the conquest of Makkah in 8 AH, according to most commentators. After twenty years of persecution, exile and war, the Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah with ten thousand Companions, almost without a fight, cleared the idols from the Kaʿbah and forgave the people who had driven him out.

Verse 2: People entering in crowds

وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجٗا

And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes. (110:2)

Afwājā means in groups, crowd after crowd. Before the conquest people mostly became Muslim one by one, often in secret. Afterwards whole tribes came.

ʿAmr ibn Salimah explained why. The Arab tribes had been waiting to see what would happen between the Prophet ﷺ and his own tribe, Quraysh, and said: "Leave him and his people. If he defeats them, he is a true prophet." When Makkah was conquered, every tribe hurried to accept Islam (Sahih al-Bukhari 4302). The year that followed is known as the Year of Delegations, when tribe after tribe sent representatives to Madinah.

Verse 3: Glorify, praise, and ask forgiveness

فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ تَوَّابَۢا

Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of Repentance. (110:3)

At the moment of greatest success, the command isn't to celebrate yourself. It is three things: tasbīḥ, declaring Allah free of any fault; ḥamd, praising Him for the victory; and istighfār, asking forgiveness.

Asking forgiveness after a victory may seem strange. Scholars explain it in a few ways: no one fulfils Allah's rights perfectly, however much they do; success can bring pride, and istighfār keeps a person humble; and the end of any good work is a time to ask Allah to cover its shortcomings, as Muslims say astaghfirullāh three times right after finishing each prayer.

Tawwāb means the one who turns back to His servants again and again, accepting their repentance every time.

A sign that the Prophet's ﷺ time was near

Ibn ʿAbbas described a gathering in which ʿUmar asked the senior Companions who had fought at Badr what this surah meant. Some said: "We are commanded to praise Allah and ask His forgiveness when He gives us help and victory." Others said nothing. Then ʿUmar asked the young Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: "It is the sign of the Messenger of Allah's ﷺ death, which Allah told him about." ʿUmar said: "I know nothing of it other than what you have said" (Sahih al-Bukhari 4970; Sahih al-Bukhari 4969).

The reasoning is that the Prophet's ﷺ task was to deliver the message. Once people were entering Islam in crowds, that task was complete, and the surah turns him toward preparing to meet his Lord. He passed away in 11 AH, about two years after the conquest.

The dhikr it teaches

The Prophet ﷺ followed the surah's command literally. ʿAʾishah said that after it was revealed he didn't pray a single prayer without saying in it: Subḥānaka rabbanā wa bi-ḥamdika, Allāhummaghfir lī, "Glory be to You, our Lord, and praise; O Allah, forgive me" (Sahih al-Bukhari 4967). She said he said it often in his bowing and prostration, "acting on the Quran" (Sahih al-Bukhari 817; Sahih Muslim 484).

In another narration in Muslim, near the end of his life he often said: Subḥānallāhi wa bi-ḥamdihi, astaghfirullāha wa atūbu ilayh, "Glory be to Allah and praise; I ask Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance." When ʿAʾishah asked about it, he said a sign had been given to him about his ummah, and when he saw it he said these words, and he recited this surah (Sahih Muslim 484).

Both are short and easy to add to your rukūʿ and sujūd today.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
إِذَا جَآءَ	idhā jāʾa	when comes
نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ	naṣrullāh	the help of Allah
وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ	wal-fatḥ	and the victory
وَرَأَيۡتَ	wa raʾayta	and you see
ٱلنَّاسَ	an-nās	the people
يَدۡخُلُونَ	yadkhulūna	entering
فِي دِينِ ٱللَّهِ	fī dīnillāh	into the religion of Allah
أَفۡوَاجٗا	afwājā	in crowds
فَسَبِّحۡ	fa-sabbiḥ	then glorify
بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ	bi-ḥamdi rabbika	with the praise of your Lord
وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ	wastaghfirh	and ask His forgiveness
إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ	innahū kāna	indeed He is
تَوَّابَۢا	tawwābā	ever accepting of repentance

Living by Surah An-Nasr

• Thank Allah for every success. A promotion, exam result or recovery is Allah's help. Say al-ḥamdu lillāh before anything else.
• Ask forgiveness after good deeds. Finish prayers, Ramadan and big projects with istighfār.
• Add the Prophet's ﷺ dhikr to your prayer. Subḥānaka Allāhumma rabbanā wa bi-ḥamdika, Allāhummaghfir lī in rukūʿ and sujūd.
• Stay humble when things go well. The surah's answer to the greatest victory is glorifying Allah, not yourself.
• Remember that every task ends. Work as someone whose time is limited, and prepare to meet Allah.

Open Surah An-Nasr to read and listen to it with its translation.