وَرَأَيتَ النّاسَ يَدخُلونَ في دينِ اللَّهِ أَفواجًا

And you see the people entering Allah’s religion in throngs.

EXEGESIS

Fawj (pl. afwāj (throngs)) is usually used for a group of people or any grouping.^{‎[1]Ayn, 6/190.} Entering religion in throngs means group after group and host after host.

Dīn (religion) literally means recompense from which different meanings have been inferred.^{‎[2]Razi, 32/112; Mishkāt, 1/218.} The first inferred meaning which seems to be the most widely used is retribution.^{‎[3]Lisan, 13/169; Iʿjāz al-Bayān ʿan Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 2/892; Muhit, 10/552; Ibn Kathir, 8/468.} This meaning is used in 1:4: Master of the Day of Retribution (yawm al-dīn), among many other instances. The second meaning, which is used in this verse, is religion, or any way of life in general. It is also used with the same meaning in 3:19: Indeed, with Allah religion (dīn) is islām. The two meanings may be linked together since one of the essential teachings of religion is that every action and behaviour of man has certain consequences for which he is responsible and for which he will be punished or rewarded. On that day Allah will pay them in full their due recompense, and they shall know that Allah is the manifest reality (24:25). The third meaning mentioned for dīn is reckoning.^{‎[4]Lisan, 13/169.} Dayyān, which is one of the attributes of God, refers to the one who reckons others. Therefore, the word dīn includes both retribution and reckoning. Obviously, there is a relation between the two meanings, since until there is no accurate accounting, the true and just retribution of actions cannot take place.^{‎[5]Mishkāt, 1/219.}

EXPOSITION

Dīn allāh (the religion of Allah), is an expression used in the Quran referring to the one and only religion that God has communicated to people through different prophets.

Typically, what is meant by the religion of God in the Quran is the religion of islām as in^{‎[6]Mizan, 20/437.} Indeed, with Allah religion is islām (3:19). However, the general meaning of islām intended in such verses is to submit and follow the one and only God.^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 10/844.} This is the religion which is mostly associated to Prophet Abraham (a), and not only are the pagans of Arabia instructed to go back to this religion, but the Jews and Christians are also advised to judge their faith by this religion: And they say: ‘Be either Jews or Christians, that you may be [rightly] guided.’ Say: ‘Rather [we will follow] the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists.’ (2:135). The Quran considers itself as the purest expression of that faith and the Prophet is instructed to follow that same faith: Indeed Abraham was a nation obedient to Allah, a ḥanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists. Grateful [as he was] for His blessings, He chose him and guided him to a straight path. We gave him good in this world, and in the hereafter he will indeed be among the righteous. Then We revealed to you [saying]: ‘Follow the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists.’ (16:120-123).

It is for this reason that Should anyone follow a religion other than Islam, it shall never be accepted from him, and he will be among the losers in the hereafter (3:85). Only those who follow this religion (i.e., submission to God) are rightly guided, and all else is a deviation. Indeed, with Allah religion is Islam, and those who were given the book did not differ except after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. And whoever defies Allah’s signs [should know that] Allah is swift at reckoning. So if they argue with you, say: ‘I have submitted my will to Allah, and [so has] he who follows me.’ And say to those who were given the book and the uninstructed ones: ‘Do you submit?’ If they submit, they will certainly be guided; but if they turn away, then your duty is only to communicate; and Allah sees best the servants (3:19-20).

In fact, considering this meaning of islām, all the divine religions must go back to Islam. Do they, then, seek a religion other than Allah’s, while to Him submits (aslama) whoever there is in the heavens and the earth (3:83).

People entering Allah’s religion in throngs was the blessing of the culmination of the Prophet’s mission. Initially, individuals entered the religion, but towards the end of his mission and due to the help and victory granted by God in the conquest of Mecca, people rushed to enter and accept the religion of God in groups.^{‎[8]Tabrisi, 10/844.} Given that naṣr and fatḥ are both absolute, meaning that they are not bound to a specific time or location, whoever joins the religion of God until the Day of Judgement would be included as the referent of this verse.^{‎[9]Jawādī Āmulī, notes from http://javadi.esra.ir (tafsīr of Sūrat al-Naṣr).}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.^{‎[10] Luke 13:11.}
2. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.^{‎[11] Luke 13:29.}
3. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.^{‎[12] Acts 19:20.}

[1] Ayn, 6/190.
[2] Razi, 32/112; Mishkāt, 1/218.
[3] Lisan, 13/169; Iʿjāz al-Bayān ʿan Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 2/892; Muhit, 10/552; Ibn Kathir, 8/468.
[4] Lisan, 13/169.
[5] Mishkāt, 1/219.
[6] Mizan, 20/437.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/844.
[8] Tabrisi, 10/844.
[9] Jawādī Āmulī, notes from http://javadi.esra.ir (tafsīr of Sūrat al-Naṣr).
[10] Luke 13:11.
[11] Luke 13:29.
[12] Acts 19:20.