Qur’an 30:2–4: The Romans Prophecy

Qur’an 30:2–4Qur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh International² The Byzantines have been defeated ³ In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome ⁴ Within three to nine years. To Allāh belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after. And that day the believers will rejoiceQur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says the Byzantines have been defeated in a nearby land and that, after their defeat, they will overcome within a few years. Tirmidhi 3194 reports a Roman victory in the seventh year, inside the three-to-nine-year range it gives for bid‘. Tirmidhi 3193 reports a five-year wager that was missed. The verses do not name the campaign.

Key Points

• Saheeh International renders Qur’an 30:2–4Qur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh International² The Byzantines have been defeated ³ In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome ⁴ Within three to nine years. To Allāh belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after. And that day the believers will rejoiceQur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source: the Byzantines have been defeated in the nearest land, and after their defeat they will overcome “within three to nine years.”
• Tirmidhi 3193 reports Ibn Abbas: “Ghulibat wa Ghalabat (defeated and then victorious).” Abu Bakr set five years. They did not prevail. Sa‘id says bid‘ is what is less than ten. The page grades the report Sahih (Darussalam).
• Tirmidhi 3194 says they agreed on six years, six years passed without a Roman victory, and the Romans were victorious in the seventh year. That page also grades the report Sahih (Darussalam).
• Ibn Kathir on 30:2 says the surah was revealed in Makkah, quotes both reports, and tells a story of Heraclius and Chosroes.
• Iranica on Khosrow II puts Persian forces in Jerusalem in 614 and on the Bosporus in 615, calls Heraclius’s 622 operations defensive successes, and places a Roman expedition into Persian territory in 624. Britannica on Heraclius describes a successful campaign in 622, the battle near Nineveh in December 627, and the return of the Cross in 630.
• Deuteronomy 18:22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source says a word spoken in the LORD’s name that does not come to pass is a word the LORD has not spoken.

What the Verses Say

Qur’an 30:2–4Qur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh International² The Byzantines have been defeated ³ In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome ⁴ Within three to nine years. To Allāh belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after. And that day the believers will rejoiceQur’an 30:2-4 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source, Saheeh International:

[2] The Byzantines have been defeated [3] In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome [4] Within three to nine years. To Allāh belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice

Qur’an 30:2–4 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

The standard reading is a past defeat and a future victory. “Three to nine years” is the translator’s rendering of bid‘ sinin, a few years. Qur’an 30:5–6 says the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah, and that Allah does not fail in his promise. The verses do not name Heraclius, Khosrow, Jerusalem, or Nineveh. They name the Romans, a nearby land, a defeat, a later victory, and a short span.

What the Hadith Reports Say

Tirmidhi 3193 is Sa‘id ibn Jubair from Ibn Abbas on 30:1–3. The English says he said “Ghulibat wa Ghalabat (defeated and then victorious).” The idolaters wanted the Persians to win because both were idolaters. The Muslims wanted the Romans to win because they were people of the Book. The Messenger said, “They will certainly prevail.” Abu Bakr “made the term five years, but they (the Romans) were not victorious.” The Prophet asked why he had not made it less than ten, in the narrator’s memory. Sa‘id said, “Al-Bid‘ is what is less than ten.” “Afterwards the Romans have been victorious.” Sufyan said he heard they were victorious on the day of Badr. Abu ‘Isa calls the hadith hasan sahih gharib. The grade line on the page is Sahih (Darussalam).

The standard text reads ghulibat (“have been defeated”) and sayaghlibūn (“will overcome”). Al-Qurtubi on 30:2 also records minority reports with active ghalabat (“have overcome”) and a future passive sayughlabūn (“will be defeated”), while preferring the standard reading. Those reports should not be labeled a second canonical reading without evidence about their transmission and canonical status. Tirmidhi 3193’s English “defeated and then victorious” gloss is not itself a classification of these reading traditions.

Tirmidhi 3194 is Niyar ibn Mukram. On the day the verses came down, the Persians were defeating the Romans. Abu Bakr proclaimed the verses in Makkah. The Quraysh offered a bet. “This was before betting has been forbidden.” They said bid‘ is between three and nine years, and they agreed on the middle, six years. “Then six years passed without the Romans being victorious. The idolaters took what they won in the bet from Abu Bakr. When the seventh year came and the Romans were finally victorious over the Persians, the Muslims rebuked Abu Bakr for agreeing to six years.” He answered that Allah had said “in bid‘ years.” “At that time, many people became Muslims.” The grade line is again Sahih (Darussalam).

The two reports, both graded sahih on those pages, do not tell one timetable. One sets five years, says that term failed, and has Sufyan mention the day of Badr. The other sets six years, says that term failed, and puts the victory in the seventh year. Ibn Kathir on 30:2 quotes both. He says the verses were revealed in Makkah, about the Persians defeating the Romans in Greater Syria, Heraclius besieged in Constantinople, and Heraclius later regaining the upper hand. His narrative of the war also calls the Persian king Sabur and Chosroes in different paragraphs. The commentary preserves the hadith, including the missed terms.

What the Dates of the War Show

Persian victories included Jerusalem in 614 and an advance to the Bosporus in 615, as Iranica dates them. Britannica describes a successful campaign by Heraclius in 622; Iranica distinguishes defensive successes in 622 from the major counteroffensive begun in 624. Later milestones include the fighting of 626, Nineveh in December 627, and Khosrow II’s overthrow in February 628; the return of the Cross to Jerusalem was in 630. Depending on which defeat and recovery are selected, the interval differs. A 614–615 starting point and the 622 campaign are approximately seven to eight years apart, whereas 614 to Nineveh in 627 is thirteen years. Qur’an 30:2–4 does not identify those specific events, so the thirteen-year pairing alone does not establish a missed deadline. What Is Bible Prophecy? is how this site states a prophecy’s test.

Deuteronomy 18:22

Deuteronomy 18:22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source, King James Version:

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James Version

The test is a word that comes to pass, spoken in the LORD’s name. It is not a mood of confidence after the event. Tirmidhi 3193 reports an unsuccessful five-year wager. Tirmidhi 3194 reports an unsuccessful six-year wager followed by victory in the seventh year, which is within the three-to-nine-year range it gives for bid‘. Abu Bakr’s narrower wager is not the same as the full prophetic window. Identifying the report’s victory with a particular historical campaign requires a separately defended chronology. Messianic Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled is a different kind of announcement: promises about a son, a birth in Bethlehem, a servant, applied by the New Testament to Jesus and tied to events the Gospels narrate. Jesus is God. That claim is the deity of Christ, not a denial that Heraclius defeated a Persian army.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does Bid‘ Sinin Mean?

In these sources it is a few years. Saheeh International prints “three to nine years.” Sa‘id, in Tirmidhi 3193, says bid‘ is less than ten. Tirmidhi 3194 says the Quraysh called it something between three and nine and chose six.

Did the Romans Win Within That Time?

Tirmidhi 3193 reports an unsuccessful five-year wager. Tirmidhi 3194 reports an unsuccessful six-year wager followed by victory in the seventh year, which is within the three-to-nine-year range it gives for bid‘. Abu Bakr’s narrower wager is not the same as the full prophetic window. Identifying the report’s victory with a particular historical campaign requires a separately defended chronology.

Keep Reading

• What Is Bible Prophecy?
• Messianic Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled
• Deuteronomy 18:22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source
• Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?
• What Do Muslims Believe?
• The Trinity
• Did Jesus Ever Claim to Be God?