Dear muslims, I advise you and myself to have piety and fear Allah, it is with this that afflictions and tribulations are lifted, and goodness and blessings are brought forth as Allah says:
And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out, And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine
Dear muslims, it is a message from Allah, carrying glad tidings for his messenger, as it carrys a sign, the end of the obligation, and the farewell to this ummah, to meet the almighty, this is surat Al Nasr
And this is glad tidings from Allah that he will provide his messenger ﷺ with victory and the conquest of Makkah. And so after he was escaping from the disbelievers of Quraish, they are now in his grasp, and so he entered Makkah, victorious and supported. Allah says:
And thou dost see the people enter Allah's Religion in crowds,
People started embracing islam at that time in great numbers, to the point that an entire tribe would embrace islam at a time and delegations of tribes would come forth offering themselves to do so in promise to the prophet ﷺ until it became know as the year of delegations
Celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness.
And in that is an alert for this ummah, so that they don't feel complacent and abandon repentance. If the infallible ﷺ is ordered to repent, than what about those lesser than him?
And by starting the matter with praising and thanking Allah, before mentioning repentance and seeking forgiveness, this conveys that putting the praise before asking in a supplication is a reason for the supplication to be answered.
And in surat Al Nasr, is an indication to the prophet ﷺ that his time has come close, and that his worldly life is coming to an end, and so he must prepare for meeting his lord, and that he should conclude his life by praising Allah and asking for his forgiveness.
Ibn Abbas said: Umar used to allow me to enter in gatherings with the older generation which fought in the battle of Badr, and so he called me over with them and said:
What do you say about surat Al Nasr?
And so some replied:
We have been ordered to thank Allah and repent when he brings us victory.
And some said: we do not know.
Ibn Abbas was then asked by Umar: Oh Ibn Abbas, do you say the same?
He replied: it is the (end) of the life of messenger of Allah ﷺ, which Allah notified his messenger of and so he said:
When comes the Help of Allah, and Victory,
And the indication of the end of his life:
Celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness:
Some scholars have said: look at the understanding of Ibn Abbas, and the agreement of Umar upon it, and his favouring of him despite his young age. And so understanding the messenger of Allah is the title of honesty and truth, and the spreading of the prophetic message, and within it the levels of scholars vary, until a 1000 of men is equivalent to one.
And of the benefits of surat Al Nasr, that repentance and asking Allah for forgiveness, is a reason for victory and relief. For victory belongs to this religion, and it increases upon rememberance and thanking Allah who says:
If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you
And repentance with conquering and victory breaks the feelings of arrogance and pride, which is only for the self, and is a position of disability and falling short in front of the blessings of the Almighty, and of what we can fall short in is repentance. Allah says:
If ye would count up the favours of Allah, never would ye be able to number them
That whoever wants the shut doors to be opened, and problematic issues to be resolved, should increase in repentance. Ibn Al Qayyim said: I have seen Sheikh Al Islam Ibn Taimiyah, if matters overwhelmed him and matters became difficult, he fled from us to repentance and asking Allah for forgiveness, and the more he turned to Allah, the more Allah resolved his issues.
And this is to tempt us to approach the doors of repentance, before it shuts.
For He is Oft-Returning meaning he is generous in accepting of repentance and granting of forgiveness, for those who are sincere and abandon siing fearing the one who knows the unknown who says:
For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.
And the prophet ﷺ used to frequently thank Allah and ask for forgiveness after the revelation of this surah. As narrated from Aisha may Allah be pleased with her who said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite in every prayer: "Subhanaka Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahum-maghfir li (Far removed You are from every imperfection, our Rubb, and all praise is for You, forgive me, O Allah)".[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
And the scholars have interpreted this by saying: when this surah was revealed, the messenger ﷺ understood that his time has come, and so was ordered to praise Allah and seek forgiveness. And the prophet ﷺ passed away shortly after this. And so it was named as the farewell surah. And so when this surah was revealed the prophet ﷺ exerted himself preparing for the hereafter. And such is the believer, as their time comes closer, their actions in worship increase. As Allah says:
But celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate themselves in adoration.
And serve thy Lord until there come unto thee the Hour that is Certain.