The Romans: A Defeat, a Promise and a Victory

Most of the history in the Qur’an looks back: to Noah (peace be upon him), to Pharaoh, to ancient peoples whose ruins still stand. But one chapter opens with world news from its own time, and then looks forward. Surah ar-Rum, “The Romans” (chapter 30), begins with a defeat that everyone in Arabia had heard about, and a promise that seemed, at the time, very unlikely.

The news from the north

In the early seventh century, two superpowers dominated the Near East. To the west stood the Eastern Roman Empire, which historians today call Byzantium, ruled from Constantinople and Christian in faith. To the east stood the Sasanian Persian Empire, whose state religion was Zoroastrianism, in which sacred fire plays a central role in worship.

From 602 CE these two empires fought one of the longest and most destructive wars of antiquity. For the Byzantines, the first two decades were a catastrophe. The Persian king Khosrow II pushed deep into Roman territory. Antioch and Damascus fell around 613 CE. Around 614 CE Persian forces captured Jerusalem itself, and Christian sources record the carrying off of what they revered as the True Cross. Egypt, the empire’s breadbasket, fell a few years later. At one point Persian armies camped within sight of Constantinople. Many observers expected the Roman Empire to collapse.

It was in this setting, in Makkah, that the opening verses of Surah ar-Rum were revealed:

الٓمٓ ﴿١﴾ غُلِبَتِ ٱلرُّومُ ﴿٢﴾ فِىٓ أَدْنَى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ ﴿٣﴾

¹Alif, Lam, Meem. ²The Byzantines have been defeated ³In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome.

The verses place the defeat in a nearby land. Classical commentators understood this as the region closest to Arabia, that is, Syria and Palestine, where the Byzantines had just suffered their losses.

A promise with a time frame

The Qur’an did not stop at reporting the defeat. It declared that the defeated Romans would turn the tables on their enemy, and it gave a time frame:

فِى بِضْعِ سِنِينَ ۗ لِلَّهِ ٱلْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِنۢ بَعْدُ ۚ وَيَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَفْرَحُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٤﴾ بِنَصْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥﴾

⁴Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice ⁵In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.

The Arabic word used here is bid’. In the Arabic of the time it referred to a small number, generally understood by scholars of the language as between three and nine. In other words, the Qur’an placed the reversal within a definite and fairly short window.

From a human point of view, this was a bold statement. The Byzantine treasury was empty, its armies were broken, and its richest provinces were in enemy hands.

Why the early Muslims cared

Why would a small, persecuted community in Makkah care about a war between distant empires? Commentators explain that the people of Makkah took sides emotionally. The Makkan idol-worshippers felt closer to the Persians, who, like them, had no revealed scripture. The Muslims felt closer to the Romans, who were People of the Book, believers in God, prophets and revelation, even if Muslims differed with them on important points. When news of the Persian victory arrived, some of the Makkans reportedly mocked the believers: just as the Persians had beaten the Christians, they said, so would they beat the Muslims.

The opening of Surah ar-Rum answered that taunt. It told the believers that the situation would be reversed, and that when it was, they too would have reason for joy through God’s support (Qur’an 30:4-5).

How events unfolded

In 610 CE Heraclius had seized the throne in Constantinople. For years he could do little more than survive. Then, from 622 CE, he launched a series of bold campaigns, leading his armies personally into Persian territory. In December 627 CE he defeated a Persian army near the ancient city of Nineveh, close to modern Mosul in Iraq. Early in 628 CE Khosrow II was overthrown and killed by his own people, and the new Persian ruler sought peace. The lost provinces were returned, and around 629–630 CE Heraclius restored the relic of the Cross to Jerusalem.

Historians cannot date the revelation of these verses precisely; most estimates place it around 614–616 CE. Counting from then, Heraclius’s campaigns of 622–624 CE turned the tide within the window the Qur’an had given, and the war was decisively won by 627–628 CE. Many commentators also note that the Roman victory coincided with a joyful event for the Muslims. Some link it to the Battle of Badr in 624 CE, others to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 628 CE, which the Qur’an itself describes as a victory (Qur’an 48:1). Either way, the believers had double reason to rejoice.

The passage closes with a reminder:

وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٦﴾

[It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know.

A sign, and a lesson

Muslims see this passage as one of the many signs that the Qur’an is from God. The Prophet ﷺ was not a political analyst with access to imperial intelligence; he was a man in Makkah reciting what he said was revelation, and the passage was recited publicly, so anyone could check whether it came true. Reasonable people will weigh such evidence in different ways. It is best seen alongside the other features that Muslims point to, which are explored in The Miracle of the Qur’an.

Yet the Qur’an’s main purpose here is not to impress us with a prediction. Its lesson is that the rise and fall of nations is in God’s hands. The most powerful empire on earth can be humbled, and the defeated can rise again. The verses that follow (Qur’an 30:7) observe that many people see only what is visible in this life and overlook what lies beyond it. Both great empires of that age soon passed into history. What remains is the reminder that the outcome of every matter, from beginning to end, rests with God (Qur’an 30:4).

For more on how the Qur’an uses history, read History in the Qur’an.