Prophecy of Romans Being Defeated (Hazrat Musleh Mau’d’s (ra) Narration)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) writes regarding this:
“While the Holy Prophet (sa) was still in Mecca, news arrived that the Persians had vanquished the Romans in battle. This occasioned great rejoicing among the Meccans, for the Persians were idolaters just as they were. The Meccans took the victory of the Persians as a good omen indicating their own ultimate triumph over Muslims. On this occasion, the Holy Prophet (sa) received the revelation:
غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ ۔ فِيٓ أَدۡنَى الۡأَرۡضِ وَهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ غَلَبِهِمۡ سَيَغۡلِبُونَ ۔ فِي بِضۡعِ سِنِينَۗ
that ‘the Romans had been vanquished in a neighbouring land of Syria but do not consider this to be the final outcome, within nine years of their defeat the Romans would again be victorious’; When this revelation was announced among the Meccans, they laughed and jeered at the Muslims. Some of them made a wager of a hundred camels with Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) that the prophecy would not be fulfilled. Events indicated that there was very little chance of the Romans defeating the Persians as their defeat in Syria was followed by further victories of the Persians and the Roman army was pushed back by stages to the shores of the Sea of Marmora. Constantinople was cut off from its Eastern dominions and the Roman Empire was reduced to the size of a small State. The Word of God was, however, bound to be fulfilled and was fulfilled. In their state of utter despondency, the Roman emperor himself set out from Constantinople along with his troops and met on the shores of Asia for a decisive battle. The Romans, though smaller in number and not so well equipped as the Persians, won a complete victory – as prophesied by the words of the Holy Quran – and the Persians were put to flight. They were forced to retreat into Persia not finding any respite anywhere and the Romans re-occupied their Asiatic and African possessions.”
(Dibacha Tafsir-ul-Quran, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 20, p. 445)