Topic
Verses such as 9:33 say God sent the Prophet “to make it prevail over all religion”; commentators differ on what “prevail” means.
What it means
“It is He who sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it prevail over all religion, even if the polytheists dislike it” (9:33, 48:28, 61:9). Some commentators take it to mean prevailing by proof and argument, others by the end-time return of Jesus, and others in the sense of political success.
What the sources say
Muslim scholars read this with the verse “no compulsion in religion” (2:256), so that prevailing does not mean forcing belief. The word can also mean that the truth becomes clear.