Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Allah’s help to the Muslims against their disbelieving enemies who wage war on them is something real and true. Allah, may He be exalted, has promised that to the believers, and has told them that it is near, and that He only delays it for certain significant reasons. The one who has strong faith and true certainty will realise that it is indeed near as the Lord, may He be exalted, has told us.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, ‘When (will come) the Help of Allah?’ Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near!”
[al-Baqarah 2:214].
Imam Ibn Jareer at-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What this means is: Or do you think that you, O believers in Allah and His Messenger, will enter Paradise without anything befalling you like that which befell those who came before you among the followers of the Prophets and Messengers, of hardship, trials and tests? You will be tested as they were tested, with “severe poverty”, which is severe hardship and want, and “ailments”, which is pain and sickness. But you have not yet been shaken as they were shaken, i.e., you have not yet suffered extreme fear and terror at the hands of your enemy, so that you think that the help of Allah is slow in coming and you say “When will Allah help us?” Then Allah told them that His help was near to them, and that He would cause them to prevail over the enemy and defeat them. Then He fulfilled what He had promised them, and made their word supreme, and extinguished the flames of war lit by those who disbelieved.
End quote from Tafseer at-Tabari (4/288)
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned some of the lessons that we learn from this verse. They include the following:
1.The individual should not ask for help except from the One Who is able to give it, namely Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, because He says (interpretation of the meaning): “‘When (will come) the Help of Allah?’”
2.The methodology of those who believe in the Messengers is the same as the methodology of the Messengers, and they say what they say, because Allah, may He be exalted, says: “even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, ‘When (will come) the Help of Allah?’” So they say the same thing, seeking to expedite divine help.
3.The perfect nature of the power of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, because He says: “Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near!”
4.The wisdom of Allah, as He withholds help for a certain period of time, even though it is near.
5.Patience at the time of calamity for the sake of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is one of the means of entering Paradise, because what the verse means is: Have patience so that you may enter Paradise.
6.The believers are given the glad tidings of victory so as to strengthen their morale, so that they will continue in jihad, hoping for the divine help that they were told about.
End quote
Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah (3/42)
Secondly:
The help of Allah that is near is not for everyone who claims to believe or claims to be a Muslim; rather it is only for those who truly believe in their hearts and carry out their duties as enjoined by Islam.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).
And perform As-Salat (Iqamat as-Salat), and give Zakat and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) that you may receive mercy (from Allah)”
[an-Noor 24:55, 56].
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is a promise from Allah to His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that He will cause his ummah to gain authority in the land, i.e., become leaders of people and rulers over them, and by means of them the people’s affairs will be put right and the people will submit to their rule, and after having being afraid of the people, they will enjoy security and will rule over them. And He, may He be glorified and exalted, did indeed do that, may He be praised. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not pass away until Allah enabled him to conquer Makkah, Khaybar, Bahrain, the entire Arabian Peninsula and all of the land of Yemen; he took the jizyah from the Magians of Hajar and from some of the border regions of greater Syria. Heraclius, the ruler of Byzantium, exchanged gifts with him, as did the ruler of Egypt and Alexandria, al-Muqawqis, the kings of Oman, and the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, who came to the throne after Ashamah, may Allah have mercy on him and honour him.
Then when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) passed away, and Allah chose for him that which is with Him of honour, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq became the ruler (caliph) of the Muslims. End quote.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer (6/77)
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is one of the true promises of Allah, that was proven to be true and was fulfilled. He promised those among this ummah who adhered to faith and did righteous deeds that He would grant them succession to the present rulers in the earth, and they would have control of it and be in charge of its affairs, and that He would grant them the authority to practice their religion which He has chosen for them, namely the religion of Islam, which is superior to all other religions. He has chosen it for this ummah, because of its virtue and honour, by enabling this ummah to establish His religion and to adhere to all its teachings and instructions, both apparent and hidden, and to apply them to themselves and to others, because others – namely the followers of other religions and all disbelievers – are subjugated and defeated. And He has promised that He will give them in exchange a safe security after their fear, as one of them could not practice his religion openly and follow what he believed in except by exposing himself to the harm of the disbelievers. Moreover, the Muslims were very few in number compared to others, and the people of the earth had united against them and were plotting and scheming against them.
Allah made these promises to them at the time when this verse was revealed, at which time they had not had the experience of having power or gaining control of the land, or being able to establish the Islamic religion and enjoy complete security, so that they could worship Allah and not associate anything with Him, and not fear anybody except Allah. The first generation of this ummah attained that level of faith and righteous deeds in such a way that they became superior to others and as a result of that Allah enabled them to subjugate lands and peoples, and they were able to conquer vast lands in the east and in the west, and they enjoyed complete security and control in the land. This is one of the dazzling and amazing signs of Allah. And this is still the case and will remain so until the Hour begins: every time the Muslims achieve a high level of faith and righteous deeds, the promise of Allah will inevitably be fulfilled; the disbelievers and hypocrites are only given power over the Muslims, and sometimes defeat them, because of the degree of shortcomings among the Muslims with regard to their level of faith and righteous deeds. End quote.
Tafseer as-Sa‘di (p. 573).
See also: Adwa’ al-Bayaan by ash-Shinqeeti (6/36); Fath al-Qadeer by ash-Shawkaani (4/69)
Thirdly:
If the people are sincere in their belief in their Lord and their establishing His laws, that is indicative of how they will be when Allah, may He be exalted, gives them power in the land. These are the ones to whom Allah, may He be exalted, has promised His help and support.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, (they) order for Iqamat-as-Salat. (i.e. to perform the five compulsory congregational Salat (prayers) (the males in mosques)), to pay the Zakat and they enjoin Al-Maroof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism and all that Islam has forbidden) (i.e. they make the Quran as the law of their country in all the spheres of life). And with Allah rests the end of (all) matters (of creatures)”
[al-Hajj 22:41].
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shinqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting verses which mention the help of Allah, may He be exalted, to the believers:
The words “Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land” [al-Hajj 22:41] indicate that there is no promise of help from Allah unless the believers establish prayer, give zakaah, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. If Allah gives power in the land to some people, and grants them authority, yet despite that they do not establish prayer or give zakaah or enjoin what is right or forbid what is wrong, then they have no promise of help from Allah, because they are not counted as belonging to His party or as being among His close friends to whom He has promised His help. Rather they are the party and close friends of the Shaytaan. If they seek help from Allah based on the fact that He has promised it to them, then their likeness is that of a hired worker who refuses to do the work for which he was hired, then demands his wages. The one who is like that is not rational at all.
Allah, may He be exalted, says [in the preceding verse]: “Truly, Allah is Most Strong, All-Mighty” [al-Hajj 22:40]. The “Most Strong” is the one who overwhelms and is not overwhelmed by anything, as we have stated above several times.
These verses are indicative of the validity of the caliphate of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs: Allah helped them against their enemies because they supported His religion, and they established prayer, gave zakaah, enjoined what is right and forbade what is wrong. So Allah gave them power and caused them to succeed the former rulers in the land, as He says:
“Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth”
[an-Noor 24:55].
The truth is that the verses mentioned above include the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as well as those who support the religion of Allah in the most perfect manner. And Allah knows best. End quote.
Adwa’ al-Bayaan (5/272)
Fourthly:
In addition to the above, it must be understood that there are means of attaining divine help; whoever wants divine help without taking these measures is acting in a manner contrary to Islamic teaching and common sense.
Shaykh Sa‘eed ibn ‘Ali ibn Wahb al-Qahtaani (may Allah preserve him) said:
It is known for certain that there are means of attaining divine help for the Muslims against our enemies, by Allah’s leave. These means include the following:
1.Faith and righteous deeds
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)”
[an-Noor 24:55].
2.Supporting the religion of Allah, may He be exalted
One of the greatest means of attaining divine help is supporting the religion of Allah, may He be exalted, and adhering to it in word, belief and deed, and calling others to it.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.
But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), for them is destruction, and (Allah) will make their deeds vain”
[Muhammad 47:7, 8].
3.Putting one’s trust in Allah whilst taking appropriate measures
Putting one’s trust in Allah whilst making ready one’s resources is one of the greatest factors in victory.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:159].
It is an essential part of putting one’s trust in Allah to take appropriate measures, because putting one’s trust in Him is based on two important foundations:
(i)depending on Allah and trusting in His promise and help
(ii)taking appropriate measures as prescribed in Islam. Hence Allah, may He be exalted, says interpretation of the meaning):
“And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery, etc.) to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides whom, you may not know but whom Allah does know. And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you, and you shall not be treated unjustly”
[al-Anfaal 8:60].
4.Mutual consultation among those in authority to mobilise and prepare the Muslim armies
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to consult his companions, despite the fact that his reasoning was perfect and his opinion was sound, in obedience to the command of Allah, may He be exalted, and so as to make his companions feel included in the decision-making process. Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation”
[ash-Shoora 42:38].
5.Standing firm when meeting the enemy in battle
One of the factors of divine help is standing firm when meeting the enemy in battle, and not fleeing.
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “O people, do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask Allah to keep you safe and sound, but if you do meet them, then be patient and steadfast, and know that Paradise lies in the shade of the swords.”
6.Courage, heroism and self-sacrifice
Among the greatest means of attaining divine help is acquiring the characteristics of courage and self-sacrifice, and believing that jihad neither brings forward nor puts back the time of death.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high”
[an-Nisa’ 4:78].
7.Du ‘aa’ (supplication) and remembering Allah (dhikr) a great deal
Among the greatest and most powerful factors of victory is seeking the help of Allah and remembering Him a great deal, because He is the Most Strong Who is able to defeat His enemies and grant victory to His close friends.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright”
[al-Baqarah 2:186].
8.Obedience to Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
Obedience to Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the greatest factors of victory.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (SAW), fears Allah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the successful ones”
[an-Noor 24:52].
9.Being united and not differing
The mujaahideen must fulfil the factors of attaining divine help and victory, especially relying on Allah and helping one another, and avoiding disputes and division.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength depart, and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are As-Saabirin (the patient ones, etc.)”
[al-Anfaal 8:46].
10. Patience and steadfastness
It is essential to be patient in all our affairs, and especially to be patient when fighting the enemies of Allah and His Messenger.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Endure and be more patient (than your enemy), and guard your territory by stationing army units permanently at the places from where the enemy can attack you, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:200].
11. Sincerity to Allah alone, may He be exalted
The fighter or warrior cannot be a mujaahid striving for the sake of Allah unless his intention is sincerely and purely for the sake of Allah alone.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And be not like those who come out of their homes boastfully and to be seen of men”
[al-Anfaal 8:47].
12. Longing for that which is with Allah, may He be glorified and exalted
One of the things that helps to bring victory against the enemies is longing for the bounty and grace of Allah and for happiness in this world and in the hereafter.
13. Appointing people of faith as leaders
Another of the means of attaining divine help and victory is giving positions of leadership in the army, military campaigns, regiments and battle fronts to those who are known for their complete faith and righteous deeds, then the next best, then the next best.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa (i.e. one of the Muttaqoon (pious)). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware”
[al-Hujuraat 49:13].
14. Seeking protection by adhering to guidelines that save us from doom, defeat and punishment
These guidelines may be summed up as follows:
Firstly:
Repenting and seeking forgiveness for all acts of disobedience and sin, both major and minor. Repentance cannot be accepted unless it fulfils the following conditions:
·giving up and refraining from all sins
·resolving not to go back to them
·regretting what one has done.
If the sin has to do with the rights of another person, then there is a fourth condition, which is to seek forgiveness from the person who was affected.
Secondly:
Fearing Allah, may He be exalted. This means that a person makes his fear of Allah’s wrath, anger and punishment a barrier that will protect him from that.
Thirdly:
Doing all obligatory duties and following them up with naafil (supererogatory) actions.
Fourthly:
Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.
Fifthly:
Following the example of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in all beliefs, words and deeds.
Sixthly:
Du‘aa’ (supplication) and beseeching Allah.
End quote from al-Jihad fi Sabeel-Allah: Fadluhu wa Maraatibuhu wa Asbaab an-Nasr ‘ala al-A‘da’, by Shaykh Sa‘eed ibn ‘Ali ibn Wahb al-Qahtaani (p. 21-30_
And Allah knows best.
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