The Five Ground Rules For The Achievement Of The Tradition Of Victory Or Its Absence

The Second Ground Rule: That Allāh, Ta’ālā, promised His Believing slaves victory over their enemy in the Dunyā, (with) a true promise in which there is no doubt, and a Decreed Tradition, which is never absent.

He Ta’ālā, said,

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ رُسُلًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَجَاؤُوهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ انتَقَمْنَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And indeed We did send Messengers before you (O Muhammad) to their own
peoples. So they came to them with clear proofs, then, We took vengeance on
those who committed crimes (disbelief, setting partners in worship with Allāh,
sins, etc.), And it was incumbent upon Us to give victory to the Believers ⁴

And He, Subhānahu, said,

Verily, (many) Messengers were denied before you (O Muhammad), but with
patience they bore the denial, and they were hurt, till Our Help reached them,
and none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allāh. And surely, there has
reached you the information (news) about the Messengers (before you). ⁵


“…none can alter the Words (Decisions) of Allāh…”, in other words, His Qadarī Words, that take place without exception, with His, Ta’āla’s, saying,

كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“Be!” and it is ⁶

And from these Qadarī Words is His promise to give victory to the Believers,

حَتَّى أَتَاهُمْ نَصْرُنَا

…till Our Help reached them ⁷

And this promise of victory is in the Dunyā, not only on the Day of Resurrection,
as it is in the past Verses, and due to His, Ta’āla’s, saying,

إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْأَشْهَادُ

Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who Believe in the life of the Dunyā, and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth ⁸

And due to His, Ta’ālas, saying,

So We gave power to those who Believed against their enemy, so they became the uppermost ⁹

And the result of this Qadarī promise of victory is consolidation for the Believers on the Earth – and the consolidation is the succession – and that is due to His,
Ta’āla’s, saying,

Allāh 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 succession to those before them ¹⁰

And due to His, Ta’āla’s, saying,

And those who disbelieved said to their Messengers, “Surely, we shall drive you out of our land, or you shall return to our religion.” So their Lord inspired to them, “Truly, We shall destroy the Thālimīn. And indeed, We shall make you dwell in the land after them. That is for him who fears standing before Me (on the Day of Resurrection) and fears My Threat.” ¹¹

And this Verse, and the Verse of An-Nūr before it, are clear Texts concerning the Qadarī Sunnah of Succession, and a clarification of the conditions for it being deserved. “…those among you who Believe, and do righteous good deeds …” “…That is for him who fears standing before Me (on the Day of Resurrection)
and fears My Threat”.

And His, Ta’āla’s, saying in the Verse of An-Nūr, “…as He granted succession to those before them”, is an extra confirmation and clarification for this Qadarī Tradition which is never absent. In other words, just as it was realized for those who were before you, it will be realized for you, with (the fulfillment of) its conditions.

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4 Sūrat Ar-Rūm, 47
5 Sūrat Al-An’ām, 34
6 Trans. Note: Sūrat Al-Baqarah, 117, Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān, 47 and 59, Sūrat Al-An’ām, 73, Sūrat An-Nahl, 40, Sūrat Maryam, 35, Sūrat Yāsīn, 82 and Sūrat Ghāfir, 68,
7 Trans. Note: Sūrat Al-An’ām, 34
8 Sūrat Ghāfir, 51
9 Sūrat As-Saff, 14
10 Sūrat An-Nūr, 55
11 Sūrat Ibrāhīm, 13

The Third Ground Rule: “That this promise of victory is only for the People of Complete Īmān”.

Due to His, Ta’ālā’s, saying,

وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And it was incumbent upon Us to give victory to the Believers ¹²

And the slave’s share in the victory will be according to the amount of his Īmān.
So whenever his Īmān increases, his share of this Qadarī promise of victory
increases, and if his Īmān decreases, his share of victory decreases.

And this fundamental is based upon the saying that Īmān is different components
and that it increases and decreases, and it is the ‘Aqīdah of Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-
Jamā’ah, due to the saying of the Messenger of Allāh, صلى الله عليه وسلم ” ,Īmān is sixty odd or seventy odd branches. So its highest is the testimony of Lā Ilāha Illā Allāh, and its lowest is removing the harm off of the path.” Narrated by Muslim from Abū Hurayrah.

And he, صلى الله عليه وسلم ” ,said, “While I was sleeping, I saw the people being presented to me, and upon them were shirts. From them were that which reached the breast level, and from them were that which was less than that. And ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb was presented to me, and upon him was a shirt which he was dragging.” They said, “So what did you interpret that as, O Messenger of Allāh?” He said, “The Religion.” Narrated by Al-Bukhārī from Abū Sa’īd.

And Al-Bukhārī said in the beginning of the “Book of Īmān” in his “Sahīh”, “Īmān is sayings and actions, it increases and decreases.” And Ibn Hajar said, “And likewise, Abul-Qāsim Al-Lālakā’ī narrated in “Kitab As-Sunnah”, from Ash-Shāfi’ī, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Is’hāq Ibn Rāhuwayh, Abū ‘Ubayd and others besides them from the Imāms. And he narrated with his authentic chain from Al-Bukhārī, that he said, ‘I met more than one thousand men from the scholars in the areas, then I did not see anyone from them disagree in that Īmān is sayings and actions, and it increases and decreases.’” ¹³

I say: So if the Īmān of a slave increases, his share of the Qadarī promise of victory increases, and vice versa. And in the issue of Jihād, we say that victory is tied to two conditions: One general and one specific.

As for the general condition: Then it is the Īmānī preparation, of the slave seeking to increase the branches of Īmān in the heart and externally, the knowledge-based and the action-based, in order for him to become from the People of the Promise, who are mentioned in His, Ta’āla’s, saying,

وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And it was incumbent upon Us to give victory to the Believers ¹⁴

As for the specific condition: Then it is the material preparation for Jihād:
Through gathering weapons, inciting the Believers upon fighting, spending and giving (in charity). And included in this is the military training in all of its types.

He, Ta’ālā, said,

وَلاَ يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَبَقُواْ إِنَّهُمْ يُعْجِزُونَ وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ

And let not those who disbelieve think that they can outstrip (escape from the
punishment). Verily, they will never be able to save themselves (from Allāh’s Punishment). And make ready against them all you can of power… ¹⁵ The
Verse.

So Al-Haqq, Jalla Wa ‘Alā, clarified that He is aware of the disbelievers and able
over them, (and) that they are not unreachable for Him. Yet He, Subhānahu, has ordered us – despite His ability – to prepare the strength in all its forms, and for
us to strive with utmost ability in this preparation, as a condition for the achievement of the Godly promise of giving victory to the Believers. That is because the Dunyā is the abode of testing, and the matters flow within it based upon the causes. So Allāh tests the Believer with the kāfir, to test the truthfulness of his Īmān; will he make Jihād against the kāfir and prepare the strength for this as He,Subhānahu, ordered him, or not? And He tests the kāfir with the Believer; will the kāfir answer the Da’wah of Īmān, or will he reject it until fighting? And concerning the testing of each group, one by another, Allāh, Ta’ālā, says,


That, but if Allāh had Willed, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. ¹⁶

And from that which is included in the material preparation, is the unification of
the ranks of the Muslims in order to face their enemies. He, Ta’ālā, said,

وَلاَ تَنَازَعُواْ فَتَفْشَلُواْ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُواْ

…and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength depart, and be patient. ¹⁷

So He, Subhānahu, made disputing between the Muslims to be from the causes of failure. Rather, (it is) from the most obvious causes of failure, and that is according to the Text, as He, Subhānahu, made victory contingent upon the allegiance of the Believers, each of them with each other, in His, Ta’ālā’s, saying,

And whosoever takes Allāh, His Messenger, and those who have Believed, as allies, then verily, the Party of Allāh will be the victorious. ¹⁸

And there is no doubt that the material preparation is also from the branches of Īmān, because it is an answer to the order of Allāh, Ta’ālā, “…And make ready
against them all you can of power…” But, we categorized it as a separate condition in order to point to its importance. So its tie to the Īmānī preparation is the tie of the general to the specific. ¹⁹

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12 Sūrat Ar-Rūm, 47
13 “Fat’h Al-Bārī”, Vol. 1/47
14 Sūrat Ar-Rūm, 47
15 Sūrat Al-Anfāl, 59-60
16 Sūrat Muhammad, 4
17 Sūrat Al-Anfāl, 46
18 Sūrat Al-Mā’idah, 56
19 Trans. Note: This phrase, “…the tie of the general to the specific”, means that some might say that they are both Īmānī preparation, so what is the point of having one specific, while it is actually part of the other. So it is the tie of the general, being the Īmānī preparation, to the specific, which is the material preparation, even though material preparation is a part of Īmān.

The Fourth Ground Rule: That the absence of this Qadarī promise of Allāh, Ta’ālā, giving victory to the Believers, means the absence of its conditions, and that is by the slave having shortcomings in the performance of the two preparations; the Īmānī and the material, or in one of the two.

And the absence of this promise means the dominance of the disbelievers over the Muslims, and that the State belongs to kufr and its people. And all of this is due to the lack of Īmān and due to the disobediences and the sins. He, Ta’ālā, said,

وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِن سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِن نَّفْسِكَ

…and whatever of evil befalls you, then (it is) from yourself ²⁰

And He, Ta’ālā, said,

وَمَا أَصَابَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ

And whatever of misfortune befalls you, then (it is) because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much ²¹

And He, Ta’ālā, said,

That is because Allāh will never change a grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their own selves ²²

Ibn Kathīr said, “He, Ta’ālā, informs about the perfection of His justice and His fairness in His judging that He, Ta’ālā, does not change a grace which He has bestowed upon anyone, except due to a sin which he has committed.” End Quote.

And He, Ta’ālā, said,

Truly! Allāh wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong themselves ²³

And this Qadarī Tradition does not give preferential treatment to anyone from humankind, even if he is from the best of creation. And from this is what befell the Companions on the Day of Uhud, from defeat, injuries and death, due to some of them disobeying the order of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ,and from this is taken that the disobedience of some in the Jamā’ah work harms all. He, Ta’ālā, said, regarding that which befell the Companions during Uhud,

أَوَلَمَّا أَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَدْ أَصَبْتُم مِّثْلَيْهَا قُلْتُمْ أَنَّى هَـذَا قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ

(What is the matter with you?) When a single disaster smites you, although
you smote (your enemies) with one twice as great, you say: “From where does
this come (to us)?” Say (to them), “It is from yourselves (because of your evil
deeds).” ^{24 25}

So the disbelievers overpowering the Muslims is only a Qadarī punishment for them because of their disobediences. This is concerning the human enemy. And it is also like that concerning the Jinnī enemy, as He, Ta’ālā, said,

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allāh) (i.e. this Qur’ān and worship of Allāh), We appoint for him a Shaytān to be a Qarīn (an intimate companion) to him ²⁶

So with the disobediences, the slave gives the Shaytān a path over himself to humiliate him in front of his human enemy, as He, Ta’ālā, said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْاْ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُواْ

Verily, those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met (i.e. the Battle of Uhud), it was the Shaytān who caused them to backslide (run away from the battlefield) because of some of what they had earned (i.e. their sins) ²⁷

And it is possible for us to phrase this ground rule with another phrasing, and it is that the causes for the failure of the Muslims are causes that are fundamentally personal, internal causes.

And this is clear in that which was narrated by Muslim, from Thawbān, may Allāh be pleased with him, who said, “Verily, the Messenger of Allāh, صلى الله عليه وسلم , said, ‘Verily, Allāh drew the ends of the Earth near one another for my sake, so I saw its East and its West, and verily, the dominion of my Ummah will reach that which was drawn near for me. And I was given the two treasures; the Red and the White. ²⁸ And verily, I asked my Lord for my Ummah, that He not destroy it with a general tradition, ²⁹ and that He not put in power over them an enemy from other than themselves who will permit their foundation. And verily, my Lord said, ‘O Muhammad, if I judge a judgment, then it is not stopped, and verily I have given you for your Ummah, that I will not destroy them with a general tradition, and that I will not put in power over them, an enemy from other than themselves who will permit their foundation, even if all those who are in its areas (i.e. the Earth’s areas) gather against them, but that each of them destroy each other, and each of them take each other as slaves.’”

So this Hadīth clarifies that the disbelieving enemy, “…from other than themselves…”, will not come into power over the Muslims, unless they reach a (high) level of corruption, and this is a clear Text on the topic of the cause for the failure of the Muslims is fundamentally internal.

And from here you know the mistake of those who attribute the failure of the Muslims and their weakness to the plots of the kuffār, and their plans, as is the case of some of the writers who go to extremes with fear about the issue of the Jews and their satanic plans, and they attribute every evil and corruption to them. So the reality, which is obligatory upon every Muslim to know, is that there is no tragedy that befalls the Muslims, except that the Muslims are responsible for it in the first place, due to His, Ta’ālā’s, saying,

وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِن سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِن نَّفْسِكَ

…and whatever of evil befalls you, then (it is) from yourself ³⁰

And because Allāh, Ta’ālā, informed us about the weakness of the plot of the disbelievers in front of the Complete Believers. He, Ta’ālā, said,

لَن یَضُرُّوكُمۡ إِلَّاۤ أَذࣰىۖ وَإِن یُقَـٰتِلُوكُمۡ یُوَلُّوكُمُ ٱلۡأَدۡبَارَ ثُمَّ لَا یُنصَرُونَ

They will do you no harm, barring a trifling annoyance; and if they fight
against you, they will show you their backs, then they will not be helped ³¹

And the trifling annoyance (Athā) is the minute harm, and this is clear, due to it being made an exception from the general harm. Then the outcome is for the pious. And He, Ta’ālā, said,

فَقَاتِلُواْ أَوْلِيَاء الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا

So fight you against the allies of the Shaytān; Ever feeble indeed is the plot of the Shaytān ³²

And this is a clear Text concerning the weakness of their plotting and their planning. And He, Ta’ālā, said,

That is because Allāh is the Mawlā (Lord, Master, Helper, Protector, etc.) of those who Believe, and that the disbelievers have no Mawlā (lord, master, helper, protector, etc.) ³³

So the failure of the Muslims is from themselves, before it being due to their enemies. And the Muslims, through their sins, have given their enemies a Qadarī way over them.

And this fourth ground rule needs to be a measure, upon the basis of which the individuals and the Islāmic congregations hold themselves accountable, and they review their accounts in the light of knowing that there is no tribulation except due to a sin or a shortcoming. And this reviewing of the self is obligatory, due to His, Ta’ālā’s, saying,

ظَهَرَ ٱلۡفَسَادُ فِی ٱلۡبَرِّ وَٱلۡبَحۡرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتۡ أَیۡدِی ٱلنَّاسِ لِیُذِیقَهُم بَعۡضَ ٱلَّذِی عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمۡ یَرۡجِعُونَ

Evil (sins and disobedience of Allāh, etc.) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds, etc.), that Allāh may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allāh, and begging His Pardon). ³⁴

And due to His, Ta’ālā’s, saying,

وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَى دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

And verily, We will make them taste of the near torment (i.e. the torment in the life of this world, i.e. disasters, calamities, etc.) prior to the supreme torment (in the Hereafter), in order that they may (repent and) return (i.e. accept Islām). ³⁵

And look to the saying of the followers of the past Prophets, in order for you to know that this ground rule is confirmed in all of the Sharī’ahs, because when they were harmed in the Path of Allāh, they knew that this was due to their sins, so they rushed to seeking forgiveness (Istighfār) and returning (to Allāh in repentance). He, Ta’ālā, said,

And many a Prophet fought (in Allāh’s Cause) and along with him (fought) large bands of religious learned men. But they never lost heart for that which did befall them in Allāh’s Way, nor did they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allāh loves the patient ones. And they said nothing but, “Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and our transgressions in our matter (in keeping our duties to You), establish our feet firmly, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk.” ³⁶

And likewise, the People of the Garden did when their garden was destroyed, so they knew that it was due to their sins, so they repented and returned. He, Ta’ālā, said,

قَالَ أَوۡسَطُهُمۡ أَلَمۡ أَقُل لَّكُمۡ لَوۡلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ ۝ قَالُوا۟ سُبۡحَـٰنَ رَبِّنَاۤ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِینَ ۝ فَأَقۡبَلَ بَعۡضُهُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضࣲ یَتَلَـٰوَمُونَ ۝ قَالُوا۟ یَـٰوَیۡلَنَاۤ إِنَّا كُنَّا طَـٰغِینَ ۝ عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَاۤ أَن یُبۡدِلَنَا خَیۡرࣰا مِّنۡهَاۤ إِنَّاۤ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَ ٰ⁠غِبُونَ

The best among them said, “Did I not tell you: why do you not glorify (Allāh, i.e. by saying In Shā ’Allāh).” They said, “Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Thālimīn (wrong-doers, etc.).” Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. They said, “Woe to us! Verily, we were Tāghīn (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter).” ³⁷

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20 Sūrat An-Nisā’, 79
21 Sūrat Ash-Shūrā, 30
22 Sūrat Al-Anfāl, 53
23 Sūrat Yūnus, 44
24 Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān, 165
25 Look to the Tafsīr of Ash-Shanqītī, “Adhwā’ Al-Bayān”, Vol. 3/452-456
26 Sūrat Az-Zukhruf, 36
27 Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān, 155
28 Trans. Note: “The Red and the White” is referring to gold and silver, and that is referring to the kingdoms of Kisrā and Caesar, the kings of ‘Irāq and Ash-Shām. Look to Imām An-Nawawī’s explanation of this Hadīth in his Sharh of “Sahīh Muslim”.
29 Trans. Note: “A general tradition” is referring to a famine reaching all of them. Look to Imām An-Nawawī’s explanation of this Hadīth in his Sharh of “Sahīh Muslim”.
30 Trans. Note: Sūrat An-Nisā’, 79
31 Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān, 111
32 Sūrat An-Nisā’, 76
33 Sūrat Muhammad, 11
34 Sūrat Ar-Rūm, 41
35 Sūrat As-Sajdah,
36 Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān, 146-147
37 Sūrat Nūn, 28-32