“So do not weaken and do not grieve, for you will indeed be superior if you are truly believers.”[1]
This verse was revealed to the Messenger (SAS) by Allah The Almighty from above the Seven Heavens, soon after the Muslims suffered a defeat in the Battle of Uhud and returned to Al-Madinah dejected and downtrodden. It was revealed as an encouragement to the believers after a victory that was in their grasp, was snatched away from them and turned into a defeat. And why should the Companions (RA) not have felt devastated at this defeat? Seventy of the best human beings on Earth at the time were killed and countless others were injured. Even the Messenger (SAS) himself was seriously wounded until blood flowed from his face and he said in great anguish whilst wiping the blood from his noble cheeks: “Allah’s Wrath is Great upon the people who besmeared His Messenger’s face with blood.”
However, this defeat was only a temporary setback so that the believers could reflect upon the reasons for the defeat, described in successive verses of Surah Ale-Imran. The mistakes and sins of a few believers had deprived the whole army of victory.
When Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) despatched the army of Saad bin Abi Waqqas (RA) to the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah, he advised him: “Fear your sins more than you fear the enemy as your sins are more dangerous to you than your enemy. We Muslims are only victorious over our enemy because their sins outnumber ours, not for any other reason. If our sins were equal to those of our enemy, then they would defeat us due to their superior numbers and resources.”
And so Saad (RA) proceeded to fight the Persians and, sticking to the advice of his leader, he imprisoned the alcoholic Abu Mahjan Ath-Thaqafi lest his presence in the army delays the victory. Until, Abu Mahjan lamented in his shackles and composed verses of poetry that touched the wife of Saad (RA) to temporarily release him so that he could participate in the battle with his brothers. Abu Mahjan thus went out riding the horse of Saad (RA) (as Saad (RA) was bedridden with fever) and performed unmatched feats of valour before returning to his cell in the evening and wearing his shackles back by himself. This continued for three days until, when Saad (RA) found out about the heroics of Abu Mahjan, he untied his shackles with the words: “By Allah! I will never imprison you again for drinking alcohol!” Upon this, Abu Mahjan replied, “By Allah! I will never again touch alcohol after this day!” The army was victorious and Saad (RA) appointed the ascetic Companion Salman Al-Farsi (RA) as the new ruler of Persia, who lived on a meagre salary of one dirham per day.
Victory and defeat, gains and losses, and successes and setbacks are not decided by money, resources, numbers or skills. Rather, they are decided by the balance of obedience and disobedience of Allah The Exalted. The more we obey Allah, both individually and collectively, the more we hasten His Victory. The more we disobey Allah, the more we delay the arrival of His Victory. One Muslim’s sins can delay the victory for everyone. It is very easy to blame Bush and Blair, the ‘West’, the ‘kuffar’ or simply ‘them’ for all our woes and worries. But it is not so easy to look in the mirror and point the finger at ourselves.
Look at us and our pathetic state. We have abandoned Salah or we delay it or rush through it. We are too stingy to give Zakah, let alone optional charity. We prefer to go on holiday than to go for the obligatory Hajj. We drink alcohol, we use and supply drugs (Muslims are amongst the biggest suppliers of drugs in the world today), we cohabit outside wedlock, we steal, we cheat. We eat haram, earn haram and sell haram. We beat our wives and force our daughters into marriages then use Islam to justify it. We are quick to spend on fashion and luxuries but slow to spend on orphans and the needy. We fail to utter a single word, let alone raise a finger, when we see our fellow Muslims imprisoned , tortured, house-arrested, extradited or slain for fear of being ‘linked’ to them. We waste our lives watching television and playing computer games then complain that we don’t have enough time to become better Muslims. We are too addicted to music to find time to listen to or memorise the Quran. We are too busy in fun and games to fulfil our responsibilities as vicegerents on Allah’s Earth. And after all this (and more), we have the audacity to wonder why Allah’s Victory has not yet arrived. With our paltry state, we should more likely expect Allah’s Wrath and Punishment rather than His Victory.
Every sin we commit delays the arrival of Allah’s Victory. Every Salah we delay extends the incarceration of a captive at Guantanamo Bay. Every drug we take allows another Quran to be flushed down the toilet. Every hour we waste watching TV allows another Muslim to be kidnapped and extradited into the hands of savage beasts. Every time we gaze at something forbidden, we place an obstacle in the path of Allah’s Victory. A sin is not a ‘private matter between me and Allah’ but one sin can make the difference between victory and defeat. Every sin we commit is one more reason why Allah should not grant us relief, safety and victory.
Allah has made us a Promise in the aforementioned verse: “So do not weaken and do not grieve, for you will indeed be superior if you are truly believers.” He promises us relief, assistance, superiority and victory on the condition that we are true believers. If we suffer defeats today then it does not mean that Allah’s Promise is false. Instead, the question we must ask ourselves is: are we truly believers?
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12 Comments
In support of Ahmed Shaker
In support of Ahmed Shaker – please sign the petition today at http://www.saveshaker.org…100,000 petition required by 20 april 2013
In support of Ahmed Shaker
please sign the petition today at http://www.saveshaker.org…100,000 petition required by 20 april 2013
EYE OPENER
THIS IS A REAL EYE OPENER….may Allah protect us from all sins, and bring us closer to carrying out good deeds. AMIN
Masha’Allah, this made for an excellent read. It would have been a fine riposte to the ‘Christianity in Decline’ article. Our own faith needs attention to arrest an alarming decline so articles such as this are wholly and unreservedly welcome. Pass it on to as many who will benefit as you can, brothers and sisters.
A necessary reminder at a time of recent trials in the UK, jezak Allah ya Babar.
Good Article
Assalamoualaikum
I’ve been reading articles since this year begin and Macha Allah this one is a very good one and it sure has shaken me up… I have never realise to what expect my sins and negligance can be an obstacle to others victory and now i understand better why sometimes we see the path of life being soo hard and sometimes so easy….
I won’t promise but i will try to be even more serious as from today itself…Insha Allah
Tadabbur
Allah says in the Quran,that this book of Allah is for those who ponder,contemplate and practice Tadabbur. Alhamdolillah we Muslim need to think with tadabbur and bring changes in our lives to become A true Beleiver. May Allah guide Muslim ummah to the right path Ameen.
out of 1 million
Allah u Akbar, an article out of 1000 or out of 10,000, nay out of 1 million. I can feel that it is coming straight from the heart of the author as it touched mine. May Allah elevate you in status, and may Allah remove your suffering and trial. May Allah enable us not to sin to alleviate the suffering of our brothers all around the world and to bring the promised victory close to us.
Allah u Akbar, an article out of 1000 or out of 10,000, nay out of 1 million. I can feel that it is coming straight from the heart of the author as it touched mine. May Allah elevate you in status, and may Allah remove your suffering and trial. May Allah enable us not to sin to alleviate the suffering of our brothers all around the world and to bring the promised victory close to us.
Great read!
This article is an eye opener. May Allaah bless the author!
Great Read!
This article is an eye opener. May Allaah bless the author!
touched
May Allah elevate you in status and help us mend our state so that we become true believers…
Victory
Victory….is a word that every human should aspire to within their life of living……victory, by being what we are supposed to be..humans…..looking after each other…….and until that is done…..everyone of us is failing in being victorious….for our future lives, IMO, because we are not thinking about those of our neighbours who are suffering whatever, their faith, culture or creed…Guantanamo is the most obscene tragedy and as a human I have been weak in seeking justice for those who did nothing, other than be in the wrong place a the wrong time.However , when a grain of sand, what can 1 do? Yes, Cry……:(:(:(:(:(:(