O callers to Islam, give glad tidings and be of good cheer.
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Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and the best of blessings and the most perfect peace be upon the noblest of all His creation, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
Anyone who looks with insight at the reality of the Muslim ummah and the trials and humiliations that have befallen it knows the extent to which the ummah needs sincere callers and rightly-guided leaders. Whoever sees or hears of the continuous defeats and successive disasters that the ummah has been going through will know for sure that there are faults and shortcomings, and that there are gaps through which the enemies and mischief-makers have been able to penetrate. This is because this succession of trials and calamities has generated in some callers (daa’iyahs) a kind of apathy and psychological defeat; such reports and discussions of them have filled others with despair, and this is the problem. I am not saying that these trials should be overlooked or neglected; on the contrary, we have to acknowledge them and know how to combat and resist them. At the same time, we must strive to inspire the hope that Islam will prevail, we must revive this concept and inspire people with it, especially since some have been affected by fatal despair and have given up all hope that Islam will ever be victorious, so they have given up striving. Some of them even think that speaking about the victory of Islam is nothing more than an unattainable dream. This may be an excuse for those who have lost the spirit of faith and who have started to judge things from a purely materialistic point of view. But the one who ponders the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will note how keen he was to implant this concept in the hearts of the Sahaabah and to reinforce it when their trials became more intense and the enemies of Allaah gathered against them in all places. Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh that Khabbaab ibn al-Arat said: “We complained to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was leaning on his cloak in the shade of the Ka’bah. We said, ‘Will you not pray for victory for us? Will you not pray to Allaah for us?’ He said, ‘One of those who came before you would be taken, and they would dig a hole in the ground and put him in it, then they would bring a saw which they would bring on his head and cut him in two. Or they would use an iron comb and separate his flesh from his bones, but that did not make them give up their religion. By Allaah, Allaah will complete this matter [i.e., Islam] until a rider will be able to go from San’aa’ to Hadramawt fearing nothing except Allaah and the wolf’s attack on his sheep. But you are trying to hasten matters.’†(al-Bukhaari, 7/126)
This was repeated during the campaign of al-Ahzaab. When their enemies were coming against the Muslims from all sides, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) revived this concept and implanted it in the hearts of his companions. This was when the Sahaabah were unable to break a rock whilst digging the ditch. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) struck it three times and it crumbled. Following the first blow, he said, “Allaahu akbar! I have been given the keys of Syria and by Allaah I can see its red palaces this hour.†Then he struck it a second time and said: “Allaahu akbar! I have been given the keys of Persia, and by Allaah I can see the white palace of al-Madaa’in.†Then he struck it a third time and said, “Allaahu akbar! I have been given the keys of the Yemen, and by Allaah I can see the gates of San’aa’ from where I stand this hour.†(Narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasaa’i with a hasan isnaad). The attitude of the believers was as Allaah describes (interpretation of the meaning):
“they said: ‘This is what Allaah and His Messenger (Muhammad) had promised us; and Allaah and His Messenger (Muhammad) had spoken the truth.’ And it only added to their Faith and to their submissiveness (to Allaah)
[al-Ahzaab 33:22]
The hearts of the Sahaabah were filled with so much pain and fear, but words like this came to offer consolation and peace of mind to them.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on the story of Ka’b ibn Maalik: “In the race between the horse-rider and the one who climbed the hill of Sala’ to tell Ka’b the good news, we see evidence of the people’s eagerness for goodness, and how they raced and competed to tell one another good news.†(Zaad al-Ma’aad, 2/585)
And what good news could be greater than that of the victory of Islam?
It is indeed very strange that some daa’iyahs overlook concepts such as this. So you see those whose hearts are filled with defeatism clapping their hands to their foreheads when they news of fitnah arising here or there, thus announcing their defeatist attitude. They are overlooking the ways in which Allaah deals with His creation, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And, verily, Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves, the Messengers,
That they verily, would be made triumphant,
And that Our hosts! they verily, would be the victors [al-Saaffaat :171-173]
And Allaah has full power and control over His affairs
