The enemies of the Ummah of Islam recoil from time to time her deep wounds, causing the pain and wounds to return stronger than ever. A Muslim then finds himself in front of rivers of bloodshed of our brothers and sons and the torments of our tortured sisters, the screams of oppressed female prisoners, the cries of our extorted Al-Aqsa, and other tragedies and grievances that afflict us; a Muslim then feels great distress and anguish for the great affliction, and it could reach to the extent that the feeling of sadness and pain becomes deeply rooted, so that he may put his head on his sleeping pad to take a rest and finds a tragic picture before his eyes that passes through his imagination and renews the flame of his agony and pain and awakens bitterness that pollutes not only his living but also his sleep.

The one who gives in to his pain and grief will find himself suffocating in darkness. Therefore, it is necessary not to surrender to it, but to look for the glimmer of hope and light around him to be able to complete the journey of this life to satisfy Allah (swt) and succeed in this trial.

It is Allah’s mercy upon us that He gave a promise and glad-tiding for the Ummah of Islam that its fear will be substituted with security and more, and that its grave suffering will cease and that its sun will certainly shine tomorrow and will be a beacon of guidance to the worlds; otherwise, many Muslims would not have overcome their sorrows and pain and tragedies that surrounded them from every direction today.

Through this short article, I wanted to evoke what strengthens our resolve and our skepticism in the midst of the waves of suffering and pain that almost overwhelm us today when we see what is happening in Syria and others in order to whet our force and strengthen our foothold towards achieving the promise and the glad-tiding. The verses of Allah (swt) and the words of our Prophet (peace be upon him), our light and guide during our narrow times.

Sayyed Qutb says in the Tafsir of the Verse of Allah (swt): وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا يَعْبُدُونَنِي لا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا وَمَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ “Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, in the same way as He caused those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for them the religion which He has chosen for them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a state of security. They will thus worship Me alone and associate with Me no partners whatsoever. Those who, after this, choose to disbelieve are indeed wicked.” [Al-Nur: 55]

“Allah’s promise was fulfilled once, and remained effective for as long as the Muslims continued to meet His conditions: “They will thus worship Me alone and associate with Me no partners whatsoever.” (Verse 55) This includes any partners, whether in the form of deities to which worship is addressed or desires and ambitions. They must believe and do righteous deeds. Allah’s promise applies to anyone who meets these conditions, and it remains in force till the end of human life. However, victory, power and security may be slow in coming, but this will only be the result of a failure by the believers to meet some aspects of the conditions outlined, or their failure to attend to a particular duty involved. But when the Muslim community has benefited by the trials they have to endure and passed the test Allah sets for them; when they have endured fear and sought security; when they yearn for dignity after having suffered humiliation; when they aspire to having power after being weak; Allah’s promise will be fulfilled to them in spite of any opposing power. One proviso applies, however, in their perseverance through tests and trials, and in their aspiration to the fulfillment of Allah’s promise, the believers must always resort to the means Allah has outlined and fulfill the conditions He has made clear. Therefore, the promise is followed with an order to attend to Islamic duties, such as prayer, zakāt and obeying the Prophet ﷺ. Moreover, the Prophet and his followers must never give any weight to the power of unbelievers who fight them on account of their faith…if you remain steadfast, following Allah’s path, then you need not worry about the might of the unbelievers. They cannot frustrate Allah’s purpose on earth. The power they apparently wield will not stand in your way. You are far stronger when equipped with your faith, implement your system and raise whatever power you can muster. In material power, you may not be a match for them, but believers who strive for the truth can make ‘miracles’.” End.

So the matter is linked to our determination and our commitment towards the fulfillment of the required conditions that are within our scope and which we will be accountable for, and the greatest we intend to reach requires exert more and more and more effort.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ says in the narrations of Imam Ahmad, Al-Bazzar and Al-Teyalsi: «إنَّ أوّل دينكم نبوة ورحمة، وتكون فيكم ما شاء الله أن تكون، ثم يرفعها الله جل جلاله، ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة تكون فيكم ما شاء الله أن تكون، ثم يرفعها الله جل جلاله، ثم تكون ملكاً عاضاً، فيكون فيكم ما شاء الله أن يكون، ثم يرفعه الله جلَّ جلاله، ثم يكون ملكاً جبرياً، فيكون ما شاء الله أن يكون، ثم يرفعه الله جل جلاله، ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة تعمل في الناس بسنة النبي، ويلقي الإسلام بجرانه في الأرض، (أي ثقله) يرضى عنها ساكن السماء، وساكن الأرض، لا تدع السماء من مطر إلا صبته مدرارا، ولا تدع الأرض من نباتها ولا بركاتها شيئاً إلا أخرجته». “There will be Prophethood for as long as Allah wills it to be, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be Khilafah on the Prophetic method and it will be for as long as Allah wills, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be biting Kingship for as long as Allah Wills, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be oppressive kingship for as long as Allah wills, then he will remove it when He wills, and then there will be Khilafah upon the Prophetic method, it will rule by the Sunnah of the Prophet, Islam will cast its weight on Earth, and the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth will be pleased by it. Rain will be poured out from the skies in abundance, and Earth will bring out all its plants and blessings.”

The Verse of the promise and the Hadith mentioned above and its likes of the Prophet’s sayings (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) actually calm the horrors of those who comprehend, and make our steps steadfast as we walk in the midst of great waves. We need from time to time to remind ourselves of them no matter how long we have known them, and to understand their meanings profoundly. Only then will there be cure to our souls and a catalyst for exerting greater effort and sacrifice in the path which Allah (swt) has blessed us with following in order to save the Islamic Ummah and lift it from its current situation. We ask Allah (swt) to keep us steadfast upon this path so that when we meet Him (swt), we have evidence that we were not hopeless nor complacent. Oh Allah, keep us steadfast until our death.

Hajar Ya’qoubi