When will help and victory from Allah come?

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
die 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) died, 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.