"And neither lose courage nor grieve, for indeed you are to be elevated (triumphant) if you are (true and sincere) believers."
It is well-known that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam) was sent as a Messenger amongst the most ignorant and uncivilized of nations. The Arabs of those days were lost in the darkness of ignorance, when came the shining beacon of light in the form of the Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). The way of life he invited them to was unheard of an unimaginable for them as the ways of their forefathers were deeply ingrained in them. Despite being taken aback by the miraculous nature of the Book of Allah, the Noble Qur'aan that he brought to them, and his own amazing nature, they refused to budge and deemed it below their dignity to adopt a new way of life. Anyone who chose to follow him risked being cut off from his family and being tortured to a pitiful state. As a result few dared to profess embracing Islam in the beginning stages, but those who did, did so with all their heart, with complete faith in Allah and His Last Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Slowly the number of Muslims grew as the lantern of Islam lit up the hearts of those who were drawn towards it.
The point of my mentioning this is to draw to your attention the sufferings of the Muslims of those days, who were so few in number, with hardly any essential material possessions. They lived on the staple food of dates and camel meat, and dressed in thick canvas. They were under attack from all corners of the world, for nobody liked this new power that had seemed to emerge in the name Islam. All over, people who once drew their swords to kill at the mere sight of each other, united in order to topple Islam. Foes turned in to friends in order to achieve this common objective. The world was at war with the Muslims, who were at the time less than a thousand in number. At such a time the verse quoted above was revealed, assuring the Muslims that they have nothing to fear. They have every reason to keep the faith and expect victory, for as long as they are TRUE BELIEVERS they will be triumphant. They were promised that they will one day conquer the east and the west of the then discovered world that was under the rule of the Persians and the Romans respectively. The non-believers laughed at this prophecy and made a mockery of the Muslims for daring to entertain such thoughts, but the Muslims had one ingredient which ensured that they would achieve the impossible and eventually topple the superpowers of those years. That ingredient was FAITH.
I ask you to ponder for a minute...if Allah had promised victory and power to such a weak, uneducated, uncivilized nation merely on account of their sincere faith, would not the same apply to us? We are far greater in number than the Muslims of those days, yet far behind in spirit. Yet the same Allah who helped them is still there waiting to help us. But we must first want to help ourselves! Unfortunately, there is an ocean of Muslims out there, but without any sign of water! An ocean of Muslims that is just an ocean by name!
Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) prophesied some 1400 years ago (to the effect that)....
"A time will come when the enemies of Islam will invite each other against you as people are invited to partake of a feast!" The Sahaabah questioned, "Will that be because we will be few in number?" He replied, "No, in fact you will be great in number but your worth/strength will be nothing more than like that of the foam of the ocean. And your hearts will be possessed by Al-Wahn." The Sahaabah inquired as to what Al-Wahn is, to which he replied, "love for material possessions and dislike for death."
Dear readers, none of us are blind to the plight of our Muslims brothers and sisters. We should not think of it as THEIR suffering, for indeed it Is not only theirs but OURS too. Where are calls of barbaric behaviour and sheer carnage today? Is the blood of an innocent Palestinian civilian okay to shed just because he is a Muslim?understand that this war is not against Palestine, but against Islam. The so-called superpowers of the world are out to make a morsel of the Muslims for they fear the same thing that was feared by the enemies of Islam in those years. They know that the rise of Islam would leave them with nothing! We have to wake up and realise this before it is too late. We are cursing those who are incurring such warfare in Palestine but we live to follow those very warmongers for they are the trend setters in the west in every aspect of life! We are suffering the consequences of our own actions. The help of Allah is very near indeed, but for it it to manifest itself we have to fulfill one condition:
VALUE YOUR FAITH AND RELIGION!
Islam is a beautiful way of life....embrace it for all its worth and then see what a huge difference we can make!
"Our liberation does not come from liberating our desires (as in the west), but our liberation comes from our enslavement to Allah."
May Allah Ta'aala grant us the all the steadfastness we truly need, and may Allah relieve the Palestinians and all the Muslims suffering across the globe of their plight. Ameen.
Wassalam