Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’aan Majeed: “And, if among you there are twenty Saabiroon, they will vanquish two hundred, and if there are of you a hundred (Saabiroon), they will defeat a thousand of those who have become kuffaar. This is because they are a people who do not understand.”

The Qur’aan Shareef, the Ahadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and the practical demonstrations of the Sahaabah and the early Muslims testify that the power and victory of Muslims are not dependent on military superiority, nor can the conspiracies of the enemies overwhelm the Believers. Confirming this, the Qur’aan states: “And if you adopt taqwa and sabr, never will their plots be able to ever harm you.”

But this power and the victory stemming from it are restricted to the ‘Saabiroon’, namely, those who are Mu’mineen in the meaning of the aayat: “Allah has promised that He will grant political domination on earth to those among you who have Imaan and who practise A’maal-e-Saalihah (righteousness)…”

NUSRAT
The Ummah qualifies for Allah’s Nusrat (Aid) only after the attainment of a high state of roohaaniyat (spiritual elevation) which is an unattainable goal without Islaah-e-Nafs (self-reformation). The impertive condition for gaining Allah’s aid is moral purification and spiritual elevation.

A’MAAL
Perfect A’maal-e-Saalihah (righteous deeds) depend on moral purification. Minus Islaah of the nafs, deeds of virtue are shorn of their spiritual and physical effects. The deeds will then be superficially described as A’maal-e-Saalihah. Such deeds of superficial virtue will not have the spiritual, moral and physical effects which true and perfect deeds of virtue have.

Imaan cannot be perfected without perfection of zaahiri (external/physical) and baatini (spiritual/internal) deeds. The Qur’aan commands: “Shun zaahiri and baatini sins.” Only then will this Ummah qualify for the Nusrat which continuously came to the Sahaabah. Divine Aid was the permanent capital of the Sahaabah.

DEFEAT
Defeat cannot be inflicted on true and perfect Mu’mineen in consequence of the numerical and military superiority of the enemies. Their coalitions cannot defeat the Men of Allah. The Qur’aan explicitly dismisses the notion of the kuffaar gaining victory over Muslims on the basis of their military power and coalitions. On the contrary, Allah Ta’ala declares with emphasis in the Qur’aan-e-Kareem: “Never will Allah grant victory to the kaafireen over the Mu’mineen.”

Should an objection be raised on account of the repeated defeats which the Muslims of this age are suffering at the hands of the kuffaar, the answer is simple: The Mu’mineen for whom the Qur’aan promises Divine Aid and Victory refer to the Kaamil (Perfect) Mu’mineen.

RULERS
When Muslims have appointed the kuffaar as their leaders, they should not be surprised when Allah Ta’ala makes them our rulers. The non-Muslims, especially the West, lead Muslims in every sphere of life. In every aspect we emulate and ape them. Why then should we object and howl when they are made our rulers to brutalize us?

IRAQ
The massive upheaval in Iraq loudly proclaims the truth of the Qur’aan’s Promise of Nusrat and the impotency of the mightiest earthly powers in front of Divine Aid. Numerical superiority and the vast arsenal of sophisticated weapons of the kuffaar cannot vouchsafe victory for the unbelievers. Iraq has demonstrated the Qur’aanic truth: “There were many small bands which defeated large armies with the permission of Allah.”

Even the U.S.A.’s top military commander testified for this truth. General George Casey, the U.S. commander of the multinational coalition in Iraq, told reporters that the size of the insurgency is less than one tenth of one percent of the country’s population. According to him, at most, there are 26,000 resistance fighters.

Of these 26,000, a minority represents the true Mujahideen. Despite this awareness, the U.S. military has failed to break and rout the Mujahideen. Those who understand, can see the role of Divine Intervention which godless men cannot fathom.

There are 160,000 coalition forces in Iraq. Add to this the more than 200,000 surrogate Iraqi forces created by the U.S. A. This vast army possesses the most lethal kinds of weaponry which modern technology has manufactured. In addition, the U.S.A. has a powerful airforce and tankforce lined up against the Mujahideen.

They outnumber the Mujahiddeen by more than 10 to 1 by Gen.George Casey’s own estimate. Yet, the coalition militaries have hopelessly failed against the Iraqi Resistance.

EYE OPENER
There is a tremendous lesson for Muslims in the Iraqi upheaval. Much can be learnt if we reflect, and much can be gained if we can correctly diagnose our spiritual ailments and remedy them with the Qur’aanic prescription. Iraq is truly an eye opener.