A Formula For Victory: Salah Ad-Din as a Model

A Formula for Victory

Salah Ad-Din as a Model

Living Shari`ah Staff- www.islamonline.net

Undoubtedly Muslims have a great deal of attention in today’s world. They are subjected to wars, massacres and detention in concentration camps. Their land is being captured, their treasures are stolen and their children are brutally killed. People observe this and acknowledge it but they simply do not know why it is happening. Among Muslims there are those who are starting to lose heart, and sometimes lose faith that tomorrow could be better than today. They scream loudly " When is the victory of Allah" and Allah says (Victory from Allah is surely near.) (Al-Baqarah 2:214 )

The phenomenon of depression is not new in history. Usually people feel overwhelmed very quickly. Some –if not most - Muslims feel that they are confronting a situation where they feel helpless, and they start to develop a fatalistic approach when dealing with matters. Muslims may start to feel that they have absolutely no power to make any difference. They even start to believe that change will only be for the worse and that there will be no positive results in the foreseeable future.

Living in the age of communication magnifies the negative effect that is being felt.

Whenever something happens in one part of the globe people instantaneously know about it in other parts. This is due to faxes, the internet, telephones and televisions that were not known in the past.

In the past, bad things happened, and sometimes, the worst possible scenario became a reality, yet it would take long periods of time before people came to know what had happened. Moreover, by the time the news reached the other parts of the world, the impact would already have passed.

We should not feel that we have been singled out by the catastrophes of this day and age.

Almighty Allah says,

(If a wound has afflicted you, a wound like it has also afflicted the (unbelieving) people; and We bring these days to men by turns, and that Allah may know those who believe and take witnesses from among you; and Allah does not love the unjust.) (Aal `Imran 3:140)

It is very important that we understand that if we are touched by a wound, other people have also been touched by a similar wound, and that such days rotate among mankind.

Therefore, we are not alone in this; and in the battle of life it is not crucial to win every battle. As long as our intension is pure, victory will eventually come. Salah Ad-Din, the great mujahid was a clear example of this. Even though he did not win every battle, his steadfastness and perseverance, his faith and strong belief in Allah's words and His promise lead him to great victory during the Crusades.

Salah Ad-Din Al-Ayyubi (Saladin) was able to conquer the Crusaders in the battle of Hattin in AH 583, thereby restoring Al-Quds ( Jerusalem ) and many other countries that had been occupied by the Crusaders back to the Muslims. No one imagined that this could possibly happen, but it did.

He spent his life striving for the sake of Almighty Allah. He saved not any effort to help the oppressed Muslims in Al-Quds nor did he enjoy the life of princes – which he could do- but rather, he dedicated his life to rescuing Al-Quds and its people

He even rejected his men’s suggestion to have a recess during the month of Ramadan saying, “Man’s life span is short, death gives no appointment and leaving the occupiers in the Muslims’ lands for a single day more, despite having ability to drive them out, is an abominable act that I could not bear.” He proceeded with his conquests throughout this blessed month and continued until he died.

We should never look to Salah Ad-Din as a person, because he was not merely an individual, but rather a phenomenon; a gift that Almighty Allah bestowed on the Ummah because they reached the point where they started to deserve victory.

Almighty Allah gave us a simple formula, and if we abide by it victory will be near at hand. The magic formula that we do not pay much attention to these days is, (in tansuru Allah yansurkum)- (O you who believe! If you help (the cause of) Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet.)(Muhammad 47:7)

If we obey Almighty Allah, He will give us victory in return. This is very simple. And obeying Allah indeed encompasses care, compassion and help for the oppressed Muslims all over the world and especially in the occupied Palestine.

Another example is from the Battle of Badr which reshaped the history of Muslims in the early days.

Almighty Allah tells us a simple historical fact (Allah had helped you at Badr, when ye were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus May ye show your gratitude.)(Aal `Imran 3:123)

Why did Almighty Allah do that? He did so because they deserved to be victorious; because they had grasped the meaning of being in resonance with the teachings of Almighty Allah.

They knew that the material means –even though important - are not significant if compared to Allah's Power and Might. Victory is simply a gift from Almighty Allah to those who deserve it. Had we deserved victory these days, we would have been victorious.

To achieve victory, we should be first victorious over ourselves, our desires and our ego. The battle of the self is the first we should win. Victory is stability. It is to live according to the teachings of the Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

If we look at the world today, we will realize that our communities all over the world are making mistakes. We have gone far away from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, we really need to reexamine the situation from a different angle, not from the angle of gathering abundant material power because it is not enough – though important -to achieve victory. What we really need to do is to go back and change our own selves from within, and, I would say, after a few years, if not a few months, we will start to see the modern phenomenon of Salah Ad-Din returning and things will start to reform.

At the time of the Tatars the world seemed ready to be devoured by their magnificent superpower. However, they actually turned to Islam in droves and embraced it. What appeared to be an impossible scenario just happened, because Allah is The One Who has the key to the hearts and He is The One Who grants victory to whoever He wills.

(…victory is only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.) (Aal `Imran 3:126)

Victory does not come from us, victory does not come from our large numbers; it comes only from Allah the Most Dignified, the All-Wise and He grants it when He sees that we have learned our lesson.

Almighty Allah says,

( Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? they encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of Allah?" Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near!) (Al-Baqarah 2:214 )

These verses tells us that we are going through a kind of test. It is a tribulation that we have to undergo, because the worldly life is not the end in itself; that whatever we go through is something that we have to face in order to prepare ourselves for the hereafter.

Imagine that the servants of Allah started to ask the question: When are we going to achieve victory? This verse is actually a good reminder that we are not alone in these (hard) days because the people before us faced trials and tribulations until they started to be shaken and uprooted so much so that the believers who accepted faith with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) started to ask when they will achieve victory! The answer comes from Almighty Allah: Verily victory is near at hand.

Another tough day the Muslims faced in their history was the day of Hunain.

(Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields and on the day of Hunain, when your great numbers made you vain, but they availed you nothing and the earth became strait to you notwithstanding its spaciousness, then you turned back retreating.) (At-Tawbah 9:25)

During the Battle of Hunain the Muslims started to feel good about their great numbers. This is another side of the equation. It was the first time in the history of the Muslims that they had gathered a number of fighters equal to that of their enemies. They had twelve thousand troops. They were just equal in number to their enemy, while previously they had been much less in number. On that day they started to feel that they were going to achieve victory; and we know what happened after that. In the beginning, they started to lose heart, because they did not really recognize that victory does not come from manpower, but victory is from Allah the Sublime the All-Powerful.

Therefore, let's start doing our part; let’s return to Almighty Allah and clean our selves from within. Purifying ourselves is what really matters, and to be sincere in the way we deal with situations and with each other.

Let's feel the communal strength of the Muslims, and put our hands together in love and support for each other . Let's invite the world to see our true and genuine reality. We are not - like some narrow-minded people think - a group of desperate people who want to threaten the entire world. This is not part of Islam. Had Islam been so, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in At-Ta’if would have behaved differently. He did not - despite the harsh treatment he had received from them - lose hope or become desperate; rather, he invoked Allah the Almighty to lead them to the wisdom of Islam and the beauty of da`wah.

It is our duty now to start making lots of du`aa’ to Almighty Allah and ask Him to return the phenomenon of Salah Ad-Din. When we start to deserve it and in sha’ Allahwe will - it will come.

We are no different from those who were before us; we just need to start and we will see that the promise of Almighty Allah is true and will come to pass, because it is not the promise of a human being, it is a divine promise. All we need to do is begin, and feel that we can do it. Salah Ad-Din is waiting just around the corner.