It is common for us Muslims to read Surah 110 (An-Nasr) in our everyday Salah. It reminds us that:

“When the Victory of Allah comes and the Opening (Fath); and you see the droves of people enter the Deen of Allah; Then Glorify your Lord and seek forgiveness. Indeed, He is always turning to his Slave with Repentance”.

There are some questions that may arise in our minds; what is this Nasr (Victory) that Allah (swt) is referring to? How do we as Muslims achieve the Victory? When will Allah (swt) grant the Ummah Victory?

Nasr may convey many meanings. Linguistically it means support, or help. We remember Waraqah ibn Nufayl (ra) used the word in a linguistic sense after the Prophet (saw) informed him about what happened to him in Cave Hira and he then realized Muhammad (saw) was indeed the Final Messenger; he proclaimed “La Ansuruka Nasran Mu’azzara”: I will indeed support you with all my strength.

The noble Qur’an has more than 10 different connotations of the meaning of Nasr, such as protection from the punishment of Allah (swt), taking revenge against the oppressors, getting Allah (swt)’s support in terms of conveying the message and getting material victory over the enemies.

The scholars state that in general, the meaning of Nasr denotes Victory achieved after a struggle between two parties. The shar’i (legislative) definition of Nasr is “The Support that will bring forth the submission of the enemies and victory and elevation over them.”

When we observe the meanings above it is quite clear the Ummah is in dire need of the Nasr (Victory) of Allah (swt).

We find our lands are ruled by traitors who have sold their Deen for the Dunya of their colonialist masters. We find that more than 90 years have passed since the destruction of the Khilafah and the end of Islam as a way of life for society. We find the Ummah is divided across more than 50 states created by the colonialist powers.

We witness that there has been occupation and crimes committed by the Zionist entity, the United States, China, India, Russia, Myanmar against entire populations of the Ummah.

Understanding the Sunnan of Allah

If we look at history, particularly the struggle between civilizations, we see that changes of power from one nation to another follows the universal patterns Allah (swt) has established. There is no nation which has been victorious with no ending. Rather, there is a change of power according to the Sunnan of Allah (swt) in society.

Allah (swt) says in Surah Al-Imran

“We alternate these days ‘of victory and defeat’ among the people so that Allah may reveal the true believers and take from you martyrs” [TMQ 3:140].

The alternation of power between nations follows the laws Allah (swt) has established in the universe, and they do not differentiate between the people of truth and the people of falsehood. Among these laws, there is this one: those who prepare most in terms of material strength and strategy achieve the Victory.

However, for the Ummah of Islam, Allah (swt) has set specific (universal) laws that if adhered to, Muslims can overcome deficiencies in material strength and strategy. When we reflect upon the Life of the Prophet (saw) and his companions we observe that Allah (swt) granted them victory in their lifetime against all their enemies in the Arabian Peninsula.

We also see a glorious history of victory of the Khilafah (Caliphate) against its enemies over the 1400 years since the revelation, including defeating powerful invading forces such as the Crusaders by Salahuddin and the Mongols by Saifudeen Qutuz and Baybars.

Cause of Nasr vs Conditions of Nasr

Cause (sabab) has a legislative (Usooli) meaning: there is a direct correlation between the cause and the effect (musabbab). The legislative meaning is “what must exist (i.e. the effect) due to its existence (i.e. the cause) and if the cause does not exist the effect will definitely not exist.”

An example would be the cause of Maghrib Salah is sunset. The cause of water to freeze is the temperature going to 0 degrees Celsius. The Qur’an has decisively established that the cause (sabab) of Nasr is exclusively Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) states

“Victory comes from no one but Allah. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” [TMQ 8:10].

In a similar way, Allah (swt) has stated He is the sabab (cause) of Rizq. As the Quran states in Surah Hud,

“There is no moving creature on the Earth except upon Allah is its Rizq” [TMQ 11:6].

In a similar way Allah (swt) has stated that death can only occur with his permission,

“It is not for a soul that it dies except that it is the permission of Allah in a prescribed time” [TMQ 3:145].

However, just as with Rizq where we Muslims are required to exert specific efforts to acquire it in a Halal manner, we are required to fulfill certain conditions Allah (swt) has placed on us to receive the Reward of Victory from Allah (swt).

What we must realize, however, is that Allah (swt) has instructed the believers with fulfilling certain conditions to be worthy of receiving his Nasr. To understand this, we must first understand the meaning of Condition (Shart). Condition means if it does not exist, then the conditioned will definitely not exist.

However, if the condition does exist, it does not definitely guarantee the existence of the conditioned nor its non-existence. An example would be Wudu, which is a condition for the existence of Salah. If Wudu does not exist, then the Salah does not exist. However, if the Wudu does exist, it does not necessitate the existence of Salah or its non-existence.

This leads us to the conditions that as an Ummah we must be focused on and doing diligent work to fulfill the obligations of Allah (swt) that He has set forth to get his Nasr, especially the establishment of the Khilafah.

This includes correcting our concepts and learning the Islamic culture, working together with an Islamic political group which challenges the corrupt systems, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, seeking the Nusrah (Material support from the people of power and influence) and making dua for the Nasr.

Secondly, when we understand that Allah (swt) is the cause of Nasr, i.e. It is only His will, our focus will be on perfecting our actions so that they conform to the commands of the Shariah, exerting our utmost abilities to be worthy of receiving Allah (swt)’s Nasr.

Allah (swt) states,

“Oh you who believe, if you give support (give Nasr) to Allah, Allah will give Nasr to you and strengthen your Feet” [TMQ 47:7].

Hence it is clear Allah (swt) has obliged the believers with certain tasks in order for Him to grant them Nasr. The two primary conditions for Nasr are:

1. Imaan: If we have Imaan (absolute conviction) in the Deen that will compel us to obey Allah (swt) in all of His commands, and seek only His Help as Allah (swt) says,
   

   “Indeed we have sent before you Messengers to their people and they came with the clear proofs and we took revenge on the criminals. And it is a right on me to give the Victory to the Believers” [TMQ 30:47].

2. Preparation to the best of our abilities: using all available means of preparation to achieve the best capabilities. Allah (swt) says:
   

   “And prepare for them all that you are capable from power and from the Horses of War in order to strike fear in the hearts of Allah’s enemies and your enemies” [TMQ 8:60].

This is where we notice that Allah (swt) has prescribed “as much as you are capable” for the believers, instead of absolute preparation, like it is in the case of the disbelieving nations that only rely on their material means to achieve success.

Rather, the believers have Allah (swt) as the one who grants Nasr once we have fulfilled the conditions; Allah (swt) will bring forth the Victory from places we least expect. This was the case with the Prophet (saw) who spent more than 13 years challenging the Quraysh in Makkah and them rejecting his call to Islam and refusing to give him support.

Then he approached more than a dozen tribes, calling them to Islam and asking them to provide material support. It was only after a few people of Yathrib (Madinah) who met the Prophet (saw) and accepted Islam that Allah (swt) granted Victory to His Messenger.

After that, the Messenger (saw) sent Mus’ab bin Umayr (ra) to teach them Islam and seek support from their leadership. It was these people, the Aws and Khazraj, who became known as the Ansaar (those who give support) to whom Allah (swt) granted the greatest honour.

When we realize that our actions are not the cause of the Nasr but rather Nasr is conditioned upon us completing our obligations and forsaking the Haraam, we will be more aware of what we are required to do and making it our priority to fulfil.

The success in our end of the bargain is fulfilling our Legal responsibilities (Takleef), perfecting our actions and seeking Allah’s pleasure while asking Allah (swt) to grant us His Nasr. The focus would be not on when the Nasr will come, but rather will be on preparing ourselves so as to be worthy to receive it.

It has been reported in Sahih Bukhari that Khabbab ibn al- Aratt said:

“We complained to the Messenger of Allah (saw) while he was using his cloak as a cushion in the shade of the Kaaba. We said to him, ‘Will you not ask for help for us? Will you not pray to Allah for us? He said, ‘There was a man among those before you for whom a ditch was dug in the earth and he was placed in it. Then a saw was brought and places on his head and he would be cut in two. He would be raked with iron combs which would remove his flesh from his bones, and that would not deter him from his Deen. By Allah, this Deen will be complete so that a traveller can go from San’a to Hadramawt fearing only Allah, or the wolf for his sheep, but you are trying to hasten things.”

May Allah (swt) bless us to work as RasulAllah (saw) and the Sahaba did to re-establish the Khilafah in the Muslim lands and to spare no effort in its cause. May Allah (swt) bless the Ummah with the Nasr. Ameen.

“So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers” [TMQ 3:139]