Takhir Nasr al-Din Lutf bil-Muminin wa Makr bil-Kafirin wal-Munafiqin
- Author died
- 1445 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Ṣafwah lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Takhir Nasr al-Din Lutf bil-Muminin wa Makr bil-Kafirin wal-Munafiqin (Delaying the Victory of Religion is a Grace to the Believers and a Stratagem against the Disbelievers and Hypocrites) is a short treatise by the contemporary Saudi scholar Abd al-Karim bin Salih al-Humayd (d. 1445 AH / 2024 CE) examining the theological wisdoms behind delays in divine victory and the trials experienced by Muslims.
Context and Purpose
The treatise was completed in late Rabi' al-Awwal 1423 AH (June 2002 CE). Al-Humayd composed the work in response to the political and military upheavals following the invasion of Afghanistan, particularly addressing contemporary public despair and journalistic commentary mocking the Afghan fighters and the Arab volunteers allied with them.
The author frames the temporary setbacks of Muslims not as divine abandonment, but as an unchanging divine custom (sunnah) rooted in God's wisdom, mercy, and justice. He argues that delayed victory is in reality a hidden grace (lutf) connected to ultimate triumph, serving both to refine true believers and to expose hypocrites and disbelievers.
Structure and Content
The core of the treatise draws extensively upon Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's discussion in Zad al-Ma'ad regarding the divine wisdoms behind the setback suffered by early Muslims at the Battle of Uhud. Al-Humayd structures his arguments around Ibn al-Qayyim's points, interspersing them with contemporary commentary and Quranic reflections.
Wisdoms of Delayed Victory
Drawing from Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Humayd details several divine objectives underlying adversity:
- Demonstrating the consequences of disobedience: Hardship reminds believers of the dangers of internal discord and failing to adhere strictly to prophetic directives, as seen with the archers at Uhud.
- Alternating fortunes: Constant victory would attract insincere adherents seeking worldly dominance, whereas constant defeat would frustrate the prophetic mission; alternating fortunes ensures that followers adhere out of sincere conviction.
- Distinguishing sincerity from hypocrisy: Trials reveal the hidden stances of hypocrites, forcing their latent hostility into the open so believers can recognize and guard against internal adversaries.
- Eliciting true servitude: Genuine devotion is manifested when servants remain steadfast in worship and submission during hardship and defeat just as they do during ease and victory.
- Cultivating humility: God humbles His servants through defeat so they may attain the necessary brokenness (inkisar) and reliance on Him, which precede divine elevation and honor.
- Attaining elevated ranks and martyrdom: Trials allow believers to reach spiritual stations in the Hereafter that their regular deeds would not attain, including the rank of martyrdom (shahadah).
- Entrapping oppressors: Allowing disbelievers temporary ascendancy causes them to increase in tyranny and aggression, thereby hastening their ultimate ruin and divine punishment.
Critique of Modern Hypocrisy and Unfavorable Assumptions
Al-Humayd sharply critiques those who hold ill thoughts of God (zann al-su'), an attitude the Quran attributes to hypocrites and polytheists who assume that falsehood will permanently overcome the truth or that divine assistance has ceased. He condemns claims that Islamic governance is no longer viable in the modern era unless hybridized with secular or foreign doctrines, describing such thinking as a form of pre-Islamic ignorance (zann al-jahiliyyah).
The work concludes by emphasizing that worldly disasters, internal strife among adversaries, and fear cast into their hearts are recurring signs of divine retribution, while warning believers against replacing divine law with man-made political systems.
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