Surah An Nur ayat 55 Tafsir Quran 24:55

﴿وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ﴾
[ النور: 55]

24:55 Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.

God has promised those of you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth in place of the disbelievers just as He made those Children of Israel who were before them successors in place of the ruling tyrants the verb may be read as active istakhlafa ‘He made them successors’ or as passive istukhlifa ‘were made successors’ and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them namely the religion of Islam by making it prevail over all religions and enrich them throughout the land so that they become masters thereof and that He will give them in exchange read wa-la-yubdilannahum or wa-la-yubaddilannahum after their fear of disbelievers security. And God fulfilled His promise to them in the way mentioned and He praises them with His words ‘They worship Me without associating anything with Me’ ya‘budūnanī lā yushrikūna bī shay’an is an independent new sentence standing as a justification for His promise. And whoever is ungrateful after that bestowal of grace from among them whoever is ungrateful for it those they are the immoral. The first to show ingratitude for that grace of God were the murderers of ‘Uthmān b. ‘Affān may God be pleased with him and they began to kill one another henceforth after having been brothers.

Allah has promised those who have conformed to His system of faith and worship and imprinted their deeds with wisdom and piety a reward, I shall depute them on earth, He declares and delegate them to keep the scale and commission them with power to maintain the right, I shall set them in the appropriate social scale just as I deputed those before them in whose hearts reigned piety. And I will confirm for them the religion I have chosen for them as the appropriate system of faith and worship. I will also exchange the fear and the dread which fell upon them for peace of mind and soul provided they adore Me with appropriate acts and rites and do not incorporate with Me other deities And he who henceforth denies, the divine origin of faith -Islam- or this system of faith and worship shall he and such persons be the faithless perverse who are morally depraved

Allah's Promise to the Believers that He would grant them Succession This is a promise from Allah to His Messenger that He would cause his Ummah to become successors on earth, i.e., they would become the leaders and rulers of mankind, through whom He would reform the world and to whom people would submit, so that they would have in exchange a safe security after their fear.
This is what Allah did indeed do, may He be glorified and exalted, and to Him be praise and blessings.
For He did not cause His Messenger to die until He had given him victory over Makkah, Khaybar, Bahrayn, all of the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen; and he took Jizyah from the Zoroastrians of Hajar and from some of the border lands of Syria; and he exchanged gifts with Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium, the ruler of Egypt and Alexandria, the Muqawqis, the kings of Oman and An-Najashi of Abyssinia, who had become king after Ashamah, may Allah have mercy on him and grant him honor.
Then when the Messenger died, his successor ( Khalifah ) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq took over the reins of power and united the Ummah, preventing its disintegration.
He took control of the entire Arabian Peninsula, and he sent the Islamic armies to the land of Persia, under the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, who conquered a part of it and killed some of its people.
He sent another army under the leadership of Abu `Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, and the other commanders who came after him in the lands of Syria.
He sent a third army under the leadership of `Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, to Egypt.
Allah enabled the army sent to Syria to conquer Busra and Damascus and their provinces the land of Hawran and its environs.
Then Allah chose for Abu Bakr to honor him with Him and he died.
The people of Islam were blessed that As-Siddiq was inspired to appoint `Umar Al-Faruq as his successor, so he took the reins of power after him and did a perfect job.
After the Prophets, the world never saw anyone like `Umar in excellence of conduct and perfect justice.
During his time, the rest of Syria and Egypt, and most of Persia, was conquered.
Kisra was defeated and utterly humiliated, and he retreated to the furthest point of his kingdom.
Mighty Caesar was brought low, his rule over Syria was overthrown, and he retreated to Constantinople.
Their wealth was spent for the sake of Allah, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had foretold and promised.
May Allah's perfect peace and purest blessing be upon him.
During the rule of `Uthman, the Islamic domains spread to the furthest points of the earth, east and west.
The lands of the west were conquered as far as Cyprus and Andalusia, Kairouan and Sebta which adjoins the Atlantic Ocean.
Towards the east, the conquests extended as far as China.
Kisra was killed, his kingdom was utterly destroyed and the cities of Iraq, Khurasan and Al-Ahwaz were conquered.
The Muslims killed a great number of Turks and Allah humiliated their great king Khaqan.
Taxes were collected from the east and the west, and brought to the Commander of the faithful `Uthman bin `Affan, may Allah be pleased with him.
This was a blessing brought by his recitation and study of the Qur'an, and his bringing the Ummah together to preserve and protect it.
In the Sahih it was recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«إِنَّ اللهَ زَوَى لِيَ الْأَرْضَ فَرَأَيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا، وَسَيَبْلُغُ مُلْكُ أُمَّتِي مَا زُوِيَ لِي مِنْهَا»
( Allah showed me the earth and I looked at the east and the west.
The dominion of my Ummah will reach everywhere I was shown. ) And now we are enjoying that which Allah and His Messenger promised us, for Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.
We ask Allah to give us faith in Him and His Messenger, and to help us to give thanks to Him in a manner that will earn us His pleasure. وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِى الاْرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِى ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدّلَنَّهُمْ مّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً ( Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them.
And He will surely, give them in exchange a safe security after their fear... ) Ar-Rabi` bin Anas narrated that Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "The Prophet and his Companions were in Makkah for nearly ten years, calling people in secret to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate.
They were in a state of fear and were not instructed to fight until after they were commanded to migrate to Al-Madinah.
When they came to Al-Madinah, then Allah instructed them to fight.
In Al-Madinah they were afraid and they carried their weapons morning and evening.
This is how they remained for as long as Allah willed..." Then Allah revealed this Ayah.
He caused His Prophet to prevail over the Arabian Peninsula, and then they felt safe and put down their weapons.
Then Allah took His Prophet and they remained safe throughout the time of Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman, until what happened happened, and fear again prevailed over them, so they instituted a police force and guards.
They changed, so their situation changed.
One of the Salaf said, "The Khilafah of Abu Bakr and `Umar was true and adhered to the Book of Allah.
Then he recited this Ayah." Al-Bara' bin `Azib said, "This Ayah was revealed when we were in a state of extreme fear." This Ayah is like the Ayah: وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ أَنتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُّسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land ) Until His statement: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ( so that you might be grateful ) 8:26. كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ( as He granted succession to those before them, ) This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that Musa said to his people: عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth..." ) 7:129 And Allah says: وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( And We wished to do a favor to those who were weak in the land, ) until the two Ayat there after.
28: 5-6 وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِى ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ ( and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them... ) As the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to `Adiyy bin Hatim when he came to him in a delegation:
«أَتَعْرِفُ الْحِيرَةَ؟»
( Do you know Al-Hirah ) He said, "I do not know it, but I have heard of it." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَيُتِمَّنَّ اللهُ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ الظَّعِينَةُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ حَتَّى تَطُوفَ بِالْبَيْتِ فِي غَيْرِ جِوَارِ أَحَدٍ، وَلَتَفْتَحُنَّ كُنُوزَ كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ»
( By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Allah will make this matter i.e., Islam prevail until a woman riding a camel will come from Al-Hirah and perform Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and the treasures of Kisra the son of Hurmuz will be opened. ) He said, "Kisra the son of Hurmuz" He said,
«نَعَمْ، كِسْرَى بْنُ هُرْمُزَ، وَلَيُبْذَلَنَّ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لَا يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ»
( Yes, Kisra the son of Hurmuz, and wealth will be given until there will be no one who will accept it. ) `Adiyy bin Hatim said: "Now it is happening that a woman riding a camel comes from Al-Hirah and performs Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and I was among those who opened the treasure of Kisra the son of Hurmuz.
By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the third thing will also come to pass, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it." يَعْبُدُونَنِى لاَ يُشْرِكُونَ بِى شَيْئاً ( if they worship Me and do not associate anything with Me. ) Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that Mu`adh bin Jabal told him, "While I was riding behind the Prophet on a donkey, with nothing between me and him but the back of his saddle, he said,
«يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ»
( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' Then a while passed, then he said,
«يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ»
( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' Then a while passed, then he said,
«يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ»
( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' He said,
«هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ؟»
( Do you know the rights that Allah has over His servants ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said,
«فَإِنَّ حَقَّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا»
( The rights that Allah has over His servants are that they should worship Him and not associate anything with Him. ) Then a while passed, then he said,
«يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ»
( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' He said,
«فَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ؟»
( Do you know the rights that people have over Allah if they do that ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said,
«فَإِنَّ حَقَّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَهُمْ»
( The rights that people have over Allah is that He will not punish them. )" This was also recorded in the Two Sahihs. وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـسِقُونَ ( But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the rebellious. ) means, `whoever then stops obeying Me after that, has stopped obeying the command of his Lord, and that is a great sin.' The Companions -- may Allah be pleased with them -- were the most committed of people after the Prophet to the commands of Allah and the most obedient to Allah.
Their victories were in accordance with their level of commitment.
They caused the Word of Allah to prevail in the east and the west, and Allah supported them so much that they governed all the people and all the lands.
When the people subsequently fell short in their commitment to some of the commandments, their strength and victory fell short accordingly, but it is confirmed through more than one route in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ، لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ وَلَا مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ»
( There will remain a group of my Ummah adhering to the truth, and those who forsake them or oppose them will not harm them until the Day of Resurrection.
) According to another report:
«حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ»
( ..
until the command of Allah comes to pass and they are like that. ) According to another report:
«حَتَّى يُقَاتِلُوا الدَّجَّالَ»
( ...
until they fight the Dajjal. ) According to another report:
«حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ»
( ...
until `Isa bin Maryam comes down and they are prevailing. ) All of these reports are Sahih, and there is no contradiction between them.

(24:55) Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do righteous deeds, that He will make them successors in the land just as He made those who passed away before them, and that He will establish their religion, which He has approved for them, on strong foundations and will change their (present) state of fear into peace and security. Let them worship Me and associate none with Me; *83 and the one who disbelieves after this," *84 shall be of those who are perverse transgressors.

Allah has promised those who have believed meaning

*83) As has been hinted in the beginning of this discourse, this means to warn the hypocrites that the promise of Allah to bestow successorship in the land is not meant for those people who are Muslims only in name, but for those who are true in faith, pious in character, sincere in devotion and who follow Allah's religion in letter and spirit eschewing every tinge of shirk.
Those who lack these qualities and pay mere lip service to Islam are neither worthy of this promise nor its addressees.
Therefore they should entertain no hope of having any share in it.

Some people interpret Khilafat ( successorship in the land ) to mean political power and authority, and conversely conclude that whosoever possesses power and authority in the land is necessarily a true believer and a follower of Allah's approved religion and His devotee, free from all traces of shirk.
Then in order to get support for their wrong conclusion, they even change the very meanings of Faith, virtue, Divine Creed, Allah's worship, idolatry, etc.
to suit their interpretation.
This is the worst distortion of the meaning of the Qur'an, even worse than what the Jews and Christians did with their Scriptures.
This interpretation of the verse tends to destroy the very message of the Qur'an.
If `successorship in the land' were to mean mere power and authority in the land; then all those people who wielded power and authority in the world, or wield it today., would fit in with the description contained in the verse, even if they denied Allah, Revelations, Prophethood, life in the Hereafter, and were involved in alI kinds of major sins like usury, adultery, drinking and gambling.
Now if all such people are regarded as pious believers and considered worthy of holding the high offices because of their qualities as such, then `Faith' would imply simple obedience to physical laws and `Virtue' would mean making use of those laws effectively and successfully.
Allah's approved religion would mean making maximum progress -in the fields of industry and trade, commerce and politics by achieving excellence in the physical sciences; devotion to Allah would mean abiding by the rules and procedures which are naturally useful and essential for success in individual and collective enterprises; and shirk would mean adopting a few harmful methods also along with the useful procedures and rules.
But the question is: Would a person who has studied the Qur'an with an open heart and mind ever believe that the terms `Faith', 'Righteous deeds', `True Religion', `Devotion to Allah', Tauhid and Shirk as used in the Qur'an really mean this ? As a matter of fact, such a meaning can be understood either by the one who has never made an intelligent study of the Qur'an as a whole, but has picked up verses from here and there and given them his own biased meaning according to preconceived notions and theories, or by the one who has read the Qur'an through but has alI along been holding all those verses as wrong and absurd, which invite people to accept Allah as the One and only Lord, His Revelations as the only source of Guidance, His Messengers as the only true Guides worthy of absolute obedience, and which demand not only belief in the life-after-death, but also state that the people who would consider success in the worldly life as their sole and ultimate objective, without any idea of their accountability in the Hereafter, would be deprived of real success.
The Qur'an has repeated these themes so frequently in diverse ways and in such clear and plain language that it is difficult to believe that anybody who studies it honestly can ever be involved in those misunderstandings in which the modern interpreters of this verse have been involved.
The fact is that they have misconstrued Khilafat and Istikhlaf ( successorship ) after their own notions, which cannot be held as correct by anybody who has some knowledge of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an has used Khilafat and Istikhlaf in the following three meanings and the context determines in which particular meaning it has been used in a particular place:
( a ) " To bear the authority delegated by Allah ".
The whole human race is Allah's Khalifah ( successor ) on the earth in this sense.

( b ) " To acknowledge Allah as the Supreme Sovereign and to use His delegated powers and authority in accordance with His Law. " In this sense only a pious and righteous believer can be a Khalifah, because he alone can discharge the responsibilities of Khilafat truly.
On the other hand, a disbeliever and sinner cannot be Khalifah: he is rather a rebel against AIlah, because he abuses the power and authority delegated by Allah in disobedience to Him in the land bestowed by Him.

( c ) " The succession of one ruling nation in the land after the fall of another nation. " The meanings ( a ) and ( b ) imply vicegerency while ( c ) implies successorship.
Both these meanings of Khilafat are well known and recognised in the Arabic lexicon.

Now anybody who reads this verse in this context cannot have any doubt that the word Khilafat has been used here for the government which discharges the responsibilities of Allah's Vicegerency strictly in accordance with Allah's Law, and not in accordance with mere physical laws of the world.
That is why, not to speak of the disbelievers, even the hypocrites, who professed faith in Islam, are being excluded from the purview of Allah's promise.
That is why it is being stated that true and righteous believers only are worthy of this promise.
That is why it is being averred that the establishment of Khilafat will result in the establishment of Islam, Allah's approved religion, on strong foundations; and that is why the condition being put forward for earning this favour is that the believers should remain steadfast in their faith and devotion to Allah avoiding every tinge of shirk.
To remove this promise from its right context and apply it on the international scene to the case of America and Russia, or any other power that be, is sheer absurdity and nonsense.
( For further details, see E.
N.
99 of AI-Anbiya' also ).

Another thing that needs to be mentioned here is that the direct addressees of this promise were the Muslims living in the time of the Holy Prophet though indirectly it applies to the future generations of Muslims as well.
When in the beginning this promise was held out by Allah, the Muslims were living in a state of fear and Islam had not yet taken firm roots even in Hejaz.
A few years later this state of fear not only gave way to peace and equanimity but Islam also spread outside Arabia to large parts of Africa and Asia, and it became firmly established not only in its own land of birth but outside it as well.
This is a historical proof of the fact that AIIah fulfilled His promise in the times of Hadrat Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman ( may Allah he pleased with them all ).
No right thinking person, therefore, can have any doubt that the Khilafat of the first three Caliphs has been authenticated by the Qur'an itself and Allah Himself has testified to their being pious Believers.
If anybody still has a doubt, he should read the address of Hadrat 'AIi in Nahjal Balaghah, which was meant to dissuade Hadrat 'Umar from going personally to tight against the Iranians.
He said:
" Our success in this work is not dependent on numerical strength; it is the religion of Allah for which He Himself has opened ways.
We are grateful to Him for His help and succour which has enabled us to serve its cause till it has been raised to its present glory Allah Himself has said: `AIlah has promised to those among you, who believe and do righteous deeds that He will make them successors in the land ....
' Allah will certainly fulfil this promise and will help the armies of Islam.
The position of the Caliph in Islam is like that of the string in a necklace of pearls.
If the string breaks, the pearls scatter away and the order is destroyed.
Once scattered and dispersed, it becomes difficult to collect them again.
No doubt the Arabs are small in number, but they have been increased by lslam and strengthened by unity.
You should therefore stick to Madinah like the pivot and make the grindstone of Arabia rotate about you and guide the war-machine from here.
Once you leave this place, your entire organisation will begin to crumble, then you will start feeling more worried about the dangers behind than the enemies in front.
Moreover, the Iranians will concentrate their whole attention on you, and will like to exterminate you, taking you as the main and only hurdle in their way to victory.
As for your apprehension that they have come out in much greater strength, I would say that hitherto we have been fighting them not merely on the strength of numbers, but have been putting them to rout on the strength of Allah's help and succour. " Any discerning reader can see for himself as to which side is being held by Hadrat `Ali as worthy of Allah's promise with regard to successorship in the land.


*84) Kufr ( disbelief ) here may also mean ingratitude or denial of the truth.
In the first case, the verse will refer to those people who deviate from the ri path after Allah has favoured them with successorship, and in the second, to the hypocrites, who do not give up their hypocritical attitude even after hearing this promise of Allah.

 

Allah's Promise to the Believers that He would grant them Succession This is a promise from Allah to His Messenger that He would cause his Ummah to become successors on earth, i.e., they would become the leaders and rulers of mankind, through whom He would reform the world and to whom people would submit, so that they would have in exchange a safe security after their fear.
This is what Allah did indeed do, may He be glorified and exalted, and to Him be praise and blessings.
For He did not cause His Messenger to die until He had given him victory over Makkah, Khaybar, Bahrayn, all of the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen; and he took Jizyah from the Zoroastrians of Hajar and from some of the border lands of Syria; and he exchanged gifts with Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium, the ruler of Egypt and Alexandria, the Muqawqis, the kings of Oman and An-Najashi of Abyssinia, who had become king after Ashamah, may Allah have mercy on him and grant him honor.
Then when the Messenger died, his successor ( Khalifah ) Abu Bakr As-Siddiq took over the reins of power and united the Ummah, preventing its disintegration.
He took control of the entire Arabian Peninsula, and he sent the Islamic armies to the land of Persia, under the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, who conquered a part of it and killed some of its people.
He sent another army under the leadership of Abu `Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, and the other commanders who came after him in the lands of Syria.
He sent a third army under the leadership of `Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, to Egypt.
Allah enabled the army sent to Syria to conquer Busra and Damascus and their provinces the land of Hawran and its environs.
Then Allah chose for Abu Bakr to honor him with Him and he died.
The people of Islam were blessed that As-Siddiq was inspired to appoint `Umar Al-Faruq as his successor, so he took the reins of power after him and did a perfect job.
After the Prophets, the world never saw anyone like `Umar in excellence of conduct and perfect justice.
During his time, the rest of Syria and Egypt, and most of Persia, was conquered.
Kisra was defeated and utterly humiliated, and he retreated to the furthest point of his kingdom.
Mighty Caesar was brought low, his rule over Syria was overthrown, and he retreated to Constantinople.
Their wealth was spent for the sake of Allah, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had foretold and promised.
May Allah's perfect peace and purest blessing be upon him.
During the rule of `Uthman, the Islamic domains spread to the furthest points of the earth, east and west.
The lands of the west were conquered as far as Cyprus and Andalusia, Kairouan and Sebta which adjoins the Atlantic Ocean.
Towards the east, the conquests extended as far as China.
Kisra was killed, his kingdom was utterly destroyed and the cities of Iraq, Khurasan and Al-Ahwaz were conquered.
The Muslims killed a great number of Turks and Allah humiliated their great king Khaqan.
Taxes were collected from the east and the west, and brought to the Commander of the faithful `Uthman bin `Affan, may Allah be pleased with him.
This was a blessing brought by his recitation and study of the Qur'an, and his bringing the Ummah together to preserve and protect it.
In the Sahih it was recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «إِنَّ اللهَ زَوَى لِيَ الْأَرْضَ فَرَأَيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا، وَسَيَبْلُغُ مُلْكُ أُمَّتِي مَا زُوِيَ لِي مِنْهَا» ( Allah showed me the earth and I looked at the east and the west.
The dominion of my Ummah will reach everywhere I was shown. ) And now we are enjoying that which Allah and His Messenger promised us, for Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.
We ask Allah to give us faith in Him and His Messenger, and to help us to give thanks to Him in a manner that will earn us His pleasure. وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِى الاْرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِى ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدّلَنَّهُمْ مّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً ( Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them.
And He will surely, give them in exchange a safe security after their fear... ) Ar-Rabi` bin Anas narrated that Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "The Prophet and his Companions were in Makkah for nearly ten years, calling people in secret to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate.
They were in a state of fear and were not instructed to fight until after they were commanded to migrate to Al-Madinah.
When they came to Al-Madinah, then Allah instructed them to fight.
In Al-Madinah they were afraid and they carried their weapons morning and evening.
This is how they remained for as long as Allah willed..." Then Allah revealed this Ayah.
He caused His Prophet to prevail over the Arabian Peninsula, and then they felt safe and put down their weapons.
Then Allah took His Prophet and they remained safe throughout the time of Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman, until what happened happened, and fear again prevailed over them, so they instituted a police force and guards.
They changed, so their situation changed.
One of the Salaf said, "The Khilafah of Abu Bakr and `Umar was true and adhered to the Book of Allah.
Then he recited this Ayah." Al-Bara' bin `Azib said, "This Ayah was revealed when we were in a state of extreme fear." This Ayah is like the Ayah: وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ أَنتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُّسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land ) Until His statement: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ( so that you might be grateful ) 8:26. كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ( as He granted succession to those before them, ) This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that Musa said to his people: عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth..." ) 7:129 And Allah says: وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ ( And We wished to do a favor to those who were weak in the land, ) until the two Ayat there after.
28: 5-6 وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِى ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ ( and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them... ) As the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to `Adiyy bin Hatim when he came to him in a delegation: «أَتَعْرِفُ الْحِيرَةَ؟» ( Do you know Al-Hirah ) He said, "I do not know it, but I have heard of it." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَيُتِمَّنَّ اللهُ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ الظَّعِينَةُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ حَتَّى تَطُوفَ بِالْبَيْتِ فِي غَيْرِ جِوَارِ أَحَدٍ، وَلَتَفْتَحُنَّ كُنُوزَ كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ» ( By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Allah will make this matter i.e., Islam prevail until a woman riding a camel will come from Al-Hirah and perform Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and the treasures of Kisra the son of Hurmuz will be opened. ) He said, "Kisra the son of Hurmuz" He said, «نَعَمْ، كِسْرَى بْنُ هُرْمُزَ، وَلَيُبْذَلَنَّ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لَا يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ» ( Yes, Kisra the son of Hurmuz, and wealth will be given until there will be no one who will accept it. ) `Adiyy bin Hatim said: "Now it is happening that a woman riding a camel comes from Al-Hirah and performs Tawaf around the House without needing the protection of anybody, and I was among those who opened the treasure of Kisra the son of Hurmuz.
By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the third thing will also come to pass, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it." يَعْبُدُونَنِى لاَ يُشْرِكُونَ بِى شَيْئاً ( if they worship Me and do not associate anything with Me. ) Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that Mu`adh bin Jabal told him, "While I was riding behind the Prophet on a donkey, with nothing between me and him but the back of his saddle, he said, «يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ» ( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' Then a while passed, then he said, «يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ» ( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' Then a while passed, then he said, «يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ» ( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' He said, «هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ؟» ( Do you know the rights that Allah has over His servants ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, «فَإِنَّ حَقَّ اللهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا يُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا» ( The rights that Allah has over His servants are that they should worship Him and not associate anything with Him. ) Then a while passed, then he said, «يَا مُعَاذُ بْنَ جَبَلٍ» ( O Mu`adh bin Jabal. ) I said, `Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah.' He said, «فَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَا حَقُّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ؟» ( Do you know the rights that people have over Allah if they do that ) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, «فَإِنَّ حَقَّ الْعِبَادِ عَلَى اللهِ أَنْ لَا يُعَذِّبَهُمْ» ( The rights that people have over Allah is that He will not punish them. )" This was also recorded in the Two Sahihs. وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـسِقُونَ ( But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the rebellious. ) means, `whoever then stops obeying Me after that, has stopped obeying the command of his Lord, and that is a great sin.' The Companions -- may Allah be pleased with them -- were the most committed of people after the Prophet to the commands of Allah and the most obedient to Allah.
Their victories were in accordance with their level of commitment.
They caused the Word of Allah to prevail in the east and the west, and Allah supported them so much that they governed all the people and all the lands.
When the people subsequently fell short in their commitment to some of the commandments, their strength and victory fell short accordingly, but it is confirmed through more than one route in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ، لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ وَلَا مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ» ( There will remain a group of my Ummah adhering to the truth, and those who forsake them or oppose them will not harm them until the Day of Resurrection.
) According to another report: «حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ» ( ..
until the command of Allah comes to pass and they are like that. ) According to another report: «حَتَّى يُقَاتِلُوا الدَّجَّالَ» ( ...
until they fight the Dajjal. ) According to another report: «حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ» ( ...
until `Isa bin Maryam comes down and they are prevailing. ) All of these reports are Sahih, and there is no contradiction between them.

( Allah hath promised such of you ) O Companions of Muhammad ( pbuh ) ( as believe and do good works ) between themselves and their Lord ( that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers ) in the earth ( to succeed others )) some of them in succession to others ( even as He caused those who were before them ) among the Children of Israel: Joshua ben Nun, Caleb ben Jephunneh; it is also said that this means: We shall make them dwell in the land of Mecca as We made those before them, among the Children of Israel, dwell in their land after the destruction of their enemy; ( and that He will surely establish for them ) He will make triumph ( their religion which He hath approved for them ) and has chosen for them, ( and will give them in exchange ) of Mecca ( safety ) following the destruction of their enemy ( after their fear ) of the enemy. ( They serve Me ) in order that they worship Me in Mecca. ( They ascribe no thing ) no idol ( as partner unto Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth ) after victory and change of fortune, ( they are the miscreants ) the disobedient.

Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).

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