Episode 27 - Why does Allah humble us before He grants us victory?

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, as we witness the suffering of Muslims in afflicted countries, we may overlook a great wisdom from Allah's decree in prolonging affliction. It is that He does not want His servants to achieve victory easily, which would lead them to arrogance, forgetting Allah's favor upon them, and perhaps oppressing others on earth while in the euphoria of victory. Therefore, Allah tests His servants with trials that humble them and make them feel their weakness and helplessness before granting them victory. Do you recall a verse that indicates this? Allah says: ((And indeed, Allah has supported you at Badr while you were humble)) (123 Al-Imran). Notice His saying: ((And you were humble)). Ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned in Zad Al-Ma'ad regarding Allah's wisdom in the upbringing of His servants: (When He tests them with defeat and humiliation, they humble themselves and submit, and thus they deserve honor and victory from Him. He said: The gift of victory is only with the state of humiliation and submission. Allah says: ((And indeed, Allah has supported you at Badr while you were humble)). And He said: ((And the day of Hunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it availed you nothing)). Thus, when He intends to honor His servant and make him strong and grant him victory, He first breaks him, and His making him strong and granting him victory is in proportion to his humiliation and submission). End of his speech, may Allah have mercy on him. Thus, on the day of Hunayn, the Muslims were arrogant with their numbers and were intoxicated by their strength, but it availed them nothing. They suffered loss at first until a small number gathered around the Prophet (peace be upon him) who had tasted the bitterness of relying on their own strength and means. They abandoned it and realized that there is no helper except Allah, so Allah granted them victory despite their small numbers. And on the day of Badr, they were few in number and weak in resources. The emigrants had suffered persecution and torture and were forced to leave their homes and families and seek refuge in Medina... so they were in this state humble, though they were noble in their hearts as Al-Qurtubi said. But their weak condition prevented them from arrogance and pride. So Allah granted them victory after this humiliation. ((And indeed, Allah has supported you at Badr while you were humble, so fear Allah that you may be grateful)). Thus, the prolongation of affliction upon the Muslims has this wisdom, that they may humble themselves and submit to Allah, so that when He honors them and grants them victory and strengthens them, they remember their former state of weakness, and thus they do not become arrogant or tyrannical, but rather they attribute the favor to Allah, and they fear Allah in the nations they conquer afterward. We ask Allah to honor the Muslims and strengthen them after their humiliation and weakness. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.