nor to impose an ideology devised by ignorant, shortsighted human beings—such as communism and the other man-made systems. Rather, it advances with a programme set forth by Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the All-Aware, the All-Seeing.

This is the great truth that must be grasped by the defeatists who take up a purely defensive stance toward religion, mumbling and stuttering as they apologise for the spread of Islam and for Islamic jihad.

4 – Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī said: Everything Muslims are able to muster of intellectual, physical, and scientific strength is encompassed by this command.

Thus, within the term “power” fall every type of weapon—cannon, machine-guns, fighter aircraft, armoured vehicles, tanks, and all the implements of warfare appropriate to their time. It likewise includes sound judgement and prudent policy, by which Muslims advance, attain their objectives, and repel the evil of their enemies.

5 – The Exalted also says: “and [prepare] from the tethered horses” (al-Anfāl 60). He swore by the horses, saying:
“By the chargers that run, panting (1),
producing sparks with their hooves (2),
launching raids at dawn (3),
raising therein clouds of dust (4),
then penetrating into the midst of the enemy host (5)” (al-ʿĀdiyāt).
In Sunan Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, on the authority of Abū Wahb al-Ḥatimī, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Keep horses, and wipe their forelocks and their hindquarters.”

In the two Ṣaḥīḥs, on the authority of Jarīr, it is narrated: I saw the Prophet ﷺ twist the forelock of his horse with his finger, saying, “Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection.”

6 – Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā said: The Lawgiver exalted the status of horses and commanded that they be honoured.

7 – Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī said: Allah commanded that mounts be made ready for battle, saying: “and from the tethered horses, by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy” (al-Anfāl 60). Horses were the mounts available at that time, and in them lay the intimidation of the enemy and the ruling