it is deemed probable that such assistance will cause their hostility toward the Muslims to subside. How often has this tactic inflicted upon the enemy a blow that whole armies could not deliver! Concerning this, Allah says: “Except for those who join a people between whom and you there is a treaty, or those who come to you with hearts constrained from fighting you or fighting their own people. Had Allah willed, He would have empowered them against you, and they would have fought you” [An-Nisāʾ 4:90]. Thus Allah points out the tremendous benefit of withholding combat from people of this description.

Among the commanders and military leaders whom Allah has granted success, there are well-known episodes in these very matters; through them they earned an illustrious record of service to the Muslims.

Contemplate, then, these divine teachings—the one and only perfect system for all times and places—and realize thereby that authentic Islam is the true religion, the refuge of all creation, the source of their happiness and protection from every evil (1). Conversely, deficiency and decline stem only from neglecting the teachings of this religion which Allah has perfected and by which He completed His favor upon the believers.