of the ummah is the surest road to moral strength, they set themselves to it in earnest and strive with all their might. If they judge that their advantage lies in resistance and attack, or in conciliation and defense according to their ability, they adopt the course whose benefit is certain: they advance where advance is required and hold back where restraint is demanded. In short, they leave no interest—internal or external, minor or major—without mutual consultation: how to secure it, enhance it, and repel whatever might oppose or diminish it.
Such is the remarkable order to which the Qur’an has directed them, an order that is suitable for every time, every place, and every nation. Among its proofs is Allah’s statement in Surat al-Anfal: “And prepare against them whatever force you are able” (Al-Anfal 8:60). This verse explicitly obliges preparation for the enemy with every intellectual, moral, and material strength we can muster—strengths whose individual forms are beyond counting—and at every moment one must employ the means that are appropriate to that moment.
Likewise, He says: “O you who believe, take your precautions” (An-Nisa’ 4:71) and similar verses in which Allah instructs His servants to exercise the utmost vigilance against their enemies. Every path or means by which one is protected from the enemy falls under this directive, each era having its own particular “garb.”
Another striking aspect of the Qur’an’s unique system is Allah’s rebuke of the believers: “Muhammad is only a messenger; messengers have passed before him. So if he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels?” (Al-‘Imran 3:144). This guides His servants to maintain such wisdom and sound order that even the loss of a leader—no matter how great—should not shake them.
That can only be achieved when they prepare for every religious and worldly affair with several capable people so that, should one be lost, another stands in his place; and when the ummah is unified in its will, resolve, aims, and every aspect of its life, their common purpose being that the word of Allah be supreme and that all