—granted to the solitary man whom a furious, vengeful enemy had encircled—an enemy ablaze with anger and malice, formidable in his plotting, who had marshalled every stratagem to strike him with the harshest blow and the gravest calamity. Yet his escape and the sudden opening of the affair in his favor rank among the greatest kinds of victory.
Allah alludes to this situation, rebuking the people of the earth, when He says: “If you do not support him, then Allah has already supported him when those who disbelieved drove him out, the second of two, when the two of them were in the cave and he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; Allah is indeed with us.’ Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon him, strengthened him with hosts you did not see, made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” (9:40).
A similar instance of divine aid occurred on the Day of Hunayn. The Muslims were impressed by their great numbers, yet those numbers availed them nothing; the earth, vast as it was, seemed to close in on them, and they turned in flight. Allah, however, made His Prophet ﷺ stand firm, sent down His serenity upon him, and granted him victory at that critical hour—a triumph whose effect is beyond description.
The Qur’an recounts many such ordeals that befell Allah’s prophets and chosen servants: when hardship intensified and despair almost seized the hearts, Allah sent down His relief and His victory so that the event would leave a lasting imprint on souls and so that His servants might recognize the subtle favors of the Knower of the unseen.
Closely related to this is His sending rain upon His servants after they had all but despaired. The resulting signs of His bounty and the rejoicing in His grace fill hearts with praise, gratitude, and exaltation of the Almighty.
Likewise, He reminds them of His blessings by directing their attention to contemplate their opposites, as in His words: “Say, ‘Tell me: if Allah were to take away your hearing and your sight and set a seal upon your hearts, what deity other than Allah could restore them to you?’” (6:46). And: “Say, ‘Tell me: if Allah were to make the night perpetual over you until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you light? Will you not then listen?’ (71) ‘Tell me: if Allah were to make the day perpetual over you until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you a night in which you might rest? Will you not then see?’ (72) It is out of His mercy that He has made for you the night and the day—so that you may rest in it and seek of His bounty—and so that you may give thanks” (28:71-73).
We glimpse the same lesson in the story of Jacob and his sons: when their crisis became severe, they appeared before Joseph and said, “Hardship has touched us and our family…” (12:88). Then, after