and as the One who drives the clouds—one of this world’s blessings—thereby combining in that appeal both worldly and eternal favors. Just as You granted us victory and routed our enemies on the Day of the Confederates, grant us victory now, for today we fight for the very cause for which we fought on that day. So rout them and grant us triumph over them.
These, then, are the causes of victory—choosing the proper time, voicing the proper supplication, and averting harm by avoiding it when possible and by patience when it strikes—all of which were pointed out by the greatest commander, ﷺ.
He also disclosed one of the virtues of jihad: it is among the quickest roads to Paradise, because it entails offering one’s life and one’s dearest possessions for the sake of Allah, exalted is He.
Lessons drawn from the hadith
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Choosing the most suitable time for battle. The preferred time is the beginning of the morning; if that is not possible, then after the sun has passed the meridian, as related in another report: “If he did not fight at the start of the morning, he would wait until the winds rose and the prayer time approached.”
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The undesirability of wishing for battle and clashing with the enemy, for the one who wishes for it does not know what the outcome will be, and such wishing is a sign of self-deception and conceit—which invites failure—and of belittling the enemy, which signals deficient resolve and vigilance.
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Asking Allah for ʿāfiyah (well-being), a term that covers well-being in religion, worldly life, and the body.
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Patience when meeting the enemy, for it is the greatest cause of triumph and victory.
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The merit of jihad and its nearness as a cause of entering Paradise. In his phrase [zilāl al-suyūf] (the shade of swords) lies an allusion to advancing so close to the enemy that their swords cast their shadow, without turning one’s back. Al-Qurṭubī said: It is among the finest, most comprehensive, and concise expressions, combining multiple layers of emphasis while remaining succinct and pleasing to the ear.
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Supplicating with these fitting invocations when meeting the enemy, just as the Prophet ﷺ used to do.
Hadith 2
Sahl ibn Saʿd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“A single day of ribāṭ (frontier guard duty) in the path of Allah is better than the world and all it contains. A space in Paradise the size of one of your whips is better than the world and all it contains. A journey a servant undertakes, whether in the late afternoon or the early morning, in the path of Allah is better than the world and all it contains.”