Sin is More Dangerous Than the Ruses of the Enemy

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

Imam ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (r.a.) wrote a letter to a military commander and said, “Sin is even more dangerous than the ruses of the enemy.  ‘Amir al-Mu’minin bids upon Manswur that instead of taking fright of his enemy, he should fear transgressing the limits of Allah (s.w.t.).  We overcome our enemies in the battlefield only because of their vices and sins, for, had it not been so, we would not have had the courage to face them.  We can not deploy troops in the same numbers as our enemies can do, nor do we possess the equipment they have got.  Thus, if we equate ourselves with our enemies in misdeeds and transgressions, they would undoubtedly gain a victory over us by virtue of their numerical superiority and strength.” 

The ummah will always be in a state of subjugation not because the enemies of Islam have subdued us but because we have been subdued by our lower selves.  The Muslims have rushed to emulate the enemies of Islam whilst paying lip service to the values of the faith.  The true victory of the Prophet (s.a.w.) was not in the destruction of his enemies.  Rather is it was his convincing them of the Truth.  And that has ever been the victory that Allah (s.w.t.) Promised.  Whenever the enemy met true Muslims, they were eventually enchanted by the sincerity of faith.  They converted and sometimes became better Muslims than the one that came before.  The Persian, the Mongols, the Turks, the Pathans and so many more.  Men of every tribe and nation who came generations after our Beloved Prophet (s.a.w.); they found Islam.  As long as we are virtuous and hold tight to the sunnah, as long as we have certainty of faith and strive in the Path of Allah (s.w.t.) for the sake of Allah (s.w.t.), we will ever be victorious.