When Allah Calls a Heartbreaking Moment a ‘Clear Victory'

As-salamu alaykum. The best way to see reality is by accepting certain truths from Allah. When these truths settle in the heart, the whole way you view life changes. Life doesn’t look different because the world changed, but because your heart has become clearer. The Qur'an is like a pair of glasses. Without it you notice shapes but miss the details. You walk through life missing the signs. Put on the glasses of the Qur'an and everything sharpens - full of meaning and lessons. To explain this shift, picture a modern scene. Think of a man with a very high-paying job at a big international company. His office sits under the sea with giant glass walls and whales and bright fish swim by. He travels the world, stays in luxury hotels, eats at fancy restaurants and shares pictures most people dream of. Ask anyone if he’s successful and nearly everyone will say yes. We look at wealth, degrees, travel, marriage, houses and business and assume success. We see hardship or simplicity and assume failure. That shows our idea of success was shaped by the world, not by revelation. But a Muslim should see success and failure differently. Allah gives us clearer glasses to show what others miss. Those glasses show that one of the most impressive homes in history belonged to Fir'aun. He built massive monuments along the Nile to intimidate and display power. He wanted to impress everyone. Was he successful? In Allah’s sight he was one of the greatest failures. Then consider Ibrahim (peace be upon him). No palace, no army, no kingdom. Driven from his home, wandering. Yet before Allah he is among the most successful people ever. The Qur'an teaches success has nothing to do with wealth, and failure has nothing to do with poverty. These definitions must be corrected for us. Parents want their children to succeed, so they focus on education, careers and opportunities. Sometimes, though, they neglect what matters most. A child may drift from prayer, respect and connection with Allah while parents chase degrees and jobs. Years later, the outcome can be worse than imagined. Worldly success is too costly if it costs the soul. This is why our understanding must come from the Qur'an. The incident of Hudaybiyyah is a powerful example. After surviving the siege of the Trench, the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a dream that Muslims would enter the Ka'bah and perform Umrah. They set out, walking many days under the sun, dusty and exhausted, hearts full of hope. They entered Ihram, reciting the Talbiyah with tears, believing they would soon see the Ka'bah. Near Makkah the Quraysh sent horsemen to stop them. The Muslims tried another route but were stopped again at Hudaybiyyah. They set up camp, tired and emotionally drained, discovering they might not be allowed to enter. The disappointment was crushing. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) as a negotiator, a rumor spread that he had been killed. The Muslims were angered and pledged under a tree to fight if needed, showing loyalty and courage in deep pain. The Quraysh quickly returned Uthman and offered a treaty with very hard terms: the Muslims would not perform Umrah that year. After walking so far, enduring heat and hunger, they were told to turn back. Many cried; others sat silently. Their hearts felt broken. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) told them to exit Ihram, they hesitated from grief. Umm Salamah advised the Prophet to act first; when he shaved his head the companions slowly followed, tears falling with the hairs. To the Muslims it felt like a profound loss. To Allah it was a clear victory. Allah revealed: “Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory.” Surah al-Fath, Ayah 1 How could that be a victory when they could not perform Umrah? The answer is the state of their hearts. The greatest victory wasn’t reaching the Ka'bah that year but the discipline, loyalty and obedience they showed. They controlled their emotions when any other nation might have fallen apart. They trusted Allah when their hearts were breaking. That was the real victory. There was also political wisdom: by signing the treaty the Quraysh admitted the Muslims were a legitimate power. Up to that point they had been treated as rebels. Hudaybiyyah forced negotiations and raised the Muslims’ status. Islam spread rapidly after that, and Makkah was later opened without battle. A chain of positive events began with a treaty that had felt like defeat. Allah called it a clear victory. This teaches us to understand victory by Allah’s standards. If we pray for victory without knowing what victory means to Allah, we may not recognize it. The greatest victory is victory of the soul: discipline, obedience and control of emotion. Outward success follows. The first victory must happen within us. Our ummah today struggles with discipline, yet we show its beauty in Salah. When the iqamah is called, chaos settles and we stand in orderly rows. That discipline exists. The challenge is to let the discipline of Salah enter daily life. If young people develop a deep relationship with the Qur'an, study it sincerely, reflect and discuss it, change will begin. The Qur'an cannot be skimmed like a message. It is an ocean that opens to hearts that approach with patience. When a person begins to understand the Qur'an they change. When they change, their family changes. When families change, communities change. That’s how the Sahabah became who they were - transformed by the Qur'an before they transformed the world. When they proved their loyalty to Allah, the world was given to them. That is true success. And it looks nothing like the world’s definition.