When Allah Calls a Heartbreaking Moment a ‘Clear Victory'

As-salamu alaykum. The best way to know reality is to learn certain truths from Allah. When those truths settle in the heart, a person’s whole view changes. Life doesn’t change - the heart gains clarity. The Qur’an is like a pair of glasses. Without it you see shapes but miss the details. You walk through life missing the signs. Put on the glasses of the Qur’an and everything sharpens, becomes meaningful and full of lessons. To explain this shift, picture a modern story. Imagine a man with a top-paying job at a global firm. His office is underwater with huge glass walls, and whales and bright fish pass by while he works. He travels the world, stays in fancy hotels, eats at expensive restaurants and shares pictures most people dream about. Ask people if he’s successful and almost everyone will say yes. We see money, degrees, travel, marriage, houses and business wins and assume success. We see hardship or simplicity and assume failure. That shows how the world shapes our idea of success, not revelation. A believer is meant to see success and failure differently. Allah gives us clearer glasses that reveal what others miss. Those glasses show that one of the grandest homes ever built belonged to Firʿawn, who raised massive monuments along the Nile so passing ships would be awed by his power. To the world he seemed successful, but in Allah’s sight he was one of the greatest failures. Then there is Ibrahim (peace be upon him). No palace, no army, no kingdom. He was driven out and wandered land to land. Yet in Allah’s sight he is among the most successful people who ever lived. The Qur’an teaches success has nothing to do with wealth, and failure has nothing to do with poverty. We need that redefinition. Parents want their children to succeed, so they focus on education, careers and opportunities. Sometimes they neglect what matters most: prayer, respect and connection with Allah. A child can drift from Salaah and faith while getting degrees and jobs, and years later the cost may be worse than any lost salary. Worldly success can become too expensive when it costs the soul. This understanding must come from the Qur’an. The incident of Hudaybiyyah is a powerful example. After the frightening siege of the Trench (Ghazwat al-Khandaq), the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a dream that the Muslims would enter the Kaʿbah peacefully. They set out for Umrah, walking for days under the hot sun, through dust and fatigue, their feet aching and hearts full of longing for the House of Allah. They entered Ihram, reciting the Talbiyah with tears, believing they would soon see the Kaʿbah. Near Makkah they were stopped by the Quraysh and redirected. At Hudaybiyyah they camped, exhausted and emotionally crushed at the thought they might not be allowed in. The Prophet sent ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him) to negotiate. When his return was delayed a rumor spread that he had been killed. The companions, grieving and furious, swore under a tree to fight if needed. Their pledge showed loyalty and courage in a moment of deep pain. When the Quraysh realized the seriousness of the Muslims, they released ʿUthmān and offered a treaty. The terms were hard: the Muslims would not perform Umrah that year. After such hardship and hope, being told to turn back felt devastating. Some cried, others sat in stunned silence. They could almost touch the Kaʿbah and yet could not reach it. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) told them to exit Ihram, they were so overwhelmed they didn’t move out of sorrow. Umm Salamah advised the Prophet to perform the act himself; when he shaved his head, the companions followed slowly, tears falling with their hair. To the Muslims it felt like a loss. To Allah, it was a clear victory. Allah revealed a verse addressing the Prophet directly: “Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory” (Surah al-Fath, Ayah 1). How was it a victory when they couldn’t perform Umrah? The answer is in their hearts. The real victory wasn’t reaching the Kaʿbah that year but the discipline, loyalty and obedience they showed. They controlled their emotions when any other nation might have broken. They trusted Allah when their hearts were shattered. That was the victory. There was also wise politics: the treaty made the Quraysh recognize the Muslims as a legitimate force. They were no longer seen as mere rebels. Hudaybiyyah set in motion events that strengthened Islam and led to the peaceful opening of Makkah later. A chain of good came from what looked like a loss, and Allah called it a clear victory. This reminds us that we may pray for victory but must know what victory means to Allah, or we won’t recognize it when it arrives. The greatest victory is within the soul: discipline, obedience and mastery over the heart. Outward wins and power follow, but the first victory must be inside us. Our Ummah struggles with discipline, yet we show its beauty in Salaah: when the Iqamah is called, the world’s chaos settles and we stand in rows. That discipline exists; it needs to extend into our daily lives. If young people build a sincere relationship with the Qur’an, study it patiently, reflect and discuss it, change will begin. The Qur’an can’t be skimmed. It is an ocean that opens to hearts that approach with patience. When one person internalizes 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 transforming the world. When they proved their loyalty to Allah, the world followed. That is true success. It doesn’t look like the world’s definition at all.