The Keys to Revival: The Second Key: The Keys to Victory – By Shaykh Usama al-Hamawi

This is the second in a series of three articles focused on how revival of the Umma must take place.  From the On-Demand Course The Keys to Revival: Guidance in Crisis and Hope for the Future, this series brings together three leading scholars addressing the spiritual, social, and scholarly solutions needed for upliftment of the Umma. 

The topic I want to present briefly today is a project for the Umma. The Umma lacks a straightforward project for its revival that will build a generation of empowerment, grasp the keys to victory, and transform its condition from ignorance to knowledge, from heedlessness to remembrance, and from corruption to guidance and righteousness.

This subject requires numerous seminars to cover it comprehensively, as it is vast. However, true eloquence lies in brevity. I will attempt to summarize in a few minutes what the keys to victory are and what project the Umma can follow to achieve empowerment and return to the ways of our righteous predecessors.

Turning to the Quran, this project can be summarized in three verses.:

Following the Example of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)

The first verse is the saying of our Lord (Most High): “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often” [Quran, 33:21]. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), through his Sunna, showed us the keys to victory. The most significant key to victory and empowerment for this Umma lies in building a generation—men and women of substance, minds, and hearts—a generation worthy of empowerment and capable of achieving victory. A generation through which victory becomes inevitable.

Through the life and example of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), we can learn how to cultivate such a generation—one that is among the most significant keys to victory. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) spent most of his life nurturing minds and hearts, developing leaders, and spreading knowledge and guidance. As a result, he produced the generation of the Companions, whom the scholars unanimously consider the best people after the Prophets and Messengers. 

These Companions were the disciples of our master, Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). As Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) said: “By their fruits, you will recognize them.” Their fruit was that they opened half of the world within half a century, spreading guidance, social justice, knowledge, morals, and true values.

After building this generation, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) fought superstition, spread knowledge, and established morals, values, and true faith. He eradicated polytheism and false beliefs, especially in Makkah, which was filled with myths and delusions. He established a strong belief in Allah (Most High) and continued his journey of nurturing men and building that generation, which Allah empowered on Earth. The light of this generation radiated for seven centuries across the world, spreading justice, knowledge, guidance, goodness, and faith. People’s conditions changed dramatically because of this.

The Prophet’s Methodology for Building the Generation of Victory

The second verse that encapsulates this project and explains how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) implemented the keys to victory is rooted in his statement: “The trustworthy ones of every generation will carry this knowledge.” This knowledge—this treasure of the prophets—is their inheritance. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “We, the prophets, do not leave behind dinars or dirhams. Rather, we leave behind knowledge. Whoever takes it has indeed taken an abundant portion.”

The role of scholars after the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is to carry forward this same project and implement it in building a generation—one of the greatest keys to victory. How did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) cultivate this generation, turning the young into scholars and the elders into wise men? How did he produce, for all humanity, the best nation ever raised for humankind? As Allah (Most High) says: “You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah” [Quran, 3:110].

Where did this excellence come from? It has a cause and an origin. This generation made the message of Islam their own mission, a message they carried and conveyed to the people. They sacrificed everything for it—their wealth, lives, children, and blood. This is how a believer, dear brothers, who is part of this generation, should bear the message of Islam — as a trust they live and die for.

Unity Between Scholars and Leaders

From here, dear brothers, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) built this generation through the second verse I wish to mention. I told you I would summarize this project in three verses—a project for the entire Umma. However, this project cannot be implemented unless scholars and leaders unite. Why? Because the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Two groups, if they are righteous, the people will be righteous, and if they are corrupt, the people will be corrupt: the scholars and the leaders.”

The verse is: “It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, reciting His verses, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they were previously in clear error” [Quran, 62:2]. This is the role of scholars after the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and after the Prophets in general: how to build a generation. The most significant, honorable, and sacred task—and the most critical responsibility—is cultivating minds with knowledge and nurturing hearts and souls with remembrance and connection to Allah (Most High).

Knowledge is gained through the company of scholars, and the purification of hearts and souls is attained through remembrance, drawing close to Allah with extra acts of devotion and obedience. Allah (Most High) says: “He recites to them His verses, purifies them…” We must teach people the Qur’an first. This was the way of our righteous predecessors. From the moment a child opened their eyes, their parents taught them the Quran by heart. They grew up memorizing it, reciting it, and embodying its knowledge, understanding, and practice, along with its morals and conduct.

Thus, they produced a generation that transformed the Umma’s condition: from disunity to unity, from ignorance to knowledge, and from misguidance and corruption to guidance and light.