بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Countries Succeed Each Other like Days Succeed Each Other
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 572 - 05/11/2025
By: Ustaadh Khaled Ali, United States
Allah (swt) says,
[قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاء وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي الْنَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الَمَيَّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ]
“Say, ‘O Allah (swt), Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent. * You cause the night to enter the day, and You cause the day to enter the night; and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give provision to whom You will without account.’” [TMQ Surah Aali ‘Imran 26–27].
It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (ra) regarding the reason of the revelation (asbaab un-nuzool) of these verses, that he said, (لَمَّا افْتَتَحَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ مَكَّةَ وَعَدَ أُمَّتَهُ مُلْكَ فَارِسَ وَالرُّومِ فقَالَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْيَهُودُ، هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ مِنْ أَيْنَ لِمُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ مُلْكُ فَارِسَ وَالرُّومِ؟) “When the Messenger of Allah (saw)conquered Makkah and promised his Ummah the dominion of Persia and Rome, the hypocrites and the Jews said: ‘Far-fetched, far-fetched! How could Muhammad (saw)attain the dominion of Persia and Rome?’” So, these verses came to clarify that dominion, the means of power, leadership, and authority are in the Hand of Allah (swt) Alone, He (swt) grants them to whom He (swt) wills whenever He (swt) wills and withdraws them from whom He (swt) wills whenever He (swt) wills. Some ulema have stated that this occurs based on merit; He (swt) grants dominion and authority to those who uphold it, and He (swt) withdraws it from those who transgress against the command of their Lord (swt). This is the divine law of Allah (swt)in life, unchanging and unalterable.
He (swt) said,
[وَكَأَيِّنْ مِّن قَرْيَةٍ عَتَتْ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهَا وَرُسُلِهِ فَحَاسَبْنَاهَا حِسَاباً شَدِيداً وَعَذَّبْنَاهَا عَذَاباً نُّكْراً]
“And how many a city was insolent toward the command of its Lord and His messengers, so We called it to account severely and punished it with a terrible punishment.” [TMQ Surah Aṭ-Ṭalaq: 8].
And He (swt) said,
[وكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَمْلَيْتُ لَهَا وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهَا]
“And for how many a city did I prolong enjoyment while it was committing wrong. Then I seized it, and to Me is the [final] destination.” [TMQ Surah Al-Ḥajj: 48].
Thus is the divine law of Allah (swt) ,there is no alteration to His (swt) words,
[سُنَّةَ اللهِ فِي الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلُ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللهِ تَبْدِيلاً]
“This is the established way of Allah (swt) with those who passed on before; and you will not find in the way of Allah (swt)any change.” [TMQ Surah Al-Ahzab: 62].
Then, Allah (swt) mentions in the following verse how He alternates night and day: the entry of night begins as daylight flows away and departs, and the entry of day begins at the end of night, in a harmonious, balanced manner, most akin to the smooth, easy flow of water, not perceived by a person all at once, but felt gradually until night turns into bright day or day turns into pitch-black night.
What is striking in these two verses is the connection between Allah (swt)’s universal laws governing celestial bodies and planets, the alternation of night and day, their merging into one another, and their cycling within a single day, and Allah’s (swt) laws in human life regarding the fluctuating conditions of states and kingdoms, the rise of some above others, their decline, and their extinction by the command of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) said,
[تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ]
“You give authority to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will.” [TMQ Surah Aali ‘Imran: 26].
It is as if Allah (swt)is saying to people: Do you not see how Allah (swt) alternates night and day? He (swt) causes the day to enter the night, and its early signs begin to appear, its indicators manifest to people’s eyes until the darkness of night is fully dispelled, and the bright dawn begins to emerge until the day is complete and its sun shines clearly and radiantly. Then, soon after, the sun begins to set, and the day to wane, until it reaches its end, its light dims until it vanishes and dissipates, and night returns anew. This daily cycle in life, seen by every eye and comprehended by every mind, is the very same cycle of the life of nations, peoples, thrones, and kingdoms: No sooner does the star of some kingdoms and powers rise and shine on the horizon than it begins to set and perish by the command of Allah (swt).
Ibn Ashur said,
وهذا رَمْزٌ إلى ما حَدَثَ في العالَمِ مِن ظُلُماتِ الجَهالَةِ والإشْراكِ، وإلى ما حَدَثَ بِظُهُورِ الإسْلامِ مِن إبْطالِ الضَّلالاتِ، ولِذَلِكَ ابْتُدِئَ بِقَوْلِهِ [تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ في النَّهارِ]، لِيَكُونَ الِانْتِهاءُ بِقَوْلِهِ: [وتُولِجُ النَّهارَ في اللَّيْلِ]
“This is a symbol of what occurred in the world from the darkness of ignorance and polytheism, and of what occurred with the emergence of Islam in nullifying misguidance. Therefore, it began with His (swt) saying “You cause the night to enter upon the day” so that it concludes with His (swt) saying “and You cause the day to enter upon the night.”
What is evident in our time today, and concealed from no one of insight, is that we are witnessing the moment of the setting of a star whose power and dominance tyrannized the east and west of the earth for a long period, namely, the star of the capitalist ideology that began in the seventeenth century until it dominated the entire world, and it transgressed and arrogantly oppressed in the lands, multiplying corruption therein, even if it grows thick and stands firm on its stalk, the wrath of Allah (swt) will come upon it, and the wrongdoers will be the losers there. As we witness today the setting of the star of this ideology and this state, and we see the inevitability of its fall according to Allah’s (swt) Laws on earth, we observe that many Western thinkers who perceive the reality of things see the inevitability of its collapse and that its demise has drawn near.
Thus, the American thinker Paul Kennedy described in his book “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,” as early as 1987, “American share of world power has been declining relatively faster than Russia’s over the past few decades… the only way the United States can pay its way in the world is by importing ever-larger sums of capital, which has transformed it from being the world's largest creditor to the world's largest debtor nation in the space of a few years… if the United States at present continues to devote 7 percent or more of its GNP to defense spending... then it seems inevitable that the American share of world manufacturing will steadily decline, and also likely that its economic growth rates will be slower than in those countries dedicated to the marketplace and less eager to channel resources into defense.”
The French thinker Emmanuel Todd says in his book “After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order (2001),” “If the United States has greatly declined in relative terms as an economic power, it has nevertheless succeeded in massively increasing its capacity to siphon off wealth from the world economy. Objectively speaking, America has become a predator; but should this situation be interpreted as a sign of strength or of weakness? This can be debated, but it is certain that America is going to have to fight politically and militarily in order to sustain the hegemony that has become indispensable for maintaining its standard of living.”
Noam Chomsky wrote in his book “Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (2003),” that, “Ikenberry continues: “The new imperial grand strategy presents the United States as a revisionist state seeking to parlay its momentary advantages into a world order in which it runs the show,” prompting others to find ways to “work around, undermine, contain and retaliate against U.S. power.” The strategy threatens to “leave the world more dangerous and divided—and the United States less secure,” a view widely shared within the foreign policy elite.”
Chris Hedges, in his book “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (2009),” says, “America has become a façade. It has become the greatest illusion in a culture of illusions”;“At no period in American history has our democracy been in such peril or the possibility of totalitarianism as real”;and he added,“This endless, mindless diversion is a necessity in a society that prizes entertainment above substance.”
As for the writer Andrew J. Bacevich, he says in his book “The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2009),” “Long accustomed to thinking of the United States as a superpower, Americans have yet to realize that they have forfeited command of their own destiny. The reciprocal relationship between expansionism, abundance, and freedom—each reinforcing the other—no longer exists. If anything, the reverse is true: Expansionism squanders American wealth and power, while putting freedom at risk.”
There are hundreds of books and works that have been written and declared the inevitability of the collapse of the American global order. This confirms the divine truth regarding the perishing of tyrannical, arrogant regimes. We are witnessing this transformation today, and we see its signs clearly visible. Its symptoms began with the First Gulf War, America’s aggression against Iraq, the killing of innocents, the occupation of lands, the destruction of Afghanistan, the spread of an unjust image and unjust aggression, plundering of resources, spread corruption, deviance, immorality throughout the lands, the corruption of the economy and the deterioration of the financial system, until corruption manifested in its utmost form through support for the fascist entity in Palestine in killing, destroying, displacing the people of Gaza, committing genocide, and starving them in the most hideous forms of brutality that even the beasts of the jungle would recoil from. This corruption, collapse, and inhumanity were undoubtedly a harbinger of ruin and a declaration of the end for the oppressors.
Allah (swt) said,
[وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَالِمَةً وَأَنشَأْنَا بَعْدَهَا قَوْماً آخَرِينَ]
“And how many a city which was unjust have We shattered and produced after it another people.” [TMQ Surah Al-Anbiya 11]. What we witness today in terms of decline is nothing but the end of an era. Indeed, the end of a night whose darkness prolonged and whose days grew ever darker, its blackness begins to lift and its darkness to disperse as a divine idea whose light begins to dawn anew, its signs glimmering on the horizon. It is a pure and pristine idea carried by an Ummah that believed in it and sacrificed everything precious for its sake, and the tyrannical pharaohs of this era could no longer refute it. The wheel of time has turned, its appointed hour has come today, and no forces of oppression and tyranny can stop it. It is but an hour of daylight or an awakening after sleep until the wheel of time is complete. Allah (swt) permits the launching of its dawn, and that is not difficult for Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) grant our eyes the cooling vision of beholding the light of its sun, the mercy of its justice, and the brilliance of its glory. Aameen.