Q&A: The triumphant group (At-Taifa az-zahira)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The triumphant group (At-Taifa az-zahira)
الطائفة الظاهرة

Question: There are several Ahadeeth about the "triumphant group," what is the interpretation of these Ahadeeth? Does it apply to the ulema of Usool or the ulema of Hadith, as asserted in some sayings? Furthermore, we sometimes hear that this or that group says that it is the "triumphant group," so how can we clarify this? May Allah bless you.

Answer: the answer to your question is twofold:

1: the interpretation of the Ahaadeeth about the "triumphant group."

2: to deal with these Ahaadeeth.

There are a number of Ahaadeeth about the "triumphant group":

Bukhari narrated from Al-Mogheerah ibn Sho'ba that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ يَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُمْ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ
"There will always be a group amongst my Ummah that will be triumphant and Allah will cause them to triumph."

Muslim related from Thawbaan that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ
"There will always be a group amongst my Ummah who is triumphant upon truth, abandoning them will not harm them, until the order of Allah is given and they will be like that (triumphant)"

Muslim related from Jabir ibn Abdullah that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ فَيَنْزِلُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَيَقُولُ أَمِيرُهُمْ تَعَالَ صَلِّ لَنَا فَيَقُولُ لاَ إِنَّ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ أُمَرَاءُ تَكْرِمَةَ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةَ
"There will always be a group, triumphant in fighting for Al-Haq until Day of Resurrection. Then will Isa ibn Maryam (as) will descend and he will be asked by their Ameer to lead the prayer, but he will reply, No, your ameer has to be from you and this is the Karamah of Allah."

Muslim related from Jabir ibn Abdullah that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

وَلاَ تَزَالُ عِصَابَةٌ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى مَنْ نَاوَأَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ
"There will always be a group that will be triumphant upon the truth and will prevail on those who oppose them until the Day of Judgment."

Muslim related from Uqba bin Amir that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

لاَ تَزَالُ عِصَابَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ قَاهِرِينَ لِعَدُوِّهِمْ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ حَتَّى تَأْتِيَهُمُ السَّاعَةُ وَهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ
"There will always be a group in my Ummah that will fight according to the order of Allah, victorious over their enemies and there will be no harm on them from there contradictors until the hour comes and they will be triumphant."

Muslim related from Mu'awiyah that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي قَائِمَةً بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ أَوْ خَالَفَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ عَلَى النَّاسِ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah that will be steadfast on the order of Allah, they will not be harmed by those who oppose them or abandon them, until the order of Allah comes and they will be triumphant over humankind."

Tirmidhi related from Thawban that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ يَخْذُلُهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah that will be triumphant upon Haq, they will not be harmed by those who abandoned them until the order of Allah."

Abu Daud related from Imran ibn Hasseen that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى مَنْ نَاوَأَهُمْ حَتَّى يُقَاتِلَ آخِرُهُمُ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah that will fight on the truth, triumphant against those who oppose them and the last of them will fight the Dajjal."

Ahmad related from Jabir bin Abdullah that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يُقَاتِلُونَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah that will fight upon truth until the Day of Judgment."

Ahmad related that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ لَعَدُوِّهِمْ قَاهِرِينَ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ إِلاَّ مَا أَصَابَهُمْ مِنْ لأْوَاءَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُمْ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَأَيْنَ هُمْ؟ قَالَ: بِبَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ وَأَكْنَافِ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah triumphant upon the truth, victorious over their enemies, there will be no harm from those who oppose them and they will not be harmed until the order of Allah comes and they will be like that (triumphant). They said, "O RasulAllah, where are they? He said, "In Baytul-Maqdis and the precincts of Baytul-Maqdis."

At-Tabaraani in "Al-Kabeer" related that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

لاَ تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى مَنْ يَغْزُوهُمْ قَاهِرِينَ لاَ يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ نَاوَأَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُمْ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَأَيْنَ هُمْ قَالَ بِبَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ
"There will always be a group from my Ummah triumphant on the truth and victorious over those who oppose them and no harm will come to them from those who contradict them, until the order of Allah comes and they are so. RasulAllah was asked, "Where are they?" He replied, "Baytul-Maqdis."

It was mentioned in hadith of Abu Umaama from Ahmad that it is Baytul-Maqdis, and from Tabaraani in a similar hadith, and in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in the Al-Awsat by At-Tabaraani, RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم said,

"يقاتلون على أبواب دمشق وما حولها، وعلى أبواب بيت المقدس وما حوله، لا يضرهم من خذلهم ظاهرين إلى يوم القيامة"
"They will fight in Damascus and its precincts, and at the gates of Baytul-Maqdis and its precincts, they will not be harmed by those who abandon them and they will be triumphant until the Day of Judgment." (Fath-Bari)

لا تزال عصابة من أمتي يقاتلون على أبواب دمشق وما حولها وعلى أبواب بيت المقدس وما حولها، لا يضرهم خذلان من خذلهم ظاهرين على الحق إلى أن تقوم الساعة
"There will always be a group from my Ummah that will fight at the gates of Damascus and its precincts and at Baytul-Maqdis and its precincts. They will not be harmed by those who abandon them and will be triumphant on the truth until the Day of the Hour." (Kanz al-A'maal by Muttaqi Al-Hindi)

Reflection upon the hadith clarifies the following about the ahadeeth,

1 - It refers to a part of the Ummah and not all of it, for the reason that Taa'ifa (Group) in the language means the part of a thing and every part of something is the Taa'ifa of it. Qamoos says,

والطائفة من الشيء: القطعة منه
"And a Taa'fa of a thing is a part of it."

2 - It will be steadfast on the truth, which is Islam, " قائمة بأمر الله", "steadfast on the order of Allah."

3 - They will be fighting on the truth, in the way of Allah, «يقاتلون على الحق», they will fight on truth, ، «يقاتلون على أمر الله», they will fight according to the order of Allah.

4 - It is the same strength and ability will lead to fighting the enemy army, vanquishing them, defeating them decisively and establishing an apparent victory,

«يقاتلون على الحق ظاهرين على من ناوأهم»
"Fighting on the Truth against those who oppose them."

«يقاتلون على أمر الله قاهرين لعدوهم»
"Fighting on the order of Allah, vanquishing the enemy."

5 - Indeed this group, (يقاتلون على أبواب دمشق وما حولها وعلى أبواب بيت المقدس وما حوله) "fighting at the gates of Damascus and its precincts and at the gates of Bayt ul-Maqdis and its precincts" means fighting the enemy and emerging victorious in the areas of ash-Sham and its precincts.

These descriptions indicate that this group is based on Islam, fights in its cause, and has strength that makes it possible to defeat the enemy decisively and clearly obvious. Regarding the enemies of the states and the armies, the group that is triumphant over them must be a strong Muslim army in a Muslim country, led by the Khaleefah or the army commander, fighting the enemy and beating them in a humiliating defeat, victorious over them, vanquishing them and dominating them. And it will be launched from Ash-Sham and its precincts, the state and army has been battling the enemy and will defeat it and dominate it. Namely, this group is either the entourage of the state and the army which will be victorious over the enemy, vanquish them and dominate them, or this group is working for a state and army that will triumph over the enemy, vanquish them and dominate over them.

This could apply to the era of Prophet Muhammad, صلى الله عليه وسلم and the companions in the fight against the enemy and dominating over them.

It can also apply to the golden era of Islam in the fight against the enemy dominating over them, to every Khaleefah and the leader of the Islamic army in the state, fighting the enemy, defeating, vanquishing and dominating him.

It can also apply to Salahuddin and his army in the defeat of the Crusaders, as well as the Qutuz and Baibars and his army's victory over the Tartars.

It could also apply to us because we work to create a strong Islamic state - a rightly guided Khilafah - to fight the kafir enemy, defeat them, dominate them and emerge obviously victorious. So, eradicating the state of Jews and opening Rome as promised. This is what could be and is probable.

But this does not apply to any group which is neither an Islamic state nor an army of the Islamic state, because without a state or an army, it could not vanquish the enemy nor dominate it obviously. Nor can it, without a state or army of the Islamic state, eliminate the entity of the Jews or defeat America or Britain.

Thus, it does not apply to groups, without a state or army in a state, fighting the enemy, because the description of the triumphant group is not just fighting but vanquishing the enemy, and the enemy state and army cannot be defeated, vanquished of dominated by a group without a state or army. It also does not apply to any group that is not working to establish an Islamic state - the Khilafah- because it cannot vanquish states and armies. Fighting and dominance over the enemy, whether it already exists practically or is being worked to establish, is the fundamental description of this group.

It also is not applicable to ulema of Hadeeth or Usool except if they work for the establishment of a state that fights and dominates over the enemies, vanquishing them and being victorious.

As stated in the Sahih Al-Bukhari:
Regarding the hadith of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم , (لا تزال طائفة من أمتي ظاهرين على الحق يقاتلون وهم أهل العلم) "There will always be a group from my Ummah that is triumphant on the truth and they are the ulema," the phrase وهم أهل العلم "and they are the people of knowledge" are the words of the transmitter and not the speech of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم .

As for what came from Asqalaani in Fath Al-Baari:
"The saying "and they are the people of knowledge" is from the words of the transmitter."

It should be noted that there any group fighting the enemy sincerely, will get reward, even if they are unable to dominate on the enemy, vanquish them and triumph over them, even if the fighting is by individuals against the enemy, sincerely, there is reward. And if there is any group engaged in an act of Khair, there is reward in it, even if it is the work of an individual. And any group engaged in the Knowledge of Islam, whether regarding Usul or Hadith, there is reward even if there are actions related to the individual in these matters.

But the issue is not this, but in describing this or that group as the Triumphant Group. To describe a group as the Triumphant Group it is necessary to collate what is mentioned in the light of the Ahadeeth of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

And interpretation of these Ahadeeth, after gathering them and reflecting upon them, is what has been mentioned earlier. And it is what I have outweighed and opined is right.

As for the phrase لا يزال "there will always be" does not mean they it will not be interrupted, but it means that it will prevail over the enemy in successive periods until the Day of Resurrection, namely, that its victory over the enemy is not once and then the enemy returns to defeat us forever, rather our victory will be in successive periods until the Day of Resurrection. This is what has happened when we were triumphant over the kuffar and we were victorious over them in the days of Islam then we defeated and won and these were the days that we were given by turns (by Allah) and then came the Crusaders and they were defeated, and then came the Tartars and they were defeated, and then we were weak and then we returned and we opened Constantinople and it became Istanbul ... and it is upon the Khilafah that when it returns, by the permission of Allah, it will eradicate the entity of Jews, which occupied Palestine, and it will open Rome, by the permission of Allah, and this described group will remain upon the Truth until the last of them fights the Dajjal. It is noteworthy that in the hadeeth of the descent of Esa عليه السلام before the Day of Resurrection, he will find a state and an Ameer, and then there will be victory over the enemy, decisively and obviously.

So, the "there will always be" does not mean without interruption, but it means that the world will not be without periods of victory by the Muslims against the enemy, resoundingly and obviously, until the Day of Resurrection.

This is like saying of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم, narrated by al-Bukhaari:

«لن يزال أمر هذه الأمة مستقيماً حتى تقوم الساعة»
"The affair of this Ummah will be until the Last Hour"

This does not mean that the integrity of the nation will remain always, as in various periods it was interrupted, as in after the destruction of the Khilafah.

It means that this world would never be without the integrity of this Ummah until the Day of Resurrection, it will not become "crooked" and never return to integrity, and when her Khilafah departed her matter did not return but left as well, and every time "crookedness" returns, the integrity of the Ummah will return until the Day of Resurrection.

This is the first part of the answer, and this is what I outweigh in this issue, but I do not rule out that there is another explanation but I outweigh that this is correct.

As for the second part, regarding dealing with these Ahadeeth:

They must be treated in a practical manner, as the Companions رضي الله عنهم and those that follow in Good dealt with the Ahadeeth of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم which promised and informed of matters which bore Khair for the Muslims. So, when they heard or read Hadith of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم about the Opening of Constantinople or Rome, everyone of them was eager that the fulfilling of this promise was by their hand, until it pleased Allah to bestow his mercy and Fadl upon Muhammad Al-Faatih with the First Opening which became Istanbul. So, when they heard the hadith they agreed to work hard to achieve its realization at their hands and they achieved the Khair that Allah described of the Opener نعم الأمير أميرها ونعم الجيش جيشها "Blessed is its Ameer and blessed is its army." Many Khulafa'a sent armies to open Constantinople, and many of the Sahaba, until they become elderly, such as Abu Ayyub رضي الله عنه, were involved in these armies to achieve this great Fadl.

Such is the matter of the Hadeeth about the Triumphant Group, so when RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم informs us about its description and announced its Fadl, and that it will fight the enemies and be victorious over them, vanquish them and be triumphant over them decisively and obviously, and this will not occur except with an Islamic State and a Muslim army which will defeat the Kafir states and their armies, so we must persist in assistance and increase our effort and struggle on the path to establish the Islamic state, the rightly guided Khilafah, so we will be in its army and fight the enemy, so we vanquish them, we be victorious over them and we are triumphant over them decisively and obviously. So, we hope from Allah سبحانه وتعالى that we are from that group which RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned in his noble Ahadeeth.

Then there is of the matter of utmost importance and that is the that the issue is not that we say this group is the Triumphant Group or we say this one or that, indeed the issue is that whoever loves to be in the Triumphant Group he work to achieve what was conveyed of its description and so he works to establish an Islamic state and an Islamic army that fights the Kafir enemies America, Britain and Jews ... etc and vanquishes them, is victorious over them and dominates them. And this is what indicates to him that he is part of the Triumphant Group, so one who intends to be of the Triumphant Group, let him work with whatever he has, by the permission of Allah, to achieve its description of overwhelming the enemies, achieving victory and dominance over them,

We ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى that we are of the Triumphant Group and that we witness the Islamic state, the rightly guided Khilafah, and we are from soldiers of Islam who defeat the enemy, overwhelm them and are victorious and triumphant over them.

And Allah سبحانه وتعالى supports those who support Him and He سبحانه وتعالى is Qawwi, Aziz.