Tyranny can never last long. Allah gives the oppressor respite but does not let him go. In the Holy Quran, Allah says: “And Qarun, Pharaoh and Haman — Moses came to them with clear proofs, yet they were arrogant in the land, but they could not escape (My punishment). Each of them We seized for his sin: on some We sent a violent wind with stones, some were seized by a mighty blast, some We caused the earth to swallow, and some We drowned. Allah did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves.” (Surah Al-Ankabut: 39-40)
Looking at this verse makes it somewhat easier to understand the ultimate fate of the oppressor, the tyrant. In the 2024 uprising, 36 July — that is, 5 August — brought that real picture before us. The more a ruler’s tyranny grows, the more his rule runs out, and the time of his humiliation draws near. In a Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah gives the oppressor respite, until He finally seizes him in such a way that he can no longer escape.” (Bukhari: 4686) 36 July did not come without cause. Behind it lie thousands of injustices, oppression, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, the cries of the oppressed and anti-Islam activities. Though it began as the quota movement, after hundreds of killings the movement’s course changed into a movement to bring down the autocratic government.
On 5 August, the country’s people did not only take to the streets; in prayer, remembrance of Allah and tearful supplication they sought their Lord’s help. Many fasted and offered the prayer of need (salatul hajat) before setting out to join the “long march to Dhaka” programme. And when the autocrat Hasina fell, all offered thanks in the court of the Almighty with takbir and prostration, tears in their eyes.
Entering the great national parliament, where the country’s laws are made, students and people celebrated this victory with takbir, tearful prayer and recitation of Surah An-Nasr. This victory of the oppressed recalls the verse in which Allah tells the Prophet: “Say: O Allah, Master of the kingdom, You give kingdom to whom You will and take kingdom from whom You will; You honour whom You will and humiliate whom You will. In Your hand is all good. Indeed, You have power over all things.” (Surah Al-Imran: 26)
Allah has compared the plans, dreams and worldly power of oppressors to the weaving of a spider’s web. The spider weaves its web very skilfully; many insects are caught in it and lose their lives, becoming its food, and it perhaps thinks it has woven a very strong web. Such is the state of oppressors. Allah says: “The likeness of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the spider, which builds itself a house; and surely the frailest of houses is the spider’s house, if only they knew.” (Surah Al-Ankabut: 41)
The ruling class of every age must hold to this eternal truth: that the true owner of all power over the heavens, the earth and the whole universe is Allah. True kingship, sovereignty and honour are His. He gives honour and power to whom He wills, and strips power from and humiliates whom He wills. So a ruler must be just — for on the Day of Judgement, seven categories of people will be given shade beneath the Throne, the first of them a just ruler. A ruler must hold to Islam and be God-fearing. Only then can we regain those longed-for golden days whose foundation will be justice.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report