Serving God’s Cause (Nusrat al-dEEn

territories from the oppression and domination of Western forces. This too was Nusrat al-deen. Similarly, figures such as Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari, Imam al-Ghazali, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Allama Ibn alJawzi, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, Shah Waliullah, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, and many other scholars, saints, and men of resolve dedicated themselves to serving the needs of the religion in their respective areas, this was also Nusrat al-deen. They used all their strength to support the faith. Each of them was a supporter and helper of the religion, and each holds a high rank with Allah. Just as the support needed for faith depends on the requirements of the time, so is the support provided by individuals based on their own abilities and resources. Everyone is responsible for offering what they have: those endowed with speech and knowledge will support faith through their words and wisdom, while those blessed by Allah with physical and external resources will use these to fulfill the needs of the religion. In this regard, I quote Shaykh al-Islam ‘Izz al-Deen Ibn Abd al-Salam (578–660 AH), one of the most respected and influential scholars of Islamic history: Allah has commanded us to strive in support of His religion. The weapon of the scholar is his knowledge and his tongue, just as the weapon