So it is these whom Allāh will establish upon the earth, and through whom He will strengthen His Word. However, those who do not establish the al-Ṣalāh (Prayer), nor pay the Zakāh, nor enjoin the good and forbid the evil, then there is no promise from Allāh that He will aid them and grant them victory.

Allāh the Mighty and Majestic said:

“Indeed, Allāh will help those who help His cause. Indeed Allāh is all-Powerful, all-Mighty.”
[Sūrah al-Ḥajj, 22:40]

Imām al-Shanqītī (d.1393H) (raḥimahullāh) said:

“Allāh the Mighty and Majestic explains in this noble Verse that He has promised to help and give victory to those who help Him. And it is known that the Help and the Victory of Allāh comes by following what He has prescribed, obeying His command, avoiding His prohibitions, helping His messengers and their followers, aiding His Religion and fighting against His enemies and overpowering them; until the Word of Allāh is made uppermost and the word of His enemies is debased. Then Allāh the Exalted explains the characteristics of those whom He has promised would receive His help and victory, distinguishing them from others. So Allāh said about those to whom He promised He would aid and grant victory to – for indeed He is the One to aid and grant victory:

“Those who, if We establish them in the earth, establish the Prayer, give the Zakāh, enjoin the good and forbid the evil.”
[Sūrah al-Ḥajj, 22:41]

So this Verse points to the fact that whoever helps Allāh, then Allāh will help and aid them. This is clearly explained in the statement of Allāh the Exalted:

“O you who believe. If you help Allāh, Allāh will help you; and establish your feet firmly. But those who disbelieve, for them is destruction and Allāh will make their deeds vain.”
[Sūrah Muḥammad, 47:7]

“Indeed, Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves, the Messengers, that they will certainly be victorious; and that Our forces will certainly be triumphant.”
[Sūrah al-Ṣāffāt, 37:171-173]

“Allāh has decreed: It is I and My Messenger who will prevail.”
[Sūrah al-Mujaadilah, 58:21]

“Allāh has promised to those amongst you who have īmān (certainty and belief) and do righteous actions, and that He will grant you the khilāfah (succession) in the land.”
[Sūrah al-Nūr, 24:55]

So in the statement of Allāh the Exalted:

“Those who, if We establish them in the earth, establish the Prayer, give the Zakāh, enjoin the good and forbid the evil.”
[Sūrah al-Ḥajj, 22:41]

In this is proof that there is no promise from Allāh of His help, except by establishing the al-Ṣalāh (prayer), paying the Zakāh, enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil. So it is these whom Allāh will establish upon the earth, and through whom He will strengthen His Word. However, for those who do not establish the al-Ṣalāh (Prayer), nor pay the Zakāh, nor enjoin the good and forbid the evil, then there is no promise from Allāh that He will aid them and grant them victory. Such people are not from His party, nor are they His friends; they are not of those who have the promise of His help and victory. Rather, such people are from the party of Shayṭān and his friends. So if they were to expect the Help of Allāh and the fulfillment of His promise upon them, then their example is like that of a hired worker who refuses to do the job that he was hired for, yet he expects to be rewarded. So whosoever is like this, then he has no intellect.”¹

So the help that we so desperately await, and the victory that we so strongly desire will only come about by: “The Muslims returning and repenting to their Lord, correcting their ʿaqīdah (beliefs) and cultivating themselves and their families upon the pure and correct Islām; putting into effect the statement of Allāh the Exalted:

“Never will Allāh change the condition of a people until they change themselves”
[Sooratur-Ra’ad, 13:11]²

Endnotes:

[1] Adwaa`ul Bayān (5/703-704) of al-‘Allāmah al-Shanqītī.
[2] Sharḥul ʿAqīdahtit Tahaawiyyah (p. 47) of Shaykh al-Albānī.