Oppression, Respite, and Outcome: Three True Messages
✍ Written by: Qārī Usāmah bin ‘Abd al-Salām
① Respite for the Oppressor, But No Escape from the Outcome!
In this world, the oppressor is often given long respite, until he begins to think that perhaps no one can harm him. Day and night he crushes the weak, seizes the rights of the oppressed, and considers himself invincible.
But he forgets that:
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللّٰهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ الظَّالِمُونَ
❝ And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do ❞
(إبراهيم: 42)
Allah Almighty seizes the oppressor, but according to His wisdom — and when He seizes, all doors of respite are closed.
Every Pharaoh, Nimrod, and Yazid of the world met their end — some buried in their graves as lessons of warning, others left as marks of curse in the pages of history.
❝ Even if oppression takes respite, it cannot escape the outcome! ❞
② However Long the Night of Oppression, Dawn Will Surely Break
Oppression is darkness. When it envelops a society, despair, helplessness, and suffocation prevail. The cries of the oppressed are silenced, the truth is buried, and the oppressor becomes intoxicated with power.
But however long this night of oppression extends —
morning will surely arrive.
وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ
❝ And soon the wrongdoers will know to what return they will be returned ❞
(الشعراء: 227)
Every tyranny in this world has a limit, and every oppressed has a dawn. Allah grants time to the oppressor so that he may repent — otherwise, time itself overturns him: stripping him of honor, power, children, wealth, and even his very trace.
❝ After every night of oppression, a dawn of justice awaits ❞
③ The Oppressor Always Meets His End
The system of the universe stands upon justice. When someone, relying on power, crushes the weak, deceives, or harms — know that he is registering a case against himself in the court of Allah.
Great oppressors came into the world, with armies, wealth, conspiracies, and power. Yet, each one ultimately met his downfall.
- Pharaoh drowned in the rivers.
- Nimrod was destroyed by a mosquito.
- Abū Lahab was disgraced by the Qur’an with تَبَّتْ يَدَاه.
- Yazid was never forgiven by history.
❝ However great the plot of the oppressor, Allah’s seizure is the greatest plot ❞
إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ
"Indeed, the seizure of your Lord is severe."
(البروج: 12)
If the oppressor does not repent, even if he escapes in the world, he will surely be seized in the Hereafter.
