God knows what you do not know...

God knows what you do not know, and you will win a victory near at hand before your conquest of Mecca." (48:27) This verse informs the Muslims that they will enter the Sacred Mosque and perform the ceremonies of the lesser pilgrimage ('umra) without any fear, and that the polytheists will be defeated and their power will vanish. It also assures them that in the near future they will enjoy another victory.

These predictions were made at a time when no military expert or adviser could have predicted the occurrence, given the difficult circumstances of the Muslims and the unfavorable situation in which they found themselves. In reality, then, it was not the outer beings of the Muslim warriors, the physical strength and weaponry they possessed, that were victorious; it was God's aid, joined to their strenuous efforts, that gave rise to victory .

The repeated statement in the Qur’an that all miracles and victories take place with the permission of God indicates how limited is the role played by personalities in history despite their power of choice and the dimensions their creative activity may assume. The Prophets represent the most important of the factors necessary for destroying existing social realities and bringing about social changes at a given point in history.

With their luminosity, they penetrate the darkness surrounding society that is an obstacle on the path to God. They create a distinctive set of values, and with God's permission, they guide men to righteousness and salubrity. It is precisely within the growing darkness that the evolutionary course of history causes the emergence of exalted personalities. Their appearance is one of the basic factors in bringing about fundamental social change and one of the undoubted necessities of history.

A careful examination of history will show that the Prophets appeared at decisive turning points in time, playing a fundamental role in conveying human societies from a lower stage to a higher one.

It is then up to the human being himself firmly to base his orientation to the world on an awareness of the constant evolution of all phenomena and the movement of all of being toward its lofty aims, as well as on faith and belief in the source of creation and worthy action that brings him into harmony with the universal proclamation of God's glory by all things.