Part 3
By Abdullah Arab
In continuing the analysis of the factors behind ISIS’s defeat and complete eradication, one must acknowledge a major and fundamental reason behind the group’s rapid downfall: their widespread, systematic, and ruthless oppression and tyranny, inflicted not only upon the Muslim Ummah but also on non-Muslims.
Indeed, oppression is like a double-edged sword: it destroys its victims and ultimately drags the oppressor into the pit of destruction.
The ISIS-Khawarij, who emerged under the banner of establishing an Islamic caliphate and “saving the Ummah,” carried out acts of oppression so extreme that even Islam’s enemies were astonished. Their tyranny was like a consuming fire, reducing the very foundations of their imagined state to ashes.
Turning to the exalted teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), it becomes clear that governments founded on oppression are never truly sustainable and are inevitably headed toward collapse. Allah Almighty says in the Glorious Qur’an:
«وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَبَقُوا إِنَّهُمْ لَا يُعْجِزُونَ»
(Al-Anfal 59)
This sacred verse points to the reality that oppressors can never escape Divine punishment. Their end is inevitably destruction.
Similarly, Allah Almighty says elsewhere:
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ»
(Yunus: 81)
This means that any action founded on corruption and oppression can neither lead to reform nor endure over time.
The Prophet (PBUH) also emphasized this truth in his sacred sayings:
«الظُّلْمُ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
This hadith means that oppression is a source of darkness on the Day of Judgment. It not only describes the punishment in the Hereafter but also shows that tyranny in this world drags oppressors into the pit of destruction and darkness.
Another hadith states:
«إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ خَيْرًا جَعَلَ أَمْرَهُمْ إِلَى حُلَمَائِهِمْ، وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ شَرًّا جَعَلَ أَمْرَهُمْ إِلَى سُفَهَائِهِمْ»
(Abu Dawood)
This illustrates that when power falls into the hands of the ignorant and tyrants, the destruction and evil of that society become inevitable.
The great scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah have also emphasized that no government can endure through oppression, for tyranny destroys the unity of the Ummah and deprives it of Divine support.
Imam al-Ghazali (RA) writes in Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din that oppression weakens the very foundations of every kingdom and propels it toward inevitable collapse.
However, the actions of the ISIS-Khawarij were in complete contradiction to these sacred Islamic guidelines. They committed countless atrocities: killing innocent Muslims in mosques and marketplaces, destroying Islamic cities, seizing people’s wealth, and even torturing and abusing women and children.
This group, which claimed to be the defender of Islam, in reality inflicted the greatest harm upon the Ummah through these very acts of oppression. They tarnished the merciful image of Islam worldwide. These atrocities were not only in direct contradiction to the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah, but also caused ordinary Muslims to turn away, prompted genuine jihadi movements to rise against them, and gave global powers a pretext to pursue their destruction.
In the end, just as the Glorious Qur’an and the Sunnah had foretold, their so-called state quickly collapsed. All their claims were reduced to dust.
Indeed, any structure built on oppression is inevitably destined to fall.