The Prophet’s Dua That the Ummah Not Be Dominated and Destroyed
The Prophet (peace be upon him) made the following dua:
Thauban reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:
Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake. And I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Ummah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasure and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and branch, and my Lord said: Muhammad, whenever I make a decision, there is none to change it. I grant you for your Ummah that it would not be destroyed by famine and it would not be dominated by an enemy who would not be amongst it and would take their lives and destroy them root and branch even if all the people from the different parts of the world join hands together (for this purpose), but it would be from amongst them, viz. your Ummah, that some people would kill the others or imprison the others. [Saheeh Muslim]
Commenting on this hadith, Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
معنى الكلام: أن رسول الله ﷺ سأل الله أن لا يسلط العدو على الأمة تسليطًا يتمزق به إهاب الجامعة الإسلامية، فليس المراد أن لا يسلط العدو على بعض المسلمين في بعض الأقطار أو في بعض الأيام؛ لأن سنة الله في هذا الكون أن الدنيا دول والحرب سجال، وأن الأمور موكلة إلى أسبابها وعوارضها، فقد هزم المسلمون في زمن الرسول ﷺ في بعض الوقائع كما قال تعالى: ﴿هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالا شَدِيدًا﴾ [الأحزاب: ١١]، وإنما المراد أن لا يسلط عدوًّا على جميع الأمة فيستأصلها بقرينة قوله قبله: أن لا يهلكهم بسنة عامة، أي بقحط يعم جميع بلاد الإسلام حتى يستأصلهم فلا يمنع ذلك من حصول قحط في بعض الجهات يهلك طوائف من الناس، فقد كان قحط عام الرمادة في خلافة عمر ﵁، وكان غيره بعده ونظير هذا أن رسول الله ﷺ سأل ربه غير مرة دعوات مرجعها إلى حماية هذه الأمة من أسباب الاستئصال، فقد أمن الله أمة محمد ﷺ من الخسف ومن الهلاك بالريح ونحو ذلك مما أهلكت به الأمم البائدة، وفي حديث البخاري أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «سألت ربي أن لا يهلك أمتي بعذاب من فوقهم أو من تحت أرجلهم فاستجاب لي وسألته: أن لا يلبسهم شيعًا ويذيق بعضهم بأس بعض، فلم يستجب لي»
وفي الصحيح أنه لما أنزل قوله تعالى: ﴿قُلْ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ﴾ [الأنعام: ٦٥]، قال رسول الله ﷺ «أعوذ بسبحات وجهك الكريم أن يلبسكم شيعًا ويضيق بعضكم لباس بعض» قال رسول الله ﷺ: «هذه أخف»، فالرسول ﷺ حريص على أن لا يصيب الأمة شيء يستأصلها؛ لأن ذلك يقطع أعظم شيء عند الرسول وهو توحيد الله وعبادته، ألا ترى قوله يوم بدر وهو في العريش: «اللهم إن تهلك هذه العصابة لا تعبد في الأرض»؛ وذلك أن الأمم الماضية أصابهم الاستئصال بأنواع الهلكات من نحو الغرق لقوم نوح، والريح لعاد والخسف لأهل سدوم والصاعقة لثمود وسيل العرم لسبأ، والصيحة لمدين، فباد جمعهم وهلكوا، والاستئصال بالسيف لبني إسرائيل على أيدي السريان في مدة بختنصر ثم على أيدي الرومان في زمن طيطس حتى استبيحت بيضتهم وزالت جامعتهم إلى اليوم
The meaning of the statement is that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked Allah not to allow the enemy to overpower the Muslim ummah in a way that would tear apart the fabric of the Islamic world. The intention is not to suggest that enemies would never overpower some Muslims in certain regions or on certain days, as the nature of the world is cyclical, with alternating periods of dominance and defeat, and events are subject to their causes and circumstances. Indeed, the Muslims were defeated during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in some instances, as Allah says: "There, the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking" [Quran, 33:11].
The purpose is that no enemy should be able to annihilate the entire Muslim community, as indicated by the preceding statement that they should not be destroyed by a widespread famine affecting all Muslim lands, thus leading to their complete eradication. This does not preclude the occurrence of famines in some regions that could result in the death of groups of people. For instance, the famine of "Amur-Ramadah" occurred during the caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and other famines occurred after that. Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked his Lord multiple times for protection from causes of annihilation. Allah safeguarded the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him) from being swallowed by the earth or being destroyed by wind, as other past nations were destroyed.
In the hadith recorded by al-Bukhari, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "I asked my Lord not to destroy my nation by a flood or by an enemy overpowering them, and He granted me this request. And I asked Him not to let them fight amongst themselves, but He did not grant me this request."
It is authentically reported that when the verse of Allah, the Most High, was revealed: "Say, 'He is able to send upon you affliction from above you'" [Quran, 6:65], the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "I seek refuge in the splendor of Your noble face from divisions among you and from some of you tasting the oppression of others." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then said, "This is lighter." The Prophet (peace be upon him) was keen that the ummah should not suffer something that would annihilate them, as that would destroy the most important matter to the Prophet, which is the worship and oneness of Allah. Consider his words on the day of Badr when he was in the hut: "O Allah, if this small group is destroyed, You will not be worshipped on earth."
Past nations were annihilated through various forms of destruction, such as the drowning of Noah's people, the wind that struck 'Aad, the swallowing of the earth that befell the people of Sodom, the thunderbolt that struck Thamud, the flood that destroyed the people of Saba, and the cry that annihilated Midian. Their communities perished and were destroyed. The annihilation by the sword occurred to the Children of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians during the time of Nebuchadnezzar and later by the Romans in the time of Titus, leading to their complete downfall and the dissolution of their unity, which remains until today.[1]
[1] Ibn Ashur, Taḥqīqāt wa-Anẓār fī al-Qurʾān wa-al-Sunnah, p. 98