Published: May 17, 2025
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The concept of slave morality was and is a fundamental assault on the Abrahamic tradition. Nietzsche's specialty was studying classics, so he was immersed in and admired Greek culture and religion. Like many post-Renaissance figures, he bought into the "Dark Age" theory...

...which, much like Persian jahiliyyah revivalism, regards the introduction of the Abrahamic tradition as a retrograde force that was holding them back. This critique is somewhat valid when applied to Christianity, but it attacks common foundations of both Islam...

...and Christianity, so it's really not something anyone who wants to be a Muslim and hold onto their iman should use as an analytical tool. It's a very direct celebration of paganism and scathing rebuke of the Biblical (and to a large extent Quranic) narrative.

Applying the concept to the theory of global jihadi insurgency is an extremely clumsy use of the concept at best. Victories in jihadi insurgency are a manifestation of divine power and grace that cut through the illusion of this world, making the ultimate reality visible.

The reality is that the strength and power that the pagans idolize is in fact no strength or power at all, and that there is no strength and power except by Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. By their submission to Allah, the Muslims become more powerful than the pagans.

This is why no Muslim society ever produced a Nietzsche. Islam does not have the same emphasis on meekness as Christianity. For example, see Matthew 10:16 where Jesus tells his disciples to be as harmless as doves.

Nietzsche saw Christianity as negating the vital impulse of humanity, which is very valid when you see how it institutionalized celibacy. By contrast, Rasulullah ﷺ explicitly rejected the practices of celibacy and excessive fasting, into which the Christians had fallen.

He ﷺ also said: "I have been sent with the sword, before the Hour, so that Allah alone is worshipped without any partner; my provision has been placed beneath the shade of my spear; subservience and humiliation have been placed upon those who disobey my orders, and whoever...

imitates a people, then he is one of them." [Musnad Ahmad 5115]. This is clearly very far from Nietzsche's conception of slave morality, yet the Arabs in the time of the sahaba nonetheless would have been regarded as living in relative poverty and possessing inferior...

...technology compared to their kafir Roman and Persian opponents. And more importantly, despite his strength and courage, Rasulullah ﷺ still exemplified the values which Nietzsche mocked as a Jewish plot - mercy, compassion, and kindness with the weak and vulnerable.

The reality which demolishes Nietzsche's theory (and is the reason followers of Abrahamic faiths consistently crush pagans in geopolitics) is that mercy is in fact a sign of strength. Allah is ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful, because he is al Aziz, al Jabbar, al Mutakabir.

Conversely, despite being the most powerful member of the most powerful civilization, Fir'awn, the arch-pagan, was cruel and lacked mercy because of his insecurity and weakness. He slaughtered the babies of Bani Israel because he feared they could threaten his power.

Very much as the Jews today mercilessly slaughter the children of the Palestinians in an attempt to hold onto their power. But the absolute power of the Most Merciful encompassed Fir'awn, just as it will inevitably encompass the Jews.

So quite the opposite of celebrating weakness and turning it into a virtue, jihadi insurgency is actually an expression of absolute power. By acknowledging our own weakness and relying totally upon our Lord, we become vessels for absolute, transcendent strength.

This shatters the illusion of worldly power, and illusion that only deceives those who have not fully internalized the reality of tawheed. And this is how jihad reveals the hypocrites - those who believe in appearances of worldly power act in accordance with their belief...

..., and those who believe in the All Powerful and Most Merciful Lord, the Knower of the unseen, act in accordance with their belief. The stronger their certainty in the ultimate reality becomes, the more convinced they become of their own powerlessness, and the more their...

...actions become an expression of divine power. This yaqeen is the sakinah of ahl ul Badr, it is a conviction in the power of Allah ta'ala so strong that all fear of death leaves a person - a sensation Fir'awn and the most seemingly powerful tyrants will never feel.

The hypocrites will never understand the strength of the believers, because they look only at the material reality and see weakness. Ahl ul Badr were not victorious by their numbers, equipment, or combat skills, but by thousands of angels sent by Allah.

These angels were not just moral support emanating vibes. They actually struck the disbelievers dead, leaving their fingertips blackened. Such intervention by angels has also been reported in various instances of modern jihad.

To summarize, Nietzsche was a tragically confused individual who rightful railed against some of the core problems of Christianity, but in reacting to the extremes of Christianity went to the extreme of exalting paganism.

Anyone who Allah has blessed with faith in Islamic theology is not in need of concepts developed by him, and especially not those concepts that embody intrinsic enmity toward core Islamic precepts. And Allah's refuge is sought.

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