It was wrong.
Power respects power. The Ottomans taught that empires are not maintained by words but by fear. And Iran, by avoiding both nuclear capacity and military retaliation, taught its enemies that it would not act-even when its people, and its principles, were under attack.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
If you ask Allah, then ask Him for strength. And if you seek help, seek it with resolve. Do not say, ‘If only I had…’-for ‘if’ opens the door to Shayṭān.
(Sahih Muslim)
Hesitation, doubt, and delay invite defeat-not mercy. Iran now faces the price of restraint: a legacy of lost deterrence, a region in flames, and an empire that struck not in fear-but in confidence.
But this is not just Iran’s failure. It is a warning to the entire Muslim world.
If Muslims are to survive in a world governed by raw power, they must abandon strategic naivety, revive a doctrine of strength, and reform their political will. Lessons from Ottoman history, from Prophetic leadership, and from modern geopolitical reality all point to the same truth: survival requires decisive action, not cautious delay; preparation, not wishful diplomacy.
Anything less is an invitation to be ruled.
