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At some point in our lives, we have all had our trust
betrayed. There exist few of us who trust anyone implicitly. The
same goes for principles or philosophies. We have trusted them, only
to be disappointed. In the same light, we have followed religious
scholars, only to find that they too have betrayed us - either by
being undereducated or imperfect. Maybe that is why it is so hard
for us to let go of ourselves and truly trust Allah.
When we start to
analyze a command, we find in it things we can not explain or fully
understand, so we stop doing it or do the thing which was forbidden
to us, because the opposite does not make sense to us. Let me put
that in more specific terms: We know that at the 120th day of life,
Allah writes for us our sustenance (risq).
Narrated Anas bin
Malik: The Prophet said, "Allah puts an angel in charge of the
uterus and the angel says, 'O Lord, (it is) semen! O Lord, (it is
now ) a clot! O Lord, (it is now) a piece of flesh.' And then, if
Allah wishes to complete its creation, the angel asks, 'O Lord,
(will it be) a male or a female? A wretched (an evil doer) or a
blessed (doer of good)? How much will his provisions be? What will
his age be?' So all that is written while the creature is still in
the mother's womb." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 8, Book 77, Number
594:
We know that Allah
has planned out our jobs and our income. Yet, we may shave our beard
or take off the hijab when we go for an interview because we are
afraid that we will not get a particular job. There is a huge
contradiction in our beliefs here. If we know that what is for us is
for us, then why are we going against Allah's orders to achieve the
objective. The reason is simple. We are not trusting Allah.
This is a sad
fact. Even though we know that Allah is our Lord and Protector, we
have a hard time letting go and allowing ourselves to trust that He
will protect us. I doubt we do this intentionally, it is shaytan,
whispering to us, "The people will not understand, so shave the
beard, maybe later you can grow it again" or "There is no way
someone will hire you with that thing on your head, take it off."
We make excuses,
like, my deen is in my heart, not what I show, even though we have
been told:
Narrated 'Umar bin
Al-Khattab: People were (sometimes) judged by the revealing of a
Divine Inspiration during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle but now
there is no longer any more (new revelation). Now we judge you by
the deeds you practice publicly, so we will trust and favor the one
who does good deeds in front of us, and we will not call him to
account about what he is really doing in secret, for Allah will
judge him for that; but we will not trust or believe the one who
presents to us with an evil deed even if he claims that his
intentions were good. Sahih Bukhari: Volume 3, Book 48, Number
809:
Even, we may leave
our prayers until after they have expired because we fear being
watched or something happening to us while we are praying. There is
no trust that Allah will protect us, give us our risq or take care
of us. We have to learn to truly trust Allah. Allah says,
When two parties from among you had
determined that they should show cowardice and Allah was the
guardian of them both, and in Allah should the believers trust.
3:122
And
If Allah helps you, none can overcome
you: If He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help
you? In Allah, then, Let believers put their trust.
3:160
It does not matter
what you do, obey or disobey, the result will be that you will
receive what Allah has ordained for you. You can not add to it or
subtract from it. What you do is either benefit yourself with the
blessings of obedience or harm yourself with the fruits of your
disobedience. We have been told that what is for us can't miss us
and what is not for us can't hit us.
Narrated Abdullah
ibn Amr ibn al-'As: I heard Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) as
saying: Allah ordained the measures (of quality) of the
creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the
earth, as His Throne was upon water. Sahih Muslim: Book 32,
Number 6416:
We have to learn
to trust that Allah will take care of us when we obey Him and that
He will withdrawal His Great Mercy when we disobey. Every morning
the bird goes out to seek the provision Allah has given him, and
every night he comes home with it. Allah has promised us our
provision.
Umar Ibin Al
Khattab narrated that he heard Allah's Messenger say, "If you
were to trust in Allah genuinely, He would give you provision as He
does for the birds which go out hungry in the morning and come back
full in the evening. Tirmidhi and Ibin Majah (sahih).
Also, we need to
stop thinking that having done a good where things did not work out
as we expected would have turned out differently if we had done the
wrong thing instead. Let us say one of us goes to an interview in
hijab and then is denied the job. To assume that it was because of
the hijab is wrong. We have to remember that this person can not
keep Allah's Qadr from us. This interviewer can not stop what Allah
wants to happen from happening.
Ibin Abass
narrated that one day he was riding behind Allah's Messenger and he
said, "Young man, if you are mindful of Allah, He will be
mindful of you, and if you are mindful of Allah, you will find Him
before you. When you ask for anything, ask it from Allah, and if you
seek help, seek help in Allah. Know that if the people were to unite
to do you some benefit, they could benefit you only what Allah has
recorded for you, and if they were to unite to do you some injury,
they could injure you only with what Allah has recorded for you. The
pens are withdrawn and the pages are dry. Ahmad and Tirmidhi
(sahih).
Also,
Narrated Abu
Hurayrah: Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: A strong
believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak
believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which
gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do
not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to
you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened
so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and
your "if" opens the (gate for the Satan. Sahih Muslim: Book
32, Number 6441.
Also, we need to
accept that not getting the job was indeed best for us.
Suhaib reported
that Allah's Messenger said, "It is remarkable that everything
turns out well for a believer while that applies only to a believer.
If happiness befalls him, he gives thanks, and it turns out well for
him, and if misfortune befalls him, he shows endurance (patience)
and it turns out well for him. Sahih Muslim.
We need to stop
thinking that the key to the truth is only what we can understand or
what we know. There is a point when we have to submit, be Muslims
and say, labaik Allahuma Labaik. We have to obey without fighting it
because we know that there is Justice and Mercy in it, even though
we can not see it right now. When the verse of hijab was revealed,
the ansar women went and immediately covered themselves.
Narrated Aisha,
Ummul Mu'minin: Safiyyah, daughter of Shaybah, said that Aisha
mentioned the women of Ansar, praised them and said good words about
them. She then said: When Surat an-Nur came down, they took
the curtains, tore them and made head covers (veils) of them.
Sunan Abu Dawood: Book 32, Number 4089:
They did not
analyze it, or think about how this is an oppression for women or a
humiliation or anything of this sort, they obeyed. When the verse
forbidding alcohol was revealed, the companions literally spat it
out of their mouths. No arguing, no questioning. They trusted that
Allah Knows Best. We need to stop worshipping our minds so much and
start worshipping Allah more. We need to stop trusting our minds so
much and trust Allah more.
Trusting in Allah
means that when we hear a command, we obey it. We recognize that we
are limited and that Allah has no limits. He Knows what we do not
know. We do not try to explain away the commands of Allah by saying
that it is for another time or another people. We do not say that
what Allah has commanded for us is oppressive. We accept and obey.
This is faith and trust.
Narrated Imran ibn
Husayn: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Seventy
thousand people of my Ummah would be admitted into Paradise without
rendering any account. They (the companions) said: Who would
be those (fortunate persons)? He (the Prophet) said: Those who
do not cauterise and practise charm, but repose trust in their Lord,
Sahih Muslim: Book 1, Number 0422.
There is much
reward in trusting Allah, paradise. There is sin in distrusting Him.
We need to stop relying on our desires our minds our version of
logic and realize that Allah is the one who Knows while we know not.
Allah is the Wise, and His judgments are wise by default. Allah is
the Just and His verdicts are Just by default. We can not see
everything in every issue as Allah can, so why do we insist on
believing that our minds can be trusted before or instead of Allah?
I pray to You, O
Allah, to make us trust you and only you. May you make us of the
Trusting and keep us from trusting or worshipping our minds before
you. Ameen. |
