Note: There is no task today as the reading will only be completed tomorrow. The task will follow as soon as the reading is complete.

 Daily Reading

“You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help” Surah Al Fatiha, vs 6

 We read this every day at least five times a day but do we understand and strive to achieve the complex state this one line encompasses?

Allah (swt) has created every single thing in this universe with a measure and purpose. The trees, the stars, the planets … all living things receive its sustenance from Allah (swt). Thus everything in the universe, with the exception of Man and Jinn trust Him to help, sustain, provide and guide to what is best for them and for the rest of the universe. All (except Man and Jinn)  submit to Him completely (the sun does its sunly thing and the trees be trees …) and worship Him.  On the other hand we (Man) trust Allah in theory but not in our hearts.  To trust in Allah (swt) is a state of peace. It is a state wherin we look at all bad things that come our way and do not waver in our belief that there is some good in it for us or some wisdom we cannot comprehend. It is a state of detachment from one’s desires in submission to what Allah (swt) wills for us.  It is not a state whereby we stress about what we want, our plans, how to acheive things and why we are not getting what we want.

Umar (ra) narrated, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saying: If you all depend on Allah with due reliance, He would certainly give you provision as He gives it to birds who go forth hungry in the morning and return with a full belly at dusk’. [Tirmidhi]

Instead of reliance (trust), we often make our plans without thinking of Allah (swt). We trust in ourselves and we trust in others to see it materialize, disregarding the fact that our Creator, has complete knowledge and control over all things and wants what is best for us. 

You know that saying about trying to fit a square peg in a round hole? Our desires and plans are the square peg, what Allah (swt) has planned for us (takdeer) is the round hole. We do not see the extent of the round hole, but we have been told that it is far better for us. So, do we stress ourselves fighting to fit our square peg into our round hole and thus destroy all the essential good of the round hole or do we trust that the round hole will provide a better satisfaction by providing what we truly need for our advancement? 

1. To trust that Allah (swt) is the best of planners …

We make a plan for our lives, eg to become a doctor, to refurbish our entire home etc. Unfortunately, even though we worked hard through school and got excellent results or spent ages planning and saving for our refurbishment, we find an obstacle in our way that seems insurmountable. Our dreams are shattered and we become angry and resentful at those at fault. Deep down we are also angry at Allah (swt) because it is easy to remember who is ultimately responsible for the spanner in the works when our life doesn’t go as we had hoped or planned. We ask Him: why me? Do we have the power and wisdom to decide what we truly need (note: not want) and make it happen in the best possible manner? No we do not, yet, we still think that by simply existing we are entitled to have everything play out like a movie where the hero or heroine may have some inconsequential bad luck but inevitably get everything they want at the end. A perfect picture in other words. When this does not happen most of us refuse to accept Allah’s plan with an easy heart. Essentially, we fight Allah’s will. We fight against it with our hearts through discontent, we fight against it with our mind as we constantly focus on our loss  or try to find a way to achieve what we want. This is not trust …

Allah (swt) does not only see to our material growth (on this earth) but the spiritual growth of every single one of His creation. We do not realize that when we are denied something of this world it may be because it is better for our spiritual growth as this takes precedence over our material growth. Had Allah (swt) wanted us to become a doctor or have a designer home or whatever our hearts most desired of this world it would have happened without us spending any time desiring it, thinking about it and coveting it.

“It may be that you hate something when it is good for you and it may be that you love something when it is bad for you. Allah (swt) knows and you know not.”[Surah al-Baqara,vs 216]

To have plans for the future and to desire things like family, wealth etc  is human; it is a motivating force for our progress in life. However, to assume responsibility for the materialization of those plans as if we have control over our destinies is to disrespect Allah’s (swt) authority and wisdom. So instead of stressing about the way we want things to be, we should acknowledge He who has the power to make it happen, learn to accept what is, make dua that we achieve what we want only if it is best for us (or for it to be made best for us) and leave it in Allah’s (swt) hands. To do this is to let go of trying to control the outcome, to accept that what you want may not happen as you ask,  and to trust that what happens instead will be better. Allah (swt) is the best of planners for all things  but we  are blind to seeing the ghair (good)in His plans or are unable to Trust because we are too busy with our square peg! If we can learn to trust enough to stop trying to fit the square peg in the round hole we could truly experience the benefits of leaving things in the hands of our Sustainer.