In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
As long as we start recognizing that Allah is with us and He is close to us, there remains a solution to our inner turmoils. There are things we need to know in order to develop our relationship with Allah. Then there are things we need to do in order to maintain that closeness to Allah. Knowledge, what little we have acquired, is meant to be practiced and acted upon. As well, there are things we need to aspire for to achieve the ideal relationship with the Lord.
Simply knowing we have to have good opinion of Allah, or have trust, won’t truly help us when we need it if we are not sure. Being sure (having yaqeen) means certainty in the Strength of Allah, in His Power, in His Omnipotence, in His Mercy, in His Grace, in His Promise, in His Knowledge, in His Justice, and so on. It is certainty that He can make us better, save us and help us.
Shaytan makes us doubt about the eternal truths – but that is the best he can do. Shaytan will not be able to destroy your iman if you don't let him. This is by you having complete certainty in Allah.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam, said to Omar radhiAllahu anhu, "O Ibn Al-Khattab! By Him in Whose Hands my life is, whenever shaytan sees you taking a way, he follows a way other than yours." This is the iman of Omar.
Abu Darda radiAllahu 'anhu was one of the righteous companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam. Once, a man came running to him saying, “O Abu Darda, your house has burned down!” He said: “No, it cannot be burned!” The man insisted that a fire had engulfed the whole neighborhood and his house was of the ones that had burned down. Abu Darda responded, with full certainty, “Allah will never allow this to happen because of the words that I heard from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam. Whoever says these words in the beginning of a day, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam told us, will not be afflicted by a misfortune until the end of the day, and whoever says these words in the evening will not be afflicted until morning.” He told him the words that he had recited that day as he had learned from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam, and when they both went to inspect the neighborhood, it turned out that most of the other houses had burned down, except the house of Abu Darda. [Tabarani]
Abu Darda was so sure of the words of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam, that even someone telling him that he saw the whole neighborhood burn down did not shake his faith. It is similar to the faith of Abu Bakr radhiAllahu anhu, who said “If he [the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam] has said it, then it is true.”
Indeed, yaqeen (certainty) is the soul of faith. The first description of those who have taqwa (God-consciousness, God-fearingness) in the Qur’an is:
لَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ﴿٣[Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:3]
Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them, (3)
Our faith should be as strong as if we can see. The Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam should be as true to us as though we can see the place we visited. So when things go wrong in our life, we need to be able to go back to that place, and turning to Allah with certainty that He will make things better for us.
Be like the Companions. Their faith never wavered because they were certain in Allah’s Words in the Qur’an, and they were certain in what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam taught them. They never stopped asking Allah, because they knew it is only Allah that responds to the du'a of the distressed. Allah praised them in the Qur’an.
Bad thing happens all the time -- today it is happening to other people, tomorrow it can happen to you or your loved ones. With certainty, we will be able to see beyond the immediate. Your certainty in Allah means you know; when bad things befall you or others, you will reflect on why things happen and try to learn from that. When things are well for you, you know to fall into prostration because that result could not have occurred except by the will and grace of Allah Almighty. And you show your gratitude by spending out of what Allah have provided for you and you aid others who are in need.
Allah created this world as a test, not as a paradise, and suffering allows the servant to become actualized in the eternal verities of faith. These include radiant patience, contentment and true servanthood during the trial, as well as sincere and heartfelt gratitude after the trial is lifted. The fruits of such actualization are sainthood in this life, and real paradise in the hereafter. The suffering of people is an opportunity and a test for others who are able to alleviate that suffering, upon whom it is obligatory to do so.
Allah has only created us so that we may worship Him and draw near to Him, and central to that is one’s detachment from this paltry world. Suffering shows us how truly low this abode is and aids us in being detached from it.
Calamities without doubt test our faith, and this is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam taught us to pray for certainty – so that these calamities are made easier.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam used to supplicate:
O Allah! Grant us such fear of You as will come between us and acts of disobedience to You; such obedience to You as will bring us to Your Garden; and such certainty that the calamities of this world will be made easy for us by You.[Tirmidhi]
May Allah save us from the trials and tribulations of this life and the next. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakum Allahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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