فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا • إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا For indeed with hardship there is ease, indeed with hardship there is ease.…
You know when a person is hoping for Allāh to realise something—a duʿāʾ, a secret wish, some aspiration? He might quietly imagine the different scenarios in which Allāh can realise his heart’s wishes and bring to him what he desires and this is a reflection of the good expectations he holds of Allāh. Perhaps amongst all these scenarios he’ll pick the most realistic one. The easiest, most feasible one. And hang on to that. Our mother ʿĀisha r.a. would say,…
Keep making duʿāʾ and keep trusting that Allāh sees your efforts and He hears your prayers. I say make duʿāʾ not as a hopeless plan b. But I say this because I know that so many people lose out on the good that Allāh gives because they give up on duʿāʾ too soon. Or they lose spirit too soon. Or they lose interest too soon. Allāh is al-Ḥakīm and He arranges our lives perfectly. Even if something causes us grief…
I’ve learnt something beautiful. When Allāh knows that a person is sincere and dedicated in an act of worship, He facilitates it for them. When Allāh loves an act of worship from someone, He keeps them steadfast on it. He gives them the means and the support to remain persistent upon it. Allāh is al-Muʾmin and from the meanings of al-Muʾmin is that He illuminates hearts with faith and He gives His believing servants reasons to remain steadfast.…
The Salaf would be happy and optimistic when something of this world became difficult for them. I never quite understood this statement. Were they happy and optimistic because a difficulty meant eventual ease, as is Allāh’s promise? Was it out of anticipation of a fulfilment of a worldly need? Or was there something more to it? Then it occurred to me after many years of returning to this statement that a man who sets out to find work and finds…
❝Know that Allah does not do to His slaves except what is good for them; be it something they love or something they loath (a hardship). And Allāh does not remove a decree of hardship from a person until he is pleased with it. When the person becomes pleased with it, Allāh removes it, and it is perhaps for this reason that a period of hardship might extend [because a person is not pleased with Allāh’s Decree]. Thus, whoever wants…