Destiny, hardship, trust and faith in God

We are in this world by the command of Allah. It's a journey called life, a temporary dwelling filled with challenges, short comings, obstacles, problems, love and happiness. 

God is the best planner and the architect of our destiny. Sometimes He makes us face challenges to test our faith. But those that don't have faith are the ones that become depressed. 

  After every difficulty there is relief {Al-Inshirah 94:5}

We all go through hard times and we can't stop it, that's life but the only way we can cope is by trusting God. Communicating with Him, telling him to give us the will to carry on. Prayer is the link between the servant and God. It's the rich source from which a person derives strength, steadfastness, mercy and contentment. 

Remember Me, by praying, glorifying, and I will remember you {Al-Baqarah 2:152}

And when My servants ask you Oh Muhammed (peace be upon him), concerning Me- indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me by obedience and believe in Me that they may be rightly guided. {Al-Baqarah 2:186}

We can also go through it by planing for the next step because God helps those who help themselves. We have to make righteous efforts and ask God to see us through. When God sees what we develop within ourselves through our efforts then we will become worthy of His help. We can't wallow in self pity, anger or pain. We need to move on and when we do, we need to put our trust in Allah. 

And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him] {Al-Imran 3:159}

Let's look at the story of Abraham and his son Ishmael (peace be upon them):   
Abraham wanted a son and he asked God to grant him an offspring from the righteous. God answered him and gave him a son (Ishmael). After some years, he told his son that he had a dream about slaughtering him and his son said "O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha' Allah (if Allah wills), you shall find me of the patient." So they submitted themselves to the will of Allah. When Abraham was about to slaughter his son God called out on him and said "O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)!" Verily! Thus do We reward those who perform good deeds totally for Allah's sake only." It was a manifest trial and he ended up killing a ram instead {that's why we muslims slaughter rams on Eid Al-Adha} and God left for him a goodly remembrance among generations to come in later times. 

Our faith should be pure and clear, uncontaminated by any stain of ignorance, illusion or superstition. {the ideal personality of a muslim}. Our faith is based on God,  the One, the Most High, the Eternal, He's able to do all things, He's in control of the entire universe. 

 Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him. {Al-Ikhlas 112 1-4}

Faith and trust are related. Without faith, we are hopeless. His word should strengthen our faith. When we have deep faith in God, it changes our character. It makes us stronger, gives us peace of mind, confidence and happiness. The test of one’s faith is in using one’s intellect, free will and reasoning abilities to contemplate and recognize God’s signs. 
We can maintain our faith and bond with Allah by pondering, glorifying and talking about His blessings. Reading the Quran and listening to lectures are also great ways to keep the remembrance of Allah close to the heart.



May Almighty God make it easy for us to obey His commands. 

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Have a nice day

xoxo

Raheenah

                         

[Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ. {Al-Imran 3:55}