Allah’s Plan for you and me.

By: Wael Abdelwad

Courtesy: MuslimMatters

Allāh had a plan for you before you were born, and He still has a plan for you. Allāh’s plan for you is necessary and glorious. His plan is vital to your success and important to the world.

Allāh’s plan is not set in stone, as if we were robots pre-programmed in the factory. That would strip us of free will and deny our natures. Rather, I believe that Allāh has a flexible plan for each human being:  a plan that allows that person to benefit the world with his/her unique talents.

This is in fact the Islamic view of al-Qadar, or predestination. There is no doubt that Allāh has decreed everything that happens in the universe from the beginning of time to the end, and that Allāh has written it all in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz (the Book of Decrees).

“Know you not that Allāh knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfooz). Verily, that is easy for Allāh” (Qurʾān, al-Hajj 22:70)

In Saheeh Muslim (2653) it is narrated that ‘Abd-Allāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allāh be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) say: “Allāh wrote down the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.”

Everything happens by the will of Allāh. Whatever He wills happens, and whatever he does not will does not happen. However, as Sheikh Muḥammad Saalih Al-Munajjid explains,

Belief in al-qadar does not contradict the idea that a person has free will with regard to actions in which he has free choice. Sharee’ah and real life both indicate that people have this will.

Allāh says concerning man’s will (interpretation of the meaning):

“That is (without doubt) the True Day. So, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with (or a way to) His Lord (by obeying Him in this worldly life)!” [al-Naba’ 78:39]

(and other similar ayaat)

These verses confirm that man has a will and the ability to do what he wants and not to do what he does not want.

With regard to real life, everyone knows that he has a will and the ability to do what he wants and not to do what he does not want. And he can distinguish between the things that happen when he wants them to, such as walking, and those that happen without him wanting them to, such as shivering. But the will and ability of man are subject to the will and decree of Allāh.

Sheikh Al-Munajjid’s last paragraph is the key to understanding Al-Qadar: walking (voluntary) versus shivering (involuntary). Other scholars have explained it as two types of Qadar, fixed and flexible. The fixed Qadar is that which happens to us from beyond our control. For example the time and place of our birth, any illnesses and natural disasters that befall us, etc. The flexible Qadar is that which is within the realm of our free will. Whether we do good or evil, and what we choose to believe and how we choose to live. Sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah wrote:

There are two types of provision and lifespan: the first type has already been decreed and is written in Umm al-kitaab, and cannot be changed or altered. The next type of qadar, Allāh has informed His angels of His decrees. This is the type where provisions and lifespan may increase or decrease. Hence Allāh the Almighty says what may be translated as, “Allāh blots out what he wills and confirms [what He wills]. And with Him is the Mother of the book.” (Surat Ar-Ra’ad, verse 39) The mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitaab) is Al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh, in which Allāh has decreed all things as they will always be without change. However, the decrees contained in the books of the angels, such as lifespan and provisions, may increase or decrease according to various circumstances; thereafter, the angels will re-write a person’s provision and lifespan. If a person upholds the ties of kinship, his provisions and lifespan will be extended, otherwise they will decrease.” [See Majmoo’al-Fataawa 8/540]

So Allāh has a plan for you, but fulfillment of that plan is up to you:  the choices you make, as well as your degree of faith, persistence and determination.

Allāh’s plan for you is important to the world because Allāh created nothing in vain. Look at His creation. Everything has a purpose, from the sun that heats our world, to the bacteria that consume waste.

You are the same. You have a purpose. You are necessary to the world. If your presence were not vital in some way, then you would not have been made.

Discovering Allāh’s Plan

Allāh’s plan for us is not always what we might wish it to be.

How do we discover Allāh’s plan for us? Where do we find it? How do we realize it in our lives?

It’s not as difficult as we might think. It wouldn’t make sense for Allāh to have a plan for us and then leave us stumbling in the dark. Allāh’s plan doesn’t have to be a mystery. If we trust Him, do what He asks, and follow our hearts, His plan will unfold in our lives like a brightly lit path.

If you are trying to follow Allāh’s guidance, but you find yourself confronted by obstacles and hardship, don’t despair.  The hardship is probably a sign that you are on the right path. Consider our Prophets (may Allāh bless them all) who faced tremendous obstacles:

The Prophet Ibrahim was disowned by his family and thrown by his people into a blazing fire; Allāh rescued him from that, and made him the father of two nations.

Allāh inspired the mother of the baby Musa  and told her to place her infant into a chest and send it floating down the Nile. If the soldiers of Pharaoh ever learned about his birth:

“We revealed to Moses’ mother, ‘Suckle him and then when you fear for him cast him into the sea. Do not fear or grieve; We will return him to you and make him one of the Messengers.’” (Surat al-Qasas: 7)

That was a hard plan to follow, but she trusted her Lord, and carried out her mission.

The young Yusuf was thrown by his brothers into a well; later he was sold into slavery, then imprisoned for years; but in the end he became an important minister, and was reunited with his father.

Maryam , the mother of Isa , delivered her child alone under a palm tree, far from her people as she feared their reaction; but Allāh helped her through miracles, until she became the honored mother of a great Prophet.

The Prophet Yunus  gave up on his mission to the people of Nineveh, ventured onto a ship and was then cast into the sea, where he was swallowed by a fish. At the point of despair, he called upon Allāh with all his heart and was rescued. He returned to his mission and achieved success.

Aishah , the wife of the Prophet , was slandered by an ugly lie, but Allāh brought the truth to light, and Aishah became a leader and scholar in her own right.

The companion Umm Salamah lost her beloved husband Abu Salamah in the battle of Uhud; she thought that no husband could ever be better than him, and yet she ended up marrying the Prophet himself . Things are not always what they seem.

Be patient. Allāh has a plan for you.

Following Allāh’s Plan

This is the hard part. Allāh’s plan for us is true to who we are at our core, in our very essence. It will not correlate to an artificial persona we have adopted, or our desire to be seen and recognized. Allāh’s plan may not bring us fame, fortune, or physical pleasure. It might mean giving up material comfort. So Allāh’s plan for us may not be what we would wish it to be.

Abu Hurayrah , the companion of the Messenger of Allāh , was asked about Taqwa (God-consciousness). He said, “It is a road full of thorns. One who walks it needs to have extreme patience.”

In fact, Allāh’s plan may be so challenging that we may perceive it but decline to follow it. I have known all my life that I was a writer. I’ve been talking for years about writing certain books. And yet it took me until the age of 44 to begin writing about the things that really mattered to me, and I still have not published a book (look for it this year, inshā’Allāh!). Why did it take me so long to do what I was meant to do?

I have a friend who says that Africa has been calling her all her life. She believes that her destiny is to go there and help the African people in some way. But she has not done it. Why?

I have another friend who believes that da’wah is his mission in life. He spent ten years studying Japanese at the university level, and he dreams of living in Japan and doing da’wah there. But he has no concrete plan to do so. Why?

I asked several brothers and sisters if they know what their mission in life might be. Some said yes. I asked them if they were carrying out their mission. Most said no, and gave these reasons:

• I feel that others are more qualified than me.
• It seems like a fantasy.
• It feels like a dream.
• I tried once and it didn’t go my way.
• Right now I need to focus on financial security.
• I’m not ready yet.

Brothers and sisters, no one more qualified than you to fulfill the plan that Allāh has for you! Allāh’s plan is not a fantasy, nor a dream. It may not go your way the first time, or the second, or the third. It may not make you rich, but there is no true financial security in this life – that’s an illusion.  No one expects you to let your family go hungry. Work hard and provide for them, but don’t get caught in the trap of thinking that the accumulation of wealth will save you, because the only true security is with Allāh. And last of all, no one is ever ready to walk fee-sabeel-illah (in the path of Allāh). It is a road full of thorns. But it is also the road to fulfillment, happiness, barakah and success.

Fulfilling Allāh’s plan for us requires that we silence the voice of our own desire, open ourselves to Allāh, and look within with total sincerity. It takes courage, patience and determination. It is the path to Jannah (Paradise), inshā’Allāh.

Halawath al Iman (Sweetness of Iman)

Courtesy: ISlamQA

Refered by: Sabith Ali

Some people enjoyed Halawath-al-Iman (Sweetness of Iman), and here’s such a happening from among the Sahaba. Read and get inspired.

Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported:

Maalik ibn Anas said to his wife Um Sulaym – who was the mother of Anas – “This man – meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – is forbidding alcohol.” So he left Madeenah and went to Shaam (Syria), where he died. (i.e., he fled from Madeenah when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came there, because he did not like the ban on alcohol, and he died as a kaafir or non-believer in Syria). Then Abu Talhah came and proposed marriage to Um Sulaym, and spoke to her about it. She said, “O Abu Talhah, a man like you would not be turned down, but you are a non-believer, and I am a Muslim woman. It is not right for me to marry you.” He said, “This is the chance of a lifetime!” She said, “What chance?” He said, “The yellow and white (i.e., he was tempting her with a mahr or dowry of gold and silver).” She said, “I do not want any yellow or white. I want you to become Muslim. If you become Muslim, that will be my mahr, and I will not ask you for anything else.” He asked, “Who could help me with that (i.e., to become Muslim)?” She said, “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will help you.” So Abu Talhah went to look for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who was sitting with his Companions. When he [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] saw him, he said, “Abu Talhah is coming to you with the light of Islam shining on his forehead.” (This was one of the miracles of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): he knew that Abu Talhah would become a Muslim even before he spoke). Abu Talhah told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about what Um Sulaym had said, and he married her on that basis. Thaabit (i.e., Thaabit al-Banaani, one of the people who narrated the story from Anas) said: “We have never heard of any mahr greater than this, she accepted his Islam as her dowry.”

So he married her, and she was a woman with nice eyes, rather small. She was with him until she bore him a son, who Abu Talhah loved very much. The child became very ill, and Abu Talhah was very upset and distressed by the child’s sickness. Abu Talhah used to get up to pray the morning prayer, he would go to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and pray with him, and would stay with him for almost half the day. Then [Abu Talhah] would come to take a nap and eat, and when he had prayed Zuhr [mid-day prayer] he would get ready and leave, and would not come back until the time of the ‘Isha’ [night-time] prayer. One evening, Abu Talhah went out to see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (according to another report: to go to the mosque), and the child died (during his absence). Um Sulaym said, “No one is to tell Abu Talhah about his child’s death until I have told him.” She covered the child up as if he were sleeping, and left him in a corner of the house. Abu Talhah came back from visiting the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and brought some people from the mosque with him. He asked, “How is my son?” She said, “O Abu Talhah, from the time he fell sick, he has never been as calm as he is now, and I hope that he is resting.” (She spoke vaguely so as not to upset him; this was not a lie. She was referring to the calmness of death and the child finding relief from the pain of his sickness, but her husband took it to mean that the child’s condition had improved). She brought the meal and they all ate dinner, then the people left. Then he went to bed and lay down, and she got up and put on perfume and adorned herself, making herself more beautiful than she ever had before. (This was a sign of her patience and great faith in the will and decree of Allaah. She was seeking reward from Allaah and concealing her feelings, hoping that she would become pregnant that night to make up for the loss of her child). Then she came and lay down in the bed with him, and when he smelt the perfume, he did as men usually do with their wives (this is the narrator’s polite and circumspect manner of referring to what happened between them). At the end of the night, she said, “O Abu Talhah, do you think that if some people lent something to some others, then they asked for it back, do they have the right not to give it back?” He said, “No.” She said, “Allaah, may He be glorified, lent your son to you, and now He has taken him back, so seek reward with Him and have patience.” He became angry and said, “You left me until I did what I did (i.e., had intercourse), then you tell me that my son has died!” Then he said, “Innaa Lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon (Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return – the words uttered by Muslims when faced with news of death or calamity) and he praised Allaah. In the morning, he did ghusl (full ablution) then he went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and prayed with him, and told him what had happened. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “May Allaah bless you for last night.” She conceived a child (thus the Prophet’s prayer for them was answered).

Um Sulaym used to travel with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), leaving Madeenah when he left, and returning when he returned. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “When she gives birth, bring the child to me.” He was on a journey, and Um Sulaym was with him. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from travelling, he would never enter Madeenah at night (so as not to disturb the people, and so that wives would have time to get ready to greet their husbands). They reached the outskirts of Madeenah, and her labour pains started. Abu Talhah stayed with her, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went on. Abu Talhah said, “O Allaah, you know that I like to set out with your Messenger when he sets out, and come back with him when he comes back. I have been detained as You see.” Um Sulaym said, “O Abu Talhah, I do not feel the pains as much (this was one of her “miracles”; her labour pains ceased because she had asked Allaah to enable her to catch up with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). So they set off, and after they had reached Madeenah, her labour pains started again, and she gave birth to a boy. She told her son Anas, “O Anas, I will not give him anything to eat until you take him in the morning to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),” and she sent some dates with him. (Because she wanted the first thing to enter the child’s mouth to be food from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); this was a sign of her great faith, because the woman’s natural instinct is to hasten to feed the baby as soon as he is born). The child cried all night long, and I [Anas, the narrator of this story] stayed up all night taking care of him. In the morning, I took him to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who was wearing his burdah (a kind of cloak) and marking the camels and sheep that had been given to him (the animals had been given in charity and he was marking them so that they would not get lost or mixed with other flocks or herds). When he saw him, he said to Anas, “Has the daughter of Milhaan [i.e., Um Sulaym] given birth?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “I will be with you in a minute.” He put down the tool in his hand (with which he had been marking the animals) and took the child, then he said, “Do you have something for him?” They said, “Yes, dates.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took some of the dates and chewed them, mixing them with his saliva (and the saliva of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was blessed by Allaah). Then he opened the child’s mouth and gave him some of the dates, wiping them inside his mouth (this is called Tahneek and is one of the customs among Muslims when a baby is born). The infant began to smack his lips, sucking some of the sweetness of the dates and the saliva of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Thus the first thing that entered that child’s stomach was mixed with the saliva of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, “See how much the Ansaar (the Muslims who were living in Madeenah when the Prophet migrated there) love dates!” I [Anas] said, “O Messenger of Allaah, name him.” He wiped his face and named him ‘Abd-Allaah. There was no young man among the Ansaar who was better than him, and when he grew up he had a lot of sons, and was martyred in Persia (he died as a martyr when the Muslims conquered Persia; all of this happened as a result of the Prophet’s blessed du’aa’).

(The story was reported by Imaam al-Bukhaari, Muslim, Ahmad and al-Tayaalisi; this version was reported by al-Tayaalisi and others. Al-‘Allaamah al-Albaani collected all its isnaads in his book Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz, p. 20).

May Allah bless us with such strong Iman.