We all had that one prayer we desperately needed Allah (s.w.t.) to grant.
We woke up in the middle of the night for Hajat prayer. We gave what little wealth we have, hoping our small sadaqah will earn us His favour. We swallowed our anger, believing that sabr might make us worthy of His blessing.
Time passed, but our circumstances remained unchanged, or took a turn for the worse.
We struggled through them, did our best to have some sort of control, but nothing worked.
Finally, we realised it. We never had any control over our fate in the first place.
Let’s reflect on a powerful life lesson shared in Mufti Menk Live in Malaysia last May:
But you cannot will (to do so), except by the Will of Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
(Surah At-Takwir, 81:29)
The one who does is none other than Allah Al-Waali (the Governor), the One who owns and manages all of His creations and their affairs. Our fate rests entirely on what has been destined for us by Him.
And yet, within that destiny, He still entrusts us with a choice over how we respond to it.
That choice is guided by the Qur’an that He preserves across centuries, and by the prophetic teachings passed down to us, so that we may tell right from wrong, halal from haram. This, too, is where His mercy for us lies.
How beautiful is it that the Almighty does not burden us to plan our lives while also guiding us through them?
Because if He leaves us to ourselves, nothing we do can save us from the ruin of our own making.
So regardless of the outcome, despite being humbled by our powerlessness, we are taught to respond with gratitude.
And remember when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more.’
(Surah Ibrahim, 14:7)
Choosing to be grateful is not passive resignation.
It is an intentional sincere response, one He promises to meet with more.
And for our “unanswered” prayers? They are not dismissed, just held back to protect us from a harm we have yet to see, or exchanged for something beyond what we could have imagined asking for.
Through this perspective, what once felt like misfortune no longer perceived as a punishment, but something else entirely. It is a sign of His love.
The subtle way of how Allah (s.w.t.) humbles us is a reminder of our own insignificance before His greatness, and of how dependent we truly are on His mercy.
May our tongue and heart continue to thank Him for His blessings, and for His mercy beyond every trial we face.
Alhamdu lillahi rabbil-‘alameen. All praise is for Allah (s.w.t.), Lord of the worlds.
Wallahua’lam.