Maintaining Hope And Optimism In Allah's Mercy

Maintaining Hope and Optimism in the Mercy of Allah

الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَأَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ.

Respected brothers, elders, mothers and sisters, in life we go through many different situations. Sometimes a person is healthy, sometimes he is sick. Sometimes a person has wealth, sometimes he goes through some financial difficulty.

وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ — These are the days Allah continues to alternate them among people. It's never constant, it's not just one thing, but rather every single day is different.

However, when it comes to a believer — a person whom Allah has blessed and favored with īmān — then regardless of whatever situation he goes through, he always remains optimistic. He always has hope in the mercy of Allah. Now whatever situation I'm going through, regardless of how difficult it may seem, regardless of how bleak the future may seem, Allah is there. I can call out to Him at any time of the day or of the night. And that's what gives him this hope, that's what gives him this optimism — that he doesn't become depressed, he doesn't become suicidal because something unfortunate happened in his life, because he is afflicted with a particular sickness, because he is going through some financial burden. He continues to remain optimistic, knowing very well that Allah is in control. Allah can rescue him from that situation, and can bless him with days in the future which are far far more prosperous.

The Prophets as Role Models in Difficulty

Let us take a look at the lives of the anbiyā' عليهم السلام. For Allah sent them as a role model for us. Whatever situation we find ourselves going through, we can always look back at the lives of the anbiyā' عليهم السلام, and take comfort and solace from there. As Rasūlullāh ﷺ mentions in one hadith, that those who went through the most difficult tests in life were the anbiyā' عليهم السلام, the prophets of Allah. And then the righteous individuals, and then those who follow in their footsteps.

And one of the many wisdoms why the anbiyā' عليهم السلام were given these very difficult tests was because they were like role models for the rest of the ummah, for the rest of mankind to come. That anyone coming after, regardless of whatever situation they are going through, they can always look back at the lives of the prophets and derive comfort and solace.

So let's look at a few examples of how the anbiyā' عليهم السلام remained optimistic, remained hopeful in the mercy of Allah, despite the difficult situations, the difficult tests and challenges that they had to endure.

Nabi Ibrāhīm عليه السلام and the Fire

Take a look at Nabi Ibrāhīm عليه السلام, Khalīlullāh, the very close chosen friend of Allah. When his people said:

When they decided that enough is enough, let us build a massive fire, and then let us cast Ibrāhīm عليه السلام into it. As he was being thrown into that fire, according to the narration of Ibn Kathīr, Jibrīl عليه السلام came to him, and he asked him:

"O Ibrāhīm عليه السلام, do you have any need? Is there any assistance, any help that I can give you at this moment?" Ibrāhīm عليه السلام responded by asking: "Are you coming on your own? Or has Allah sent you?" So he said, "I'm coming on my own, coming to offer you whatever comfort, whatever assistance I can give." He said:

"If you are coming on your own, then I don't need you. I don't need your support, I don't need your assistance. My Allah will take care of me. Never mind that I'm being cast into the fire now. Never mind that it appears as if I'm going to be burnt to death. But no, I have an Allah who is in control of this fire. So there's no reason for me to become worried. There's no reason for me to become depressed. حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ — Allah will take care of me. He will rescue me from this difficult situation."

We know the story:

Allah instructed that fire to become cool, to become peaceful for Ibrāhīm عليه السلام.

Nabi Mūsā عليه السلام and the Sea

When the oppression of Fir'awn had reached its pinnacle, and he was being extremely stubborn and arrogant, refusing to accept the truth, Allah sent waḥy to Mūsā عليه السلام that now the time has come — enough is enough — it is time for you to take the Banī Isrā'īl and it is time for you all to go, to flee from Fir'awn and from his tyranny, from his oppression.

So they left — Mūsā عليه السلام and Banī Isrā'īl — they left at night.

Fir'awn and his army decided to chase after them, to try and capture them, to try and bring them back. He continued to follow them until they came to the waterfront. Now imagine the scene — you have Mūsā عليه السلام and his people, the Banī Isrā'īl, standing there. In front of them is the sea, behind them is the army of Fir'awn. They're completely sandwiched. Anyone who is looking at the scene will think: this is the end, these people are going to be overtaken, they're going to be finished, there's no hope for them.

In fact, the very companions of Mūsā عليه السلام, the Banī Isrā'īl, mentioned something similar to this:

The companions of Mūsā عليه السلام said to him: إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ — "We are going to be overtaken, we are going to be finished off. Where to from here? Where are we supposed to go? Where are we going to escape?"

Mawlānā Abu'l-Ḥasan 'Alī al-Nadwī رحمه الله, a great scholar of the recent past from the subcontinent, in his famous book Qaṣaṣ al-Nabiyyīn, under the story of Mūsā عليه السلام, writes so beautifully:

The situation was such that each and every single one of them was shaken up to the core. If you were to take that stress, the anxiety that they must have been going through at that time, and place it upon the mountains — even the mountains would concave. The mountains would not be able to hold that level of stress and anxiety. وَلَكِنَّ إِيمَانَ مُوسَىٰ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِرَبِّهِ لَمْ يَتَزَلْزَلْ — But the īmān of Mūsā عليه السلام was unshakable.

Despite seeing that situation, how did Mūsā عليه السلام respond? He told his people:

"No, all my people, what are you talking about? Why are you having such negative thoughts? Why are you saying that we are going to be overtaken?" كَلَّا is a very harsh way of saying no — that never, it is impossible. We are not going to be defeated. Why? Where was he able to derive this level of courage from, this level of optimism, this level of hope? إِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ — "We are not going to be destroyed because Allah is on our side. We have Allah to call out to. Allah will take care of us. Allah will rescue us from this difficult situation that we are going through."

And we know the incident:

Just then Allah sent waḥy to Mūsā عليه السلام: take your staff, your 'aṣā, strike the water. And then Allah miraculously made a path for the Banū Isrā'īl to cross forward. And then Allah drowned Fir'awn and his army.

Nabi Ya'qūb عليه السلام and the Loss of His Sons

Take a look at the incident of Ya'qūb عليه السلام and what difficulties he went through — the loss of his children. First, you have the loss of Yūsuf عليه السلام after his brothers dropped him in the well. Then you have the loss of his youngest son Binyāmīn, when Yūsuf عليه السلام decided to keep him with him and didn't send him back with the rest of the brothers. So that's two sons that are missing. Then you have the loss of the third son — the oldest:

The oldest brother also refused to go back. He said, "I don't have any face to show to my father. After what we did with Yūsuf عليه السلام, after what happened with his brother, I can't go back. I can't face my father." So he also decided to stay back.

So now you have three sons that are missing. Some narrations and mufassirūn mention that 40 years had passed by; other narrations mention 80 years. So somewhere between four decades and eight decades was the period of separation between Ya'qūb عليه السلام and Yūsuf عليه السلام — father and son. You can imagine the type of grief that Ya'qūb عليه السلام must have gone through during that long period, losing three sons, decades on end.

But yet despite all of that, towards the end, what did he tell the rest of his children?

He told his sons: "Don't ever despair in the mercy of Allah. إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ — It is only the kuffār, it is only the disbelievers, those who are bereft of īmān, who become despondent."

If you take the مَفْهُومُ الْمُخَالَفَة — you take the opposite meaning of this — what do you get? The believers don't become despondent. The disbelievers are the ones who become despondent. They're the ones who become depressed when they're going through difficulty, because they have no one to turn to. They have no one to call out to. Who is going to rescue them? Who is going to help them? There's nobody for them. But a believer who has īmān, a believer who has Allah to call out to — why should he ever become depressed? Why should he ever become suicidal? Rather, he's always optimistic.

Ya'qūb عليه السلام in this situation still remained optimistic that perhaps one day Allah will unite me with my son Yūsuf عليه السلام and my other two boys as well. لَا تَيْأَسُوا مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ. Yes, he cried. He made du'ā to Allah:

He complained of his grief to Allah. From here, scholars mention that to complain to Allah is fine. A person is going through some stress, going through some difficulty — to complain, to raise your hands and complain to Allah is fine. "Yā Allah, I'm going through this difficulty. Yā Allah, I'm struggling." But to complain about Allah is what is prohibited. A believer never complains about Allah — "Yā Allah, why did you do this to me? Yā Allah, why did you put me in this situation?" No. Rather he recognizes that this is from Allah, this is a test from Allah, and Allah can rescue me.

The Prophet ﷺ in the Cave of Thawr

Take a look at our beloved Nabī ﷺ when he was in the cave of Thawr on the journey of Hijrah with Abū Bakr رضي الله تعالى عنه. Now it's the two of them in the cave. The Quraysh had sent out a message that whoever comes with the head of Rasūlullāh ﷺ will receive a hundred red camels. So now people are going and searching. And Nabī ﷺ and Abū Bakr رضي الله تعالى عنه are hiding in the cave of Thawr.

Abū Bakr رضي الله تعالى عنه later recalled:

"Once I looked up and I saw the footsteps of the mushrikīn. I saw them passing just above us." He said, "Yā Rasūlullāh ﷺ:"

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3653; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2381)

"If one of them just happens to look down, he'll see us hiding in this cave. What is going to happen to us? They're right here — the enemy are right here." What did Nabī ﷺ tell Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه? He said:

"O Abū Bakr, what do you think of two individuals the third of whom is Allah? Don't think we are alone over here." Look at the optimistic mindset of the Prophet ﷺ — the enemy is right there, and look at how beautifully he is consoling Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه. "Don't think anything bad is going to happen to us. Don't worry."

"Allah is with us. The help of Allah is with us. The protection of Allah is with us. Allah will take care of us. Allah will rescue us from this difficult situation."

Remaining Optimistic in Our Times

So likewise, my respected brothers and sisters, whatever situation we find ourselves in in life, we should always maintain a very optimistic outlook — that inshallah, there will be khayr and there will be good in it. Even if we may not see it, even if we may not understand the good or the hidden benefits of a particular situation, we trust in the divine wisdom of Allah.

Over the past few weeks since the election, how much negativity we hear on a daily basis. How many times we hear: "you know what, this is going to happen, and that is going to happen, and this policy and this law..." Where did we even get these thoughts that this is going to happen and that's going to happen? Do we have vision into the future? Do we know what is going to happen? No, we have no idea. The future is only known to Allah. Our mindset should be one of an optimistic individual — that inshallah, there will be khayr. Allah is the controller of affairs. Allah is the one who is in charge of everything.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2654)

Allah is the one who is in control of the hearts of people. At any time, at any moment, Allah can change the situation. Fir'awn was on his throne, in his castle at night, and by morning he was drowning in the middle of the ocean. Abū Lahab, Abū Jahl, Qārūn — imagine Qārūn, all the wealth, the might, everything that he had, enjoying his castle one day, and the next day:

Allah caused the earth to split and here he is, sinking down.

So those individuals who are perpetrating crimes — crimes against humanity — those who are engaged in ẓulm and oppression, Allah is well aware of it.

Don't ever think for a moment that Allah is unaware of what the oppressors do. Allah is aware, Allah knows, and Allah is the one who is in control. So when it comes to the future, our job is to remain optimistic. Our job is to continue to have hope in the mercy of Allah.

Allah is As His Servant Expects of Him

As Nabī ﷺ mentions in a ḥadīth qudsī, Allah says:

"I am as my servant perceives me to be." Whatever expectations we have of Allah, Allah will deal with us accordingly. Of course, وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ — just for us to understand, imagine you have a little child, a small boy, and the whole day he's waiting for his father to come home. In the evening, he has this expectation that he wants to go to the shop and buy a toy, some markers, some paint — whatever it may be. And the whole day he's waiting, knowing: my dad's going to come home at 6pm, and then he's going to take me. This is what he's thinking.

Now when the father comes home and he opens the door, and he sees this child there, all dressed up with his shoes on — anticipating, waiting, expecting to go to the shop to buy that toy — which father would have the ability to say no to his son at that time? Regardless of how tired that father is, he'll take his son and he'll go and he'll buy him whatever he wants. That's the love that a father has for that child, because that son — he sees the expectation. He has full conviction: "My dad is going to take me." So the father will not want to let the son down.

So likewise, of course وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ — but Allah, who loves us more than our parents, more than our mothers and our fathers, when He sees that we have that high level of expectation, that we are crying out to Allah, that we are making du'ā to Allah — do you think Allah will allow our efforts to go to waste? Do you think Allah will allow our du'ās to go in vain? No.

(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 1488; Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 3556)

Allah feels shy — when a person raises his hands and makes du'ā to Allah, Allah feels shy to turn him away empty-handed. So whatever du'ās we are making, whatever pleas, whatever calls we are making, the tears that we shed — Allah is well aware of that.

Conclusion

Our job, our responsibility, is to continue to remain optimistic. This is the mindset of the believer. This is how the anbiyā' عليهم السلام were — despite the difficulties they went through, despite however bleak the situation may have seemed, they continued to remain optimistic, knowing very well that they had an Allah to turn to.

And the same Allah that rescued all of them — that rescued Ibrāhīm عليه السلام from the fire, Yūsuf عليه السلام from the well, Ya'qūb عليه السلام when he was going through his grief, Nabī ﷺ in the cave of Thawr — that same Allah is the one who can rescue us from the difficulties, from the situations that we face. Our job is just to continue to call out to Allah, and to continue to remain optimistic, and to have hope in the mercy of Allah.

Announcements

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Please join us for our 7th annual winter intensive, Harmony Within: Cultivating Love and Unity in the Modern Muslim Household, which will be taking place from December 21st through December 23rd, here at Dār es Salaam. On the brothers' side, we have a number of programs planned, including:

• Beyond the Spectrum: Upholding Marriage and Morals in an Evolving World — with Dr. Shadi
• Heart to Heart: Mastering Marital Communication — by Dr. Humaan and Mufti Azeem
• Safeguarding Marital Bonds: Islamic Guidance on Divorce — with Mufti Minhājuddīn

There will also be simultaneous winter intensive programs for the sisters, which will be led by esteemed female scholars and professionals, inshallah. You can register at our website: masjidds.org/winter.

Alhamdulillah, Masjid Dār es Salaam is safeguarding and preserving and uplifting the Deen of Allah in the Midwest, and inshallah throughout the USA and the world. So please let not this special opportunity pass by without benefiting, inshallah.

An IT and professionals gathering will be taking place at the Jāmi' Masjid in Diwan on Sunday, November 24th, inshallah. This program will start from noon, followed by Ẓuhr, and there will be a very important talk afterwards. Ẓuhr ṣalāh will be at 1:30pm. Lunch will also be served.

Kindly join us for our weekly programs:

• Team Fajr — tomorrow after Ṣalāt al-Fajr, Fajr Iqāmah at 6:15am.
• Tuesday Tafsīr — continuing after Ṣalāt al-'Ishā' from Sūrah Fuṣṣilat, with Mufti Azimuddin.
• Weekly Urdu Sīrah Program — every Thursday after Ṣalāt al-'Ishā'.

Du'ā request for the Muslims of Palestine, Lebanon, as well as the entire Ummah. Specifically, brother Uwais Karīm Khāzi is going through cancer treatment — please make du'ā for his shifā'. And brother Muḥammad Sayyahuddīn passed away in Hyderabad, India.

We ask Allah to grant shifā' kāmilah to all those who are sick in the Ummah, and those who have passed on — may Allah grant them Jannat al-Firdaws. Āmīn.