There was a time in my life when I had given up completely. There was no hope for me at all. I was overwhelmed with sadness, remorse and fear. A fear that I cannot explain in words. My entire world was enveloped in misery, so much so that I would feel jealous when I saw people smiling and laughing. It is something that cannot be explained and can only be understood by those who have lived it. I have lived it. And I have lived it for a long time. Days would pass into months, and months into years, but I was still there, stuck, looking for that flicker of light to which I could cling onto and escape. Escape from this world, escape from this life. But, I did not want to die because I had a lot to do. A lot…
And then, one day, I found that light. That light that I had been searching for all these years. It had been with me all along, but I never saw it. Or rather, I never paid attention to it, because deep down, I knew it was there. It was waiting for me to turn towards it, so that it could unveil its wonders and miracles but I never thought it could be of any help. I underestimated its capacity and power. I was miserable, I was arrogant, I was foolish.
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“Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.” (Surah Yusuf, 12:87)
This ayah in the Qur’an hit me like a thunderbolt. I knew I was a Muslim, but if I was a believer like I claimed I was, I should be hopeful of the mercy of Allah
. I should be hopeful of relief from Allah, but here I was drained and exhausted in misery and grief!
I didn’t want to be of the disbelieving people, I couldn’t bear the thought of it! And then began my search for answers, the search for a solution to my unexplained sorrow which led me to this ayah:
“When the youths retreated to the cave and said, “Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.” (Surah Kahf, 18:10)
This was it, the answer to my questions – Tawakkul in Allah.
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The people of cave in Surah al-Kahf were persecuted for following their religion. They fled for their lives and placed their trust in Allah. They left everything, trusting Allah…
This amazed me. We hear people say that they left their affairs to Allah, but nothing happened. Instead, things got worse! SubhanAllah, I realized that the problem was with us, and not in the promise of Allah. We are the ones who are not worthy enough for the favors of Allah and then shamelessly point our fingers at our Creator.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz rahimullah says,
“Putting one’s trust in Allah involves two things:
- Depending on Allah and believing that He is the One Who causes measures to be effective; His decree comes to pass; He has decreed all things, counted them out and ordained them, may He be glorified and exalted.
- Taking appropriate measures; putting one’s trust in Allah does not mean refraining from taking measures; rather part of putting one’s trust in Allah is taking appropriate measures and striving to do so. The one who refrains from doing so has gone against the laws and decree of Allah. Allah has commanded us to take appropriate measures and He encourages us to do so; He commanded His Messenger ﷺ to do that. “
Allahuakbar! Yes, what is decreed, will come to pass. What is ordained will come to pass. It WILL come to pass no matter how hard I try to escape from it. And in everything, there is a wisdom which is best known to Allah Yes, what is decreed, will come to pass. What is ordained will come to pass. It WILL come to pass no matter how hard I try to escape from it. And in everything, there is a wisdom which is best known to Allah. Allah is the One who is the controller of my affairs, Allah is the One who has the knowledge of the unseen, Allah is the One who is full of unbounded mercy, then why didn’t I place my trust in Him?. Allah is the One who is the controller of my affairs, Allah is the One who has the knowledge of the unseen, Allah is the One who is full of unbounded mercy, then why didn’t I place my trust in Him?
Allah says,
“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:216)
Was this my problem? Was I too scared to place my trust in Allah? SubhanAllah! I shudder at this thought, which probably I did have at one point in my life. I didn’t think anything could really happen if I placed my trust in Allah.
But I was wrong, so wrong. Look at the people of the cave. They were in such a difficult situation, but they did what was possible within their human capacity and placed their trust in Allah. And Allah helped them in the most miraculous of ways, by putting them to sleep for a number of years! Allahuakbar! This is the power of trust in Allah. This is the how Allah will help us, and pull us out of the most difficult and impossible situations if we place our trust in Him.
But what are we actually doing by placing our trust in Allah?
We are submitting ourselves to His Will. We are doing whatever is humanly possible 1 and then affirming that Allah alone can pave a way out for us from the situation.
Perhaps, the best definition of Tawakkul in Allah is the dua’ of Istikhara. It begins with our affirmation of Allah’s might, His knowledge, His power, His magnificence, His capability and gradually enters into our affirmation of our weakness, our in capabilities. And we then lay our problem in front of Him, leaving Him to send a decision our way which is best for us. Blindly we ask Him to guide us, because we know that He loves us and can only do good for us.
This blind trust in Allah is tawakkul. Outwardly, what you are running after may seem the ultimate solution, but you can never be sure because you do not know what the future holds. It is Allah who knows and who better to place our affairs with? SubhanAllah!
No matter how tough a situation you are facing, no matter how hopeless life looks, no matter how helpless you feel, remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light is nothing but tawaakul in Allah.
“And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him.” (Surah at-Talaaq, 65:3)
Please leave your thoughts about this article in the comments section below. 🙂
REFERENCES
- Whatever we do, it should be halaal and within the bounds of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. This is one of the first and foremost aspect of placing trust in Allah – a physical action with a spiritual action – do whatever is possible and then make dua’ to Allah to ease your affairs. This completes the conditions of tawakkul in Allah. ↩
14 replies on “The Light at the End of the Tunnel…”
Assalamu Alaikum!
This was a great article on trusting Allah. I liked it very much. In fact it came at a point when I was really depressed. Subhanallah!
Jazakallah!
This is very inspiring MashAllah. JazakAllah khair!
Masha Allah great writing Keep it up sister
Assalam Alaikum,
This article categorized my feelings for the last few days. I am so thankful I read this article! It truly provided comfort in my time of need! All praises be to Allah (swt).
really is v.helpfull article ,completely true. i am postgraduate student in Malaysia, my point of problem is i read a lot and a lot and i understand really well , but i do not get the mark as i should expected.
I was going through a terrible time for the past 8 years. Just recently I decided to put all my trust in Allah and reminded me that ” Be” and it will. Here im puttin my trust in Allah. And yer. It changed the way I look at life. Whenever I feel I cannot deal with my depression I started to listen to Quran and its ao helpful. It takes away my pain instantly. Allah is helpin me to trust his words was so beautiful. I get such instant relief from my pain and its unbelievable. I never learned to do this for years. And as the article says yes I have this light in me, but I didnt know how to use the light in my heart. I thought my heart was dead and dont feel anythin. Yes I wasnt feeling anythin but only at times my heart longed for love. I didn’t know what kind of love it was looking for until I started to to really listen to it. Everyone tried to give me solutions, exercise, eat healthy etc. Whereas my heart longed for love. A love who’s mercy remians forever.
Beautiful!!!
Salam n alhamdulillah for the lovely article. I think tawakkul is an islamic response and an alternative to being distressed. Speaking to others and sometimes to the most “trusted” persons can be an additional source of stress even though these would come gradually and with conviction. The last thing anyone should do when depressed or even euphoric is to hit them on social media. Our relationship with Allah should be cultivated consistently and increased in times of instability. The article teaches us to trust Allah alone…not before…not after…and not again. Wallahu’alam.
Im sorry, i also want to post an inspiring story, which i just saw yesterday on TV. In this program a man (English?) Was prisoned in Thailand, because he carried a huge amount of heroin with him.
He got sentenced 40 years and ended up in a brutal prison in Thailand. Because of all the agression and locked up feeling, he made a decision. He wanted to die. Seriously. He stopped eating and his feeling of hunger disappeared after a week. But than he start losing weight and remain laying on the Floor.
He start noticing and enjoying the Prayers of the Muslims 5 times a day. They made him feel calm.
Than, every morning a Pakistani Muslim kneeled down by his side and ask him his name and asked what he is doing. When he explained that he wants to die, this Muslim said “you are not allowed to do that. Its not your right!” The man sended him away angrily, since it was his own life. Why would he not have the right?
This continued every morning and the Muslim showed him the specific phrases in the Quran.
It was the 31th day of his hunger strike, that he lost eye sight. He couldnt see!
Than the phrase hit him. No, he does not have the right to kill himself!
He spend little over 20 years in prison, when he got released. In prison he became Muslim. And he was thankful for every single year he spend in prison. Because he needed every year to find back himself and his path.
Very inspiring!
It is this blind trust in Allah, which keep me alive.
As a teenager i hated myself, was depressed, refused eating (anorexia), mutulated myself and punished myself with exercises.
I was bullied by so many children that i start believing them. “There is something wrong with me, im different and weird”.
I gave my parents a lot of stress, because of my problems.
I didnt want to bother anyone and believed the world is better off without me.
I wanted to be Invisible and later on, i only wanted to die. I had suicidal thoughts.
Although i was raised in Christian school and didnt know much about Islam. It was Allah who woke me up. I kept Faith and Hope in Him. Why did He create me? What is His plan for me?
And moreover, i didnt want to dissapoint Him. How can i end everything what He has planned for me? Im a thankful woman, taking my life would be an unthankful deed.
No matter what im facing since, i keep my Faith and Hope in Allah. I might not always see His plans, but i trust its there. I trust He is there.
Inshallah, i hope my story will inspire people and give them the same strenght.
Trust Allah.
Jazak Allahu khair dear sister… I really needed this article… These days so many of us face the same situation because we are distant from Allah.. this article was a nice reminder for all of us.. believe me i am going through such a bad phase in my married life.. this was really needed sister.. i was dull and depressed from so many days. Suddenly feeling better after reading this .. All praise be to Allah.. we forget Him but He never forgets us.. always encourages us to put our trust in him.. do what you can and leave everything to Allah… Jazak Allah sister.. May Allah bless you immensely in both the worlds..
Great article alhamdullilah but it does not answer the fundamental question of what we should do to get relief from Allah subhanawatalah. What way we should ask Allah subhanawatalah, how we should ask him and when we should ask him, what kind of dua we should do?
As Salaam Alaikum,
Ma Shaa Allah this is a truly awakening article. Thank you for sharing your past experiences with us.
Alham Du Lillah you found the light, may Allah (swt) also grant the Muslim Ummah light at the end of their tunnels too. AMEEN
Salam aleikum, this is very inspirational, as a matter of fact I have not read article on tawakul as inspiring as this before. Barokahllahu fii. May Allah accept it as an act of ibadah. Keep it up sister.