Yasir Qadhi

From this we learn that when in a difficult situation, we must do two things, one a physical act of this world (dunyāwī) and another a spiritual act (dīnī). If we are ill, we go to the doctor, and we make duʿā’. If we are unemployed, we send our résumé to potential employers and make duʿā’. If we are not trained, we go to university and make duʿā’. We need
both; the physical action and the spiritual duʿā’.

This is why the younger people of Madinah accepted Islam, while the elders in Makkah rejected it.

Therefore, our Lord praises young men and women who are religious.

if we feel jealous of someone, we should say mashā’Allāh bāraka Allāhu lak, meaning may Allah S give you more baraka, or blessings.

The real winner is not the winner who is rich at one point in his life, but the one who is wealthy and happy for eternity, and that is in Jannah. The real winner doesn’t just look at one day, he looks at eternity, and the only being that will give you that eternity is Allah S

Abū Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet f that once while a man was travelling in the wilderness he heard
a voice in a cloud ordering the angel of the cloud to pour its rain on a particular farm. So the man followed the cloud and saw that it poured its rain on a rocky volcanic plain. All the water gathered in a stream and poured into a farm. The man saw the owner working in that farm and asked him his name. The name was the same one that he had heard from the cloud. The man then related what he had heard and seen, and enquired of the owner of the farm what was special about him that would explain all of this. Given the reason for the enquiry, the owner explained that he would plant his farm and then split the harvest into three equal parts. One part he gave as ṣadaqah, the second part he kept as food for himself and his family, and the third part he replanted.55

Allah’s S qadar works in ways that are beyond our understanding. Next time we face a calamity of a financial nature, or an accident, or any misfortune, let us remember this story and realize Allah S knows best. There are so many accounts of people who were in a minor accident, for example, and because of this they were delayed and yet because they were delayed they were saved from a much bigger calamity. At the time when the accident happened they were frustrated, but Allah S in His wisdom knew that it was better for them to be delayed. It is a simple fact and reminder for us all.

He who believes that Allah S is in control of everything can never ask ‘why is this happening to me?’ Allah S loves us more than our mothers do, as our Prophet f said. Allah’s S plan is better than our plan and His wisdom is infinitely greater than our wisdom. We must put our trust in Allah S and know that whatever happens happens for our good, as long as we truly believe in Allah S and put our tawakkul in Him.

اللَّهمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَسْتَغْفُِركَ لِمَا لآ أَعْلَمُ

Allahumma innī aʿūdhu bika an ushrika bika wa anā aʿlamu wa astaghfiruka limā lā aʿlamu

‘O Allah I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know.’102

This is the duʿā’ that our Prophet f taught Abū Bakr t that if you feel you are showing off then make this duʿā’ and Allah
S will remove that showing off.