Bismillahi ar-rahmani ar-raheem
And praise and thanks to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and the best of creators, and peace and blessings be upon all the prophets and those who follow them in the best way.
This is the time of year when students are receiving the grades and offers which affect their future studies and careers. This year grades have been predicted without exams taking place, leading to lots of accusations of unfairness. One recent post on the BBC had a student, who had been dropped 3 grades from her predictions, writing to the government and claiming, “you’ve ruined my life!”
Allah tells us in the surah al Ma’aarij that people alternate between extremes of feelings:
إن الإنسان خلق هلوعا إذ مسه الشر جزوعا إذ مسه الخير منوعا
The human being is created despairing: if harm touches him he despairs and if good touches him he is grasping.
This is not the reaction of those who are constantly devoted to Allah, the subsequent verses go on to say.
Elsewhere in the Qur’an Allah says:
وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
It may be that you hate something, but it is better for you, and it may be that you love something but it is worse for you, and Allah knows, and you don’t know.
)2:216)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwikWPTnn94
In this Arabic cartoon, a girl is feeling upset because her friends have got into the top university in the city, and she hasn’t. Mum reminds her of this Qur’anic verse, and says see what happens at the university which did accept you. The girl says she won’t go, but her mum persuades her to try. Later on, we see the girl going to the other college and meeting her best friend. The girl also becomes a brilliant student, one of the best in the country, and very successful. One day, she sees a friend crying because she has failed her language test so she can’t study in America and now her dreams are over. She remembers what happened to her a few years earlier… and reminds the girl of the same verse.
The Muslim should be optimistic and think well of her Lord, (that is, to believe that her Lord is making the best choices for her). If you put your trust in Allah, rather than in a thing like a boss or a job or a degree, then you are less likely to live life on an emotional rollercoaster of excessive excitement followed by despair and disappointment followed by excitement.
It is like the Chinese story, where one day, an old farmer lost his horse. The village came to commiserate with him. “How are you going to manage the farm now you have no horse?” they wailed. “It is a disaster!”
“Maybe, maybe not” said the old man.
The next day, the horse returned, leading a herd of wild horse. The villagers were soon back, this time rejoicing. “You are going to be so wealthy when you have trained these horses,” they exclaimed. “You are so lucky!”
“Maybe, maybe not” said the old man.
The day after, the old man’s only son broke his leg falling off a horse which he was attempting to break-in. The villagers came back. “What are you going to do now?” they moaned. “How on earth are you going to manage the farm now? Your son will be laid up for months! It’s so tragic.”
“Maybe, maybe not” said the old man.
The next day, the army came to town and rounded up all of the able-bodied men under 40. They left the old man’s son alone, because he could not walk. The villagers came back again. “You are so lucky,” they said. “Your son’s leg will heal in a few weeks, and then he will be able to help you again. As for our young men, we don’t know if we will ever see them again! You are so fortunate!”
“Maybe, maybe not” said the old man.
We have control over what we can do in the present moment, like when we followed the advice of the hospital to help her, and tried to give her healing food, and made dua, and protected her from further injury, and these were all asbaab or means which still came to us from Allah, but the ends of all affairs, (or their final outcomes) belong to Allah:
و من يسلم وجه إلى الله و هو محسن فقد إستمسك بالعروة الوثفوي ولله عاقبة العمور
Whoever surrenders his face to Allah and acts beautifully, has held onto the firmest handhold and to Allah belong the ends of affairs.
