Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir- Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Opening
Have you ever opened a novel, jumped straight to the last page, then closed it in anger because you thought the story was terrible? Funny, isn’t it? But whether we realize it or not, that is often how we judge Allah’s decree.Psychologically and cognitively, humans have a limitation called cognitive myopia_—we can only see what is right in front of us today. When we see someone go bankrupt, struck by calamity, or suddenly paralyzed, we often immediately pass judgment: _“Why is Allah not fair?”We judge destiny only from the painful “Last Chapter,” without ever knowing the earlier chapters that came before it. Yet Allah SWT is the Owner of the Best Scenario, the All-Knowing of every cause and effect.Listen to how Allah calms our souls in the Qur’an:
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“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.”[QS. Al-Baqarah: 216]
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also reminded us to always think well of every one of His decrees:
عَجَبًا لأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لأَحَدٍ إِلاَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ
“How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for all his affairs are good for him—and that is not the case for anyone except the believer. If prosperity befalls him, he gives thanks, and that is good for him. And if adversity befalls him, he is patient, and that is good for him.”[HR. Muslim]
2. Lessons and Message
Let us imagine a poor mother crying hysterically at a harbor because her child was denied boarding a large ship due to a torn ticket. The mother wailed, feeling that Allah was so unfair to her that day. Yet a few hours later, the harbor was shocked by news that the large ship had sunk in the middle of the ocean and no passengers survived. In an instant, the mother’s wails of lament turned into a prostration of gratitude drenched in tears. The event initially seen as a “last-chapter tragedy” turned out to be the way Allah saved her child’s life. Imagine you go to the doctor with a stomachache. The doctor suddenly tells you to lie down, takes a scalpel, and cuts open your stomach! If a stranger walked into that room without knowing the “earlier chapter” that you were suffering from appendicitis, that person would surely scream, “Evil doctor! Criminal! Police, help!”The guard or onlooker outside only sees the pain and the blood—the last chapter—but the doctor knows that the incision is the only way to heal. Such is Allah. Sometimes He “incises” our hearts with trials, not because He hates us, but because there is a “disease” within us that must be removed so we can be saved.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Blessed brothers and sisters, when all the chapters of a life story are fully revealed from beginning to end in the Hereafter, the common thread of Allah’s precise and unparalleled justice will always be clearly visible. We will slap our own foreheads while saying, “Oh… so that was how Allah saved me back then.”Starting today, let us stop being judges over Allah’s decree. If the chapter you are reading today feels painful, be patient. Your story is not finished. Keep moving forward with good expectations, because the final ending for a believing servant always ends in happiness—a happy ending
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
