By Dr. Wael Haddara

These are times of great confusion. Many Muslims, by reflecting on events that have occurred in the last number of decades, lose hope in there being any change in our condition. Yet, this should not be our attitude. Scholars have often said that the believer is like a bird that flies on two wings: the wing of hope and the wing of fear (Al-khawf and Al-Rajaa’).

Hope arises from the belief in the infinite mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, while fear should arise from an understanding of His justice. Allah has praised the Prophets in the Qur’an by ascribing to them these two qualities, as is the case with Prophet Zakariyya in surat al-Anbiyaa. In the prophetic tradition, the Prophet (pbuh) describes the mercy of Allah by pointing out to his companions the example of a woman with her children and asking them whether they thought she would throw her children into the fire. When they replied in the negative, he instructed them that Allah is even more Merciful of his servants than that woman with her children. The Prophet specifically links the Mercy of Allah to the hope we should have in Him by reminding us that if we knew the infinite Mercy of God, even one who rejects Him would not despair of it. This concept is crystallized in two short, consecutive verses in surat al-Hjir: “Inform My servants that I am the most Forgiving, most Merciful and that My punishment is truly the most severe.”

Allah has also reminded us that written upon His throne are the words “My Mercy Shall Supersede My Anger.” So our firm understanding of the Mercy of Allah should give rise to hope within our hearts.

Possibly the most difficult time in the life of the Prophet was the return from Ta’if after he was rejected by its people. Yet in that solitary moment of immense difficulty, the Prophet refuses to vent his anger on his people. Why? Because of the hope that one day a group of better people will issue forth from these rejecters of faith. The Prophet reassures his companion Zayd that Allah will bring ease out of this difficulty. There is little point to reading the Seerah if the only things we are to acquire from it are the numbers and dates. We should read the Seerah to understand what the Qur’an asks of us to understand: “There was indeed for you in the messenger of Allah, an excellent example.”

Ibn ‘Ataillah, in his Hikam makes the following observations, “Hope is that which is accompanied by action – al-rajaa ma qaranahu ‘amal, wa illa fa huwa umniya. Otherwise, it is mere wishful thinking.”
And so Hope should spur us to action. We can gauge how well we intuitively understand the idea Allah's mercy by relating it to the outcome in our hearts and ourselves. If we are spurred on to even greater action, then we have truly internalized the mercy of Allah and realized the meaning of hope. If our efforts diminish or cease then we have been taken over by despair.

What kind of action should we be spurred into doing? Al-Harith Al-Muhasibi writes in Risalat al-Mustarshideen, “Do not complain of He who is most Merciful to one who is less merciful of you and seek the help of Allah you will become one of His chosen.” Seek the help of Allah you will become one of His chosen. This simple sentence finds its roots in many of the Prophetic teachings but probably most closely in his advice given to Ibn Abbas, “If you seek help, seek it only from Allah ….”

What does it mean to seek help from Allah? It certainly does not mean that we stop asking people for help. What it does mean is that when we do ask others for help we understand that only Allah is able to dispense or withhold that help. “Whatever Mercy Allah opens for people none can stop, whatever He withholds, none can release.” When we cease to see the created before us and see only the Creator’s mercy and will, we begin to understand what Al-Muhasibi meant when he said, “...one of His Chosen.” This is the wing of hope.

What about the wing of fear? Fear should stem from the remembrance of our individual responsibilities and the consequences of shirking those responsibilities. When we understand that Allah has placed upon each soul no greater burden than it can bear, we should understand that whatever difficulty we meet we also have a role in overcoming or at least bearing through it patiently. Such is the situation now, as we are in a time of difficulty. Our real test however, is to see whether our faith grows or is diminished as a result. Whether we gain a greater understanding of the power of Allah and the powerlessness of the created, or are seduced into believing human beings have power outside that which Allah grants them. Clearly the latter belief takes a person outside of the folds of Islam. Nevertheless the end result of reducing or diminishing our efforts now would be no different.

One final issue: It is almost a cliché to say that the darkest hour is the one before dawn but there is a lot of truth to this. The most difficult times are also the times in which the greatest changes occur. Case in point, the victory of Badr which occurred in a time of weakness, “Allah has given you victory at Badr when you were pitiful,” and many other examples abound.

These are times of great difficulty and our greatest difficulty is perhaps dealing with our own selves. To understand and internalize the mercy of Allah, gain hope from that, and know that there is no recourse from Allah except to him. Allah does what He wills.

Dr. Wael Haddara is a member of the Board of Directors of MAC. He is also on the board of CAIR-CAN and works with the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is married with 3 children and lives in London, ON.