“When all odds are against you…”
Countless times have I spoken to people and friends who feel so stuck in certain situations that they can’t possibly imagine a way out. Countless times have I lent an ear to the melancholic sentiments of people who are so badly wanting something to work out for them, yet every time they take a step, they feel like they are finding themselves back in the same spot, trying again. Countless times have I been able to relate to their situations.
Yet, what struck me the most were the responses from many of these people. The same repeated answers and despondent outlook…
“That’s just the way things are.”
“I don’t know, I’ve given up to be honest.”
“But I don’t want to put my hopes too high in case I have to face disappointment.”
“Things are complicated.”
“I’ve taken all the means I can, what is left?”
Whenever I speak to people who share these feelings with me, I can understand somewhat why they might be feeling that way. It’s normal for human beings to feel sad or unhappy, its normal for us to cry due to this sadness. Its part of our make-up and who we are. Its completely normal to have such thoughts cross our minds, yet, its important to never dwell upon them or utter words of complaint or despair due to them. This began to make more sense when I reflected deeper on their responses, I decided, that although a believer may feel sad about a situation, a believer never ever despairs.
Never.
Every single time a believer’s eyes begins to swell with tears because he feel like he’s tried too hard, every time he’s about to give up because he feels like there is no way out. Every time she is about to lose every ounce of hope she was holding on to, and every time her burden becomes to much to bear, he or she rises, rises from the depth of despair into the vastness of Allah’s mercy.
I often used to think that strength was in holding back those tears, in never admitting feelings of sadness and hurt. I thought it was in in taking the easy, less risky route. Yet, I am taught through experience, that true strength lies in holding on even when you feel like all odds are against you. Strength is in shedding tears – but to your Maker, and hopeful tears, tears to release the build-up of anxiety within to you, tears of yearning and pleading; tears of redemption.
I realize, that strength is in facing the complications, the dead end, and the barrier, heads on, and then having faith that if He wills, that barrier will crumble to pieces, the dead end will miraculously open up, and that those complications will revolve into ease.
This is faith. This is how I perceive strength.
To those people, who may be on the verge of giving up, or are in a situation where there is no sign of a way out, then I remind you, that there always is.
Even if you feel like you’ve taken every mean under the sun, then know, that there is forever a mean you can take, anytime, anywhere, any situation, and it is the most powerful mean and weapon you have with you.
It is Du’aa.
Du’aa has the power to change your Qadr.
Du’aa is your superpower.
Du’aa is you taking your means. The miraculous mean.
So if there’s one answer to your despairing, to your feelings of giving up, to your complications, then it is this…make Du’aa and trust Allah.
Don’t let fears of disappointment hold you back from asking your Lord. There is nothing that Allah is incapable of doing. There is no task hard for him to carry out. There is nothing greater than Him. So what is it that you fear?
He (swt) says: And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
This Ramadhan, make a note, that you will utilize your superpower. That you will not despair or drown in distress, or lose patience, or beelive there is no way, because even when all odds are against you, Du’aa is always there, and will always work for you.
When you are asking Allah you are upon goodness, for a hopeful believer does not pray accept that He will be pleased. A believer does not pray except that his prayer is being taken care of by the King of all Kings. And who better to take care of it than the All-Knowing and the All-Capable?
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