“And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.” [29: 69]

There’s an Arabic proverb that says, “Who strives, finds.” If you are sincere in finding your way back to Allah, you will find your way back, and if you are struggling to be a better person, you will eventually become a better person. The secret is to never stop trying.

So for those who feel burdened by sin, or weighed down by confusion, or held back by fear; throw it all behind you and struggle onwards for the sake of Allah. Exert effort in all the ways you can and rein yourself in for the personal battles and wars you’re about to face. As Imam al-Shafi’i said in a line of poetry, “And strive, because because the sweetness of life lies in the struggle.”

Allah rewards the good efforts be they little or be they great. If they are sincere and meant for Him, He will reward and more than that, He will guide – to what’s correct, what’s better, what’s more lasting. So no matter your past, and no matter how feeble the steps you’re taking are, strive on and keep on. You are a doer of good on the path to be guided, insha’Allah.

“Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, “If not for you, we would have been believers.” Those who were arrogant will say to those who were oppressed, “Did we avert you from guidance after it had come to you? Rather, you were criminals.”” [34: 31-32]

There will be a massive blame game on the Day of Judgement. People who were from the same camp and the same team will turn on each other as they find themselves being led in the same direction – away from Paradise. The weaker will blame the stronger, the followers will blame the leaders, the authorities will tell the masses to blame themselves… a complete mess!

In what is roughly half a page, Allah `azza wa jall details the back and forth dialogue between the people – and that is all thought-provoking. Your choices are your own. The blame game may work in this world, but it sure doesn’t work in the Hereafter because you are responsible for yourself and no matter how many people advise you, or tempt you, or encourage you, or discourage you, at the end of the day you will be answering for the steps you took through life. Do you let others prevent you from following your deep faith or accepting truth? Do you let others guide you away from destinations that your heart is fixed on and that you’re convinced of? Have you let people decide your Hereafter for you?

This is a big wake-up call to the believers who also make the mistake of being led, from one shaykh, imam, professor, peer, murshid, intellectual, or tribal leader to another without checks or independency – until they find themselves in destruction. Islam is not about blind faith and was never about following anything blindly. But it calls to individual responsibility and strength of faith, to maturity and intellect, to reason and discipline, to quintessential decision-making and tawakkul (reliance on Allah), to the humbleness of retracting when you’re wrong and the bravery to hold your faith when you’re right. It’s about setting your compass firmly towards Allah and no-one else.

…Because in the end, the blame game just won’t work. “Are they recompensed except for what they used to do?” [34: 33]

“And had he not been of those who exalt Allah, He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected.” [37: 143-144]

What saved Yunus (AS) from the belly of the whale was the fact that he was a Musabbih – someone who praised Allah and glorified Him much. Subhan’Allah, let’s think about that for a moment. If he wasn’t somebody of dhikr (remembrance), he would’ve remained in the belly; in other words, his test would’ve prolonged and only Judgement Day would’ve been his salvation.

Most of the time, what you need is something very similar to save you from your hardships too. If you find that despite your patience, your affliction is not letting up, try to be saved by what saved Yunus. Up your game in the field of dhikr (remembrance) and tasbih (glorification) with all the words that you can muster insha’Allah.

Keep your morning and evening du’as, praise Allah before and after prayers, seek forgiveness through the day, and be thankful. In Surah al-Qamar, Allah says that He saved Prophet Lut (AS) and his followers, then He interestingly says, “Like that do we save whoever is grateful.” [54: 35] – Meaning that gratitude is a cause for the Help of Allah to come. These are actions of the heart, and they call Allah when your limbs fail you. Like the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) advised one of his companions, “Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.” [al-Tirmidhi] … because with hardships, a heart can become deflated, a body worn out, and a tongue and throat parched – so bring life to yourself through dhikr.

Perhaps today your troubles will be over, or your problems will begin to unravel themselves because you’ll have decided to become a Musabbih like Yunus and all the Prophets and people of righteousness.

“And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who was concealing his faith said, “Would you kill a man merely because he says, ‘My Lord is Allah’?” [40: 28]

In roughly 3 whole pages in this Juz, the dialogue between Pharaoh and an unnamed man from the believers of Bani Israel is presented. Back and forth they go; Pharaoh’s threats counteracted with the man’s consoling, Pharaoh’s conceited plans and audacity versus the man’s calm response and composure. Advice after advice, he tries to get Pharaoh to see right. Then he turns to his people and pleads with them on behalf of Musa and the message he was carrying – without giving away his own faith. He asks them to think, he tells them to follow him, he calls them towards what’s better. In the end, Pharaoh and his men don’t listen so he turned to Allah and was saved from what befell them.

Yet, he is unnamed.

For us living today, that is a unique message in itself. You don’t have to be known by name to have a lasting effect on generations. You don’t have to be popular to make a difference. You don’t have to have a platform or an audience to deliver a message. The Qur’an is not concerned about mere names, for if that was the case, Pharaoh wouldn’t have been mentioned so much whilst our own Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) is only mentioned 4 times by name. Instead it is concerned about preserving noble actions. Names mean very little, because it’s not names that we celebrate… it’s legacies.

“Had God expanded His provision to His servants, they would have rebelled on the earth; but He sends it down according to a measure as He pleases; surely He is Aware of and Sees His servants.” [42: 27]

Have you ever begged and pleaded for things in your du’as that you didn’t get immediately or never got at all? Did you make persistent du’a and it only came after months or years of asking? Did you lose hope in the process, or are you starting to lose hope now? Don’t. Allah Hears and Sees, but He sends things down according to a measure. That’s all. He answers, but the things you ask for are part of a measure – a Qadr – that only travels from Allah to the creation in set portions.

Most people think they know themselves pretty well, but as the years go on, we actually start learning more about ourselves. Often we are surprised at what we find. Allah `azza wa jall says here that He is well-aware of us and He can see us. That includes seeing us in the past and also the future. He can see how we will act upon receiving certain provisions. He can see how its timing affects us in the long term. He can also see how it affects our Hereafter. All this He is aware of, so He sends down provisions according to all this and more. Yet we despair and get upset, we become negative and moody; we even get frustrated with du’a itself.

Try your best not to get swallowed by a negative pit, because Allah is Merciful. I ask you to read the next verse which comes immediately after the one above:

“And it is He who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and He unfolds His mercy; and He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy.” [42: 28]

The word for ‘rain’ here is ‘ghayth‘ which is the rain that comes after a very long time; the one people hope for, cry for, and beg for. Allah will send it for you insha’Allah and you will see how His Mercy unfolds in your life. Just hang in there, He is protecting you from things you don’t know because too much rain kills the crops. So trust Him in His Qadr (measurement).