Page 29 - The Secret Behind Our Trials

The Great Secret
will come after the difficulty ends, either in this world or the next.
This is what it means to view events from the standpoint of the fu-
ture.
Muslims know that they are observers of their own destiny and
that of others. Knowing this, they observe everything with patience,
trust, and submission. In addition, they know that they cannot inter-
fere with, prevent, or stop how an event will unfold. They keep the
following words firmly in mind: "It may be that you hate some-
thing when it is good for you, and it may be that you love some-
thing when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know"
(Surat al-Baqara, 216). In other words, every bad thing that happens
to believers will ultimately benefit them, provided that they remain
faithful to Him and patient, for such tests enable them to train them-
selves, deepen their belief, improve their moral character, become
more spiritually and intellectually mature, and raise their status in
Paradise.
Only sincere believers who have submitted wholeheartedly to
Allah will experience this spiritual state. But people who do not sub-
mit to destiny and reject religion will be overcome by hopelessness,
fear, and agitation, thinking that they will not be able to find any es-
cape. Given that they have no hope or expectation with regard to the
Hereafter, they live in a state of constant spiritual unhappiness and
frustration. The following verse describes this spiritual state:
When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his
breast to Islam. When He desires to misguide someone, He
makes his breast narrow and constricted, as if he were
climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah defiles those
who have no belief. (Surat al-An`am, 125)
This spiritual state of frustration is caused by people's rejection
of the destiny that Allah has created for them. It is an oppressive

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