Weekly Sermons

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Those who “rely on God, embrace the struggle, and yield to wisdom” will eventually be victorious. Victory will come to them sooner or later, in this world or the next. Yet, humankind is, by nature, impatient, and people wish that all good things they yearn for should be fulfilled at once and all the bounties promised should be delivered without delay. When this does not happen, they mostly end up in hopelessness and pessimism. If they do not have strong faith, they tend to prioritize their own will over divine will and let themselves into thoughts and feelings that would hardly please God.
It is our heartfelt prayer that God Almighty’s glorified blessings and divine favors be constantly poured down on believers. May God support them with divine assistance at all times and may He never leave them unattended or alone. Such thoughts result from a believer relying on God and expecting assistance and beneficence from Him; this is perfectly understandable. But we should take divine will as basis in everything we do and keep it before and above our wishes and desires all the time. Relying on divine will in all our thoughts and actions is a sign of respect for the truth expressed in, “We are pleased with God as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as our Messenger.”
It is our deep-felt yearning to see believers rejoice after centuries of mourning and enjoy divine mercy just as Islam’s first and foremost representatives did. How much we wish their misery ends, that they pull themselves together! That the serene period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is lived once again—perhaps not in its entirety, but at least in its partial shadow. How much we wish that the ultimate truth, justice, and freedom would rule over the world once more.
These are what we dream to realize; we keep ourselves busy to attain them on the one hand, while praying to God for them on the other.
Still, there may be cases where our carnal souls might slip selfish things into these wishes; wishes that are by all means innocent, justified, and proper. Even when we ask God to pour down His favors on Muslims, we may be attributing a share of it to our egos. Carnal or satanic drives may be found even in the deeds we believe we have performed in the name of God. We can hardly be sure about their evil schemes or ruses. How can we be sure, considering even a noble prophet like Joseph, peace be upon him, said, “I do not claim myself free of error, for assuredly the human soul always commands evil” (Qur’an 12:53). He is saying that we should not trust our carnal souls. Whoever feels secure with his evil-commanding soul will be deprived of his security.
This does not mean that we should refrain from pursuing our own will in the name of all Muslims and humanity. Of course, every believer wishes that Muslims should be able to eliminate the problems that have been rending their hearts for the last two or three centuries. It is every believer’s desire to see the sun dawn on the world of the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the deported. They ardently beg God to this end. Believers ask only from Him, relying on the sheer expanse of God’s mercy and the vastness of His grace. They sincerely believe that their prayers will be answered, and springtime will follow winter. Still, they never forget that divine will is essential and never fail to pay due respect to His manifestations and disposals.
In particular, those who have devoted themselves to the cause of promoting faith and the Qur’an should take divine will as basis and stay on this course for the entirety of their life. The primary source where we can learn about divine will is the divine revelation, i.e., the Holy Qur’an, followed by the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah). No task is more crucial for them than to understand, make sense of, implement, and communicate to others this divine message. As mentioned in a noble saying of the Prophet, the transient qualities of the world are not even worth a wing of a mosquito. What value can be attributed to the world when weighed against God’s good pleasure and gratification, seeing Him and attaining the eternal happiness He promised? They continually pray, “My God, please fill our hearts with the love and ardor of meeting You, Your Beloved Prophet, and the people you love, and help us reach contentment.” In my opinion, the people who are determined to rebuild monuments of their spirits in this world should nurture no other goal.
Nevertheless, those who adore this world may be unaware of your true intentions, and wrongly assume that you are after worldly desires just as they would do. “Do they have eyes on ruling the country? Are they after fame? Are they after a luxurious life in palaces?” they may ask. Bear with, and excuse, them for such misguided assessments and ignorance. Even, pray to God for their guidance to the truth, and leave to God those who are not capable of guidance. Do not occupy yourselves with them. What matters is that those who shoulder the efforts to glorify the Word of God should continue to walk on their own path without the slightest deviation and take divine will as basis in all their errands. Those whose abilities and capabilities have not been dulled completely may wobble around, try to walk on narrow pathways, or crawl along hilly lands in fits and starts for some time, before eventually returning to the straight path delineated by the Prophet, the Master of All of the Blessed.
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Divine Will Is Essential