Trust in God can Change the Course of History
A letter to my daughter.
One true moment of trust in God can change the course of your life. Actually, it can change the course of history.
One of the best examples of trust in God is the story of Prophet Ibrahim (as). Look at his statement that is recorded in the Quran:
“…the Lord of the worlds,
Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me.
And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink.
And when I am ill, it is He who cures me
And who will cause me to die and then bring me to life…” (26:75-82)
The wording that prophet Ibrahim uses is really spectacular here. He never says, “Allah gave me the ability to work so I can earn money and buy food and drink.” Or “He gave me the ability to procure medicine to heal me.” All of those things are true – they were true for him and they are true for us.
But Prophet Ibrahim saw clearly how Allah provided for him in a very direct way. He trusted that Allah would grant him the things he needed – and in turn, wouldn’t it be fitting to trust in and follow Allah’s commandments, too?
Prophet Ibrahim’s exceptional reliance on Allah (swt) put him in a position of being able to have complete trust in Allah to the point that he never questioned Allah’s commands.
So when Allah (swt) commanded him to sacrifice his son Ismaeel, he took his son out and was actually about to slaughter him before he was stopped by the angel and ordered to slaughter an animal instead. And to this day, we still have this practice of sacrificing an animal on Eid ul-adha.
When he was ordered to take Hajar and their infant son into the desert and leave them there, he did so without question – and because of his impeccable reliance on Allah, we have these beautiful instances where we can see how this strength of reliance changed the course of history. It was Hajar who first found zamzam in the desert, and cupped the dirt around it so it would become a well instead of a flowing stream. And around that well, a city and an entire civilization was built.
The starting point and the source of all of this was one simple act of complete trust in Allah. He was ordered to do things that were difficult, but he did them because of his understanding of his relationship with the Creator.
When I think about how prophet Ibrahim’s trust in Allah literally changed the course of history, I think about us, too. We don’t yet know what beautiful things will unravel in our own lives and in the lives of generations to come when we have trust in Allah.
Trusting Him means that you have to put His commandments above your own desires.
If you’re working a job that doesn’t allow you to dress modestly, or pray at the appointed times for prayer, trusting Him means leaving that job and knowing He will grant you something better.
If you’re faced with a profitable investment that could catapult your income, but it has some elements of doubt in it, trusting Him means leaving the investment behind and knowing He’ll grant you a better opportunity.
If you’re in love with someone and want to marry him, but he’s not that decent of a person, trusting Allah means removing yourself from that harmful relationship and knowing He will mend your broken heart.
Only good things come from trusting God. Even if your trust in Him means you have to make difficult and painful decisions, know that a future of beauty and success awaits just beyond the last touch of pain.
“And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out; And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him” (65: 2-3)
