Episode 22 - Say: Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us
I used to wonder about the source of tranquility in this verse? What makes us feel at ease when we know that {Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us} [At-Tawbah: 51]..? Let us contemplate the verse word by word, and imagine hypothetical situations that are not true and compare them with reality to know the answer:
1. First, let us stand with the word (Allah) in (Allah has decreed for us): Imagine you are imprisoned and awaiting a judgment from a judge of the earth in a session that will be held at a specific upcoming time, and this judgment is that you either remain under the control of Allah the Exalted or transfer from Him to the control of humans! Either you remain under the control of Allah with His attributes of wisdom, mercy, justice, kindness, compassion, and patience, or you transfer to the control of one who does not share these attributes with Allah the Exalted! At that time, it is your right to be anxious and afraid. But when you are certain that everything that befalls you is from what (Allah) the Exalted has decreed with His attributes, and that you are transferring from the control of Allah to the control of Allah, and that the humans who appear to be in control of you are nothing but tools for His decrees, subdued to His rule, then it is your right to feel at ease.
2. Let us stand with the word (has decreed): You have realized that what befalls you is from the action of Allah with you, but imagine that this action is not by predestination! Imagine if the angels descend every day with a group of calamities and scatter them upon the people of the earth, and a group of blessings as well! At that time, it is your right to be anxious and afraid. But when you are certain that Allah the Exalted has decreed the measures of all things before He created the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years (as in the authentic hadith), knowing what will result from them, not that His actions with His creation are reactions to events that were hidden from Him before, and that He has decreed them with wisdom and mercy, then it is your right to feel at ease.
3. Then let us stand with the word (for us): The use of the letter 'lam' in (for us) indicates that these decrees are for our benefit, no matter how contrary it may seem: (How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affair is all good, and that is for none except the believer).
4. Let us continue with the verse: {Say: Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us. He is our Protector} [At-Tawbah: 51]: {He is our Protector}: And the protector does not surrender his ward to his enemies, and the protector does not accept humiliation and degradation for his ward, as in the supplication of the Prophet (peace be upon him): (He does not humiliate those whom He protects).
5. Completion of the verse: {And upon Allah, then let the believers put their trust} [At-Tawbah: 51]: If we believe in all that has preceded, it is our right to put our trust in Allah, meaning we entrust Him with the management of our affairs with tranquility and certainty. And Allah the Exalted knows best..