Contentment with Divine Decree... Correcting Concepts

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, dear people. May Allah keep you well and bless everyone with a blessed Friday.

This talk is an attempt to correct misconceptions related to contentment with divine decree and destiny.

The Concept of Contentment with Divine Decree and Destiny

Sometimes, you are afflicted with a trial that is part of Allah's decree for you, but humans have a role in it, humans have a hand in it. You are told: "Brother, be patient, be content." Yet, you find within yourself that you are neither content nor patient. Are you held accountable for that, do you think?

Take heed, brothers, in one decree, you are content with Allah, the Most High, but you are displeased with the oppressors who brought this trial through their hands.

Examples of Trials and Oppression

For example, you become poor, you lose your job, and among the reasons is that there are corrupt people who steal the nation's wealth and spend it recklessly, causing people to suffer the bitterness of poverty and the humiliation of need after the pride of self-sufficiency.

For example, you or someone dear to you falls ill, but they did not receive proper treatment for the same reasons: wealth is stolen from within and without, and people are left without sufficient services. Who decreed that you should live in this time and that this oppression should befall you? The decree is Allah's decree.

Distinguishing Between Contentment with Allah and Contentment with Oppressors

So, do you endure that or not? Are you content or not? Pay attention, brother, you are content with Allah and His decree, but at the same time, you are displeased with these oppressors and seek Allah's help against them to defend against their oppression and reclaim your rights through legal means.

Take heed, brothers, those who do not understand this well may fall into one of two major deviations: Either they confuse contentment with divine decree or they confuse contentment with Allah with contentment with the oppressors and their oppression. In that case, religion may be used and sometimes prepared for atheism, or paving the way for the second deviation: dressing religion in the garb of humiliation and degradation. It paves the way for the second deviation.

What is the second deviation resulting from the confusion between contentment with Allah and contentment with the oppression of the oppressors? The second deviation is that you are not content but displeased and rebel, but against your Lord, the Most High, and seek refuge in Allah. Some people have experienced this; they are told: "Be content with Allah's decree." No, they are not content. And within themselves, they believe that contentment means silence, submission, and acceptance of the status quo.

Contentment with Allah's Wisdom and Defending Against Oppression

No, but you are content with Allah and His wisdom in testing you with these oppressors. Even if Allah wills, you would have triumphed over them, but He tests some of you with others. Allah says: {And We have made some of you a trial for others: will you have patience? And your Lord is Ever-Seeing.} [Al-Furqan: 20].

However, at the same time, you are never content with the oppressor, but you defend against this oppressor and seek Allah's help in defending against them. Allah says: {And if Allah had not repelled some people by others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is Full of Bounty to the worlds.} [Al-Baqarah: 251].

Therefore, defend against oppression through legal means, seeking help from Allah, the Most High. What are the details of these legal means? That is not the subject of my talk, but I wanted, dear ones, to correct these misconceptions so that we do not fall into deadly deviations for our faith.

In Conclusion

In conclusion: in one decree, you are content with Allah, the Most High, you are content with divine decree and destiny, but you are displeased with the oppressors whom Allah has decreed to bring oppression through them, and you seek Allah's help in defending against oppression and reclaiming your rights.

May Allah, the Most High, know best, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.