Central Khutbah: “The Decree That Writes Your Destiny Loves You More Than You Love Yourself”
The decree that has determined your destiny has also determined what you could never have anticipated, understood, or encompassed through your own desires. Behind this decree lie Allah’s perfect knowledge, His wisdom, and His mercy. How many times have you desperately wanted something but did not receive it? How many times have you grieved over an event, only to understand later that there was actually good for you in what had happened? How many doors have you tried to open without success, only for Allah to open others for you, doors whose very existence you had never imagined?
Human beings see only what lies before their eyes. They desire what appears beautiful to their hearts and fear what seems difficult. Yet Allah knows what human beings do not know, sees what is hidden from us, and, through His wisdom, governs everything that takes place in the heavens and on earth. This is why a believer does not measure Allah’s mercy solely by what he is granted, nor Allah’s favour by what he is denied.
Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“Perhaps you dislike something that is good for you, and perhaps you love something that is bad for you. Allah knows, while you do not know.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:216)
This verse contains one of the most important lessons about our relationship with the divine decree. We often judge events by how they begin, while their outcomes remain hidden from us. Sometimes, what we desire seems to be the only path to happiness, while what we lose appears to be the greatest of misfortunes. Yet our desires are not always the measure of what is good for us, just as our disappointments do not prove that goodness has been withheld from us.
How many things we desired could have become a trial for our faith, our family, or our lives! And how many difficult experiences could have become an opportunity to return to Allah, to repent sincerely, or to discover a new path towards goodness!
The believer therefore learns not to confine his heart to the question, “Why did I not receive it?” Instead, he learns to ask himself, “What does Allah expect of me in the circumstances I am going through?”
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, once showed his companions the vastness of divine mercy. Among the captives was a woman searching for her child. When she found him, she held him close to her chest and began to nurse him. The Prophet then asked his companions:
“Do you think this woman would throw her child into the fire?”
They replied that she would never do so as long as she could prevent it. The Prophet then declared:
“Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.” (Al-Bukhari, 5999; Muslim, 2754)
What a magnificent message! A mother, a symbol of tenderness, care, and selfless love, cannot begin to encompass the limits of Allah’s mercy. And if His mercy is so immense, does He not deserve our trust, even when we do not understand what is happening to us?
This does not mean, of course, that every trial is, in itself, a particular sign of Allah’s love. Rather, it means that trials should never lead us to forget His mercy and wisdom.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, reported that Allah determined the destinies of creation fifty thousand years before creating the heavens and the earth. (Muslim, 2653) Another narration mentions that Allah commanded the Pen to write the decrees of all things until the Day of Resurrection. (Abu Dawud, 4700)
Therefore, the Pen itself does not love, decide, or govern destiny. It is a creation of Allah that wrote by His command. Our trust does not rest in the Pen with which destiny was recorded, but in Allah, the Lord who decreed all things according to His knowledge and wisdom.
Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“No calamity befalls the earth or yourselves except that it is written in a Record before We bring it into being. Indeed, that is easy for Allah. This is so that you do not grieve over what you have missed, nor become excessively rejoicing over what He has granted you.” (Al-Hadid, 57:22–23)
Faith in destiny does not free us from sadness or turn us into beings without feelings. However, it teaches us that a loss is not the end of everything and that what has passed us by could never have become ours outside Allah’s decree.
Consider the story of the mother of Moses, peace be upon him. At a time when Pharaoh had ordered the killing of newborn boys among the Children of Israel, Allah inspired the mother of Moses to place her son in a chest and set it afloat on the river. What a trial for a mother’s heart! To protect her child, she had to do something that, at first glance, seemed to expose him to the greatest danger.
But Allah’s wisdom extended far beyond what she could understand at that moment. The child arrived precisely at Pharaoh’s household, and then Allah returned him to his mother.
Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“So We returned him to his mother so that her eyes might be comforted, that she would not grieve, and that she would know that Allah’s promise is true. But most of them do not know.” (Al-Qasas, 28:13)
Imagine all the anguish separating the moment when this mother placed her child in the river from the moment when she could hold him against her chest once again! At that moment, she did not know how the story would end, but Allah knew.
These Qur’anic accounts teach us precisely not to pass a final judgement on Allah’s decree based on a single moment in our lives.
We find a similar lesson in the account of Moses and Al-Khidr, peace be upon them. Moses saw Al-Khidr damage a boat belonging to poor people who had transported them. The act appeared to be an injustice against people who had, in fact, helped them.
However, what followed revealed a wisdom that Moses did not know at that moment: an unjust king was seizing sound boats by force. By slightly damaging their boat, Al-Khidr enabled its owners to protect it from confiscation. (Al-Kahf, 18:71–79)
What a profound Qur’anic lesson! What appeared to be damage became the means of preserving their property.
Nevertheless, this event does not authorise us to claim that we know the hidden wisdom behind every human misfortune. It teaches us something far more important: Allah’s knowledge encompasses everything that our eyes cannot reach. A believer therefore does not need to understand every detail of his destiny to remain convinced of the perfection of Allah’s knowledge and justice.
Among the earliest generations of Muslims, we find beautiful examples of this trust in Allah.
When Abu Salama died, his wife, Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, was deeply affected by the loss. Yet she knew that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had taught Muslims to say when a calamity strikes them:
“We belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return. O Allah, reward me in my affliction and grant me something better in exchange for what I have lost.”
Umm Salama wondered who could possibly be better than Abu Salama, but she nevertheless recited this supplication. Later, Allah granted her a special honour: she became the wife of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. (Muslim, 918)
At the moment of her loss, she did not know what the future held for her. She was sad, but she had not lost her trust in Allah.
This is precisely where the beauty of faith lies: the heart can feel pain while remaining attached to its Lord.
Another essential lesson is conveyed to us by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. When he learned that an outbreak of plague had occurred in the Levant, he decided, after consulting the companions, to turn back rather than expose people to danger.
Abu Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah asked him:
“Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah?”
Umar replied:
“We flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah.” (Al-Bukhari, 5729)
These words show that belief in destiny does not mean giving up on taking action, seeking medical treatment, taking precautions, or looking for better solutions. On the contrary, our efforts to do good are themselves part of Allah’s decree.
A believer does not sit with folded arms, waiting for his destiny to unfold. He works, plans, seeks advice, supplicates to Allah, and takes the lawful steps available to him. Then he accepts what Allah decrees.
This is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Strive for what benefits you, seek the help of Allah, and do not give up. If something happens to you, do not say, ‘If only I had done this or that, such and such would have happened.’ Rather, say, ‘Allah has decreed it, and He does whatever He wills.’” (Muslim, 2664)
Suhayb ar-Rumi, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“How amazing is the affair of the believer! Everything that happens to him is good for him, and this is true for no one but the believer. If happiness comes to him, he thanks Allah, and that is good for him. If adversity befalls him, he shows patience, and that is also good for him.” (Muslim, 2999)
This hadith reveals a remarkable quality of the sincere believer: he does not remain attached to Allah only when his wishes come true. His connection with his Lord remains alive when he must wait, when he loses what he loves, or when he goes through trials whose end he cannot see.
In blessings, he finds a reason to thank Allah. In trials, he finds an opportunity to show patience, call upon Him, repent, and draw closer to Him.
His goodness does not lie in never suffering, but in his ability to remain on the path that leads to Allah’s pleasure, even in the midst of suffering.
So do not think that closed doors are always a sign of deprivation, or that waiting means Allah has forgotten you.
Sometimes, Allah opens a door before you that you never even knew you needed to ask Him to open. Sometimes, He grants you precisely what you desire; at other times, He tests you by withholding it. There are moments when you understand the wisdom behind a particular event during this worldly life. At other times, its full meaning will remain hidden until you meet Allah.
What matters is that you do not allow your ignorance of this wisdom to become a reason for harbouring negative thoughts about your Lord.
Allah has never promised that the life of a believer would be free of trials. However, He has promised His help, His reward for those who are patient, and ease accompanying hardship.
Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“Indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease.” (Ash-Sharh, 94:5–6)
The Pen that recorded your destiny does not know love. But the One who commanded it to write possesses perfect knowledge, absolute wisdom, and infinite mercy.
Therefore, do not become more attached to what has been withheld from you than to the One from whom all goodness comes. Do not allow a single unfulfilled desire to make you forget the countless blessings surrounding you. And do not let one difficult chapter of your life lead you to believe that you already know how the entire story will end.
You still do not know what Allah has decreed for you. Perhaps what you express today through tears will become a source of gratitude tomorrow. Perhaps you will never discover why you had to take a particular path, but with Allah’s help, you will find in it patience, faith, and a goodness you never expected.
You do not need to know what tomorrow holds to place your trust in Allah today. You need only to know that tomorrow is not hidden from Him.
Do what is within your power, respect the limits Allah has established, never stop supplicating to Him, and maintain a good opinion of your Lord.
When you receive what you love, thank Him. When you lose what you love, seek comfort from Him. And when something remains beyond your understanding, remember that the limits of your knowledge do not diminish the perfection of His wisdom.
O Allah, grant us hearts that are content with Your decree, tongues that thank You, and souls that do not turn away from You during times of hardship.
Protect us from harbouring negative thoughts about You, from despairing of Your mercy, and from placing our trust exclusively in our own plans.
Grant us goodness in what You give us, goodness in what You withhold from us, and goodness amid the trials we endure.
Make us among those who never forget You, whether our desires are fulfilled or our expectations remain unmet.
Amin!
(Central khutbah by the Muslim Religious Leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on October 9, 2026, at the “Centre Culturel Islamique Al Siddiq” in Troisvierges)
