The Prophet S: If someone is not content to accept the decree of Allah… & Sh. Abdul Qadir Gilani’s Comments
The Prophet S is reported to have said:
If someone is not content to accept the decree of Allah, there is no remedy for his stupidity. That which He has decreed will surely come to pass, whether His servant approves or disapproves.
Woe unto you, O you who resist the Lord of Truth! Cut out that useless ranting and raving. No one can reverse the decree of destiny and no one can deflect it. Submit and you will find peace.
This night and this day, is it possible for you to turn them back? When the night comes it will set in whether you are happy about it or not, and the same applies to the day. Each of them takes its course without reference to you, and so it is with the decree [qada] of Allah and his destiny [qadr], whether to your advantage or to your disadvantage.
When the night of poverty comes, you must submit and say goodbye to the day of affluence. When the night of sickness comes, you must submit and say goodbye to the day of good health. When the night of what you dislike comes you must submit and say goodbye to the day of what you like. You must welcome with a tranquil heart the night of sickness, ailments, poverty, and disgrace.
Do not reject any part of the decree of Allah, for if you do so you will perish, your faith will be lost, your heart will be thrown into murky confusion, and your innermost being will die. As Allah has said in one of His books:
I am the One God, except for Whom there is none worthy of worship. If someone submits obediently to My decree, endures My tribulation with patience, and gives thanks for My blessings, I shall record Him in My presence as a champion of the truth (siddiq) and I shall resurrect him in the company of the siddiqun. And if someone does not submit obediently to My decree, does not endure My tribulation with patience, and does not give thanks for My blessings, then let him seek a Lord apart from me.
If you are not willing to accept the decree, if you do not endure the tribulation with patience, and if you do not give thanks for the gracious blessings, then you have no Lord. You may try to find some other Lord instead of Him, but there is no other Lord besides Him.
If you wish [for Him], you must be willing to accept the decree and believe in destiny, both the good parts of it and the bad, both the sweet parts of it and the bitter. You must also believe that what has fallen to your lot could not have been avoided by taking precautions, and that what has passed you by could not have been made to come your way, however diligently you sought to acquire it.
Source: Sh. Abdul Qadir Jilani, Jala’ Al-Khawatir, #17
