Hopefulness in the Qur'an: The Believers' Hopeful State

Hopefulness is one of the believers' characteristics

The Qur'an states that hopefulness is an important characteristic of believers and, at the same, an indication of their faith. People place their hope in Allah according to their degree of faith, and will cherish a deep longing to obtain His mercy and infinite bounties because He has promised believers the most beautiful things in this world and in the hereafter. People will hope to secure these according to their degree of trust in Allah, their closeness to Him, and their submission and sincerity. Knowing that everything happens according to His will, believers do not fall into despair or become hopeless and pessimistic. And, since believers know that Allah will accept their prayers, they do not doubt, even for a second, that a seemingly terrible event is simply a part of their test and that eventually it will work out for the best.

Everything that happens comes about through Allah's command of "Be." At every second, every thing and scene that appears before us is created through Allah's will. Nothing is left to its own devices, for everything is created for the destiny that Allah has determined for it.

Believers who are aware of this do not lose hope, even when facing the most negative situations or the most distressing events, in Allah's mercy or help. Those who are patient in hardship, do not lose hope, and never compromise Allah's laws have been given glad tidings in both this world and the Hereafter.

The Qur'an portrays believers as being in a constant spiritual state of hopefulness toward Allah. Sincere believers will know and appreciate our Lord as the Qur'an describes Him and, as a result, will realize the mercy and favors that He has bestowed upon them. They know that He is the believers' friend and helper, that He is infinitely merciful and compassionate toward them, that He has sent glad tidings to His righteous servants of a great reward both in this world and the next, and that He never breaks His word. They see that He wills only what is best and good for them, that He opens the door of mercy and guidance for them, and that He provides endless opportunities to gain rewards.

The believers' prayers and wishes are full of hope. As one verse says, "they call upon their Lord in fear and ardent hope" (Surat as-Sajda, 16). Since prayer itself is both a form of worship and an indication of a hopeful attitude toward Allah, believers pray in the hope that our Lord will answer their prayers.

The roots of hopefulness: submission to destiny Many people frequently fall into despair when faced with an unexpected and sudden event. Take the example of those who have been unsuccessful at work, lost something they love, or failed an important exam. If such things have become their goals, they will be unable to cope with such unexpected results and experience great sadness, for they have placed all of their hopes and goals upon the chain of events happening as they had envisioned.

However, life does not always go according to one's plans, which means that people can face many unexpected events. For example, somebody who really wants to be an architect will study very hard for the entrance exam. All of her future plans are based upon becoming an architect. But something she never expects happens: She is accepted into another program. Having planned to become an architect, she now finds herself studying for an entirely different career.

A young man who is very interested in sports and has planned to dedicate his life to sports may suffer an injury that forces him to abandon his dream. Or, a couple may have furnished their new home with loving care, only to be forced into selling it without ever having lived in it.

Many similar unexpected events may befall people throughout their lives, for, in reality, no one knows what is going to happen even one second from now. The only thing that we know for sure is that everything in a person's life is determined long before he or she is even born. In other words, all events in a person's life are determined in "timelessness." When the appointed day and time arrive, he or she will experience that event, because Allah has made it part of their destiny. Given these facts, it will come to pass.

We can clarify this with a common daily occurrence. Imagine two cars at the exact moment when they crash into each other. Both drivers definitely wanted to be somewhere else seconds before this event. Maybe they wanted to get home to their waiting families or get to work. Both individuals had left their homes at specific times and gotten into their cars. Perhaps they experienced a second of indecisiveness be fore turning onto that particular street, but then eventually decided to do so. Either one or both of them could have been very cautious people who always drive with the utmost care. But just at that moment, they could have taken their eyes off the road for a second to change the cassette or do something else. Everything had been specially planned for that event, and every little detail led them toward it.

Generally any event, whether cars crashing into each other or any other unexpected event, takes place within a matter of seconds. From the drivers' loss of concentration to the music playing and the clothes worn – Allah had created and planned every detail of that particular event in His destiny. The person who was going to have that accident wore those clothes, left home, and turned onto the street where the accident would occur. Nothing could have prevented it.

This is how Allah preordains events. At this point, people begin to use the following logic: "If only I hadn 't gone into that street" or "If only I hadn't been playing with the tape and had concentrated on the road." But such logic is quite faulty and incorrect and, moreover, leads to unending complaining and regret. Although many causes may be found for the accident, the reality is that the accident and its causes were created in the course of destiny.

A person coming face to face with this truth for the first time might think: "Okay. Well, what could I have done? If everything is already written in my destiny and Allah knows about them, how am I supposed to behave when these situations occur?" The Qur'an answers the above questions very clearly, and so we turn to it to find the truth for everything. According to the Qur'an, the best way to act and the best attitude to have is to submit to our destiny, look for the best in everything, not to get upset or fall into despair, and to be a grateful servant under all circumstances.

Just as Allah is the Creator of the universe and all of its contents, which include every living and non-living thing, so is He the Creator of every event in all of its minute details. The Qur'an presents this truth in the following verse:

Muslims who have faith in Allah, believe in the hereafter's existence, and fear Allah submit to our Lord, Who has created everything. In other words, they submit completely to whatever happens to them and do not despair, because they know that He controls everything and is their best Friend and Protector. Muslims know that panicking or losing hope are very wrong, because Allah, the most perfect Creator, has created every event. Thus, the event in question has been created in the most perfect way. Even though sometimes the events may appear to be negative, each believer knows that good comes out of everything.

Believers and unbelievers have very different reactions to events. For example, a believer may be late for an interview that she assumes will be good for her and thus lose a unique opportunity. However, assured that everything is predestined and that her being late is utterly under Allah's control, she sees a good in this unexpected event, thanks Allah for it, and hopes for a better end. She knows that it would be wrong to attribute this turn of events to such causes as traffic congestion or a flat tire. Indeed, if Allah had so willed, traffic congestion would have reduced or the tire would not have been punctured.

These or similar conditions are surely the apparent reasons for being late. Yet, more important than these apparent reasons is Allah's divine plan, which specially decreed that event long ago, and that destiny was only fulfilling itself as Allah willed.

In the above example, Allah decreed that the person in question would miss the interview. Consequently, there is no way that she could have been there.

All obstacles come into existence because Allah wills a good for believers. If people are to understand this submission fully, they must take Allah as their sole Friend and Protector and turn to Him in complete sincerity. A most telling characteristic of the morality that Allah wills for believers is that they do not become sad or negative or fall into despair, no matter what they may encounter.

Hopelessness indicates disbelief or weak faith, and is a consequence of one's failure to comprehend that everything takes place according to destiny. Allah draws our attention to this error, for under despair lies a mood and rationale opposed to the very values of the Qur'an. Such an attitude is forbidden, because Allah advises people to trust in Him, be hopeful, and see good in all that happens.

When confronted with the most negative events, and even such unexpected ones as being wounded or losing everything, believers display an extremely submissive and patient character, since they know that Allah creates every event. He creates every being, both the visible and the invisible, with a flawless design, and gives life to each of them. Allah, the Creator of everything, also created all human beings, regardless of time or place, and their individual destinies. The minor events experienced by a person living in a distant land also are under Allah's control, for He sees every thing and place, and hears every noise. Moreover, Allah creates the concepts of "space," "sound," and "image."

Given that He controls everything, giving way to despair is always an error, for the event will happen regardless of whether one wants it to or not. Besides, all events occur for some good reason. What is important here is to see the good in events. Those who do so will see how perfectly and flawlessly Allah creates events, and this attitude will enable them to obtain a more profound faith.

Such a line also exists between hope and despair. Hope befits reason and rationale, while despair is utterly against it. For instance, one may fail a test despite studying hard. Let's assume that he has been shaken and fallen into despair, since he worked so hard but still failed. He obviously does not benefit from such a mood, and the ensuing distress and trouble harms both his body and soul.

But in reality, Allah wills another good for him. Rather than attending college that year, it might be better for him to prepare for the entrance exam. Or perhaps his chosen college or profession could have become a source of trouble and hardship in his future life. It may be that he will enter an even better college next year or choose a different profession which will be better for him in the future.

Throughout their lives, people encounter events that seem to serve no clear purpose: They cannot get a job they like, lose some money they desperately need, lose something they cherish, or lose through theft possessions that they could buy only after years of hard work. Such events may happen to everyone. Indeed, Allah makes it clear that people are tested by their souls and possessions. In one of his sayings, our Prophet made this clear: "Whatever Allah takes is for Him, and whatever He gives is for Him. Everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world), and so people should be patient and hope for Allah's reward." (Sahih Bukhari)

Thus, those who remain patient will attain good, whereas those who rebel and despair will lose.

It is vital to fully comprehend the importance of being hopeful and to be patient in order to gain Paradise. Being positive is obligatory, as the following verse shows:

As Allah commands that we have this attitude, we must realize that He dislikes any type of despair. Thus, we must take Allah as our Friend and try to act according to His will.

Allah's infinite bounties necessitate our trust in Him and our hope for His mercy

Another factor that develops the believers' submission to Allah is reflecting upon His attribute of the Most Loving (alWadood). Allah created and provides for humanity; gives people whatever they want; makes them laugh and lets them see, hear, and think; and hears them when they pray and then accepts their prayers and gives them numerous other bounties. Allah created the most beautiful and tastiest foods and drinks. He created strawberries, bananas, plums, oranges, watermelons, rock melons, tomatoes, carrots, capsicums, corn, varieties of ice cream, chocolate, and thousands of other tastes that give people such pleasure. In addition, He created those animals so loved by people, as well as all plants, trees, oceans, beaches, sports, music, films, cars, and all other things. However, a majority of people are ungrateful and do not submit to Him completely, and thus fall into despair. This type of attitude is apparent in the following verse:

Allah has given humanity everything that it wants. In the sincere reflection that we carry out within ourselves, we can attest to this truth. In return for this, He asks that we submit to Him; not be spoiled by the favors in our hands or fall into despair when we lose them; stay away from worldly ambitions and turn to Him with a serene spirit; and think about our true and eternal life in the hereafter and to live accordingly. Through His signs, Allah makes it clear to everyone that this world is a place of trial. As Earth is not our real home, it is only a place to prepare for our true eternal homeland, a place to develop both spiritually and morally. As all people will undergo various ordeals while here, they must, first of all, submit to Allah and be ready for whatever tests will come their way. Those who submit to their destiny patiently and display the best behavior will succeed in both this world and the hereafter, and will meet with much good. As for those who go along with the flow, who, heedless of destiny's true nature, react to events in a way incompatible with the Qur'an, they only oppress themselves and find themselves far from Allah's mercy.

Allah makes it clear that He is not pleased with those who attach themselves to this world, worry about the future, are ambitious, arrogantly think that they are in control but then despair at the slightest setback, and are ungrateful: If We let man taste mercy from Us and then take it away from him, he is despairing, ungrateful. But if We let him taste blessings after hardship has afflicted him, he says:

The secret behind the believers' trust in Allah in all situations, as well as their continual joy and enthusiasm, lies in their belief in and reliance upon Allah. They understand that Allah is behind every apparently difficult situation, as well as the fact that only He gives and takes.