Why Did Allah Choose The More Difficult Path For Me?

When we ask Allah to guide us towards what is good for us in this life and the next, we hope that whatever comes is really the best of all options. And there is no doubt that it is. But one can't help but notice that, at least on a surface level, it seems very much the hardest of all options. You may have prayed "Istikihara" before taking a certain job. Now you know you have given Allah full control, and the best option should be made easy. Then why is it that you might find yourself regretting your decision? You did everything right. You even made sure it's absolutely halal income. Similarly you were looking for a potential spouse, also took all the right steps. Only to find out later that it wasn't meant to be. Great, I am heartbroken now. But why did this have to happen in the first place? Allah could have just steered me away from the get go. This brings a serious contradiction. When we do things with Allah and the right precautions in mind, doesn't this guarantee a path of ease? Because it's Allah's path after all that we have chosen over all others? And that is where we find ourselves facing a universal dilemma. When we desire something, yet Allah desires something else. We hear this all the time, in theory, but we do not so frequently see this being manifested to understand the true greatness behind Allah's purposes. It’s comforting to know our righteous predecessors knew this feeling all too well. They also desired something, yet Allah desired something else entirely. Allah initially gave the Muslims a promise, that one of two groups will be overcome. The two groups here being the well established army of Quraysh led by Abu Jahl, and a caravan led by Abu Sufyan. One of them was destined to be for the Muslims. Given their limited power and number, we can understand why they wished that their battle would simply be involved with the Caravan and not a whole army that, given realistic considerations, would obliterate them from the face of the Earth. These warriors have training. These warriors are well-equipped. And they are many. They wanted an easy win, given the capacity they saw themselves capable of handling. But Allah didn’t will this. Allah intended for a much more difficult path. Allah willed that they take on the army, and have their victory manifest therein. In the battle of Badr. Just like we question our circumstances, they also questioned, and so Allah unveiled for all of us the reasoning that we wouldn't comprehend in the following ayas: Surah Al-Anfal (8): Verses 7-8 “…But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and climate the disbelievers”. It was grand purpose, and creating a burden of proof that would last till the end of time. For all generations of humanity to appreciate the power that truth has over falsehood, no matter what means falsehood may posses. That even it happens to possess all sorts of manpower, technologies, great numbers, connections, alliances, fundings - the power of conviction will always takes precedence. The battle of Badr is the testament for all of humanity to this fact, and if you don’t believe it then try justifying to yourself how three hundred defenseless refugees were able to take on a thousand elite men. If our predecessors were to take over a caravan, the truth would have been still established, but never on this possible scale. They wanted a small victory from a skirmish, Allah wanted an eternal establishment of truth over falsehood. Back to us. We learn here that with Allah, sometimes the difficulty of a path we find ourselves treading is made but it’s never due to an error, rather its always for a great purpose. Purposes of great nobility, and we are honored to have a Lord that plans for us purposes of similar to the one I documented above. If this is the same Allah planning our journeys, then we are all justified in assuming only great things for the trouble or inconvenience we may find ourselves in, because clearly there must be profound reasoning. Only Allah knows the full nature of every choice’s consequences, and so if you think that the path you’re on may be an unintended mistake, don’t forget that Badr was also thought by some to be one as well. You might want something for yourself, but it's very possible that through some inconvenience on your part, you will discover that Allah wanted something more for you. ​ لِيُحِقَّ الْحَقَّ وَيُبْطِلَ الْبَاطِلَ ​ {Disclaimer: This is not a Tafsir but a personal reflection on the established meanings amongst our scholars} ​ ​ ​ submitted by /u/somemuslimkid [link] [comments]

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