Do We Forget in Prosperity the One We Turn to in Hardship?

18 November 2023

What Changes When the Storm Passes?

Question: Do we remember Allah with the same seriousness when things improve as we do when we turn to Him with complete sincerity in difficult times?

When people are helpless, they see their own limits more clearly.

They have resources they rely on, but at that moment none of them seems sufficient.

They do everything they can.

Yet they realize they cannot control everything.

Verses 66 and 67 of Surah Al-Isra invite us to reflect on this state through a journey at sea.

The movement of ships is recalled as a blessing.

Then the turning of a person in distress at sea is described.

But we are also shown how that same person can turn away upon reaching land.

The question here concerns more than those who set out to sea.

It asks us to look at our own attitude as it changes between ease and hardship.

We pray when something we are doing comes to a standstill.

When we experience fear, we say we will be more careful.

Once we emerge from the difficulty, do we remember the promises we made just a moment ago?

Or do we return to the same carelessness?

The words we speak in hardship may be sincere.

But how they are reflected in our lives becomes more visible when ease comes.

Because when fear diminishes, a person’s priorities emerge again.

At that moment, what we consider important and the direction in which we are walking become clear.

How we live after the storm matters as much as the storm subsiding.

Let us imagine a wave.

While enjoying ourselves on the shore, we may suddenly encounter a force we did not expect.

In that brief moment, we may focus on protecting ourselves and lose sight of those around us.

This possibility gives us something to reflect on as we come to know ourselves.

It is easy to express our love in grand words.

Thinking about how much we remember our responsibility in difficult moments may be harder.

We need to recognize our weaknesses without declaring ourselves faultless in advance.

Does Reaching Land Mean Having Every Assurance?

Verses 68 and 69 of Surah Al-Isra make us question our sense of security again.

Being rescued from the sea does not mean that all of life’s uncertainties have ended.

When we reach land, we remain limited beings.

When people forget this, they may attach more significance to their own resources than they deserve.

They think the order they have will never be disturbed.

They imagine they have calculated the future in its entirety.

Yet life does not consist solely of our calculations.

Remembering this truth is not meant to make us live in constant fear.

It is so that we do not consider ourselves sufficient for everything.

We can take precautions.

We can work and fulfill our responsibilities.

While doing all this, we can also know that our power is limited.

The reminder of the Trustee in verse 65 of Surah Al-Isra helps us reflect on this orientation.

Trusting Allah does not mean forgetting our own part.

It means doing our part without acting as though we alone possess everything.

Question: Does what we call trust continue only when the outcome we desire comes about?

In the midst of a difficulty, we may imagine that our entire life consists of what we see at that moment.

Let us think about Yusuf’s life, which led him into the well and into prison.

The hardship seen when looking at those moments from outside is not the whole story.

This reminder does not mean we know when and how every difficulty will be resolved.

But it invites us to consider that the moment we are in is not the final word on everything.

We must not lose hope in hardship.

Nor should we place ourselves in an unforgettable, unshakable position in prosperity.

In both situations, we remain human.

In both situations, we need to maintain our direction.

Gratitude and trust should not remain words only for comfortable days.

What Is the Source of the Worth We See in Ourselves?

Verse 70 of Surah Al-Isra reminds us of the honor and blessings given to human beings.

Being carried on land and sea and benefiting from good provisions are worth reflecting on.

Throughout the day, we consider most of these things ordinary.

Let us think of a fruit placed before us.

It has a color.

It has a scent.

It has a taste.

Life does not consist solely of a monotonous order that meets our needs.

Variety and beauty are also offered to us.

Constantly looking at what we lack without seeing these things can make what we have invisible.

Sometimes people give all their attention to something they do not possess.

Yet they receive the many blessings they do have as though these had been owed to them from the beginning.

But even thinking about our condition at birth is enough to shake this outlook.

We could not meet our own needs.

We needed care and protection.

As our strength grows, we can easily forget this past.

Thinking about the limitations that come with old age offers us a similar reminder.

Strength is not a person’s permanent possession.

Nor is youth a resource one can hold on to forever.

Knowing this does not diminish a person’s worth.

It helps them question their arrogance.

The honor given to us cannot be a reason to belittle someone else.

If we see the resources we possess solely as proof of our own superiority, we lose the direction of gratitude.

Recognizing a blessing also leads us to reflect on our relationship with the One who gives it.

We should not credit ourselves entirely for every good quality we see in ourselves.

Because human effort exists, but a person’s life does not consist solely of their own effort.

Seeing this distinction does not mean denying success.

It means being able to remain humble even in success.

Whom Are We Following, and by What Standard?

Question: Is it truly a person’s integrity that makes them a guide for us, or their power and visibility?

Verse 71 of Surah Al-Isra reminds us that people will be called with their leaders.

It invites us to consider that whom we follow and from whom we take our standards are not insignificant.

Sometimes we find someone’s words powerful because they have abundant resources.

Sometimes we think they are right because many people listen to them.

Sometimes we attach ourselves to them because they say what we want to hear.

But none of these alone is a measure of truth.

The fact that a statement pleases us does not show that it leads us to what is right.

Nor does a person’s fame make everything they say unquestionable.

What matters is what they take as their basis.

Whether they maintain the same standard when their own interests are challenged.

Whether they bear responsibility for the ideas they offer people.

As we direct these questions at others, we should not leave ourselves out.

We, too, sometimes seek the answer we want to hear.

When we find words that excuse a mistake of ours, we can immediately feel relieved.

Yet guidance does not consist solely of reassuring words.

Sometimes it confronts us with our own mistake.

The reminder of blindness in verse 72 of Surah Al-Isra should also be considered here.

There may be signs before a person, yet they may pay no attention to them.

Looking and seeing, hearing and trying to understand are not the same thing.

When we choose what suits our interests and ignore the rest, we may move away from the truth before us.

That is why asking only whom we listen to is not enough.

We must also ask why we listen to that particular person.

What Do We Change to Please People?

Verse 73 of Surah Al-Isra raises the issue of pressure to say something other than what has been revealed.

A person’s desire to be liked and accepted can influence what they say.

We may be speaking somewhere.

There is an idea that the people before us will not like.

We hesitate to say it for fear of losing their interest.

Perhaps we think a material opportunity will diminish.

At that moment, the relationship between our words and our interests becomes visible.

People may change their sentences without realizing it.

They may omit an important point.

They may continually postpone saying something they believe to be true, intending to say it later.

Not every silence carries the same meaning.

But we need to think honestly about what we are trying to protect within ourselves.

The truth?

Or the position we have gained by speaking about it?

This question does not concern only those who speak before others.

We all have circles in which we want to be liked.

We may all have opportunities we are afraid of losing.

When we turn and look at ourselves, we can recognize the point at which our words change direction.

We began with turning to Allah in hardship.

Now we are considering that same turning amid comfort, prestige, and opportunity.

Because trust should not remain merely a word we speak when we are in a tight spot.

It should find expression at other times in our lives as well.

When people feel secure, they may put off certain questions.

The fact that everything is going well for now can give them the feeling that there is no need to reflect.

But reflecting only in moments of fear may lead us to live most of our lives carelessly.

We do not have to wait for a loss to be grateful.

We can try to consider the value of what we have before losing it.

We can remember our weakness during a period when we are strong.

We can see other people’s effort within the successes we achieve.

None of this is meant to diminish our joy.

It is meant to bring humility into our joy.

When benefiting from a blessing, let us not treat it as an ordinary entitlement.

Let us also consider how we behave with it.

As our resources increase, the influence of our words may grow.

More people may begin to listen to us.

In that situation, we should act more carefully instead of questioning ourselves less.

Because a mistaken word of ours may reach more people.

A sentence we cut short to protect our own interests may cause someone else to misunderstand.

The responsibility to speak the truth is carried alongside the desire to be liked.

We must be able to see within ourselves which one is guiding us.

Sometimes we may think we are on the right path because those around us support us.

Yet being supported and being right are not the same thing.

Sometimes we may think everything is wrong because we are criticized.

So let us not base our standard solely on reactions.

Let us carry the trust in which we seek refuge during hardship into the decisions we make in prosperity.

Let us live with the honor we have been given without diminishing the worth of others.

Let us remember our direction even amid blessings.

Question: Does our direction remain the same after the storm has passed?