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All praise and thanks belong to Allah-the One who places us in trials, yet never abandons us within them. The One who tests but also provides, who constricts but also opens, who sends calamity but pours His mercy into it until the burden is softened. This is the reality of divine mercy and divine wisdom, intertwined in every difficulty we face.
Consider the example often overlooked in our own lives: calamity strikes, hunger, hardship, loss-but Allah, through His infinite mercy, sends relief. Take the people around Zamzam. The test of Hajar (AS) was real. She was in the desert, with her infant son, between the hills of Safa and Marwa, no visible help in sight. Yet, Allah didn't remove the calamity-He placed water within it. Zamzam. A mercy inside the struggle, not after it.
This is the way of Allah.
He doesn't always remove the hardship-but He makes it easier. And He promises something far greater for the one who upholds taqwa (God-consciousness): "Whoever fears Allah, He will make for them a way out and provide for them from where they did not expect" (Qur'an 65:2-3).
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Whoever obeys Allah and keeps away from what He prohibited without question, I will wipe away their sins and multiply their reward."
Just think about that for a moment. There's no mention of understanding why. No requirement to make sense of it. No condition to feel ready. The very act of obeying Allah-just because He said so-is enough to have your sins erased and your rewards multiplied.
Did you know? Simply staying away from a major sin-just because Allah made it haram-is worship. You may think, "I'm just not engaging in it, that's not doing anything." But in Allah's sight, you're doing a lot.
Living in a world filled with temptation-zina, alcohol, shamelessness-and choosing to resist for the sake of Allah? That's purification. That's softening the heart. Every moment you say "no" to the haram is a moment your heart is being cleansed, even if no one sees it but Allah.
And one of the greatest punishments in this life is to live with a hard heart-a heart that no longer feels, that no longer remembers, that no longer repents. Protecting your heart through taqwa is one of the greatest forms of mercy you can give yourself.
Let's look at a well-known yet often glossed-over example in the Qur'an-Musa (AS) and the sea.
Imagine the scene: behind him, the army of Pharaoh-nearly two million soldiers. In front of him, the ocean. No way left, no boats, no weapons, no human logic. And then, a command comes from Allah:
"Strike the sea with your staff."
That's it.
He wasn't told why. He wasn't told how this would help. He wasn't given signs of what would happen next.
He just obeyed.
And in that moment of complete submission, Allah split the sea into twelve paths. The seabed dried up. Between the paths were windows so each tribe of Banu Isra'il could see the others walking beside them. He made a way out-literally-where there was none.
This is the reward of obeying Allah without question. This is what happens when taqwa is upheld in the moment of fear.
The path of the believer is not one where calamities are removed, but one where Allah walks you through them. He makes it bearable. He makes it meaningful. He rewards you while you endure. Every act of obedience-even if it's only refraining from haram-is a step closer to purification, to nearness, to mercy.
If you're struggling right now, if you're in the middle of a hardship that makes no sense, remember Musa (AS). Remember the sea. Remember Zamzam. And obey Allah-not for outcomes, but for Him.
Because when you do, the sea will split.
And He will make a way out from where you never imagined.
"Whoever is conscious of Allah-He will make a way out for him."
(Qur'an 65:2)
Let your obedience be the ocean's parting.
Let your taqwa be the path to His mercy.
Even in calamity-especially in calamity-He is near.
The Essence of Time
