Don’t be hasty
خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ مِنْ عَجَلٍۢ ۚ سَأُو۟رِيكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِى فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ
Man was created hasty: I will show you My signs soon, so do not ask Me to hasten them. [21:37]
This ayah from Surat al-Anbiya is one of several verses in the Quran which talk about hastiness and human beings’ desire to rush things, almost wanting to eat the fruit before we have planted the seeds. In today’s world we can see this everywhere in people’s need for instant gratification, so we need to be aware that it is not a praiseworthy attribute.
Competing towards goodness
In Surat Ale Imran, Allah says:
وَسَارِعُوۤا۟ إِلَىٰ مَغۡفِرَةࣲ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرۡضُهَا ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ أُعِدَّتۡ لِلۡمُتَّقِینَ
Hurry towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as wide as the heavens and earth prepared for the righteous, [3:133]
We see from this that Allah has commanded us to compete in doing good deeds, so this requires speed, however, this speed is not the same as hastiness, which is the opposite of deliberation and conscientiousness.
In the hadith we see that:
الأَنَاةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَالْعَجَلَةُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ
Deliberateness is from Allah, and haste is from the Shaytan. [Tirmidhi]
On another occasion, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told one of his companions,
يَا أَشَجُّ إِنَّ فِيكَ لَخَصْلَتَيْنِ يُحِبُّهُمَا اللَّهُ الْحِلْمَ وَالتُّؤَدَةَ
O Ashajj, you have two characteristics that Allah likes: Forbearance and deliberation. [Ibn Majah]
Don’t hasten your own downfall
Scholars of tafsir say this ayah was revealed because the Quraysh were asking for punishment to descend on them. Allah is telling them that they don’t understand what they are asking for, and not to hasten their own destruction.
The commentator Ibn Ashur once said that hastiness is always based on one of two things: love and hate. Either you love something and want it now, or you hate something and want it to stop. Either way, you are trying to speed things up and get to what is coming quicker.
Trust in Allah’s plan
Hastiness makes us frustrated, but Allah is telling us to calm down. He in His wisdom might prolong someone’s pain for a particular reason – maybe He wants them to be cleansed of all their sins, or elevated to a higher level. The reason is always for their good, and we need to understand that everything in this universe is under Allah’s control.
When we see suffering in our ummah, we want it to stop now. Of course, we should ask Allah to give us relief. But we also need to trust that His plan is the best plan. We need to do our part in terms of physical actions, but at the same time you still need to keep deep trust in Allah.
All of us have had things we were desperate for, which Allah only gave us much later, or not at all. Often we can look back years later and realise the benefit we gained from not having that thing at the moment we wanted it. But while we are in the moment, we can’t always see Allah’s plan.
This is the moment when we need to have tawakkul, do our homework and leave the rest ot Allah. Never doubt His wisdom. You can still make dua for relief from your problem or the thing you want, but don’t feel frustrated or disappointed.
Remember Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s dua
اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ، وَعَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْتُ،
O Allah! I surrender to You, and believe in You, and depend upon You, and repent to You, [Bukhari]
May Allah make us among those who do not rush and are not impatient, but instead are wise, deliberate, considered and measured in our approach. Ameen.
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on Ramadan night 20. Transcribed by Hana Khan.
Related posts
Knowing Allah through His Beautiful Name – Al Halim
Forbearance, deliberation and humility
Humanity and Hastiness
By Samia Ahmed
On the twentieth night of Ramadan, Shaykh Haytham reflected on a profound verse that speaks directly about human nature. Allah reminds us that one of the defining qualities of human beings is haste.
Allah says:
خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ ۚ سَأُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِي فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ
“Man was created of haste. I will show you My signs, so do not seek to hasten Me.” (Surah al-Anbiya 21:37)
Human beings naturally want things quickly. We want results before the process unfolds. It is as if we want to taste the fruit before planting the seed.
In our modern world this quality has become even more visible. Everything is immediate. Messages arrive instantly. Answers are expected quickly. Gratification is rarely delayed. Yet the Quran reminds us that hastiness is not a virtue.
There is an important distinction between competing in goodness and being hasty.
Allah encourages believers to strive eagerly toward righteous deeds:
فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ
“So compete with one another in good deeds.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:148)
Competing in goodness is intentional and thoughtful. It is motivated by sincerity and guided by wisdom. Hastiness, however, is impulsive and reactionary.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ warned us about this difference. He said:
“التأني من الله والعجلة من الشيطان.”
“Deliberation is from Allah, and haste is from Shaytan.” (Tirmidhi)
Two qualities beloved to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ are forbearance and careful deliberation. Taking time to reflect before acting allows wisdom to guide our decisions.
Our environment, however, pushes us toward impatience. We are surrounded by quick gratification, and this constant urgency can cloud judgement.
The scholar Ibn Ashur noted that haste often comes from two strong emotions: love and dislike.
When we love something, we want it immediately.
When we dislike something, we want it removed immediately.
Both emotions can push us toward impatience.
Yet everything in the universe unfolds according to Allah’s decree and wisdom.
Allah says:
وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“And Allah has full control over His affair, but most people do not know.” (Surah Yusuf 12:21)
Sometimes we ask Allah for relief from difficulty, yet the answer does not arrive when we expect it. We may feel impatient and wonder why the situation has not changed.
But when we look back later, we often see the wisdom behind the delay.
What seemed slow was actually protection.
What seemed like delay was preparation.
What seemed like hardship was purification.
The wise believer learns to slow down, reflect and trust.
Allah does not hasten
This reflection also reminds us of something profound about Allah Himself. While human beings are hasty, Allah does not hasten punishment upon His servants.
He gives them opportunity after opportunity.
He is Al-Halim, the Forbearing, the One who does not rush to punish even when people persist in wrongdoing.
Allah says:
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ وَلَٰكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
“If Allah were to take mankind to task for their wrongdoing, He would not leave upon the earth a single creature, but He delays them until an appointed time. When their time comes, they cannot delay it for a single moment nor bring it forward.” (Surah al-Nahl 16:61)
Allah’s patience with His creation is immense. He does not rush His judgement. Instead, He repeatedly opens the door of repentance.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“إن الله يبسط يده بالليل ليتوب مسيء النهار ويبسط يده بالنهار ليتوب مسيء الليل.”
“Allah extends His hand by night so that the sinner of the day may repent, and He extends His hand by day so that the sinner of the night may repent.” (Muslim)
So while human beings rush, Allah grants time.
While people react impulsively, Allah opens doors of mercy.
The believer learns from this divine attribute. We learn patience, restraint and reflection.
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
“إنما الصبر عند الصدمة الأولى.”
“True patience is at the first shock of calamity.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Patience restrains haste. It anchors the heart in trust.
The believer understands that everything unfolds under Allah’s decree. Our role is to act responsibly, think carefully and then entrust the outcome to Allah.
We strive.
We plan.
But we leave the results to Allah.
Allah reminds us:
وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“It may be that you dislike something while it is good for you, and it may be that you love something while it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:216)
The wise believer learns to pause before reacting, to reflect before acting and to trust Allah’s timing.
True peace does not come from controlling outcomes. It comes from trusting the One who controls everything.
May Allah grant us patience in our affairs.
May He protect us from the impulsiveness that leads to regret.
May He make us people who reflect, act with wisdom and trust His perfect timing.
Ameen.