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There are no coincidences

There are no coincidences
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April 23, 2021
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Creation has precision

In the beginning of Surat al Furqan, which is a Makki surah, Allah Almighty said:

تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلۡفُرۡقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِهِۦ لِيَكُونَ لِلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ نَذِيرًا (١)

Glorious is the One who has revealed the Criterion to His servant, so that he may be a warner to all the communities (25:1)

الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا

The One to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and who did neither have a son, nor is there any partner to him in the Kingdom, and who has created everything and designed it in a perfect manner. (25:2)

The end of the ayah caught my attention. When Allah Almighty says He designed and created everything in a perfect manner, it means there is no chance in His creation, and there are no coincidences in the universe and in our world.

Muhammad al Tahir Ibn Ashur (1879-19) in his tafsir of the Quran, Tafsir al-Tahrir wa’l-Tanwir commented that Allah designed every detail, measurement, characteristics and time with precision. He created it with purpose and suitable for it was created for. His creation is without defect.  

This applies to actions and events. It is part of destiny (qadr). We need to be careful how we read it and how we deal with it.

In another ayah in the Makki Surah, Al Qamar, Allah Almighty says:

إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ. سورة الْقَمَر

Everything We created is precisely measured and timed. (54:49)

Events take place by Allah’s planning

This perfection is exclusive to Allah. It means the events which we see are all designed by Allah Almighty but we have choices to make. No one knows the consequences of our actions so we need to understand that Allah designed everything precisely. When we have been hit by the pandemic, it was Allah’s plan. What do we get out of it? It is up to us.

Extract lessons from what happens in life

We can either see the signs in the pandemic and learn our lessons or dismiss it as another event, like previous plagues and move on. It is your choice.

وَأَخْرَجَ مُسْلِمٌ وَالتِّرْمِذِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ: «جَاءَ مُشْرِكُو قُرَيْشٍ يُخَاصِمُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْقَدَرِ فَنَزَلَتْ: يَوْمَ يُسْحَبُونَ فِي النَّارِ عَلى وُجُوهِهِمْ ذُوقُوا مَسَّ سَقَرَ إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْناهُ بِقَدَرٍ

It is mentioned in Sahih Muslim that Abu Huraira reported when the polytheists of the Quraysh came to have an argument with Allah’s Messenger (peace be on him) about destiny and then this verse was revealed:

On the day when they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces, taste the touch of Fire. Surely, We have created everything according to a measure. (54:49)

Part of Imaan is to believe in destiny

جَاءَ فِي حَدِيثِ جِبْرِيلَ الصَّحِيحِ فِي ذِكْرِ مَا يَقَعُ بِهِ الْإِيمَانُ: «وَتُؤْمِنُ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ» .مسلم.

As per the famous hadith Jibril, when the angel came to the Prophet (peace be on him) in the form of man and asked him to explain Islam, Imaan and Ihsan, the Prophet (peace be on him) said that part of belief is:  

that you believe in preordainment (destiny), its bad and good consequences. (Muslim)

Everything happens in its ordained time

If time and the qualities and characteristics of creation and their purpose are created by Allah, then nothing can occur before its time or after it, it cannot be bigger or smaller or thicker or thinner etc, depending on whether you are talking about things or events. It is all from the qadr (destiny) of Allah.

Human knowledge cannot access the details of qadr and the connection between our actions and Allah’s will. Qadr is part of the Unseen.

The good and bad are part of destiny

We believe in destiny the good and bad – so whatever befalls us, whether we like it or not, and whether it is bitter or sweet, is from Allah.

Chance and coincidences do not exist

Every person you meet, every event and challenge you face: the good people and the bad people, the good days and the bad days, have been destined for you and designed to test you so you can learn from them and improve and become a better person. There are no coincidences in life.

 I ask Allah to enable us to believe in Qadr and act upon it and learn from the lessons He sends us. Ameen.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Thought for the Week 23rd April 2021.

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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