[الطامعة في رضا ربها]

Fourth dubiosity
Allah has not guided me to the right path yet

Another group of our sisters uses this dubiosity when asked to cover up her modesty –wear hijab. She replies: "I would love to cover up my modesty, but Allah did not guide me yet. Pray for me that Allah may guide me!"
Our sister who says such a thing falls into a grave fallacy. We ask this sister: How did you know that Allah did not guide you? If her reply was that she simply knows, then this implies one of the two:

First: That she was given the knowledge of the unforeseen, which is written in the Tablet Preserved. Through suck knowledge, she is sure that she is among the wretched who will end up in Hell!

Second: That a certain creature, whether human or angel, has informed her of her destiny, and told her that she is not from among those who are guided to the right path!
So, dearest sister, since the normal reply to the above is negative, then how did you know that Allah did not guide you ?

There is a second point:
Allah, the All-High, has shown us in his Holy Book that guidance is of two forms:
1- Direction
2 – Assistance

1- Direction: To show the path towards the truth. Every human being shares this type of guidance with the Prophets, and with Allah. Allah, the Exalted, directs His answerable creations and shows them the paths to Right and Evil. This direction is revealed to them through His Messengers, and Books. The Messengers, their books, and heralds distinctly show their people the Right path and the Evil path.
2- Assistance is a specific characteristic of Allah, the All-High and almighty. Its definition involves more than a singular aspect: it is to instill Right in the hearts. It is to project against deviating from the Right. It is to assist, help and sustain moving along the Right Path. It is to make a person love to believe in Allah and beautify this belief in him. It makes him hate faithlessness, wantonness, and disobedience. This type of guidance is granted to those who answer the summoning of Allah and are guided by the guidance of Allah. This type of guidance comes always after the first Path for all to choose, then He assists those who freely choose and move along it. Only to those who choose to tread along the right path with their own free will, will Allah grant the "Assistance"
On the above subject, Allah, the All-High, says:
(وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّوا الْعَمَى عَلَى الْهُدَى ...) سورة فصلت :17:41
(As to Thamud, We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness [of the heart] to Guidance…) Qur'an 41:17
To summarize, First there is direction
(وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ ) سورة محمد 17:47
(But to those who receive guidance, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their Piety and Restraint [from evil].) Qur'an 47:17
Second comes Assistance: However, if the slave (servant) decided to choose evil of his own free will, Allah will deprive him of Assistance, and that will increase his loss. Allah, the All-High, says about that:
(قُلْ مَن كَانَ فِي الضَّلالَةِ فَلْيَمْدُدْ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ مَدًّا...) سورة مريم 75:19
(Say, whoever goes astray, [Allah] most gracious extends [the rope] to them…) Qur'an 19:75
(...فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ...) سورة السف 5:61
(…Then when they went wrong. Allah let their hearts go wrong..) Qur'an 61:5

An example of the guidance of assistance

Shaykh as-Sha'rawi cites a beautiful example of this type and Allah's rules and regulations concerning it. He says: "This guidance is similar to a man looking for an address. In order to reach his address he asks a traffic warden for directions. After he receives the right directions from the warden, the man faces two choices:
- He either believers the warden and moves in accordance with the direction that he receives. Consequently the further he moves, the more guided he is, and the nearer to his destination he becomes. Or,
- He considers the warden to be a liar, and moves in an opposite direction to that which he receives. In this case, the further he moves the more lost he becomes, and the further from his destination he will be.
That is the story of guidance and going astray. (1)
This example(or similitude) is an excellent one to make us understand this divine regulation: He who chooses the Truth, Allah will help and support; and he who chooses wrong, Allah will let him go astray, and will leave him to himself and his Satan.
Do your best in acting upon the causes of guidance, and you WILL have it
Such are the rules and regulations of Allah, the Exalted, in His creations:
(..فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلًا) سورة فاطر 45:35
(… No change will you find in Allah's way [of dealing]: No turning off will you find in Allah's way [of dealing].)
The regulations of Allah dictate that change will not take place unless a person starts the change in himself, and spares no effort to implement the change he seeks.
(...إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ...) سورة الرعد 11:13
(… Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves…) Qur'an 13:11
Consequently the person who is seeking guidance, has to do his/her very best to ensure that Allah's rules of causality take effect. He/she should not stop at the point of asking people to pray for him/her only. In seeking the rules of causality, the best role model is Maryam, may peace be upon her. In her weakest stage, while giving birth, she needed nourishment. That was when our Lord, the Exalted, asked her to perform a task, which the strongest men can not perform easily: He asked her to shake the trunk of a palm tree, in spite of the rigidity of that trunk. Allah, the All-High, told her:
(وَهُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ...) سورة مريم 25:19
(And shake towards thyself the palm tree…) Qur'an 19:25
Without any question, doubt, or hesitation, she complies. All Allah, the All-High, requires from his slave is to do their best, and act. The laws of causality which Allah created require action to take place in order to achieve the desired conclusion. Allah could have easily put some food in her hand, or in her mouth. However He wanted to teach us a lesson in obedience, and to teach us that we are required to perform our best action. In her weakened state, she put her hand on the tree, and tried her best. The law of causality took effect, and the result was:
(...تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَباً جَنِيّا) سورة مريم 25:19
(…It will let fall fresh ripe dated upon you.) Qur'an 19:25
Such are the laws and regulations of causality that Allah, the Almighty has ordained! It is not possible for any believer to stay in a sacred house of Allah, even if it is Makkah, and just worship Allah, pray to Him, and ask Him sustenance. Allah, the All-High, required from Alla believers to do their best in working for their living: heaven does not rain gold and silver.

Dearest sister, do your best in seeking the causes of guidance, and you shall have it, Allah's willing. Supplication and praying to Allah is only one form if seeking. Other methods include: choosing good company, spending some time reciting the Book of Allah and contemplating its meanings, listening to religious cassette tape, attending religious lectures and seminars, and reading religious oriented books. Remember, before you start on this path, you have to abandon and put behind you, what might hinder you from the path of guidance, or lead you astray. These hindrances are: bad company, reading trashy magazines, eagerly waiting and watch TV series that encourage prohibited relationships, traveling without an unmarriageable (male) relative, building up relationships through the telephone with young men and other hindrances that will stop you from following the guidance path, and will lead you astray.

1)
Excerpts from a lecture given in Kuwait in the eighties entitled, "Does man have a free will or is the steered?"

to be continued ensha'Allah