Divine Hope

Hope in the Divine, not the deeds of mine.

We make mistakes. Of course, we do. We’re not perfect – we’re human after all. We also do good, our innate nature is aligned with goodness. But where does our hope go when we do good and bad, is it in ourselves and our deeds or is it where it rightfully should be, with Allah (SWT)?

Having hope in Allah (SWT) as opposed to ourselves is important in getting through day to day. By having hope in our Creator when we make mistakes, we do not allow ourselves to fall into a pit of despair. This is because our hope doesn’t stem from within our actions but from the exceptional mercy of our Lord. Therefore, we are able to find a cure for our shame in that if we sincerely repent for what we have done wrong we will find ourselves forgiven by Ar-Raheem (The Most Merciful).

Equally as important is where we attribute our hope after we do good deeds. Do we bask in the glory of the good that we have done and have hope that our good deed will carry us through? Or do we have hope that Allah (SWT) will reward us for what we have done and continue to do good without intense deliberation? When we have hope in Allah (SWT) rather than our good deeds we avoid arrogance, as the ancient proverb says:

“Do good and throw it in the sea.”

By having hope in Allah (SWT) and not our deeds we reinforce the idea that everything we do is for the sake of Him. We do good, and equally we repent for the bad with hope in Him. All our actions encapsulate the same essence – we do what we do for our Lord, to help ourselves to reach the best for this life and the next. So, when we place our hope in Allah (SWT) we can embed this notion of everything being for Him back into our lives. Therefore, by having hope in Him and not simply our deeds – we are able to remind ourselves that everything is due to Him, even the opportunity to do good or to turn away from the temptations of bad.

For example, imagine two men that are two advocates for a charitable cause. Both men raise £500 for their charity and yet one man is in despair and one is content. The one that is in despair is disappointed in himself for not doing enough, yet the one who is content is glad to have helped people in the name of Allah (SWT). One man places his hope in himself and the other places his hope in his Lord. Can you guess which one is which?

When we trust in Allah (SWT) we surrender all the outcomes of our actions to Him. Through this we solidify a sense of faith and peace. Surrender your hope to Allah (SWT) and feel the wave of contentment swim over you.

We have to remember that we should do good and we should repent for the bad however we should not hold ourselves hostage to our deeds. We should not attach ourselves so greatly as they do not control us but everything is due to His Will. We are not only one of our deeds – we are not our good nor are we our bad. So, surrender your hope to Al-Muhaymin (The Guardian).

Can you think of a situation where you could put your hope in Allah (SWT) and not just your deeds?