Yes, But Here’s Something Better

As-salam alaikum my beautiful sis!

I hope this meets you in the best of iman and health in sha Allah.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “what if I’m making du’a for the wrong thing?” “What if everything that I want is not actually what Allah wants for me?” “How do I know that Allah is going to give me what I’m asking Him for?” But sis, let me stop you right there and challenge those thoughts for a bit. What if what you’re asking Allah for has already been written for you, long before you even asked for it? What if Allah is bringing you closer to Him through making du’a? What if the thing you're asking Allah for was always meant to reach you, but Allah just wants you to get closer to Him by calling Him by His beautiful names?

You raising your hands to ask Allah is not from you, but from Him. If Allah didn’t want you to have something, He wouldn’t give you the tawfiq (the ability or opportunity to achieve success) to make du’a. Think of something that you slowly (or suddenly) lost interest in making du’a for. Have you ever thought about the fact that Allah was the one who caused your heart to lose interest? Maybe that thing wasn’t good for you and that’s why your heart was turned away from it. Notice that I said “lose interest” and not “lose hope”, because losing hope in your du’a being answered doesn’t mean that the thing you wanted wasn’t good for you. Maybe it just means that you gave up before the answer to your du’a became a reality, you gave up knocking right before the door was about to be opened for you.

Sis, I want you to understand that the way we view Allah can either really propel us or keep us stuck in places we don’t like. The way we think of Allah can either bring us peace and contentment or anxiety and fear. Have you then considered that Allah could be saying to you, “yes, but here’s something better”. But wait, what does “something better” even mean? Does it mean you don’t get what you want after all? How is that supposed to make you feel?

You see, I’ve always interpreted “something better” to mean Allah isn’t going to give me what I want. Allah will give me something completely different that’s better for me. This can be hard for us as human beings to hear and accept, because when we want something, we may become fixated on it. So, I understood “better” as meaning “not getting what I want at all, but I would like what I do end up getting, because Allah knows exactly what I need”. While this is the case sometimes, because Allah truly knows what is best for us, and He wants the best for us, sometimes, that “something better” just means that you get what you want, but more. How? Read on.

Think of it like a good buy at a shop. Maybe you wanted a really cute item at a certain price. So you ask, maybe bargain, until you reach an agreed price. At some point, maybe you even thought you won’t be able to get that item. But the seller finally agrees and grants you the item you wanted, but wait, there’s more. Out of his generosity, the seller decides to add an extra item for you that he thinks you’d like. You got what you wanted but even better, because you received more than what you wanted. There’s something to consider though, you didn’t even ask for it. The extra item came as a gift.

Now, Allah is far above any analogy. And Allah is not like man in which He goes back and forth with us, bargaining or anything. But Allah knows what we need before we even come to “buy” i.e. ask Him. And sometimes, He answers us with “yes, but here’s something better”. Allah gives us what we want and out of His generosity, He gives us even more than what we asked for. He gives us gifts that will enable us appreciate and utilise what we’re asking for even better. Allah takes your feelings, your needs, likes and dislikes into consideration. That “something better” may just mean that Allah wants to give you more than you asked; in most cases, things that you didn’t even know you needed.

So, have you ever paused to ask yourself what that “something better” is? Is it just getting what we want in dunya terms or is there more to it? You see, Allah made me realise that the joy of getting what we want is not actually in getting what we want. The joy of getting what we want is in the realisation, the acknowledgement, that this thing brought you closer to Allah. By the Will of Allah, it made you better, it increased you in faith. There’s a rest and tranquility that cannot be found anywhere but with Allah, even if He were to give you the entire dunya. It is as Allah Almighty says in His Book, “those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort.” (Qur’an 13:28). The “something better” is getting closer to Allah, being elevated in ranks, entering Jannah because you never lost faith in your du’a being answered, you never lost faith in Him. It doesn’t mean that you won’t struggle, your faith wouldn’t falter, but that every time you do, you remind yourself of the goodness of Allah (by the Will of Allah). “Something better” is increasing in love for Allah, and Him in love for you. “Something better” means you got the dunya and the akhirah, you won in both lifes, in sha Allah. Sis, what an honour. Wow. SubhanAllah.

And so, my dear sis, what if Allah is saying yes to you? Yes, but here’s something better. What a beautiful response from your Rabb, Who just wanted you to get closer to Him all along.

May Allah grant you a beautiful response to your du'a(s). Ameen.

With love,

Latifah.

Founder, Tifah & Co.