This post was originally written on December 31, 2017. I am bringing all of my posts back on the website after losing my site and hosting for a period of time. Please enjoy reading and share it with your family and friends.
It took six days for Allah SWT to create the heavens and the earth, as stated in the Holy Qur’an; Surah Fussilat, “Say (O Muhammad): Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days? And you set up rivals (in worship) with Him? That is the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists). He placed therein (i.e. the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its dwellers) in four Days equal (i.e. all these four ‘days’ were equal in the length of time) for all those who ask (about its creation). Then He rose over (Istawa) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: ‘Come both of you willingly or unwillingly.’ They both said: ‘We come willingly.’ Then He completed and finished from their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days and He made in each heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars) to be an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him, the All-Mighty, the All-Knower” (Fussilat 41:9-12).
From this interpretation, we see it was six days – four of those days were dedicated to creating the earth and all that was to be in it (mountains, ocean, etc.), and the other two days were to create the heavens (including the stars, moon and other planets that would support the earth in the universe).
The reason why I talk about this beautiful phenomenon is because I was reading this verse’s meaning and I thought about the duas I’ve been making.
As humans, and I do this as well so you are not alone, we tend to get frustrated at why certain duas take longer to manifest and other duas happen quickly. We forget that timing is in the hands of Allah SWT. We have no control over the timing of when things are supposed to happen. They just do in their own time period and there is a wisdom behind it that we are unaware of, if only we could think about it more and reflect upon this.
If it took Allah SWT six days to create the entire universe (which includes the heavens, earth, sun, moon, stars, planets, etc.) and everything within this space, our duas will take their time to manifest as well. We cannot expect that everything we make dua for will come to us with a snap of our fingers. It doesn’t work that way.
Even Allah SWT took His time to create everything.
Therefore, our duas will have their own time to come. A dua can be manifested in a few hours, in a day, a week, a month, or in a year, or over several years.
When they come to fruition, we must be in gratitude and remember that the dua was fulfilled because it was a part of our taqdeer as well. If it is meant for you, it will come to you in such a way you probably won’t even realize it. The wait will be so worth it.
I have to remind myself of this very fact during the days I become frustrated or wonder when in the world my dua will come true. The fact that it took Allah SWT six days to create the entire universe, and this is mentioned so clearly in the Qur’an shows us that things take their amount of time to be done and there is a wisdom behind the why.
In between this time of wait, we have to be patient. Trust me, this can be hard to do. I’ve been praying for two important things to happen in my life – while I know in my heart they will happen in its timing, the waiting period can be brutal. But the more I pray, the more I grow my connection with Allah SWT, the waiting period starts to be easy to tolerate and no longer feels brutal.
A few lessons I’ve learned lately are listed as follows:
- Make dua to Allah SWT sincerely at all times, both in the times of acceptance and during times that we are working, driving, or even watching TV. Make dua while you’re in the shower (in your mind of course, don’t speak out loud while you’re in your birthday suit). Continuously make dua day and night.
- Each time you make dua, ask Allah SWT to make it khair for you and then let it go with the knowledge that if it is meant for you, it will come to you no matter what and nothing will stop that from happening because it is already destined. If it is not, know that you will get something better in its place and that is good for you.
- Lastly, keep building your trust (tawakkul) in Allah SWT, and have certainty (yaqeen) in your duas. The time will come when it will come – don’t get too frustrated (it’s normal and it’s okay if you have done this in the past…like I said, I’ve done this too). Frustration is the shaitaan trying to shake your yaqeen and tawakkul in Allah SWT. Don’t let this sneaky little devil get to you. Prayers are always answered in their time and place they are meant to.
Keep praying. Keep making dua and keep practicing non attachment to the outcome. Let it go and let Allah SWT handle it for you. Remember, it took Allah SWT six days to build this universe, so even our duas will take their time to manifest. For Allah SWT, this is nothing. He can Will for anything to happen at anytime.
Another thing that comes to mind when reading this verse in the Qur’an about the heavens and earth being created in six days is this – that NOTHING is impossible for Allah SWT.
He created the heavens and the earth – as humans, we cannot do that. We do not have that ability because we are not God. We were created by Allah SWT. For Him, ANYTHING is possible. For us, things may seem impossible and we don’t know what to do.
There is this one dua I’ve been making – I won’t get into the nitty gritty details because it’s very personal for me, but the situation at this time looks so impossible to my human eyes. From the human point of view, I have thought many times, “How will Allah SWT make this possible for me?? It looks so impossible due to the situation that is happening right now that I hesitate on the thought it could happen!”
But if I look at this situation from Allah SWT’s point of view, oh, NOTHING is impossible for our Lord! He can do what He wishes at any time. He makes (mo’ajeza) miracles happen! With this point of view, I can relieve myself of the thoughts of impossibility. I have done what I needed to do in this situation – taken the actions that I could be able to take, and now, it’s up to Allah SWT to fulfill this dua of mine, which will happen at its appointed time. Allah SWT will decide how this dua will be answered and will create circumstances to occur in such a way that everything will just take place. When it does, I will let you know what exactly my dua was and how it unfolds, inshallah.
Think about the many times things happened in your life – it seemed impossible at first, right? The situation was such that nothing could be resolved, or that only a miracle can make this dua happen. And then, voila! Your dua was fulfilled. Miracles do happen and what you thought was impossible happened right before your eyes!
That’s Allah SWT. This is Him saying, “I got you. Nothing is impossible for me.”
If you are in a circumstance right now that just seems so impossible to resolve, or get out of, don’t worry about how it is unachievable. Perhaps you have taken all the action steps you could take and yet, you see nothing happening. Don’t think about it. Allah SWT is so much bigger than what we think! He is the Creator of the Worlds!
He will resolve it for you and you won’t even believe how things will have happened so miraculously.
With this said, we are now about to ring in the New Year – it’s still 2017 here, and in other parts of the world, it is 2018 (how is this possible that we are in last year, and others are in the new year?? You can absolutely see how Allah SWT created this to happen, subhanallah). I wish you ALL the most wonderful year with Allah SWT’s blessings upon you. May the year 2018 serve to be a year full of happiness, and blessings and lots of duas manifested for each and every one of you. Ameen.
-Dr. Aasiyah N. Ghazi