The same pen that wrote for Yusuf to be sent to prison, deprived of his rights and denied justice, was the pen that wrote for him to become a minister, reigning over the treasury of Egypt.
The same pen that wrote for Yusuf’s brothers to dominate over him and throw him in the well
is the pen that brought them to Egypt, standing before Yusuf in need and at his mercy.
The same pen that took Yusuf from the arms of Yaqoub, returned him to his father years later as a Prophet and minister.
I do not know what may be written in my story next. But I know who holds the pen.
Shall I not trust the One who wrote the best of stories to write my story too?
Say [Prophet], “I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak, against the harm in what He has created, the harm in the night when darkness gathers, the harm in witches when they blow on knots, the harm in the envied when he envies.”
How many times did you ask yourself: why did Allah create darkness and evilness? Why did he create something so distant from what He teaches us to be?
Surah Al-Falaq reminds us that Allah created everything for a reason, even what seems to be so distant from goodness, for we need to recognize the darkness in order to praise the light. So we pray Allah and ask Him to protect us everyday from what might hurt us.
I used to really struggle with the concept of beautiful patience. How is patience beautiful? What was the secret? I have had the same thoughts about this verse for years and every time I would read Surah Yusuf in a hardship I would ask myself the same question.
It did not click until this Ramadan.
Beautiful patience is to embrace the waiting because you know what follows is surely a great relief. That is the only way to bear patience upon something that doesn’t make sense or a hardship that shakes you to your core. It is to remember Who put this in your path. When you know who Allah is, when you internalize His attributes, when you are upon absolute certainty that He is with you. That He is the Most Merciful and not a single thing happens to you without being full of His mercy. That everything that happens to you is full of khayr because He will never hurt a believer. That He is the Most Powerful and the One who opens the most tightly shut doors. That all of this could change at any moment. That He has complete control over your affairs and complete knowledge, so He is protecting you from something and when the time is right, this hardship will certainly pass. That He is the Most Generous, so *never* will you sincerely ask Him for something and beg him, clinging to His mercy and refusing to give up your duaa, except that He will respond with *more* than what you asked Him for. Wallahi not a single time will Allah not give you even more than you asked Him for if you internalize all of this. Only then— does patience become beautiful. Because you know what is coming will make you forget all the pain that has passed. That He is preparing you for something great. That He is shaping you into someone great. That His love can be found in every little detail and it will all make sense one day, no matter how long it takes.
Endure with beautiful patience, my friends. How can we know who Allah is and expect anything but the absolute best from Him? No— Allah is unlike anyone and anything. Even what you imagine to be the best case scenario will fall short of what He actually gives you. Do not doubt that for a moment. He is Allah. He is beautiful in all that He does 🩵
67:13 Whether you keep your talk secret or make it aloud, He knows well what lies in the hearts. 67:14 Is it (imaginable) that He who has created (them) will not have (such a) knowledge, while He is the Knower of the finest things, the All-Aware?